Aero: Arvilla Mast – France 2018 – Travel

Posted by LEAF Architect on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Aero: Arvilla Mast – France 2018 – Travel

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Arvilla Mast

First and foremost, I must say I love flying so much… that is I love the first two hours. We had an overnight flight to France, and I knew I would not sleep at all. In light of this I came prepared with a relaxing audiobook so that I could at least rest my eyes instead of watching TV all night. This was such a good move, because otherwise I would have arrived in much worse condition probably with eyes all bleary and bloodshot from staring at a TV too long. Long about the third hour in I was losing my mind. I have a very hard time sitting still and seconds drag into hours when you’re cramped and awake all night.

I’ve flown from New York to Montana many times, but this was my first international flight. Obviously, the plane was huge compared to anything I’ve ever seen, and I feel like it was much quieter compared to most planes I’ve been on. Although I’m not actually sure where we were seated in relation to the engines, so that may have been it. I was very sad I did not even get a glimpse of the ocean on either flight. It was night on the flight over and I hoped to see it on the flight back but I was seated in the center row and all the windows nearby were completely blocked off by the wings.

Baggage, Security, and customs was not as intense as I expected it to be, at least not on our way. The TSA agents that I dealt with were fairly chatty and friendly with me here in the US at least. In France they were a lot more reserved, but friendly enough and professional. Security was definitely tighter on the way back, but I made it through with all my souvenirs so I was happy.

Packing for a trip is always my favorite part, it’s the anticipation that I love. I was very unsure of what we were actually going to need over there so packing was tricky. Everybody advised that I should pack light and I would not regret it. I took one medium suitcase which only weighed 21 pounds on the way and 25 when we returned. I also had a small backpack and my purse, that was it. I never even missed the stuff I ended up leaving behind, it was so worth it. Next time I will definitely back twice as many socks and underwear than I think I need, and a few less shirts. My travel spray bottle of fabric freshener saved my life. I didn’t predict how icky I was going to feel at the end of each day, but I sprayed my cloths and hung them up each night, and they were good to go.

It was unseasonably cold when we were there and I was not prepared. I didn’t want to waste space with a big winter coat as I did not think we were going to need it. Thank goodness, I was able to borrow one from my host or I would have frozen.

I did my best to pay attention and pick up tips on being a smart traveler for future use. I’m getting fairly comfortable navigating airports, but as still completely lost in the metro. Simple tips like taking a picture of your hotel or things you just need to remember can be very helpful. Than you don’t need to worry about getting lost and not speaking the language, just hop in a cab and show them the picture. Also google translate is your friend, it saved me so many times with my host family. But in a pinch, just plane gestures can usually get the point across.

Jet lag really was not a problem for me on the way over. I was tired at the end of the day, but in light of all the exercise I held up pretty well until the last day or so of the trip. It got me on the return though. I’ve never slept so much in my life. It took me a week or two to really feel like myself again, plus It didn’t help how much school had piled up. It was totally worth it though and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Arvilla Mast
Study Abroad – France 2018 @ FLCC

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