How Does Sarah Feel About Flying? (Window Seat Photos)

 

Prior to our study abroad trip, I had a few experiences with airplanes. We flew to Florida as a family when I was fairly young. I was four or five years old if I remember correctly. The airplane trip is a blurry memory at this point. My aunt and uncle lived in Houston, Texas for many years during my childhood, and they also spent a few years in Dallas. We flew to visit them a few times during summer vacation. My farthest airplan trip was meeting up with dad in Ireland, which I breifly mentioned in my introduction post. I have some pretty clear memories of that long flight. My sister and I were seven and nine years old, so it was already one of our first trips out of Pennsylvania/Ohio. My mom says Kathleen and I had just fallen asleep when we were preparing for landing. The time change was hard on all of us, but I think we handled the plane well! 

(Left Photo: departing from Ireland on our last day. I love how lush and green everything looks!)

    When preparing for this trip to capital cities in Europe, I realized it had been about ten years since I travelled by plane. I was beyond excited and somewhat nervous. The day of our flight out of Pittsburgh came quicker than I expected. I began to feel nauseous and couldn't really eat dinner beforehand. Despite feeling queasy, I was still so happy I had the opportunity to travel, and I tried to ignore it. (A warning to readers: I will mention "getting sick", but not in unnecessary detail.)

    Everything went smoothly at the Pittsburgh Airport (in the beginning). We arrived a bit early so Dr. Reed could welcome students going on the trip. Disaster struck as soon as people started arriving. Of course it did, right? Why would I get sick at a convenient time? I went to the bathroom to throw up. While it was unpleasant, at least I had gotten it over with. We made it through security in a timely fashion and many of us checked our luggage. I felt much better when all of us were at the gate. Disaster struck again, this time a few hours into our flight. I don't need to say what happened. I was so dissapointed, but luckily it didn't happen again for the remainder of the trip. Thank goodness! 

    The point of all this rambling: I have gotten worse at flying as an adult. Personally, taking off is the worst part. At the same time, I enjoyed having the window seats sometimes. The views were beautiful, so I made myself look sometimes. We spent lots of time in airports and in the sky, but it was worth it to experience everything. My nerves were high at first, but each flight got a little bit easier. Somehow, I almost always ended up with a window seat. 
(Right photo: Arriving in Scotland on our first day. The wing made it hard to get a decent picture...)