International airline stewardess

Extraordinary adventures in foreign airports. A funny read for friends


Elena Zotova

Photographer yuriyzhuravov/123RF


© Elena Zotova, 2017

© yuriyzhuravov / 123RF, photographs, 2017


ISBN 978-5-4485-5277-9

Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero

The extraordinary adventures of a flight attendant at foreign airports and beyond

Collection of stories and novellas.

Crowd in Ulaanbaatar


Spartak (Moscow) – Real (Madrid)


Aeroflot representative


Smuggling


Pervert

Instead of a preface


Hello friends! My name is Elena.

I worked for seven years as a flight attendant in the largest Russian airline. This is an incredibly interesting profession that can throw you across twenty time zones in just a week, help organize a pineapple smuggling channel from Africa, or force you to celebrate New Year in a Mongolian strip club...

I haven’t been flying for a long time, since then life has turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Dreams came true. But I miss that job. I still dream about airports and I’m ready to do anything to put on my uniform again and say over the speakerphone “Good afternoon, dear ladies and gentlemen! The crew is pleased to welcome you on board the aircraft operating for the flight...”

Over the years of flights, hundreds of funny, interesting and ridiculous stories have accumulated, which until recently only spilled out in the form of small posts on social networks. Until my Facebook friends gave me a magical kick in the ass and forced me to compile everything into a collection. Well, write more...

I abandoned the game in AGAR.IO and started writing... Somehow violently and binge-watching. This experience was a great pleasure. She herself, remembering her entire flying experience, laughed and cried. I hope that my stories will evoke similar emotions in you.


And finally, certain formalities. What would it be like on a plane without them?


Formality No. 1. All events and characters in the book, as well as football clubs, airlines, hotels, are nothing more than the author’s fiction. If you recognize yourself, don’t be offended. It's not you.

Formality No. 2. Any use of book materials, partial or complete, is only with the written permission of the Author. That is, me.

Crowd in Ulaanbaatar

MINI-STORY


Ulaanbaatar.

My first business trip abroad was to this glorious city. Complete inexperience in terms of packing a suitcase. And the lack of Internet in those ancient years.. Only a paper map on the wall, from which it followed that Mongolia was located somewhere at the latitude of Odessa and Budapest..

In November, slushy muck reigned in Moscow. Flight attendants had to show up for the flight in wool-blend orphan coats issued by their home airline. And in demi-season ankle boots. Actually, in this image I flew to Ulaanbaatar for a week. Without loading your suitcase with a down jacket, a hat and other things that are warm and stupid in the southern climate. Why carry heavy things, right?

I was not alone in my thoughts and knowledge of geography. The entire brigade arrived for the flight in uniform coats and without hats. It became clear at the pre-flight briefing that my colleagues were flying to winter Mongolia just like me for the first time. The pilots, met halfway to the plane, were, on the contrary, dressed suspiciously funny. In some fox malachai. They looked at us with stunned eyes and remained silent, the bastards.. We laughed at their strange appearance, and laughed the whole flight, fortunately the passengers on this flight were also funny.. Through the hee-hee at the landing, information from the commander slipped through about minus thirty-five in the glorious city Ulaanbaatar. We got a little quiet...


But, in principle, nothing terrible happened. From the plane to the airport, then like flies to the crew bus. The good mood has returned. We realized that the cold wouldn’t scare the flight attendants, and we even became somewhat proud of our ability to run without a hat in such cold weather.

The representative of Aeroflot in Ulaanbaatar, such a good guy, who met the crew at the airport and was supposed to take them to the hotel, was the first to sound the alarm... His direct responsibilities included saving the lives of the flight crew throughout the entire trip. And the sight of the newly arrived yellow-throated youths in their wide-open Poltets inspired him with fair fears in the calm and cloudlessness of the coming week. It seems that another problem has come to him... This time - in the form of five smiling, rosy faces...

On the way to the hotel, the Representative tried to persuade us to behave reasonably. Wear a headdress. Preferably not alone. Put on warm pantaloons.. don’t walk around with your neck bare.. smear your lips with chapstick and don’t talk in the cold.. These familiar phrases from childhood.. These familiar intonations from childhood.. Remember when you weren’t allowed to leave the house without a hat? You didn’t want to waste time arguing, but you also didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your friends. Therefore, you stood in the hallway with a submissive muzzle, actively nodding to all the admonitions. He allowed himself to wear the ugliness of making his grandmother’s knitting needles.. But as soon as the door closed, he rolled head over heels down the stairs to the next floor.. He took off his handmade one with a pompom and knitted ears, hid it somewhere there, behind a neighbor’s bicycle parked on the staircase cage.. And hoo-hoo.. He went out into the street as a normal person.. Who is worthy of the respect of his peers and the worship of the little ones.. The main thing is not to get into the viewing area from the kitchen window.. Otherwise you could run into consequences..

