HELLO YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE,
Thanks for dropping by! So I decided to start this blog to keep friends and family, and for you wanderlust-ers out there, up-to-date on my adventures around the world with pictures, stories and everything I can think of in between! I hope you enjoy looking through my memories. Now here’s a little about me:
Name: Annabelle Lucie
Age: 22
Star sign: Scorpio
Born/raised: Croydon/Sheffield, UK
Background: Half English/Half French
Studied: A-Levels in Spanish, Home Economics, Psychology, English Language along with a BTEC Diploma in Travel & Tourism with Events Planning
Loves: Mexican Food (especially nachos), Coffee, An Idiot Abroad…(Karl Pilkington makes me laugh til I cry), The Prodigy, Trance, Photography, Make-Up, Miss Selfridge, Sleeping, Reading, Trips to the Boulangerie
Occupation: Cabin Crew @ Emirates since September 2015
Countries unlocked: Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Moscow, Rome, South Africa, Uganda, USA, Sri Lanka, Moscow, Japan
Becoming cabin crew…
I remember the exact moment I set my sights on becoming cabin crew, when I dreamt of travelling the world, putting on my heels and lipstick and skipping along with my suitcase on my next adventure… Before, everyone would ask me, what do you want to do when you leave school, Annabelle? I never knew what to reply, as I’d never really thought about it. Until one day, when my friend’s grandma asked my 16 year old self, the age old question, and I gave her the same old response. Her reply was: “I can imagine you being an air hostess“. Those eight words have been nailed into my head ever since, and I knew I wouldn’t ever stop following my new-found dream. I did my research and discovered Emirates was the one for me. The life in Dubai, the red hat, the destinations, the company perks, the reputation, everything pushed me to apply.
One afternoon I was by my work computer, and stumbled upon a great website which advertises cabin crew job opportunities and saw that Emirates were holding an open day nearby at the weekend. I did a little preparation beforehand (made notes on information about the company, Dubai, etc.) and read up on the general layout of what happens at an open day. I went along dressed in my black heels, red lipstick and blazer, and walked into the hotel to find myself one of 140 other wannabe cabin crew, with the worst butterflies I’d ever felt. A good several hours, 3 assessments, coffee breaks, panic attacks, and anxious/excited texts later, I left with the most hysterical feeling I’ve ever felt (even more so than when I unexpectedly passed my driving test, which is saying something). I passed all the assessment and landed myself a final interview the next day! After the final interview I left feeling confident, and I was left 7 weeks before I got the ‘Golden Call’ that spoke the words I was waiting for what seemed like a lifetime to hear, that my ‘application had been successful’!
Four months passed and I was ready to swap the dim lights of Sheffield for the bright lights of Dubai. The hardest part was not trying to fit my life’s belongings into 2 suitcases (which by the way is no mean feet when you have a shoe collection like I do), but of course saying goodbye to my friends and family. I was dropped off at the airport by my dad and was in floods of tears when I lost sight of him. The big wide world was waiting for me, and it is a scary prospect at first, but without a doubt it was the best decision I’ve ever made and would never look back. I seriously encourage anyone who’s deliberating to become cabin crew, or to travel the world, to take the plunge, as a lifetime of memories will beat any money saved up in your bank account or being a couch potato every evening after work 😉 …
Arriving at Training College for the first day was a very surreal experience, as I knew the next 8 weeks involved an enduring process of intense training on Safety & Emergency Procedures, Group Medical Training, Security, and Service. We were all put into ‘batches’ (classes) of around 14 people who we’d be taught with for the duration of college. We learnt and practised fighting real fires, how to evacuate passengers when landing in water/land, how to deliver babies, what to do during decompression/turbulence, just to name a few. The skills we learnt were very valuable and important, as you never know when they might need to be urgently acquired.
Eight weeks later…we received our flying licenses and were ready to fly! When my first roster was published I shivered with excitement, I couldn’t wait to start exploring!
If any of you want any more details or advice on the process of becoming cabin crew, please feel free to drop me a message, I’d be more than happy to help.
🙂
For more updates you can find me on…
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annabelle_lucie.x/
Snapchat: babyannabellexo
That’s all from me folks, see you in the skies!
Annabelle
x
Girl About T̶o̶w̶n̶ World 