Waiting

Those who know me well know that patience is a quality I am short on. Therefore, you probably would have found humor in me huffing and puffing in the Riyadh airport for the last 5 hours over my delayed flight and the airline’s made up reasons for it (according to Abdullah from Oman Air the plane has been circling the airport for about 4.5 hours). I’m over my madness and confusion and now I’m just writing it off as an “experience.” I am quickly coming to realize that there isn’t a rush for much of anything over here. Perhaps for someone with my disposition a few months in a place like this won’t be such a bad thing.

They do their best not to cancel flights here because of the inefficient and irrational customs and immigration practices in Saudi (and probably b/c they don’t want to refund you). If the Saudis stamp you out, they expect you to come back with a stamp from wherever you were headed and will give you a hard time if you don’t. The immigration and customs process is unpredictable and time consuming when everyone plays by the rules. Throwing 200 people who didn't go anywhere into the mix might bring the entire “system” to its knees. So, trying to walk out of the airport right now would probably take a couple hours. I’m going to wait this flight out.

I’ll be gaining an hour when I get to Oman and then have an hour drive to the resort so at this pace, there is a good chance I’ll see the sunrise over the Gulf of Oman just about the time I arrive tomorrow. I’ll be exhausted, but I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday morning…

The airport is fine. The lack of a bar is a bit disappointing but given the length of this delay, perhaps a good thing. Everyone is friendly, though I do stick out a bit. As far as I can tell there isn’t another American on the fight. Seeing all these different people is a lot of fun. It’s interesting what you pick up from body language (and how conscious you are of your own) when you can’t speak to people. In some ways, such exchanges are more genuine than a conversation. I can’t help but wonder about their families, their experiences, their likes and dislikes, their aspirations, their regrets. Where do they come from? Who do they miss? What are their stories? We all have a story and I’m a believer they are all fascinating in their own way.