At 2:30 am, my flight arrived in "The Kingdom"! I put on my abaya and hijab right before the plane landed. My sponsor must have known that my plane had landed because he sent me an email welcoming me to "The Kingdom".
The passengers and I debarked the plane in a single file. I totally forgot an important detail my sponsor informed me of which was to stay to the right before approaching the customs desk. So when I got on line right behind a male who was in front of me on the plane, the " needle scratched the record"! There was an awkward silence!! I immediately realized that I had gotten on the wrong line and was not where I was supposed to be as a female; all the way to the right with all of the others. With several dirty looks in my direction, I hurried to the right line.
When it was my turn to approach the customs desk, I handed the officer my passport and visa then began to inform him that my sponsor was waiting for me pass the baggage area, he cut me off and told me to, "Go sit down!" I guess that was my punishment for forgetting my place as a women in the Kingdom!
They say the duration of a child who is being chastised with "time-out" is based on age, so I figured 49 minutes in time-out would be way to long for a punishment. So after about 15 minutes, which much apprehension and my heart beating quickly, I approached the desk again. This time, I quickly told the officer that my sponsor sent me an email that he was waiting for me, that I work for the US Government and that I was on a Diplomatic visa. He gave me the once over, stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
I tell you, after that ordeal, I was so happy to see my sponsor wave to me in the crowd telling me, "Welcome to the Kingdom!"
All the best,
GMarie
The passengers and I debarked the plane in a single file. I totally forgot an important detail my sponsor informed me of which was to stay to the right before approaching the customs desk. So when I got on line right behind a male who was in front of me on the plane, the " needle scratched the record"! There was an awkward silence!! I immediately realized that I had gotten on the wrong line and was not where I was supposed to be as a female; all the way to the right with all of the others. With several dirty looks in my direction, I hurried to the right line.
When it was my turn to approach the customs desk, I handed the officer my passport and visa then began to inform him that my sponsor was waiting for me pass the baggage area, he cut me off and told me to, "Go sit down!" I guess that was my punishment for forgetting my place as a women in the Kingdom!
They say the duration of a child who is being chastised with "time-out" is based on age, so I figured 49 minutes in time-out would be way to long for a punishment. So after about 15 minutes, which much apprehension and my heart beating quickly, I approached the desk again. This time, I quickly told the officer that my sponsor sent me an email that he was waiting for me, that I work for the US Government and that I was on a Diplomatic visa. He gave me the once over, stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
I tell you, after that ordeal, I was so happy to see my sponsor wave to me in the crowd telling me, "Welcome to the Kingdom!"
All the best,
GMarie
You are on official U.S government business, and you let some Saudi push you around?! You should have said "America, bitch" and simply walked to your desired area.
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