This three-day break from work, study and the grey of everyday life is a national holiday in Turkey. Everyone has free time, everyone is having fun, everyone is enjoying it. Muslim or not, nobody regrets the sweetness. Sugar comes from all sides and on everything. The tables are dominated by sweet and dripping with fat, but oh-my-god how delicious cakes, sweeter than honey desserts, chocolates, candies and pastries in the form of topped croissants, donuts and extra sweet buns.

Theoretically, Şeker Bayramı is a symbolic comeback to normalcy, a regeneration of vitality after the monthly fast that has just ended. As a reminder - you cannot eat or drink in Ramadan from sunrise to sunset.

In practice, the Sugar Festival is simply a nice time when every believer and non-believer forgets about diets, about healthy eating, finds their inner child and... Sinks into the delight of sweetness on a plate, eats without regret, and the more the better, it is believed that the more sugar you consume during candy days, the more happiness, health, love and good luck you will have for the next year, and not eating a single treat is not welcome and doesn't bode well for a dieter.

Of course, this fortune-telling is only with a grain of salt, but as I would like to take a little more happiness under my wing, I took a short break from my strict diet and enjoyed a bit of baklava and sweet, still warm donuts. Ahhh... I prefer not to think what my scale will show when I stand on it 😅

When most people hear the word "Dubai" they can see Burj Khalifa, huge hotels, Neverending sun, wealth and luxury. When a flight attendant hears "Dubai", sees Emirates, great, majestic airplanes, a window to the whole world, the highest honor, the beginning of a new life and an amazing adventure that will remain in the memory until the end of their days...

In the aviation industry, getting a job with Emirates means top honors, promotion to the top class, reaching the top of commercial (airliner) aviation and a huge success as this airline refuses to accept just anyone, tens of thousands of applicants from all continents apply for their recruitment days and getting there is like catching a star from the sky - out of hundreds or even thousands of participants, only a few people get a job.

Elite. Pearls. Best of the best. In the eyes of the malicious and disappointed - stars. This is how the Emirates cabin crew are called, the chosen ones of the airline, which most of the people despite many strenuous attempts and efforts, can only dream about, an airline that I was even afraid to dream about, because I knew perfectly well that they would never even look at me...

I don't know where to start, so I'll start from the very beginning.

When I started my aviation adventure, I was still in my late teens. I was very young and didn't believe that any airline would even want to invite me for an interview, because I was far from being a believer in my skills, and my appearance insecurities completed the dirty job, what definitely didn't have a positive impact on my own vision of my future as a flight attendant of any airline (you can read about my first steps in the industry in the posts published when I just decided to write texts about my job, i.e. from 2018 and early 2019). However, when my, as it seemed to me, unrealistic and deeply hidden desire of the soul came true and I received my dream wings in the first airline for which I worked, I dreamed of being able to fly Emirates one day, but of course I was fully aware that this would never happen... Besides, to the minimum age that this company requires (21), I still had a few more years, which at the time seemed like an eternity and even though I knew that I had nothing to count on and probably in the airline with which I was at that time, I will work for the next 10 years, because in my opinion I was too weak for others, somewhere in my heart the weakness for the red Emirates remained and despite strenuous attempts to suppress it, it grew over the next years so much.

As I mentioned above, at the beginning of my aviation path I was a person of very little faith, self esteem and I thought that with the first airline that hired me, I would stay for many years. I was under the illusion that it would be so, and yet almost automatically, I decorated the blank cover of my training notebook with my own hand-drawn Emirates logo, which was seen by an instructor walking around the room, who said, 

And so it happened, I left faster than I ever even thought I would.

