Home Dumpot 🇶🇦✈🇺🇸
I have to imagine you've all been wondering, "I haven't heard from Sam in a minute."
Did they make it to the USA?
Did something happen?
Well...
No, people. They don't have flowers or greenery like that in Qatar. That photo is from a driveway in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
I'll give you the broad strokes of our trip because I keep reading stories about "Travel in the time of Covid-19" but I haven't seen one about "International travel with an 8-month old during Covid-19."
The rumors of men in thermal sensing helmets at Qatar's international airport were sadly unfounded. The airport was mostly empty. We got through check in (with our seven suitcases) with only minimal need for repacking to meet weight requirements and through security easily enough. The woman behind the counter took our QIDs, stamped our passports and didn't say goodbye or good day in a moment of finality.
We hung out in the lounge. I tried to change Qatari riyals for US Dollars but somehow the exchange didn't have any. So presently, I have way too much British pound in my possession. If you know anyone going to London, get at me. I can give them a sweet exchange rate.
Our flight boarded and departed late. They claimed this was because of enhanced cleaning on board, but I found a used knife near my seat when I sat down, so that doesn't quite check out.
There was a bit of a hullabaloo with an error in ticketing that left Leen and Eliot in a pair of window seats and me sitting next to a nice Russian couple and their baby in the middle section. After quite a bit of animated discussions in close proximity to QA staff (rumors of them wearing full PPE-- smock, goggles, gloves, mask-- were not exaggerated), someone figured out a way to sweeten the pot for the Russians to move, a solo traveler to take Leen and Eliot's seats and my family to be reunited in the middle section of row 16.
So then the flight? We flew east to Iran and then went due north through the Caucus and slowing banking west somewhere near Moscow. We crossed Scandanavia, went over the middle of Greenland and came almost due south through Canada, over Wisconsin and touched down in Chicago. We made up 15 minutes somewhere in there.
As for the flight aspect itself... everyone wore masks. It was pretty surreal to look behind us and see 300+ individuals, sitting "Window" "Aisle" "Aisle" "Aisle" “Aisle" "Window" for 70+ rows all wearing their masks for most of the flight. Some people were better at it than others. The guy behind us was drinking whisky gingers for most of the flight and when he wasn't, his mask was at mouth level leaving that nose fully exposed. I went probably 11 of 14 hours with mask on, but Eliot was pretty keen on ripping it off every opportunity he got. Leen probably wore hers 8 or 9 of the 14 for the same reason.
Family portrait 2020
Typically on this flight, they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, but because eating requires people to have their masks off, QA cut down on food service and only went breakfast, dinner. They spaced about 10 hours between the two meals and filled us with popcorn, flavored pretzels and kit kat bars while we waited.
I didn't hear any one cough too noticeably, except for Leen who let a few sneezes rip to the horror of those around us. Allergies don't stop for planes.
We landed in Chicago, put on our face shields and hauled it to the front of the immigration lines. Being in the first row of economy helped. With international travel severely impacted by COVID, the immigration hall was mostly empty. Leen was maybe third in line, and Eliot and I cruised through unscathed.
We waited "in America" while Leen approached the booth, and then after a few tense moments we watched as she was escorted into a side office. There are few outcomes scarier than "being escorted into side office as you try to immigrate to the USA" but the guard who took her in saw my look of panic, said: Are you with her? It's fine, standard procedure for green cards, you can wait right there.
About ten minutes later, Leen exited the office and we located our seven suitcases and proceeded through to the reception hall where my parents waited for us like Paparazzi.
She made it!
After we left the airport, we stood around in the parking lot, practicing our best social distancing and ate McDonalds (little did I know that the last meal on the airplane was going to be surprisingly good).
Then, in two different cars, to accommodate all our suitcases and COVID-19 concerns, we drove north into Wisconsin and arrived sometime in the early evening.
Out of fear of disease, we kept our stay in Reedsburg brief. Just enough time to explore downtown, walk through some parks, venture into a coffee shop wearing a mask only to find that everyone thought that I was a weirdo (Masks? Get outta here, ya freak!) and enjoy some time with my parents before loading up the car again and driving north to Cambridge, Minnesota.
Are we assimilating too quickly? You be the judge.
