56: Fear is contagious

If I had know that this was the period of hajj I wouldn’t have traveled. Because from the airport to boarding that’s how everywhere was just busy because of Muslims travelling to Mecca.

It was an experience, from the fact that they got all of them to wear a vest on their clothing like they’re chosen ( green vest) to how they all had ID cards. And even when it was time for boarding, that’s how they couldn’t follow the normal order of forming a single line, they were all in such a hurry (oh I believe it’s the excitement of a first time traveler as I later found out) that one of the pilot had to stop the boarding process to force them into acting right.

But for me the most interesting part of the experience was take off. The whole plane was filled with noise of prayers, and I don’t know why for the first time ever I got scared of flying. The first then minutes as the plane was cruising I was unsettled, coupled with the fact that the yeye plane has a weird noise like it has mechanical fault.

I had to manage my fear well so I don’t spill it on others, but honestly I got scared cos fear was in the atmosphere, and it was contagious. Because tell me why an hour into the flight, we were experiencing little turbulence, the plane still had the weird sound but because everyone is now eating what the hostesses have served, nobody is actually paying attention to the tilts and dodging the pilot is doing with the plane just to avoid clouds or whatever.

As I write this I’m a bit calmer now, I’m an OG(gassing myself up) traveller, this is probably my 10th flight of the year and I’m doing like this because other people got into my head 😂.

I wouldn’t close this story without saying that it’s also beautiful to see a lot of first time travelers, some couldn’t figure out how to even use the sit belt, the screens all sits have and one time the male hostess came to meet me too ask how to communicate to them their food options in our native language.

My guess is that like many countries he thinks Nigeria has one language that is native to everyone, but for the most passengers on this flight are Yoruba people so it was an easy task. I just told him to ask them Eran or Adiye, meaning Beef or Chicken.