Casablanca !

I just got back from Casablanca (Morocco) and I was shocked beyond belief on how bad the passengers were, I thought I had seen it all by now... but this is crazy. Not that I'm putting all Moroccans in the same basket, but this flight was close to being hellish ! First of all boarding, its as if someone told the passengers that they would win a prize if they get to their seats as fast as possible, people were being impolite to one another, not giving the person in front of them the time to sit down or stow their baggage ! Now the plane takes off, seat bell sign is not even off yet and call bells are ringing off the hook ! First request water (mind that they just came out of Dubai terminal 3 where you can get a bottle for 1 Dirham which is about 30 cents USD or less ) and I just love it how they ask it as if we are responsible for them being so thirsty ! As soon as we are released for service we prepare the bars , so of course customers requesting drinks we advise them to wait a few minutes, some would not take no for an answer... so out we go with the first bar and dragging it from the back to the front is an adventure as every 4 rows we were guaranteed to be stopped by a customer asking questions, bright ones like: Are you serving us food ? (no live animals) Do we have strawberry juice ? uhhhh ??? Can you close the window blind ??? double uhhh ?

I really wonder if these people that treat cabin crew like slaves greet people at their homes like kings ? I also wonder what goes on in the head of one that keeps requesting for service when seeing us going up and down with carts and picking up after them ? No wonder Emirates is #5 in the world, we basically bow down to customers in terms of service, but we will never compromise safety, so yeah I like it when I have to scream during landing to seat down :)

I could go on with the many many many outstanding bad behaviors I witnessed tonight on board, but I won't...

Casablanca as a city left me with mixed feelings it's in between of what I expected, but loved eating tagine ! (look it up in google :) ) Everything seems to be disorganized and chaotic but yet everything seems to run smoothly amongst that. Nothing more to add.

In other news, it is still hot in Dubai and I think it's affecting my brain, because I have been taking on projects one after the other (please read between lines lol ) and I just can't seem to stop my self. I also applied to Join the A380 fleet, I'm happy about that, more hours and more days off, and only flies to London, Sydney, Auckland, Bangkok, Toronto and Seoul in december, Paris in february, my good friend Deon also applied so a lot of shenanigans in perspective as the chances of getting on the same flights are high !

I have to do a philosophical bit : How honest can one person be, how much of our needs must we sacrifice for the good of the people we love ? these questions have been buzzing around my head and driving me crazy...

Later my sweet fools !

Dear London

Just came back from 1 of 2 back to back London's , originally was rostered to do Calcutta and got changed to operate a London... Most cabin crew fear London and say it's a hard flight. It was my 3rd and I find it as normal as any other flight... Oh well, what would the world be with out complainers and then some ! This as to be to date the weirdest crew I had to work with, it's as if there was absolutely no chemistry and not even a common ground of interest. The purser was super boring, I don't even remember seeing her smile or anything, and that's the thing I hate, if you don't like your jobs do me a big favor and quit, it's an easy job down the line, given that we work hard on board , we do have the best perks ! A layover is what you make of it, as for me I went out in SoHo and had a blast. Contrary to the pursers attitude , you had crew that where overdoing themselves and therefor also showing that they don't like the job, you too please quit ! Nothing drives me more crazy by an overbearing personality , it's not rocket science being cabin crew, please don't try to make the rest of us feel like losers ....

Needed to rant out a bit lol

Loved London can't get enough of it !

Oh and I forgot to mention that I'm thinking of joining the A380 fleet but a bit undecided, on the plus side I'll get to be in Toronto more often and London , but won't be able to go elsewhere, but the company plans to get more A380s so I guess patience as to be a virtue in this case... we'll see.

Hamburg, Paris and some thinking :)

So I went to Hamburg not really expecting any big thing...and I was delightedly surprised as that city is one of the most beautiful I've been to so far and by far the cleanest... The hotel also follows suit and had an amazing view over the lake and champagne served with the breakfast buffet, I have got to love my job :) .

