In Route

Most of those reading this blog already know that I have recently moved to Uganda. I arrived in Kampala after a grueling 40 hour transit. I left Salt Lake City on Monday November 5th at 10:00 a.m. and arrived in Uganda on November 7th at 2:30 p.m. Granted, many of those hours were spent in airports during layovers, however the layover’s seemed longer then flying. The entire journey was not horrible however. I was able to spend 9 hours in Dubai which was definitely the most interesting airport that I have ever been in.

Dubai is located in the Middle East near Kuwait. I was a bit nervous flying there due to all of the things going on in the Middle East and it being obvious that I am a white American girl traveling alone. My layover there turned out to be very interesting however, and I have left there with a new prospective. I met several people in the airport that I spent a good amount of time chatting with and having coffee.

One such person was from Iraq but lived in the UK. He had been on holiday visiting his family and was waiting to catch a flight back to the UK. It was intriguing speaking with him because his family still lived in Iraq; however he had been gone for 11 years. He had no desire to return for good and wishes his family would leave, however they are content and love Iraq. He talked about how lucky he was to have been able to leave and wishes more had the same opportunity.

Another individual was also from Iraq and was fleeing to China. I was sitting reading a book when he passed by and abruptly stopped and looked at me. He came and sat next to me and enthusiastically asked me if I was an American. He was an eighteen year old whom had never been on an airplane and was leaving for what he hoped was forever. He spent some time talking about the war and the many dangers that he faces daily. He talked about the many bombs and people that he has seen killed. Unlike many people in Iraq, he loved the Americans and it was his dream to go to America. He told me how he has spent much time researching the facts and feels that most Iraq people are blind to what is really going on. I exchanged e-mails with both of them and will hopefully get updates on their adventures. Over all, the short time that I spent in Dubai was a great learning experience. Almost everyone was very friendly and I did not run in to any problems.