We Made It Back...Eventually!

Charli and I made it back to Kuwait safely!

As with almost every travel day with Charli, mine started with an upset stomach. I don’t know why this happens every single time we fly. I trust God and know that He will get us to our destination safely, but I guess there’s always a part of me that stays on high alert when we're traveling together.

We flew out of Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, and honestly, everything started off great. Check-in was smooth, we boarded on time, and the flight to Cairo had very little turbulence. Charli did great!

We flew business class, and for some reason, I always enjoy seeing young children in business class.

There were quite a few on our flight, probably between the ages of 8 and 12. The food was okay - nothing to really brag about. But I did get one special treat - as we flew into Cairo, I was able to see and capture the pyramids from the plane! That was definitely a highlight.

After about a 2.5-hour layover in Cairo, we were back on a plane headed to Kuwait.

Now, let me tell you about this plane. OLD! EgyptAir really needs to upgrade this aircraft or retire it altogether. I couldn't believe they were calling it business class. Apparently, I wasn't the only one confused because one of the little boys on the flight kept asking his father, "Is this really business class?" 😂 Because I was wondering the same thing!

Old plane aside, the flight was smooth with very little turbulence. The landing was a little scary, though, and I was VERY happy when we finally stopped rolling.

We made it to Kuwait!

We headed through immigration, and although the lines were long, they moved pretty quickly. I even ran into some colleagues and their families. It was so refreshing to see familiar faces because we hadn't seen each other in person since February.

Immigration? Check.

Bags? Check.

Charli? Check.

I was already thinking about getting home, taking a shower, and relaxing.

Yeah...no.

And Then Everything Went Left

Normally, when Charli and I arrive in Kuwait, we go through Terminal 1. The process is simple: show her import certificate, get cleared, and go home. But Terminal 1 is currently closed due to damage from the war, so we arrived through Terminal 4. This terminal has an entirely different process for pets.

A customs officer pulled me aside because I had Charli. After some waiting and paperwork, I was told I needed to go to the Cargo area, about a five-minute drive away, to finish the process.

Okay, no problem. I grabbed Charli and started to leave.

"No. Dog stays here."

Excuse me?! 😳

I was told I had to leave Charli at customs, travel over to Cargo, and she would meet me there in about 10 - 15 minutes. I don't know why I believed that because I've never gotten anything done here in 15 minutes. Ever. I reluctantly left her and took a taxi with all of our luggage over to Cargo. I asked the driver to wait for me.

Ten minutes became 40 minutes.

Forty minutes became hours.

There were about five of us waiting for our pets, and we were told the system needed to update our information. Eventually, we started moving from office to office, getting signatures, making copies, and paying fees that none of us really understood.

After nearly three hours, I thought we were FINALLY at the last step.

Nope.

They discovered that my information had been entered into the system incorrectly, and I was told I had to GO BACK TO THE AIRPORT.

Y'all.

I’m so grateful for my taxi driver. He was incredibly kind and patient throughout this entire ordeal. I kept apologizing because I knew he could have been making money driving other passengers instead of sitting around waiting for me. But then again, by the time this was all over, I’m pretty sure he made up for any money he might have lost by driving and waiting for me. Y’all don’t even want to know how much I had to pay! Anyway, this poor man drove me back to Terminal 4, then back to Cargo, and then BACK to Terminal 4 again because no one seemed to know exactly where I needed to go or who needed to fix the problem.

By the second trip back to the airport, I was DONE.

I finally found another customs officer. He couldn't see anything wrong with the paperwork either. At that point, I asked him to write down his telephone number.

He looked at me like, Why?

Because, sir, if I go back over to Cargo and they tell me this isn't fixed, they are calling YOU! 

Suddenly, we started making progress.

I received new paperwork and headed back to Cargo for what I hoped would be the final time. Because the system is so antiquated, it still took another hour or so for everything to update and for us to finally be cleared.

And then...

I got my baby back!

I had been a nervous wreck imagining every possible scenario. I pictured Charli working herself up so badly that we'd have to go straight to the vet once we left. Thankfully, none of that happened. Charli came out in good spirits and was VERY happy to see her mama. And believe me, her mama was even happier to see her!

We landed in Kuwait around 11:45 a.m.

We did not leave the airport/Cargo area until after 6:00 p.m.

What should have been the final few steps of a long journey turned into more than six hours of waiting, driving back and forth, paperwork, confusion, and worrying about Charli.

But we made it. 

We're home. 

We're safe.

And most importantly, Charli is home, safe, happy, and back to being herself. After spending hours worrying about her, that was all I needed.

As for me? If I was ever on the fence about whether I'm ready for my time in Kuwait to come to an end, this experience may have sealed the deal.

I do not want to go through that again.

Welcome back to Kuwait, I guess! 😂