The First Flight in Life

by SREYRATH KEB (Cambodia)

I didn't expect to find Indonesia

After many times failing volunteer and scholarship applications, there was a time that I was once in a blue moon to read the congratulation letter to join the international workcamp “Conserve the river and preserve your future” in Batu Loceng, Indonesia in my inbox. Before the departure, I watched so many video clips and movies related to experience and things should know while taking a flight. A lot of random movies and videos were watched, both good and bad things about the airway. Departure day finally came, I was extremely excited for the first flight in my life. I was asking my team leader about every process to take the flight until we get into the airplane. There were five of us from different provinces represent Cambodia, I was lucky to get the seat between my team leader and the other female team member. This flight was not their first, and they looked so cool because they knew everything about the flight we gonna take. I envied them a lot. I was talking to them about this and that till I fell asleep on the plane, then I dreamt about the movie I watched “Happy Flight”. Suddenly waking up by unknown reason while the four members were still sleeping, and immediately I recognized something went wrong through the window. The airplane just flew around sometimes higher in the clear sky and sometimes down below the huge cloud. “Everyone! Wake up,” I whispered to my team. I continued talking in low volume “please have a look, our plane does not stable. I wonder what is happening now.” My team leader just woke up and looked outside the window, “I don’t know too,” he said. One of the members in the team also just woke up she looked so shocked, then she was about to scream when the airplane was shaking because of hitting the huge cloud. I put my hand to cover her mouth and told her to calm down with my shaky voice, “that’s gonna be alright, we will be fine!” By the time that five of us looked a messed in the seat row, the pilot was on the microphone to inform the news to all passengers by greeting and introducing himself, and he started informing his purpose on the microphone. It was about the time to land on at the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. The flight was forty minutes faster than the schedule, there was not any available space to land on so that he had to fly around until the next twenty minutes. He also said, “Please all passengers don’t worry, there isn’t anything wrong with our flight,” he continuously said, “please take your time, feel relax and enjoy our flight.” All of us were relieved after hearing this and found out later it was the second time that the pilot was on the microphone. The world seemed to be colorful again for us, we kept talking and teasing each other about what was just happening a moment ago. The team leader was laughing and talking to the whole team that I was the only person in the team that never traveled by airplane before, but I was the one to calm the team down. “You are supposed to be in a shocking situation instead you looked like nothing happen and tried to comfort all of us! Honestly, my heart’s still beating fast from that moment.” he laughed. “My heart was melting when I first saw that. I didn’t want to make things worse.” I truly admitted to the team while we were walking through the aisle from the very back seat after a safe landing till passing the pilot area. The pilot was still inside waiting for the passengers to get out, he heard about my first flight experience talking while we were in line to get out too. He came to me with a big smile on his face and asked, “How was my flight? Does it make you feel wanting to take another flight again?” he gave me a piece of a letter with few sentences inside “You’re awesome! Have a good trip in Indonesia.”