Thankful for fairly uneventful travel

It’s 4:37 am, Thursday, and I’ve been awake for two hours.  I think Thursday will be a long day.  I had planned to go to the office and be somewhat productive in the morning, but I think I’ll just stop by and say hello, then do more sorting and organizing because I shall be a bear of little brain.

I am so grateful for a fairly uneventful trip back to Uganda.  When I checked in online, I couldn’t change my seat for the Amsterdam-Entebbe leg, and the gate agent at Dulles had to “go check on something,” which is only slightly unnerving to hear.  He told me that the system was having problems, and I could change my seat at Schiphol.  Fine.  After an uneventful flight to Amsterdam (save the lack of movies that appeal to me), I found that the self-help terminal to be not at all helpful, and I had to see an agent.  So I went to the agent at the transfer desk, who referred me to other desk agents, even giving me a numbered ticket as one would receive at the DMV.  That agent was able to fix things, after telling me that something was wrong with my record, which is rather more unnerving to hear when one is sleep-deprived.

During the uneventful trip to Entebbe, we were given the usual customs information to complete, as well as a health data sheet to complete.  I know that Uganda is the model for how to contain contagious diseases like Ebola, and I suppose this is one of the ways they do it.  Among other things, the sheet asked where I’ve been in the last two weeks, and whether I had any number of symptoms.  We proceeded to the team of nurses who took our forms and our temperatures before we could proceed to the Immigration officers. 

Entebbe has apparently continued to increase their security posture, because after retrieving our luggage, we had to have it screened.  In principle, I have no problem with this.  I am assuming that there was no room for the x-ray machine where the bags are transferred from the plane, so they had to put it where it is.  Fine.  (I’m beginning to whine here.)  However, this model is similar to ones that airports have at the gate for screening carry-on luggage, meaning it’s waist-high.  So we have to hoist our suitcases up to be screened.  Not the carry-on luggage, just the big suitcases.  Then haul them down once they got spat out.  This isn’t exactly my idea of fun after not sleeping on two flights.

However, if all I have to complain about for an international trip is not easily choosing my seat and having to haul luggage around, I think I’m doing rather well.