sparkly

I’m pretty sure that the Dubai airport is my favorite airport yet. I mean, I have been through many different airports and it seems like each one has something unique about it. Schippol International Airport in Amsterdam has an art museum in it, which is pretty cool. The airport in San Francisco has this awesome play area with blocks and Legos and a Fisher Price slide. It was really fun. We built really tall Lego towers. (Words from the wise: don’t try to slide down something when your legs are longer than it is. Then people come and yell at you.) I think all airports should have play areas. But I must say, nothing compared to the airport in Dubai. I tell you, those U.A.E.-ians have style. The airport’s just about the hugest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. When I first saw it, I immediately thought of the Mines of Moriah from the Fellowship of the Ring. But only because it was super duper tall with pillars. That was the only way it reminded me of the Mines of Moriah. This place was…well…I think the best word to describe it was sparkly. Everything was sparkly. And white. And clean. Even the pillars were sparkly.  My brothers and I were so entranced by their sparkliness that we went up and touched them, half expecting glitter to come off on our hands. And then we looked at our hands and they were what? Glittery. So what did we do? We put the glitter on our faces. Or rather, on Josh’s face. Poor kid.

It’s become sort of a tradition, now. Every time we go through that airport we rub the glitter off the pillars and put it on our faces. It really sounds very stupid and juvenile, but when you consider that every time we’ve arrived in that airport it’s been bookended by super long flights, is normally at like 2 A.M., and the airport is almost completely empty except for really bored customs people who are very happy for the amusement…our actions become more or less justified.

Poor bored customs people. I would hate to have that job. In other airports, they always look crabby and don’t really talk to me at all, but this last time going through Dubai, the guy did. When he took my passport and saw my name, he looked up at me with an excited smile on his face and said “Your name is Anna?” as if it was the most amazing thing he had ever heard. I answered, even though he had my passport so I didn’t really have to.  Then he grinned and said, ”Do you want me to tell you what your name means in Arabic?”

Um yes

“Anna. It means ‘I am’”

“So, I am Maria Tricarico.” I said, thinking it was the funniest thing. He looked at me strangely, as if he didn’t get it. Then he laughed, and I was glad because I was starting to feel the glitter on my face forming a great big “I am stupid” on my forehead. What can I say? I was tired. But let this be proof that customs dudes really do have a sense of humor.