We are actually still in Cambridge at the moment. We decided to hole up here for a bit to make sure we weren't sick before moving into our Minneapolis apartment. We are now on day seven of our time in the USA and we feel... (knock on wood) fine. So we have planned our move into the apartment in Minneapolis for tomorrow, Monday. I even did a late night Target run last night to prepare for the event. I spent far too much money but got some good stuff.
In the meantime, we've been hanging out on the lake, and finally letting Eliot crawl around. We spent most of the last three weeks in Qatar discouraging movement for fear that we'd have a mobile baby on board QR flight 725. A baby who can not move is far superior to one who has recently taken up crawling when it comes to travel.
While it's not 100% that we find employment here, the more that we think about places we feel comfortable starting over, Minnesota has friends and family around which is more than other cities in the region can say. Though I still have a soft spot for the houses and future job market of Kansas City, I just don't see us there in 2020. (Still waiting to hear if I got that job at the wine label company though).
I guess I sort of whistled past the "we could be unemployed" part of the move a little quickly. We are both still very unemployed and unfortunately, getting jobs sort of requires having time to apply for them. We don't have oodles of it as we are dealing with a baby learning about the joys of jet lag. Leen is immensely more qualified for work than I am but because of the wonders of the USA, we have to wait for her green card to arrive (they tell you 40 days... but I'll take the Over on that) before she can find anything. So unemployment awaits.
I recently got about 15 rejection emails from school districts up here. I am at the point of unemployment where I finally responded to a rejection email with a brief: Oh Shoot! You made the wrong choice! So that stinks for you and me. Good luck with the wrong person. Look forward to applying next year when that person doesn't work.
Was it petty? Yes.
Did it feel great? Also yes.
Will I actually apply next year? NOPE.
Should probably just send this photo as a cover letter from now on
Since I haven't had much time for really anything in the past ten days, I certainly haven't had an opportunity to read or consume much in the way of interesting things that I'd like to share with you. Instead, I will run a brief Q and A I did with my wife, and new Minnesotan, Leen Sabbagh.
If you have other questions for her, send them my way and I'll ask!
SH: Hey, we're moving to America. That's pretty weird. I mean it's weird for me. What's it like for you? Did you ever see that coming when you moved to Qatar in 2015?
LS: I didn't. I thought moving to Qatar would be temporary. Move abroad. Pay off my loans. Then move back to Jordan. I didn't have this in mind when I left Amman. But here we are.
SH: You’re leaving the Arab world-- a place that you’ve called home your entire life-- what do you think you’ll miss most?
LS: I will miss the food of course; like, real hummus and falafel-- not this hipster shit. Some Jordanian dishes I don't think I'll be able to find anywhere. And easy access to Arab ingredients like sumac, zataar, and molokhyeh (but I have my stash I am bringing with me) But then also friends. And driving without a navigation system, using roundabouts for directions, knowing people in places who can get things done for me, and using Arabic to make jokes with people who understand what I am saying.
As for Qatar, I'll miss the convenience, cleanliness and great health insurance. But not the heat.
SH: You've been to Minnesota a few times. You have friends who live there and friends who are from there. What are some of things you feel comfortable saying you "know" about Minnesota before you become a resident?
LS: The big dishes involve something called tater tot casserole. It's really cold in the winter. They root for a team called the Vikings and I think that's because there is a big Scandinavian influence. I have heard there is a big immigrant population and that people are famous for being "Minnesota Nice."
SH: What are five things that excite you about America?
LS: 1) diversity, 2) freedom of speech, 3) so many food options at co-ops and grocery stores, 4) being closer to family 5) experiencing all the seasons.
SH: Can you list four things about America that give you pause.
LS: 1) Having to explain/justify things about where I’m from.
What it’s like being from “there as a Christian Arab?
How are you Christian?
How did you learn English?
What's it like for women "over there"?
Do you ride camels?
Typical stuff people think about Arabs that I will deal with.
2) How people are ignoring all COVID-19 warnings. This disease is serious. I'm not sure why it's so political in the USA.
3) Gun laws. So many shootings. So much violence.
4) Discrimination of all types: Gender. Race. Religion. Sexual orientation etc. Just seems like there is a lot of work to do in America. And of course my country has those problems too, but I think that's what people expect of Jordan. It's not something you'd think is so common in America.
SH: We recently had a child. What are your goals for raising him to ensure that he feels bi-cultural?
LS: I'd like him to speak Arabic. But mostly, I just want him to feel loved and show acceptance of the other, and I want him to be content and happy with who he is and where he is from.