When some time later this version of me, still a bit insecure, was in one of the hotels in the city where I lived at that time, what is in Venice, I met the Emirates crew preparing for the flight, who welcomed me very warmly, then tried on the famous red hat for the first time and I was crazy with joy like a child that at least for a moment I can have it and feel like a small part of my favorite company. It was also then that their purser said the words that I remember very well 

And which, with a pinch of salt, seem to be a magic spell, because exactly a year later, on the same day I found out that I have been accepted by Emirates 🥰

Another Arab airline

When I was well oriented aviation, carrying in my luggage the experience of working in several different short- and long-haul airines, already living in several different countries, having a period of lame self-esteem already (seemingly) behind me, my nature of a risk taker and the urgent need to take a dose of adrenaline combined with curiosity, pushed me to apply to another line of the United Arab Emirates, but mainly to see what their application form looks like, because they required to be at least 21 years old at the time of the application, and when I sent them my documents, I still had 9 months left, so when I applied I knew immediately that they would reject me. But a week later, I almost choked on a cookie when I saw an email inviting me to an interview. 

I couldn't believe my eyes, and at the same time my heart was pounding like crazy because it was really happening. I was happy and sad at the same time because I always dreamed about Emirates, but I knew that even with my experience I would never be good enough for them, so I was glad that at least their rival took an interest in me. Preparations for the interview started in full swing, and then...

Rage and disappointment

The date of the arranged interview with the above-mentioned airline was coming, everything was already arranged, I begged my employer for days off, I rearranged my flights just to be able to go to this meeting, everything was ready, I was mentally focused and then... The phone rang. A nice lady, a representative of the airline, introduced herself in the call, apologized and said that due to internal reasons our meeting had to be canceled and postponed to another date, which they would send me by e-mail within 14 days... I was angry, broken, helpless... I didn't know what to do next, because I was aware that once again with a schedule filled with flights, I wouldn't get a free time and my company wouldn't agree to it, so my great chance to work in Arab airlines had just disappeared.

"Unhealthy" habit

I remember that day like yesterday. A hot, sunny day, another day of my layover in Madagascar. As time went on and my appetite for better and higher ranking airlines grew, my desire for Emirates grew too. It increased, but I still knew that I had no chance with them, so to cheer myself up a little, I checked their website every day, reviewing the schedule of upcoming recruitments. It has even become my daily routine. I kept up to date with all the meetings in the country where I lived and the open days in Europe. Sad and completely disappointed with the phone that rang a moment ago, I did the same like on the autopilot, I went to their website and started browsing what was happening with them and then... I couldn't believe my eyes. They added a new date for the recruitment day. In a country being just a stone's throw away. Exactly on the same day and time as I was supposed to have an appointment with the airline that had just canceled it. It was like an impossible twist of fate. The day before, I was going for another interview, and Emirates had no plans for that date, and suddenly everything was upside down, those for whom I changed everything canceled the meeting, and the airline I dreamed about added it.

And yet they said thank you...?

You probably won't be surprised if I write that the strange circumstances have not left me until the very end.

I was so used to a million questions that one day, preparing for my flight from Rome's "beloved" airport, I just put my phone to the charger, left it in the bedroom, and went to take a long, relaxing shower and recharge my batteries for all night of work. When I got back I saw three missed calls. Dubai again. Three calls in a row? Is it burning there?

Then I noticed an email in the notification bar. E-mail from Emirates. My God. So I was right after all. That's it. First they rejected my four recruitment colleagues, and now they got bored of calling me, found a hook and thanked me as well. In fact, I didn't expect anything else from the very beginning, after all, I shouldn't have bothered them at all if I didn't meet the requirements.

But wait, what?!

Then I looked a second time and noticed that the sender of the e-mail was a completely different department than the one that led the recruitment, the department that deals with welcoming new employees to the company, and the title of the message was...

I quickly opened my inbox and clicked on the e-mail to read:

What? No no. So they didn't reject me? Didn't say thank you for your time, leaving me with nothing? It wasn't true. It wasn't really happening. I couldn't get a job as the only one. It was just a dream.

Golden Call

The next day the phone rang again. This time I didn't miss it. I picked up and heard a male voice say:

And at this point, all that surprised me was my own reaction, my own feelings. Reading other people's stories about the moment they received their desired golden call, about tears, excitement, euphoria, I thought that if I ever live to see it myself, I will jump to the sky with joy and cry like a baby. Meanwhile, what I really felt, what my first reaction was, was far from this picture.

