Confessions of a Hostie 3 Read Online Free Page B

Singapore. Singapore
is on the equator - I already know it is going to be hot with late
thunderstorms. I check anyway: hot with late thunderstorms it
is.
    I always have a little raincoat packed. It is
a tad more upmarket than a simple plastic sheet, but the great
thing about my raincoat is, when not in use, it scrunches up to the
size of a tennis ball. Being a seasoned shopper I have so many
clothes. I am always wearing new clothes, yet I only have one
little raincoat - and I've had it for at least a dozen years.
    My raincoat and I have some great memories
together:
    On a windy Rome day we were sprayed by the
Trevi Fountain's water. We were soaked while in a boat under
roaring waterfalls at Iguazu Falls on the Argentina-Brazil border.
We walked the sodden streets of Paris in a summer storm, battled
our way to the shops in a typhoon in Hong Kong, and were hit by
hail in Dallas, Texas. We trudged through Poland's infamous
Austerlitz Concentration Camp on an appropriately wretched day, we
strolled sections of the Great Wall of China on several days of
varying weather patterns, we were smashed by a massive storm while
yachting on Sydney Harbour, and were covered in fog, mist, and rain
while walking blindly around the cliffs of Old Head of Kinsale,
Ireland. We were caught in a tropical storm whilst trekking
elephants in the wilds of Africa, we plodded through flooded
streets in Bangkok, and we danced in the rain in vineyards on the
Rhine in Rudesheim, Germany.
    I love my little raincoat.
     
    Over the years the flying has changed. I tend
to do more single destination trips than I once did, where we fly
to one city, have a layover, and then fly home. I have talked with
hosties from other airlines, and although rosters and flying vary
from airline to airline, it would seem a continuing trend. I still
do multi-sector trips, as well as shorter shuttles, often to and
from the overseas layover port we are staying, but more and more
trips are just to the one destination. It also means I am away for
less time than I was, however going to work more often. It is the
changing face of the airline industry. We crew adjust.
    I am happier to do four or five day trips
than be away for a fortnight. It allows some resemblance of a life
at home. The jetlag becomes a continuing issue, yet these days I
have a better chance of remembering what the color of my bedcover
is. It is what it is, but my bedcover is pastel pink - I think?
     
    I pack for my Singapore trip. It doesn't take
long. My little raincoat is a permanent suitcase item, as too my away toiletries bag, my away medical supplies bag, a
universal travel adaptor, and a wine bottle opener. If my little
raincoat has fond memories, my bottle opener has more. I doubt
drinking wine will be on the agenda this trip... but you never
know?

 
now listen
here...
    Most of the crew on my Singapore trip are
older and more senior flying-wise than me. The oldest is a lady
named Kathy, with 40 years of flying experience. I cannot begin to
imagine being a hostie for 40 years. Funnily, in my 20 years I have
never met Kathy. She is obviously in her sixties and should look
like a typical grandmother or a long lost aunt, yet she doesn't.
She is vibrant, energetic, and simply lovely. I am instantly drawn
to her calmness and demeanor. When the work positions are allotted
I discover I'll be working down the back of the aircraft on a cart
with Kathy. I am really looking forward to it.
     
    The flight to Singapore is about as relaxed
and as easy as it gets. There are plenty of spare seats and very
few passengers stand out as being potential problems. Both Kathy
and I have a rare commodity on an aircraft: time. We don't need to
rush, having time to enjoy the service and the passengers. Seldom
do we get that chance. Most times the crew are so frantically busy
we bark 'Chicken or beef?' to dispense the meal onto the
passenger's tray table with the speed of superman. It is not the
ideal way to do it, yet the necessary