Now let me tell about another day from earlier this month: once again, I woke up at 4:30am (early mornings happen no matter what here, it seems), but this time it was my alarm that woke me. I got up reluctantly, showered, and got dressed in my most comfortable church clothes: a jersey pencil skirt, a stretchy, very soft shirt, a knit blazer, and my most comfortable heeled sandals. I met my ride at 5:15am and we headed to the airport.
Why? Well, we were on the way to Abu Dhabi for some stake auxiliary training for church. Because that's how we roll here, we take flights for our training! WHAT? Really? So bizarre!
Recently, I was called to work with the teenage girls at church, really my first time in this organization and with this gender, though of course I have done lots with teenagers in Sunday School and seminary classes in the past. So I was heading to Abu Dhabi to get some training specific to this group. I had already checked in at home and had my mobile boarding pass on my phone, so I thought we would breeze right through the airport, though when I got to security before passport control, they took my mobile phone, walked halfway across the airport to a scanner bolted to a desk, stuck my phone on the scanner...and then printed out a paper boarding pass and gave it to me. Because of COURSE they did! Note to self: not as technologically advanced as one might hope at the new airport! And, as usual, the line through passport control was very slow, for no apparent reason. When you leave or return to Doha, the passport controllers are notoriously slow and not very friendly and no one really understands why (though the last time I went through with J who was about to have an accident in the line, the man did hurry right up for me and let the two of us through to find a bathroom, so that was nice!).
After that, we headed to our gate to sit and wait for quite a while, and then we took a quick shuttle bus to our actual airplane. Our flight was a quick one, just one hour, so we were up and down before we knew it. I read a great psychology magazine and woofed down a breakfast sandwich while we were in the air, not finishing either. Once we touched down in Abu Dhabi, we headed to passport control again. This time the controllers were very friendly, but for some reason I ended up taking the longest of everyone in our group. Why? I have no idea, and you really don't want to ask too many questions while your passport is being inspected! In the end, I was finally put through and I hurried to meet up with the rest of our friends to find our rides.
We were met by some lovely people from the local congregation who drove us to the stake meeting house, which we were all happy to see. For many of us, this was our first trip to the Abu Dhabi meeting house, the only purpose-built Mormon meeting house in the entire Middle East. On the outside, it looked like any one of a gazillion sand-colored buildings all over the region, but inside were all the same familiar fabrics and furnishings, accented with local artwork and window treatments. It was a bit surreal, actually, after almost a year meeting in a converted villa.
After our two and a half hour training, we headed to a local member's villa to eat and rest before our flights. This villa was spectacular, HUGE and furnished with all sorts of unique wooden pieces the couple had collected from local craftsmen. They had a huge spread for us, sandwich fixings (including two kinds of ham since they knew we were coming from Qatar), fruits and veggies, crockpot kielbasa (more pork!), and loads of desserts. It was so nice of them to host us and give us a place to stay besides the airport and we so appreciated their hospitality. They also drove us back to the airport in the evening for our 7pm flight. Once again, I was slow through passport control in the UAE, but our flight was just as quick, although this time we were riding with a Qatari and his hooded falcon...of course! Sadly, passport control into Doha actually took longer than our whole flight, which was disappointing, though uncharacteristically the passport checker said both "Welcome back" and "welcome home" to me, which gave me all sorts of warm feelings. And I really did feel glad I was home after my very long day in another country.
Look at my rock-and-roll lifestyle! I am such a jet-setter...NOT!
Why? Well, we were on the way to Abu Dhabi for some stake auxiliary training for church. Because that's how we roll here, we take flights for our training! WHAT? Really? So bizarre!
Recently, I was called to work with the teenage girls at church, really my first time in this organization and with this gender, though of course I have done lots with teenagers in Sunday School and seminary classes in the past. So I was heading to Abu Dhabi to get some training specific to this group. I had already checked in at home and had my mobile boarding pass on my phone, so I thought we would breeze right through the airport, though when I got to security before passport control, they took my mobile phone, walked halfway across the airport to a scanner bolted to a desk, stuck my phone on the scanner...and then printed out a paper boarding pass and gave it to me. Because of COURSE they did! Note to self: not as technologically advanced as one might hope at the new airport! And, as usual, the line through passport control was very slow, for no apparent reason. When you leave or return to Doha, the passport controllers are notoriously slow and not very friendly and no one really understands why (though the last time I went through with J who was about to have an accident in the line, the man did hurry right up for me and let the two of us through to find a bathroom, so that was nice!).
After that, we headed to our gate to sit and wait for quite a while, and then we took a quick shuttle bus to our actual airplane. Our flight was a quick one, just one hour, so we were up and down before we knew it. I read a great psychology magazine and woofed down a breakfast sandwich while we were in the air, not finishing either. Once we touched down in Abu Dhabi, we headed to passport control again. This time the controllers were very friendly, but for some reason I ended up taking the longest of everyone in our group. Why? I have no idea, and you really don't want to ask too many questions while your passport is being inspected! In the end, I was finally put through and I hurried to meet up with the rest of our friends to find our rides.
We were met by some lovely people from the local congregation who drove us to the stake meeting house, which we were all happy to see. For many of us, this was our first trip to the Abu Dhabi meeting house, the only purpose-built Mormon meeting house in the entire Middle East. On the outside, it looked like any one of a gazillion sand-colored buildings all over the region, but inside were all the same familiar fabrics and furnishings, accented with local artwork and window treatments. It was a bit surreal, actually, after almost a year meeting in a converted villa.
After our two and a half hour training, we headed to a local member's villa to eat and rest before our flights. This villa was spectacular, HUGE and furnished with all sorts of unique wooden pieces the couple had collected from local craftsmen. They had a huge spread for us, sandwich fixings (including two kinds of ham since they knew we were coming from Qatar), fruits and veggies, crockpot kielbasa (more pork!), and loads of desserts. It was so nice of them to host us and give us a place to stay besides the airport and we so appreciated their hospitality. They also drove us back to the airport in the evening for our 7pm flight. Once again, I was slow through passport control in the UAE, but our flight was just as quick, although this time we were riding with a Qatari and his hooded falcon...of course! Sadly, passport control into Doha actually took longer than our whole flight, which was disappointing, though uncharacteristically the passport checker said both "Welcome back" and "welcome home" to me, which gave me all sorts of warm feelings. And I really did feel glad I was home after my very long day in another country.
Look at my rock-and-roll lifestyle! I am such a jet-setter...NOT!
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