In other news, I'm really being lazy these days... My flatmate being away for another 2 months, and being alone in the appartment somedays I just leave the dishes pile up , it is amazing how much I can get unaccomplished lol

Now, I originally got scheduled for 2 Paris, but swapped one of them for a Hamburg, which I don't regret...so off to Paris I was, I could barely contain my enthusiasm to going there and working that flight. I just love working in french and with people who speak the language, it makes the job all worth it :) and specially landing afterwards in such a magical city that it Paris. It was not my first time there and probably not the last time, about 2 hours before departure I realized that it was a national holiday , almost like independence day, called Prise de la bastille, google it or wiki it or better yet go watch MARIE ANTOINETTE which Reece Weeterspoon stars. Other reasons I love Paris, besides the art and history is of course the FOOD, as my good friend Deon would say, I was in deed gagging to eat French food :)

Click for the pictures : Paris

I was just reading Airboy's most recent post, and he was talking about people sending him mails encouraging him and others not, makes me think why people always have to be negative, why can't they keep it to themselves, I'm well aware of the saying misery likes company but jeez don't be looking for me lol This comes to my job, where I work with a myriad of different people coming from different cultures and that mixed with the passengers with the same melting pot as we. I won't lie, it is trying at times to understand others and why somethings that seem so basic to me seems difficult or weird to others ! it is challenging, but I love it, with out this job I would of lived a life filled of stereotypes towards other cultures and basically now I appreciate more the people I get to meet and learn about where they come from...but to be real some cultures I don't think I will ever understand them and what makes them tick.

My next trip is Calcutta...as Hamburg really don't know what to expect...will see...

Heat !!!

Obviously it is warming up in Dubai , and I mean that in all the possible meanings of that word ! First of all the weather is getting pretty close to being hellish, it is so damn hot that I get out of my apartment only and I stress only if absolutely necessary . With the passing of Michael Jackson , at first I did not make a big deal out of it, typical me, delaying my reactions, went to Zinc after a 7 week hiatus, and there was a MJ sort of tribute put in the regular cheesy monday theme, and there I was old memories of my teenage life growing up to MJs songs, I almost felt like bursting into raging torrents of tears ! After my Shanghai Surprise off I was for my first trip of the month and first of seven layovers of the month, went to Accra in Ghana, my expectations were kind of high as it is said that's where the slaves who were brought to the americas were taken from. But as we disembarked the airplane and on to a very familiar scene , the small airport , not quite modern installation, my mind flashed back to PAP (Port au Prince international airport), and I literally had the chill, and for a split second thought I was back in Haiti, my mind was scrambling for reality to settle back, I think me not wanting to go back to my country is getting borderline pathologic. That moment set the mood for me for the whole 3 days spent there ! I've never been so disinterested to be interested as much before in my life, and for good reasons . I'm gonna skip some bla bla that I just can't seem to find the words to explain, but having been harassed by prostitutes in a hotel, not quite sure if it's the cherry on the cake, and who's cake ? There is something quite disappointing to me about countries with the obvious resources to become strong and powerful but seem to be content in a constant state of corruption ! That boggles my mind, as it is that same logic that applies to my home country Haiti ! On the other hand it is also and as upsetting to see some countries with enough resources to help suffering countries but just don't seem to bother...when billions of dollars are being put out to save failing banks and car companies, would not that money been served better for the millions dying of hunger and so on ? I guess after all we do go back to our roots and that is that we are animals and as such we stick naturally to clans and looking out for their survival ! I really don't know what that brain of ours is inside our head for ? Never the less, hope and faith is what all of us look beyond this major imperfection of ours and towards a brighter future...

Now these days I have been meeting a lot of interesting people, and I'm starting to wonder if the heat of Dubai is modifying our way of thinking and downgrading it to the animal instinct that I mentioned above , because it feels like mating season here lol No more to add !

In other news, I swapped one of my two Paris for the month for a Hamburg layover, I heard a lot of nice things about that city, plus german customers are the best I've had so far (that sounds strange, but the heat talking again lol ).

I was so disappointed about Accra that I did not even take one single picture of the place, only some pics with the crew at the local restaurants there...sorry :(