I know, it sounds weird, but yea, In my 3+ work experience, I did not get a chance to board plane.
When I decided on MS in USA, apart from many other important new experiences which I should face, one obviously was the Flight journey. Having one or two visits to Airport (as a visitor), I hardly knew anything about the airport etiquettes(which I was worried about).
THE day has finally come ,and it was RajivGandhi International Airport, Hyd. I have already heard a lot about what to do (from my bro) , what not to do, things to remember, Passport - always check, do not forget the baggage blah blah blah. At the airport, as we usually see in a typical telugu movie, A gang of around 20 people arrived for my sendoff. Some were happy that am finally on my way trying out my dreams, some were sad that am leaving them, and wont return in near future( specially mom) , But in my mind, I was just thinking how my next 24hrs would be.
It was August 15 '13, and I was going to board British Airways(Till Heathrow, London). yea, It sounds weird for many Indians with the Aug15 ( The Independence day) and British Airways combination, It hardly matters anyway. As soon as I entered the airport, I stood enthralled, astonished by seeing the flags all over the airport, flag colored papers decorated and almost every Indian of airport staff with a flag on his/her shirt. I felt proud for myself :D, and I told to myself "a good start !" and moved on.
I found three British Airways personnel sitting and guy directed all the BA passengers to check-in their bags. He welcomed me with very warm wish, you guess it right -" Good morning Mam, Happy Independence day!", Happiness all along, I checked-in my bag , then to Immigration officer, I shocked him with a greet (Happy Independence Day!) , and moved to security check and finished it in 5min. done! that's it. Am ready to fly :-D
Two more hours to fly, And am all done with formalities, so I decided to explore the airport. There are many things which we can shop about, Clothes, books, accessories etc. There are many options for food as well. I had my breakfast ( Idli Wada ! - My fav) and Now its time aboard.
My first peep into Flight , A long compartment of seats like a chair-car in shathabdi express :D with 2-4-2 seats between two pathways. Its time for me to sit, Hurray!, I got a Window seat. I think now am loving it :D
In the aircraft, the food(special Indian meals which was too good), the ambiance, the comfort, the movies (English, Hindi) , everything was awesome. Takeoff , Landing was little scary but apart from that everything seemed like a simple ride. whenever there were turbulence, it was like a roller coaster ride.
Heathrow Airport ,London , It was so big - it took us a lot of time in walking to the desired terminal. This airport I would say is vast , beautiful and of course one of the world's busiest airport. So many option to shop and Eat!.
And now, its American Airways (from Heathrow -> Dallas) , Another time in a queue and couple of questions and a boarding pass. Now I felt like, an experienced flight boarder :P :P. I had 20min before my connecting flight, the next task , yes , to check the Airport Wifi , More than to mention the family that I reached London , Check-in on FB, letting people know I am in a foreign Land for the first time :D.
American Airways, Yes- a 11hr fight, Not many Indian faces, American food, Welcome to America! I told to my self. Again a window seat !! I was delighted. Peeping out of the window now and then, was my Time pass in the flight. The oceans, the mountains etc from the window, were like Arial view, is really a very good experience.
I reached my destination ( dallas- fortworth airport DFW), and Immigration check again. A separate line for Internationals and Americans. and yes our queue was pretty big, it took an hour at the Immigration check and baggage collection and then a stamp on passport, And we are done!!
I am now in America, officially for my MS :D
When I decided on MS in USA, apart from many other important new experiences which I should face, one obviously was the Flight journey. Having one or two visits to Airport (as a visitor), I hardly knew anything about the airport etiquettes(which I was worried about).
THE day has finally come ,and it was RajivGandhi International Airport, Hyd. I have already heard a lot about what to do (from my bro) , what not to do, things to remember, Passport - always check, do not forget the baggage blah blah blah. At the airport, as we usually see in a typical telugu movie, A gang of around 20 people arrived for my sendoff. Some were happy that am finally on my way trying out my dreams, some were sad that am leaving them, and wont return in near future( specially mom) , But in my mind, I was just thinking how my next 24hrs would be.
It was August 15 '13, and I was going to board British Airways(Till Heathrow, London). yea, It sounds weird for many Indians with the Aug15 ( The Independence day) and British Airways combination, It hardly matters anyway. As soon as I entered the airport, I stood enthralled, astonished by seeing the flags all over the airport, flag colored papers decorated and almost every Indian of airport staff with a flag on his/her shirt. I felt proud for myself :D, and I told to myself "a good start !" and moved on.
I found three British Airways personnel sitting and guy directed all the BA passengers to check-in their bags. He welcomed me with very warm wish, you guess it right -" Good morning Mam, Happy Independence day!", Happiness all along, I checked-in my bag , then to Immigration officer, I shocked him with a greet (Happy Independence Day!) , and moved to security check and finished it in 5min. done! that's it. Am ready to fly :-D
Two more hours to fly, And am all done with formalities, so I decided to explore the airport. There are many things which we can shop about, Clothes, books, accessories etc. There are many options for food as well. I had my breakfast ( Idli Wada ! - My fav) and Now its time aboard.
My first peep into Flight , A long compartment of seats like a chair-car in shathabdi express :D with 2-4-2 seats between two pathways. Its time for me to sit, Hurray!, I got a Window seat. I think now am loving it :D
Heathrow Airport ,London , It was so big - it took us a lot of time in walking to the desired terminal. This airport I would say is vast , beautiful and of course one of the world's busiest airport. So many option to shop and Eat!.
American Airways, Yes- a 11hr fight, Not many Indian faces, American food, Welcome to America! I told to my self. Again a window seat !! I was delighted. Peeping out of the window now and then, was my Time pass in the flight. The oceans, the mountains etc from the window, were like Arial view, is really a very good experience.
I reached my destination ( dallas- fortworth airport DFW), and Immigration check again. A separate line for Internationals and Americans. and yes our queue was pretty big, it took an hour at the Immigration check and baggage collection and then a stamp on passport, And we are done!!
I am now in America, officially for my MS :D