And now, in response to the murmur of the Representative’s grandmother, we made knowing and serious grimaces.. In a somewhat false tone, they assured us that they didn’t even think about it without hats.. We each have.. in our suitcase.. And more than one..


From the window warm bus“minus thirty-five” didn’t look scary at all. No snow. Yellow Sands deserts over which a huge, bright sun rises. So that you can imagine the full feeling of Hurghada on the way from the airport. Only palm trees are missing.

As we approached the city, we continued to experience déjà vu, mixed with some snippets from forgotten dreams..

Quarters of Soviet five-story buildings that built up the entire USSR. These yellow brick houses were also from our past. A burgundy painted door, an entrance, three steps... My grandparents, who did not let me go outside without a hat, lived in just such a Khrushchev building. On the second floor, in a corner apartment. Below is a front garden with bird cherry trees, there are pots of flowers and tulle on the windows. Balconies with trash, sleds and skis. The smells of borscht and pies spill out into the street through the open windows. In the green courtyards there are tables where men were hammering a goat into dominoes...

Our eyes became moist. Everyone on the bus seemed to have had the same childhood. We were moved... Until we got closer...

Getting closer, it felt somehow uneasy... No cozy front gardens or even trees around you. The houses stand so bare in the steppe. The windows are creepy. All without curtains, a lot of smoke. Where there is no soot on the glass, empty walls and a complete absence of furniture are visible. Instead of chandeliers there are ordinary light bulbs on a cord..

Against the background of a huge disk of Stars called the Sun and winds and sand, the houses looked like after a nuclear apocalypse. Another difference from the landscapes we are used to is the greater distance between the houses. Well, that's understandable. There is a lot of land. Absolute solitude and space. The only thing that gave away the residents was the few cars parked at the entrances. Mostly old Japanese women.


The representative quickly interrupted his instructions regarding winter equipment, retrained as a guide and launched into an explanation of the unusual appearance of the houses and courtyards.

It was a long time ago... When Big Brother of the USSR decided to make friends with Mongolia, he sent his military, who, in fact, set up these quarters of the Soviet dream. They decided to tame the nomads to civilization and the first step was to move them from yurts to comfortable housing. To toilets, central heating and parquet floors.

The nomads were dumbfounded, cried, said, “Maybe not nada?” The most determined ones left with their yurts further into the steppe. Those lucky ones who were unable to get away with it were forced to move into apartments... Previously, joking with Big Brother was not a particularly safe activity... They moved with all their scrubs - with carpets and livestock. Horses began to be kept on balconies, because those parked at the entrances were instantly snatched by the enemies of socialism from the steppe... The question that torments me most is: how did the Mongols train horses to climb stairs? Apparently, Teresa Durova was not the greatest trainer of those times...

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I worked for seven years as a flight attendant at the largest Russian airline. This is an incredibly interesting profession that can throw you across twenty time zones in just a week, help organize a pineapple smuggling channel from Africa, or force you to celebrate the New Year in a Mongolian strip club.

I haven’t been flying for a long time, since then life has turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Dreams came true. I live in a house by the sea, take care of my little daughter and play online poker. And everything is wonderful, warm and cozy.

But I miss that job. I still dream about airports, running across a snow-covered tarmac, getting up for a flight at five in the morning and being greeted over the speakerphone: “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! The crew is pleased to welcome you on board the aircraft operating for the flight...”

Over the years of flights, hundreds of funny, interesting and ridiculous stories have accumulated, which until recently were splashed out only in the form of small posts on social networks. Until my Facebook friends gave me a magical kick in the ass and forced me to compile everything into a collection.

The kick was so strong that I put down the phone with the newest “Poker: Championship”, where I had practically become a champion, collected the posts into a book, and started writing some more. Somehow violently and binge-watching. The writing experience was a great pleasure. She herself, remembering all her flying adventures, laughed and cried. I hope that my stories will evoke similar emotions in you.

And finally, some formalities. What would it be like on a plane without them?

Formality No. 1. All events and characters in the book, as well as football clubs, airlines, hotels are nothing more than the author’s fiction. If you recognize yourself, don’t be offended. It's not you.

Formality No. 2. Any use of book materials, partial or complete, is only with the written permission of the author. That is, me.