Calm. Relax. Deep breath. Feeling as if someone just told me something as obvious as "tomorrow will be another day". Of course I was the happiest in the world but... No tears, no broken voice, no shaking hands and the strangest thing... No genuine surprise. On the contrary, this small, annoying inner voice spoke ironically:

Really, I couldn't fool myself anymore. From the very first moment, I tried to keep myself sure that it wouldn't work, but in fact my subconscious was screaming all the time

And surprisingly, entering the first meeting, I felt such a blissful peace, as if nothing threatened me in any way, apart from my own being intentionally harsh to myself, that I don't even have anything to count on, because I am not good enough for Emirates.

Hello Emirates

The moment has come when a window to the world has opened for me. Although I already had a lot of experience in flying, Emirates was a dream come true, achieved the biggest (as it seemed to me then) goal. Moving to Dubai, the biggest planes in the world, flights to the most distant places I have never dreamed of, travels, sightseeing, beloved work and adventure of life, and above all personal fulfillment, huge success and a honor for which I will be grateful forever. I have never even dared to consciously dream of becoming a part of this wonderful airline, I didn't believe that they would ever pay attention to me, and yet I didn't remain invisible to them, which is a great pleasure for me, a reason for joy and pride, and above all a proof, that what I think about myself is not always the same as who I really am.

From Emirates to VVIP

When the pandemic began, aviation received a major blow. The planes were grounded, there were no flights, there was no work, which unfortunately also hit me, my career, and didn't  allow me to fully enjoy the work of my life in my dream airline. The situation in the airline industry was getting worse day by the day, as if all perspectives had suddenly disappeared, and the only thing in the life of of the cabin crew were layoffs, forced, unpaid leaves and voluntary resignations of employees who resigned from working in the airlines choosing a different, more stable and less stressful path a career that will provide them with a steady, good income and will allow them to survive the pandemic with dignity.

The same thing happened to me. When I realized that because of covid and the situation in the industry, there is no future for me in Emirates, another gift from fate fell from heaven, I got a job offer in something that I had previously said: "Never ever in my life!" and I decided to give myself a chance, broaden my horizons, try something new and get carried away by a completely new experience, get to know aviation from a different view and enjoy the possibility of flying around the world again, this time on private jets.

So from an airline flight attendant I became a VVIP flight attendant, I moved to the highest level of the aviation career and I am grateful for every new opportunity. Maybe one day I get back on board the Emirates planes, who knows, but now... Let the adventure continue!

ONLY ONE OUT OF OVER TWO HUNDRED

Maybe too little faith, maybe excessively modest... And yet worth a lot.

I came to the Emirates Open Day as a young, not meeting the requirements and completely chilled girl, who told everyone around that she was the only one who wouldn't even pass the first stage of recruitment, and then as the only one, the too young and theoretically unsuitable girl, as the only one of over 200 candidates attending the recruitment meeting, was offered a job with Emirates, the most elite, powerful and best airline in the world. An airline that is dreamed of by tens of thousands, and only a few are chosen.

One of over two hundred. Chosen by the most admired, prestigious and respected airline that exists. The airline most desired by flight attendants from around the world, the recruitment of which is as crowded as no other, and where there are about 10,000 candidates per one job vacancy. One of the most restrictive airlines in the world. The airline, which is famous for its strict rules regarding the selection of employees who are its face in the world, and without hesitation eliminates anyone who doesn't meet the criteria. And yet. This famous and powerful airline bent its own so famous and rigid rules and chose me, pushing me up to the top when I was far from the minimum age of 21.

Hired by Emirates as the only one out of over two hundred candidates. A great honor for which I will be grateful for the rest of my life.

Emirates, thank you for every moment, for all that you have given me, for all the moments of joy, stress and uncertainty, it was beautiful and priceless. You will be in my heart forever ❤