The past month has been crazy. Somehow it ended up that my annual employee evaluation, the paperwork for the student loan repayment program, and all the paperwork and other errands for getting ready to move happened all at the same time. So I’ve spent a huge chunk of the past month just doing paperwork and stalking people in our HR department to make sure that everything was moving along as it should be. I got in a little “real” work as well, but not much.
But all the stress and running around and craziness finally paid off. Monday last week the movers came to my apartment and packed everything up to have it shipped to Nairobi for me. They were supposed to show up at 8:30am and finish within about three hours, but of course instead they didn’t show up until 11:30 and then didn’t finish for seven hours. But it got done, which is all that really matters, and I was able to turn in my apartment keys and stop worrying about whether I would really get moved out of my apartment by the end of the month before the management threw my stuff out in the street so the new resident could move in. Yay!
I stayed in a hotel for ten days, courtesy of the government (thanks, taxpayers!) to make moving out of my apartment easier. I had looked forward to it, thinking it would be like being on vacation except that I would still have to go to work, but as it turns out I prefer sleeping in my own bed and having my clothes on hangers in the closet rather than rumpled in my suitcase. Maid service was still nice, though.
Finally, Tuesday was the big day. I went to the airport early, lugged my three suitcases to the Delta counter to check in, and then was told I had to go check in with KLM, Delta’s “partner” for this flight. (Apparently this partner stuff is how they get around the Fly America Act which requires flights paid for with government money to be on US carriers). So I lugged my three suitcases across the airport to the KLM counter. The KLM check-in woman told me my suitcases were too heavy, so I would have to move some things out of the checked luggage, which gets weighed, to my carryon bag, which doesn’t get weighed. This doesn’t make much sense to me since the same amount of weight is going to end up on the plane, but fine. I rearranged things, got my boarding pass, got through security, and finally made it onto the plane. Yippee!
The flight to Amsterdam was fine, no incidents. The landing was super smooth, prompting some of the passengers to break out into applause, which I thought was funny but kind of sweet. I’d hoped that there would be a line at passport control for diplomatic passport holders, just for fun, but no such luck. But I made it out of the airport hassle-free, and then went to wait for the 5 euro airport shuttle. It was 8am in Amsterdam, which equaled 2am in D.C., and I was exhausted. After about 30 minutes I finally gave up waiting for the shuttle and went to get a taxi. I was staying at the Marriott airport hotel (thanks again, taxpayers!), so I figured it would be close by and the taxi ride wouldn’t be expensive. Big mistake – the 10 minute ride cost 30 euros, and my regret was compounded by the shuttle arriving just five minutes later. But you live, you learn, and my five minute head start put me at the head of the line for getting a room as soon as the maids finished cleaning one (an hour later).
I’d hoped I’d have the energy to go out and do some touristing around Amsterdam, but I ended up sleeping til 4pm, so I only went for a short walk in a residential area around Central Station. But it was a nice way to get an idea of what it would be like to live in Amsterdam – live on a houseboat, ride a bicycle everywhere, hang out at cafes – in short, European heaven, except that there isn’t enough sun for me, so I’m still be glad to be heading back to Africa.
This morning it was back to the airport for me for my flight to Nairobi. I tried to check in at the automatic kiosk, but it gave me an error message about my flight status requiring me to check in with a real person. So I waited in a long line to speak with a real person, and then she told me that my suitcases were too heavy, and she also weighed my carryon bag and said that was too heavy. Also, apparently the flight was overbooked and so I was going to be bumped to another flight – maybe in the evening, and maybe not til tomorrow. Not good news, especially when I am jetlagged and haven’t had any coffee. So I rearranged my luggage, this time taking everything heavy out of my carryon and putting it in a checked bag, and then I still had to pay a 100 euro fine. Boo. I guess the overnight stopover in Europe wasn’t such a good idea after all.
The check-in woman gave me a standby boarding pass so I could get through security, and then I was supposed to talk to the airline staff at the gate to see if I could get a seat or if I would have to get bumped. I got ready to use my very best African bargaining skills to try to get on the plane, and I even considered trying “I’m holding a diplomatic passport and I’m on government business” to see if that would get me anywhere. (Amsterdam is nice but I’m ready to get to Nairobi and get settled in).
But before I had to pull out my African bargaining skills, the woman at the gate gave me a real boarding pass with a seat assignment. Yay! And then as I boarded the plane, the flight attendant directed me to my seat “upstairs” (it’s one of those giant planes with a small upstairs cabin). So I hauled my suitcase up the little stairway, and discovered that they gave me a seat in business class – awesome! (Definitely worth the 100 euro luggage fine). I don’t think it’s because of my diplomatic passport since none of the check-in people looked at the cover that says it’s a diplomatic passport. They just went straight to the picture page with my information on it. So I guess I just got lucky, and I will have to see if the diplomatic passport has any power some other time.
I’m sorry to say that business class airplane food still tastes like airplane food, even though they put a little tablecloth on my tray table and serve the food on real dishes.
The reclining seat with the footrest and the nicer pillow and blanket are much appreciated, though, as are the better headphones (movie selection is the same as for the proletariat). All in all, I have to say I wouldn’t mind flying business class again someday! No more unnecessary overnight stopovers, though – getting real sleep is nice, but not really worth all the hassle of having to check in and go through airport security again.
Next blog post: from Nairobi!
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