World Traveler Scoop

As a flight attendant I constantly hear, smell and see interesting things from people most of which has me shocked and disgusted and asking WHY? With 2014 coming to close I thought I would share with you the two strangest “things” I have seen and heard over this last year: “I can’t say” In early spring I was on a flight in the “deep south”, during the inflight service I came across an elderly Caucasian women who was obviously a southern bell. I offered the this lady a beverage and she replied that she would like a coffee. I then asked how does she take her coffee, and received no answer to an obviously heard question, so I asked the question again this time the lady turned in fear. I decided to ask one more time, to which I got the response “I can’t say”. The lady sitting next to her (African American) interjected and responded she would like it “BLACK”, which caused to me laugh hysterically. I then told the elderly white lady black is just a color no one will take offense if you like your coffee black.

"Can you pour this out" Just this past weekend I had a passenger who was recently in a serious car accident traveling with his mother. While on final approach the call light rang to which the other flight attendant responded, when she asked what she could do for them the mother reach for a bottle and said “can you pour this out”. The flight attendant then questioned what was in the bottle to which she responded “urine”. The flight attendant then explained that would could not handle bodily fluids and that she would have to do that after we landed. (I’m still in shock with this one, it’s your sons urine, you can handle that don’t pass that off to someone else)

As a tourist in Madrid you may go see popular sights such as Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor Square or the Gran Via Avenue but have you considered taking a trip to Circulo de Bellas Artes. If you haven't it is essential that you visit this multidisciplinary center located  at Calle de Alcala, 42, 28014 Madrid, Spain. While there it is a must to take a trip to the to the rooftop bar Tartan Roof. For just 3 euro (fee waived with dinner reservation), you will enjoy breath taking views of Madrid along with excellent drinks, although slightly pricey, but the view is worth it. This bar offers you a true taste of what life is like for individual’s living in Madrid, as there are few if any tourist at this establishment. Open daily Tartan offers a wide array of drinks and a full service restaurant in a lounge like atmosphere, with a crowd mixed of all ages. In addition, Tartan is available as a venue to host events.  For more information on Tartan visit http://www.unrestaurantellamadotartan.es/ . For more information on Circle de Bellas Artes visit http://www.circulobellasartes.com/english/

Flying can be extremely nerve racking and stressful for many individuals, for this reason many people choose to indulge in adult beverage on their flight. In any situation where there is alcohol involved there is the possibility of a person becoming intoxicated. This is an extremely normal occurrence that crews are always prepared to handle, although the handling of such issues can end up being a big headache to other passengers. Here are two reasons why people should not drink to intoxication while inflight:

You’ll end up tied up or held down

As we are well aware of some people become violent when under the influence of alcohol. In a situation were a passenger becomes violent flight attendants and other passengers will take all action necessary to protect themselves in others, even if it means tying an individual up when there is no place to safely land.

You’ll end up in a city far away from where you wanted to go  

Ever seen the movie “Brides Maids”, this will actually happen if the crew feels that you are a danger to other passengers, crew, or the aircraft. Begin to act like a drunk douche, the pilots will get the aircraft on the ground at the nearest airport, and you will be met by the police (no need to continue with what happens after that).

Just a few tips before you have a drink on a plane:

Know your limit and cut it in half 

At altitude the effects of alcohol are amplified, half your limit is about what it will take for you to become intoxicated.

If you feel tipsy go to sleep 

Going to San Francisco escape the typical tourist attraction, take a trip across the bridge to discover downtown Berkeley’s hidden treasure Sliver. Silver is small pizza restaurant and bar located at 2132 Center Street (not to far from Shattuck Ave). Sliver offers their customers a single daily changing vegetarian pizza, along with a full service bar stocked with local beers, and wide array of cocktails. Although extremely crowded most of the time crawling with University of California Berkeley students it is worth the wait to eat here, not only are the pizza and drinks amazing, the owners are doing all of this with a good cause in mind. Silver’s owners have a goal to raise awareness for human trafficking “one sliver at a time”, donating to part of their earnings to awareness groups. So, if your ever downtown Berkeley pay them a visit, you will be supporting a worthy cause while enjoying excellent fresh food, and a fun crowd.

For more information on Sliver visit http://sliverpizzeria.com/

As a flight attendant everyday you are asked to complete a variety of duties that can be considered part of the job description, but on occasion a passenger will ask you to complete a task that is outside of the call of duty. Normally these task are simple and any crew member will be help willing to assist to the best of their ability, but some of these task become a normal routine.  Three things you should not ask a flight attendant to do for you:

You Pack It, You Rack It !

Although many believe its a flight attendants job to help lift overweight bags into the overhead bin this is false. Due to a large amount of neck, back, and shoulder injuries it is no longer a flight attendants job to assist in lifting carry-on baggage, in fact most airlines will not pay for medical expenses if an employee incurs one of these injuries lifting a passengers bag. 

 So if you can’t lift it have it checked to your final destination it will save you a lot of hassle. 

Can You Hold This? (Passes a Child)

It’s one thing to ask a flight attendant for a drink or an Advil, but many passengers take it the extra mile asking flight attendants to help assist with watching their children. Although many flight attendants are glad to assist, it is not part of the job description, in fact many flight attendants are nervous when it comes to dealing with children. So for your child’s well being as well as the attendant’s do not ask them to hold your child while you go to the restroom unless absolutely necessary.

Take This?

Flight attendants are always trying to collect trash in order to ensure the plane can be cleaned as quickly as possible for the next flight. Although they are collecting trash please hold on to certain items can not be pick up by crew for medical reasons ie. throw up bags, baby diaper. If you have any trash that includes human waste do not pass it to flight attendants, without letting them know what your passing, each airline has policies in place on how to dispose of hazardous materials. 

Welcome to my blog which will focus on world travel through the eyes of flight attendant. On this page you will learn the in’s and out’s of the industry, and see the world through the eyes of those who travel it travel it more “arguably" than anyone else. Before getting into the fun aspects of the job I'm going to take today’s post to reflect on what it has taken for me to even make it this far in my journey, looking back on the 7 1/2 weeks of training completed through an email sent to my family.

“Hola,

Greetings from week two of FA training. Let me start off by saying this is definitely harder then expected! I have been learned that flight attendants do more then look pretty (even though I am cute) and serve you a coke products on a plane, they  will ( if possible) save a persons life in an emergency. I have spent the last seven days learning how you manage every type of emergency you can think of and going through the them over and over and over that it has now almost become natural on how to react any emergency thrown my way (can't promise that I will not be the first person off if something happens, a boy got to live). They have thrown me into a pool, deprived me of sleep (only sleeping 4 to 6 hours a night), shot me up with yellow fever, put me on malaria medications, gave me eggs with green spots from a carton put though a decompression, made me shout commands 100s of times. In addition to making me learn a bunch of government rules that a useless and make no sense. Over the next week we will be focusing on security aka how to kick  terrorist ass, and first aid aka how to save a fat lady having a heart attack which hopefully is a little less stressful, but first I need to make it through my practicals which are taking place tomorrow morning wish me luck!

Love you all lots”