After the contract was signed, Lisa had to collect a necessary mountain of documents before the trip. It seemed to be almost impossible to fill the numerous in the questionnaires, tests, and have an interview at the embassy, but the obstacles were overcome, and all the documents were ready. Soon, the economy class flight ticket "Lovely small provincial town – Big City was in her fragile hands. Checking the tickets, money, Lisa found it was impossible to sleep the night before the flight, but there was something exciting and unusual in the air.
At 23:00 the night before the trip, Lisa lay on her bed in her room. She was nervous about the trip. She was going to be far away from her family for a full year, without any friends or connections. She was also going to be away from her loving cat. Lisa was going to miss the sound of her purring. She heard a growl from beside her, where her cat was. After tonight, all that remained between her and her new job was a nights' stay in the hotel.
Before she could fall asleep, Lisa looked around her room. She had the feeling she was forgetting something important. Maybe it was just her books. She wasn't used to being without them after four years. Now, she no longer needed them. She wasn't sure how to feel.
She was getting to travel quite the distance. Her excitement only grew.
The following day at 9.31 am, Lisa was waiting at the train station. She climbed into the cabin of the long, dark train. After she found her seat and settled in, she rested her head against the window. She needed to take a nap. She had tossed and turned all night and she was exhausted.
At 2:00 pm, Lisa was at the airport. She had just gone through the security check before walking through the terminal. This was the first time she wanted to cry. She was excited and nervous. Her best friend had come along to see her off. She hugged her tightly. They both had moist eyes and held back their tears. Lisa didn't actually cry, but she felt like she was going to.
Her loving parents told Lisa that she was free and could control her own life. Tears welled in her eyes when her mother kissed her, when she said goodbye to friends and all had been known to her for the past twenty-one years.
"Be good, and enjoy your year of freedom!" Her friend cheered. This rang through Lisa's head as she headed off to board the plane. She waved back to her friend, forcing a smile to form on her face.
At 15:30, Lisa was on the plane, waiting for the take off. She was nervous. She had no fear of flying, but she was uncomfortable. She guessed it was because of her different emotions. She was excited to be taking this trip and exploring a new world. But, she was also nervous about the uncertainty of the journey.
The plane sped up, and familiar destinations, neat squares, streets, green fields, and rivers flashed before her eyes through a window. It was so strange and unusual to see the horizon, melting away under their feet. The plane was still gaining speed, lifting up from the ground and soon they were flying above the clouds, farther and farther away from her house and her past.
Lisa sat in the chair of the aircraft. She had a thousand thoughts whirring around in her head. Back and forth, making her nauseous. She was moving from a small village into a big city. She wondered what the city would look like. She wondered if her host family was going to meet her at the airport. If not, then, how were they going to be introduced? Was it going to be awkward or was it going to be welcoming? They seemed warm and inviting in their correspondence. But, what would their children think of her? Lisa hadn't spoke to the children yet. She only knew their ages. She wondered if she would spend the entire year with this host family. Then, she wondered about her language skills. Was it going to be easy for her to learn a new language when she only knew the basics?
Lisa wasn't afraid of the unknown. It wasn't scary to her. Her heart longed for something new and unusual. She wanted to see an unknown city in an unknown country. She wanted to meet people who spoke an unknown language. She wanted to eat food she had never seen before. She wanted all the new experiences. Her heartbeat raced as she thought about her destination. She felt like a teenage girl suddenly. She was going to arrive soon. She was going to experience all these new things in only a few hours. A new life awaited her arrival.
She looked out the window, trying to escape from her thoughts. Through the fogged glass of the window, everything seemed different and unusual. She watched as the plane lifted off the ground and headed into the sky. She watched the ground get further and further away. It flew over the famous places, manicured parks and roads. It passed over green fields and blue rivers. She felt like a young bird that was flying away from the parental nest of her old life.
The air plane continued to rise, and begun flying into the horizon. Lisa had never seen the clouds up close, now they were covering the windows. When she looked out, all she saw was an endless sky. There was no more ground. She was above everything and everyone. She looked at the window in a dream state. The air plane continued flying through the sky to the anonymity of an unknown country.