Yay I made it! And without further ado...
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Finally, safe and somewhat sound, I’ve arrived in Sana’a and settled into CALES. The past several days as I traveled from Seattle, Washington to Yemen have helped prepare me for the beginning of my stay. No matter how bad things become, I can always remind myself that at least I’m not in transit.
My flights here were mostly uneventful and more than tolerable. That was until I made it to Dubai where I had a 12 hour layover. My plan was to get my luggage and then check into the Dubai International Hotel (located in the airport). What I didn’t realize is that once I went through customs to get to my baggage, I couldn’t get back into the airport as Yemenia Airlines’ desk didn’t open until three hours before the flight was to take place. I didn’t want to hassle with trying to find a hotel offsite so I decided to wait it out in the check-in area. My ass still isn’t speaking to me.
I was met Sana’a International Airport by Mohammed who took me to CALES and my room before taking me off to get exchange some money and grab a bite to eat. I was so worried about getting through customs that I literally walked out of the airport without my luggage. Mohammed and I were on our way to the car before I figured out what was going on. Nothing like making a good first impression I always say. I really appreciated being met by Mohammed and him taking the time to show me around. Granted, one of his functions is to help facilitate the arrivals of new students, but I think he could have done much less if he had wanted, but he was very thorough and patient.
Let me do a quick critique of the airports I went through on my way here:
Dubai – although I was unable to enjoy its splendor properly due to my getting stuck waiting for the Yemenia Airlines desk to open, it was by far the nicest airport. No smoking too! Boo-yah!
Seattle – Second best of the group. It doesn’t have the glitz of Dubai or the style of Frankfort, but the things it does have put it into a strong second.
Frankfurt – Stylish in a European way, it ranks behind Seattle due to the entire place smelling of smoke (I’m okay with others smoking, I just don’t like the smell). The bathrooms seemed kind of cramped too. The airport employees here get around the airport by bike which I though was a neat idea until I saw them riding while looking every which way but where they were going. The kicker was when I saw one riding his bike while talking on his cell-phone.
Washington DC (Dulles) – on the plus side, they had a Starbucks on the negative side, they forgot about my drink. Small bathrooms and a lack of panache made this second from last.
Sana’a – If you’ve ever been here you’ll know why this is the last of the airports on my list but hey, they did have a duty free shop!
Sana’a reminds me a lot of southern Spain in some ways, possibly the Moorish influence. CALES is smack dab in the middle of Old Sana’a. The common areas were pretty clean which I much appreciated (but I’ve not been to the kitchen yet). My room is adequately furnished (nothing special) and the foam mattress on my bed really brings back my memories of Rota, Spain. I met Evan today as I was coming back from dinner with Mohammed (which I got to eat with my hands!) I quickly quizzed Evan about the toilet situation. Yes folks, we’ve got the Turkish Special!
Evan explained that the students are responsible for providing their own TP and offered to take me to one of the larger grocers in the area later on after I’ve settled in. Luckily I brought a lot of tissues with me from home as a stop-gap measure for just such an event. I’ve been putting off using the squatter (as I will call it from now on) but I know it’s only a matter of time.
Tomorrow I get to meet the school’s director, Jameel, and do a few other things that Mohammed mentioned but I’ve since forgot.
No comments:
Post a Comment