I am now aboard a 747 Air India in Germany awaiting takeoff.
I had a pretty pleasant flights yesterday, and even thought my plane was delayed 3 hours I didn't mind. It gave me more time to talk to April. I met a nice older German lady that looked strikingly like my Grandma-Dina. She commented on my last name and told me I should find out if I'm directly related to the company. In Denver when I showed my passport the the stewardess, she said "AAaaaahhh mister Siemens!" *flips a page and with a disappointed voice..* "from...California?". When I got off the plane the pilots were saying "Goodbye" to every person they thought wasn't German and then goodbye in German to the people they thought were German. and of course they looked at my ID and thought I was German, as did everyone in the airport I showed my ID to. I felt strangely close to every German I talked to. I felt distant bond.
Shortly after I got off the plane, I passed through the seven circles of German bureaucratic hell. First, no one knew where to find Air India, and those who thought they did sent me in the wrong direction. I was three hours later than expected so I had less than an hour to find my plane (which, lucky for me, had been delay). After I found it I waited in this huge line to get my boarding pass, and kept getting cut by indian people (a little taste of indian culture). after 45 minutes I got up to the counter and they told me that my ticket was no good untill united airlines updated it. After I went 3 floors to United, they told me they couldn't do anything until I got a boarding pass from air india. So I ran back down and waited in line again to hear "No, your ticket has to say "Frankfort to Delhi' to get a boarding pass. United has to update it."
With time running short I ran up three floors to the United desk "Sorry, we just closed. the only open counter is at the entrance of the terminal" "What? I have to go thru security again?" "Yes. Sorry". the entrance was ALLL the way down the airport, and it's the biggest I've been in. I found it only to hear from this Jamaican lady (Jamaican? I know right?) "sorry they should have updated it in fresno. There is nothing I can do. Take it to air india and they might give you a new one." "NO! I've been back and fourth to many times. They can't do it! YOU have to do it!" "sorry the ticket's no good. They should have changed it in fresno"..extremely frustrated and sleep deprived I yelled..."Well UNITED issued my ticket, UNITED screwed up my flight, UNITED is going to fix it! This shouldn't even be an issue!" And so she finally gave me my new ticket.
With no time, and basically late for boarding I ran to security and waited in a long line...got the random "please step inside the cubicle" search where they guy felt up my gootch and every crevice of my body, sent my shoes thru the machine twice and then sent me on my way. I sprinted all the way across the airport, went thru 3 or 4 floors of busy escalators and arrived to a HUGE line in front of air india. Luckily the German lady who talked to me before recognised me and let me come to the front. "OHH Mr. Siemens! are you related to the family? you should find out! they have LOTS of money!" she and the other workers had a good hardy laugh, then gave me my boarding pass.
I felt frustrated and abused, but I also felt somehow elite and welcomed my long lost relatives. Now I know a place in the world where people respect and LONG for my last name, and don't just make sperm jokes....haha.....semen(s). But what fun would that be?
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