Crowd in Ulaanbaatar

It was a long time ago. When I first started working as a flight attendant. Having served hard labor in the form of six months of flights around Russia, I finally received the trust and honor of going on a business trip. And the first one was to Mongolia. To the glorious city of Ulaanbaatar. Complete inexperience in terms of packing a suitcase. And the lack of Internet at home in those early years. Only a paper map on the wall, from which it followed that Mongolia was located somewhere at the latitude of Odessa and Budapest. In November, slushy muck reigned in Moscow. Flight attendants had to show up for the flight in wool-blend orphan coats issued by their home airline. And in demi-season ankle boots. Actually, this is how I flew to Ulaanbaatar for a week. Without loading your suitcase with a down jacket, a hat and other things that are warm and stupid in the southern climate. Why carry heavy things, right?

I was not alone in my thoughts and knowledge of geography. The entire brigade arrived for the flight in uniform coats and without hats. The fact that my colleagues were flying to winter Mongolia, just like me, for the first time, became clear already at the pre-flight briefing. The pilots, met halfway to the plane, were, on the contrary, dressed suspiciously funny. In some fox malachai. They looked at us with stunned eyes and remained silent, the bastards. We laughed at their strange appearance and laughed the whole flight, fortunately the passengers were also funny. Already at the landing, through hee-hee, information slipped through from the commander about -35 degrees Celsius awaiting us in the capital of Mongolia. We became a little quiet. But, in principle, nothing terrible happened. From the plane to the airport, then like flies to the crew bus. The good mood has returned. We realized that the cold wouldn’t scare the flight attendants, and we even became somewhat proud of our ability to run without a hat in such cold weather.

The representative of Aeroflot in Ulaanbaatar, such a good guy, who met the crew at the airport and was supposed to take them to the hotel, was the first to sound the alarm. His direct responsibilities included saving the lives of the flight crew throughout the mission. And the sight of the freshly arrived yellow-throated youths in their coats wide open inspired him with justified fears in the calm and cloudlessness of the coming week. It looks like more problems have arrived for him. This time - in the form of five smiling, rosy faces. On the way to the hotel, the representative tried to persuade us to behave sensibly: wear a hat (and preferably more than one), put on warm pantaloons, do not walk around with a bare neck, smear your lips with hygienic lipstick and do not talk in the cold. These phrases are familiar from childhood. These intonations are familiar from childhood. Remember when you weren't allowed to leave the house without a hat? You didn’t want to waste time arguing, but you didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your friends either. Therefore, he stood in the hallway with a submissive muzzle, actively nodding to all the admonitions. Allowed me to wear the ugliness of making my grandmother’s knitting needles. But as soon as the door closed, he rolled head over heels down the stairs to the next floor. He took off his handmade one with a pompom and knitted ears, hid it somewhere there, behind a neighbor’s bicycle parked on the staircase... And hoo-hoo! I went out into the street as a normal person. Which is worthy of the respect of peers and the worship of children. The main thing is not to get into the viewing area from the kitchen window. Otherwise you could have faced the consequences. And now, in response to the murmur of the grandmother-representative, we made knowing and serious grimaces. They insisted in a somewhat false tone that they didn’t even think about wearing no hats. We all have it in our suitcase. And not just one.

From the window of a warm bus, minus thirty-five did not look scary at all. No snow. Yellow desert sands, above which a huge, bright sun rises. So you can imagine - a complete feeling of Hurghada on the way from the airport. Only palm trees are missing. As we approached the city, we continued to experience déjà vu, mixed with some snippets from forgotten dreams. Quarters of Soviet five-story buildings that built up the entire USSR. These yellow brick houses were also from our childhood. Burgundy painted door, entrance, three steps. I love houses like this dearly. My grandparents, who didn’t let me go outside without a hat, lived in just such a Khrushchev building. On the second floor, in a corner apartment. Below is a front garden with bird cherry trees, there are pots of flowers and tulle on the windows. Balconies with trash, sleds and skis. The smells of borscht and pies spill out into the street through the open windows. In the green courtyards there are tables where men were hammering a goat into dominoes. The eyes became moist. Everyone on the bus seemed to have had the same childhood. We were moved. Until we got closer.

Getting closer, I felt somehow uneasy. No cozy front gardens or even trees around you. The houses stand so bare in the steppe. The windows are creepy. All without curtains, a lot of smoke. Where there is no soot on the glass, empty walls and a complete absence of furniture are visible. Instead of chandeliers there are ordinary light bulbs on a cord. Against the backdrop of a huge disk of a rising star called the Sun and the wind and sand, the houses looked like they were after a nuclear apocalypse. Absolute solitude and space. Another difference from the landscapes we are used to is the greater distance between the houses. Well, that's understandable. There is a lot of land. The only thing that gave away the residents was a few cars parked at the entrances, mostly old Japanese women.

