Day 3 of Training

Day 3 of training was a Very Long Day!!
12 hours of class. The lesson plan was FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) - and yes it is as dry of a subject as it sounds. The instructors made it as fun and interesting as possible, but still not qualified as a "Fun" subject. We did play a little who wants to be a Flight Attendant (millionaire) our team did win.
We also took a trip to the airport to turn in our paperwork and get pictures taken for our SIDA badges, so that was a little break from FARs. Once we were finished with learning about FARs we took our 1st big test (no including the entrance exam). I got 1 wrong - wasn't very excited about all that (96%, it was passing though) and the question I got wrong was a question many many people got wrong too, so it wasn't that devastating.
We then practiced the actual boarding announcement and did the demonstrations of the seatbelts, oxygen, etc... After a little practicing we had to do it for an instructor. Anyone who knows me knows that this type of thing is my weak spot, but when I was finished the instructor told me I did great, I had nice flow, and was going to be really good at this!! That was very reassuring.
We finally got back to the hotel at about 8:30 pm (2030 in airline time). Dinner consisted of Ramen Noodles for Lindsay and I, then on to 2.5 hours of homework. It would be safe to say that we were a little tired after all that, so basically it was "bed time".
I never thought that this was going to be as hard, and trying as it is. There are definitely points where I just want to go home. And unfortunately there are others who feel the same way, and some who may follow through with giving it up and going home. I think I will be walking into class, and definitely double checking to make sure that we are all there. We have already lost 3 members of the class on days 1 and 2, for who really knows the reason, it is a little scary and nerve racking. I have wanted and waited too long for this dream to come true, so I am not willing or ready to give it up, so I have found a few special people and we have become kind of a support group for each other. We can study together, hang out together, give a boost when another is feeling the pressure. 3 of us ran into a former student (current flight attendant) at the hotel last night, he gave us a big pep talk, and told us the best way to get through all of this (group) and offered his help and support with anything we may need - even offered to come and help us study, that was pretty awesome!

Training Day 2

Well Day 2 was a much better day than day 1.
I got to sleep until 0500 - no elevator alarm this morning. A little breakfast, then off to class.
Once at class we watched a couple of videos on the computer and had to take a test to get my security badge for the Atlanta airport - lowest you could get to pass was 80% - guess what I got?? 80%! I was a little nervous because they say you have to get 90% on all tests - good thing this didn't count as one of those tests. Once that was done, we split into groups and we went to go pick out and try on, and order the pieces for our uniforms (oh how I hate trying things on in dressing rooms) - I didn't look too bad, went with the whole skirt suit plus a pair of pants. Once we returnd from our shopping trip, we received our flight attendant manuals and got to put it all together. super exciting. We listened to some more information and got our homework for tomorrow, and then it was time to head back to the hotel.
I am feeling a little under the weather or something, so the things that should have been super exciting today were only so-so, a feeling I didn't really like and is causing me to have doubts, hopefully it is just being tired and maybe a little homesick. Hopefully this will pass (quick).
Going to go study a little and get some rest, it is announcements and Federal Aviation Regulations tomorrow, but we don't start until 0800 - so extra hour of sleep - yay!!

