The alarm goes at 3 AM. I say goodbye to Mamy and Pari and at 3:30 AM we leave for the airport. The airport is very close so we get there early. There is already a very long line of people queued up for the security check. Farhad’s ‘man’ who is supposed to arrange for my excess luggage, has not appeared yet, but then again, we are very early. The line moves slowly. Then I spot a separate entrance for women, where the line moves a lot quicker. I say goodbye to Keyvan whom I will see again in Holland in a week. All of a sudden I get very anxious but I only have to hold up my passport and I am inside. My suitcases go through the X-ray machine. Then I pass customs where I am asked about the contents of my suitcases. