First Class Flying, Airports, and Arriving in Abqaiq.

Everything was better about flying first class!  More leg room, lots of attention from the flight attendants, lots of food, screens for each person, seats that reclined...  I really wish we would have just had a direct flight because the only stressful part of the trip was getting to our connecting flights.  

 Levi and I on the flight from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.  This was a short flight and they had cool snacks.  Probably the most fun part of the trip.  The airplane excitement was still fresh for the kids and we had a very friendly flight attendant.  

After our plane landed in LA we had an hour and forty minutes to get to our next flight.  We thought that would be plenty of time but little did we know we had to get to a totally different terminal and go through security again.  It wouldn't have been a big deal if we had been given accurate information.  We got on a shuttle and asked to be dropped off at terminal two.  Instead the driver decided we needed to go to terminal 4 instead.  Once we finally knew where we were going we started freaking out just a little because we knew we still had to get through security again.  A family of six getting through security isn't super simple.  The line was really long so we just cut in line making a bunch of people angry.  As we were getting everything on the conveyor belt we heard over the intercom "Despain party of 6 your flight to Amsterdam is ready to depart."  Well crap.  At this point I was starting to really really think we may not get on the flight.  We literally ran to the gate barely made it.  The crew of flight attendants helped us get all of the carry on luggage put away and the plane started moving about one minute after we were sitting down.  I let out a huge sigh.  I am still surprised that we made it.

About an hour after we took of dinner was served.  I should have taken a photo of the menu so I could remember the food options.  I got a beef steak with potatoes and vegetables and a roll.  I think Josh got that too.  Millie got a chicken dish and I think the rest of the kids got a fancy macaroni and cheese dish. There were appetizers too but none of them seemed super appealing. It was all much fancier food than Josh or I ever eat.  Everything was edible though and it was nice to be served. :)  One thing that was kind of challenging was that we had so much space that either Josh or I had to keep getting up to help the kids with their food (cutting it, buttering rolls, etc.)  Usually it was Josh getting up. :)  

 After dinner the kids got to watch movies on their screens and then we made them shut them off and get some sleep.  I think it was about 9pm when we made them sleep.  After running through the airport they were all pretty tired.

 Briggy slept for about 8 out of ten hours of this flight.  That was such a blessing!!!!

 An hour before landing in Amsterdam they served breakfast.  It felt like 3am for us so we weren't very hungry and some of the kids were still sleeping.  Josh got an omelet for breakfast and I got blueberry pancakes.  It also came with a croissant, some fruit and cheese, some yogurt, and a bowl of cornflakes.

At the end of the flight they brought around these little gifts for everyone.  They are little glass dutch looking houses.  I think the guy said there are 90 different ones and people that regularly fly with KLM collect them.  I need to get a picture of one still.  We didn't know they had alcohol in them so when we get them again after the next flight we traded some of them for ones that didn't have alcohol. (For those that don't know... Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia so they would have been confiscated if they had alcohol in them).

After landing in Amsterdam we had just enough time to figure out where to go and then get there.  We also had to go through security again.  SUCH A PAIN!  It was nice getting on to our last flight though and knowing we were getting closer!!!  The kids all did good on the flight from Amsterdam to Saudi but they were getting really antsy and ready to not be on a plane anymore.  Brigham slept for a bit and then was mostly watched Mickey Mouse on my lap top. There were several other Aramco employees on the flight but none of them were headed to Abqaiq.

The plane had a stop in Kuwait before taking off again for Dammam.  Josh and I took advantage of this time get changed and make sure we had everything and knew where things were (passports, ID, etc).  As the plane started loading again it was a bit of a reality and a culture shock...It filled with Muslim people.  Most of the women who boarded had their faces veiled showing only a little slit of their eyes.  Several people touched Callie's hair.  She is so blonde and they don't see hair quite like hers very often.

Once we landed in Dammam we found a bathroom and then headed for the immigration area.  We were at the end of a very long line when a Saudi man (dressed in a thob and gutra) took us to the front. He was an Aramco employee and had been looking for us.  Our family stood out big time... we are very white and we have a lot of kids. :)  After that we went to get our luggage.  We tipped 3 porters quite well for getting all of our luggage together for us.  They took it over to customs for us and helped get it all through.  Everything we brought made it though customs. They didn't even really search any of it.  After that we met up with the rest of the group of new teachers that were coming in at the same time and they took us to get our company IDs made.  Keep in mind that is was after 11pm Saudi time so it felt like early afternoon for us.  We in a small room with the rest of the new group and ate Snickerdoodle cookies that the superintendent brought for us.  It was really fun to get to know some of our new coworkers and neighbors.  Once we were done there we got on some really big busses that were very well air conditioned and headed to our new home.

We got to Abqaiq at about 3:30 am.  There are were 2 other families on the bus that also live in the same 4 plex of townhouses as us.  Everyone helped get everything unloaded and we were off to see our new home.  By this time I was definitely exhausted even though it should have only felt like about 7 pm for us.  We gave everyone some Melatonin to help make them sleepy and by 4am we were all sleeping.  I didn't even move I don't think until the 2pm.  I decided to make everyone get up so that we could start getting adjusted to the new time.

Thats all for now but I should have time later tonight to post about our first day here. :)  Thanks for reading.