Day 1 of Flight Attendant Training

Today was my 1st day of training, and it was a very long and interesting day. It startted at about 0445 this morning when I was awakened 15 minutes before my alarm was to go off by the alarm on the elevator door - how annoying!! Got up and got myself all ready, suit and all. Spent my extra time praciticing the boarding announcement that was going to make or break this training. I said it over, and over, and then I did it over again. Met Lindsay and Xiomara for the breakfast which consisted of a banana and a glass of orange juice thanks to some serious nerves. We hopped on the shuttle and made our way to the ASA building. The instructors did their introductions and talked a little about class, then on to the written test. I don't know how I did on the test yet, but it must have been better than 90%, because I am still here. There were others who didn't do so well, although they got a little lucky because there was some sort of error with the test and we all had to re-take it, and I think that saved these people, thank god. Immediately after the written test the instructors called us 1 by 1 to do the oral boading announcement. I think I was like the 2nd or 3rd person. I was SO SCARED - anyone who knows me, knows that my biggest fear is puplic speaking, and knowing that I needed to get 100% on this or my career with ASA was over was causing me to have a major panic attack. I had to take several deep breaths and really focus on easing my nerves before I could even begin. But the instructor I had was super awesome and very patient and supportive. I got through the announcement and he told me I did great, I said so I'm not going home? And he assured me that I wasn't - Oh my God, what a relief that was!! There were 2 people that weren't so lucky, and we lost them on day 1.
The rest of my 11.5 hour day was spend with things like paperwork, pictures for badges, more paperwork, and orientation from the lady from H.R. - the day seemed to take forever. I think the fact tht I was almost comatose from lack of sleep made it even worse.
Bu the good news is..... I'm still here! Now on to what I hope is a good night's sleep, and be ready for day 2!!

On the eve of day 1 of training - Part 2

So today was quite the interesting day. Lindsay and I had breakfast downstairs, and then set out on our adventure. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport, and caught the MARTA train. Our goal was to find a Target or Wal-Mart so that we could get some stuff to put in our refrigerators, and not have to spend a ton of money eating out (not that there is a lot of options for that around here). We decided that we would take the train all the way to the other end of the line and see what we could see between here and there. We made it to the 3rd to the last stop and got off when they said there was a mall there, and yes there was a mall there, but it was one of those malls that people with a lot of disposable incomes shop at - Bloomingdales, Nordstoms, etc.... NOT a Wal-mart or Target in sight. So we got back on the train and headed for the final stop - we got off and still could see nothing so I approached a police officer to ask where the nearest Target or Wal-mart was and he said back at the previous stop then to the left like 2 stop lights down. We were exstatic, so off we went back to the last stop, we exited the train - and then we walked and walked and walked - more like 6 lights later we found Target. We went in, and ate some Pizza Hut pasta for lunch and then did our shopping. during which time it decided to start raining (oh joy). It let up and we headed back towards the MARTA train, we saw a direction sign for a MARTA station long before we got to where we had gotten off, so we turned and headed that way which brought us back to the stop we had gotten off the 1st time. Ughh! We rode the train back to the airport and got back on the shuttle.
We returned to the hotel just in time to go to our hotel rooms and change clothes for the ASA meet and greet. We went outside to grab the hotel shuttle to the ASA building, and there was an ASA van in front of the hotel, so Lindsay approached the van and asked if they were going to the ASA building and they said yes and asked if we would like a ride and we said yes. Turned out that it wasn't a shuttle, it was 2 of the managers of the Safety Department of ASA - super cool! The one guy gave us his card and offered his assistance with getting around - even invited us to hang out with him and his wife (kinda odd but nice) and once we got to the ASA building they gave us a tour of the hangar and showed us a couple of the planes we will be working on - it was pretty awesome!! They took us up to the in-flight floor and passed us off to one of the ladies who works in the in-flight area, she took us up to the training floor, where the meet and greet was. We met a few of the instructors, and some of our fellow students. We had some snacks, shook some hands, did some introductions, got a short tour and then back to the hotel to start our final push for getting the boarding announcement down. I learned that I am not the only one totally freaked out about this!! Lindsay and I hung out in my room practicing and I went TOTALLY BLANK!! Oh my god, that only made my fear worse, we both made our mistakes and were super stressed so we went for a walk and practiced while walking, that seemed to be ok, but I still just don't know. I am trying to think positive - but only time will tell........
It's definitely time to get some rest because tomorrow is going to come really early, so I will post tomorrow after the big test!!
Wish me luck, and send some prayers!!

On the eve of day 1 of training

Well training starts tomorrow, so today I am going to go on an adventure. I have never been to Atlanta, other than for the interview, so today I am going to hop on the MARTA train and head towards downtown Atlanta and just see what happens and where I wind up. I will write about it later and hopefully have some photos to share, although it is a little rainy today, so we will see what I can get for pictures.