The representative quickly interrupted his instructions regarding winter equipment, retrained as a guide and launched into an explanation of the unusual appearance of the houses and courtyards. It was a long time ago. When Big Brother of the USSR decided to make friends with Mongolia, he sent his military, who, in fact, set up these quarters of the Soviet dream. They decided to tame the nomads to civilization and the first step was to move them from yurts to comfortable housing. To toilets, central heating and parquet floors. The nomads were dumbfounded, cried, and said: “Or maybe “nenad”?” The most determined ones left with their yurts further into the steppe. Those “lucky ones” who were unable to get away with it were forced to move into apartments. It used to be a dangerous activity to joke with Big Brother. They moved with all their belongings: carpets and livestock. The horses began to be kept on balconies, because those parked at the entrances were instantly snatched by the enemies of socialism from the steppe. The question that torments me most is: how did the Mongols train their horses to climb stairs? Apparently, Teresa Durova was not the greatest trainer of those times.

International airline stewardess

Extraordinary adventures in foreign airports. A funny read for friends


Elena Zotova

Photographer yuriyzhuravov/123RF


© Elena Zotova, 2017

© yuriyzhuravov / 123RF, photographs, 2017


ISBN 978-5-4485-5277-9

Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero

The extraordinary adventures of a flight attendant at foreign airports and beyond

Collection of stories and novellas.

Crowd in Ulaanbaatar


Spartak (Moscow) – Real (Madrid)


Aeroflot representative


Smuggling


Pervert

Instead of a preface


Hello friends! My name is Elena.

I worked for seven years as a flight attendant at the largest Russian airline. This is an incredibly interesting profession that can throw you across twenty time zones in just a week, help organize a pineapple smuggling channel from Africa, or force you to celebrate the New Year in a Mongolian strip club...

I haven’t been flying for a long time, since then life has turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Dreams came true. But I miss that job. I still dream about airports and I’m ready to do anything to put on my uniform again and say over the speakerphone “Good afternoon, dear ladies and gentlemen! The crew is pleased to welcome you on board the aircraft operating for the flight...”

Over the years of flights, hundreds of funny, interesting and ridiculous stories have accumulated, which until recently only spilled out in the form of small posts on social networks. Until my Facebook friends gave me a magical kick in the ass and forced me to compile everything into a collection. Well, write more...

I abandoned the game in AGAR.IO and started writing... Somehow violently and binge-watching. This experience was a great pleasure. She herself, remembering her entire flying experience, laughed and cried. I hope that my stories will evoke similar emotions in you.


And finally, certain formalities. What would it be like on a plane without them?


Formality No. 1. All events and characters in the book, as well as football clubs, airlines, hotels, are nothing more than the author’s fiction. If you recognize yourself, don’t be offended. It's not you.

Formality No. 2. Any use of book materials, partial or complete, is only with the written permission of the Author. That is, me.

Crowd in Ulaanbaatar

MINI-STORY


Ulaanbaatar.

My first business trip abroad was to this glorious city. Complete inexperience in terms of packing a suitcase. And the lack of Internet in those ancient years.. Only a paper map on the wall, from which it followed that Mongolia was located somewhere at the latitude of Odessa and Budapest..

In November, slushy muck reigned in Moscow. Flight attendants had to show up for the flight in wool-blend orphan coats issued by their home airline. And in demi-season ankle boots. Actually, in this image I flew to Ulaanbaatar for a week. Without loading your suitcase with a down jacket, a hat and other things that are warm and stupid in the southern climate. Why carry heavy things, right?

I was not alone in my thoughts and knowledge of geography. The entire brigade arrived for the flight in uniform coats and without hats. It became clear at the pre-flight briefing that my colleagues were flying to winter Mongolia just like me for the first time. The pilots, met halfway to the plane, were, on the contrary, dressed suspiciously funny. In some fox malachai. They looked at us with stunned eyes and remained silent, the bastards.. We laughed at their strange appearance, and laughed the whole flight, fortunately the passengers on this flight were also funny.. Through the hee-hee at the landing, information from the commander slipped through about minus thirty-five in the glorious city Ulaanbaatar. We got a little quiet...


But, in principle, nothing terrible happened. From the plane to the airport, then like flies to the crew bus. The good mood has returned. We realized that the cold wouldn’t scare the flight attendants, and we even became somewhat proud of our ability to run without a hat in such cold weather.

The representative of Aeroflot in Ulaanbaatar, such a good guy, who met the crew at the airport and was supposed to take them to the hotel, was the first to sound the alarm... His direct responsibilities included saving the lives of the flight crew throughout the entire trip. And the sight of the newly arrived yellow-throated youths in their wide-open Poltets inspired him with fair fears in the calm and cloudlessness of the coming week. It seems that another problem has come to him... This time - in the form of five smiling, rosy faces...