Well it was a good thing that I got to the airport early. Keith helped me get all of the baggage into the airport. I had 2 large bags that I had to check in along with 2 carry on bags. Most of the stuff in the bags was supplies and books that had been requested. I was worried about the weight, but I lucked out and both check-in bags were less than 50 pounds. It took almost 40 minutes to get checked in. Initially the printer got jammed and they couldn't print my tickets. Then when they finally fixed that, it only printed my ticket from Paris to Jeddah. How was I suppose to get to Paris? They had to make some phone calls and I was finally ready to proceed to the next step. Now to get through security. Pastor Dan, you are right I think that the TSA people take grumpy pills, especially the men. I sailed through the security check point.
For the first leg of the trip, the flight wasn't crowded, so I was able to to change seats and stretch out a little. I tried to sleep but I was too excited and nervous. I might have dozed for a few minutes at a time. And the only reason I know that is I would have to rewind the movie a couple of times. The flight was uneventful, the food was even good. I arrived in Paris at around midnight on my time but 7am Paris time. I was tired but excited to be there safe and sound, I had made it over the ocean! Once I got to Paris I had to go through security again. This time it wasn't as easy. They completely searched my purse, and found nothing. I could have told them that. Then they decided that the scissors that were in a sealed medical tray had to be taken out. I tried to explain that this was a sterile pack and that it was to be used to teach doctors and nurses and that the bag had passed security in Minneapolis but they were insistent that I had to open it and remove the scissors. I had seen armed guards before I entered the security check point so I decided it wasn't worth the battle and surrendered the scissors. Oh, well, I guess the sterile pack will have to be used as a demo kit instead.
The Paris airport was amazing. The stores were Prada, Gucci, etc. A little out of my price range but fun to see. I did have breakfast at a little restaurant that was definitely French. The croissant was delicious. What was interesting was that I had to give the waitress my boarding pass before she would give me a very small butter knife. Very tight security!
Now to wait for my next flight. It became quickly evident that I was now a minority. English was not a common language being used around me. And even when English was spoken, it was with a very heavy accent and difficult for my Midwestern ears to totally understand. My flight was an hour delayed due to some technicality. We had to leave the terminal that I was at, get on a bus and go to a different terminal, get out on the tarmac and then get on the plane. This plane was full with a lot of children on board and numerous crying children. It was now 5 am Minneapolis time and I am close to 24 hours without sleep and beginning to get a little crabby. My seat mate was in the same boat and we were able to commiserate. Zarah's family was from India but she had grown up in Jeddah, so it was interesting visiting with her. She is going to school in Washington DC. I was able to sleep for a little bit on the flight but it definitely wasn't a restful sleep.
I finally arrived in Jeddah around 8 pm Jeddah time. (12 pm MN) You get off the plane on the tarmac and get on a bus to get to the terminal. I had heard horror stories about how long it takes to get through customs and that the fact that you are a woman you have to wait even longer. I was exhausted, thirsty and dreading having to wait. All of a sudden I was hearing my name being called out. I had a hard time identifying where the voice was coming from with my plugged ears. I finally saw Randi, the project manager waving at me. She had made some contacts and pulled a few strings and I was ushered to the front of the line. My passport was reviewed and stamped and we were on our way. What had taken the last group 3 hours, I was through in 10 minutes and everyone was very nice. It did seem to take forever to get all of my bags, but at last they were all there and we were on our way to the hotel. After all of this I should be able to sleep.
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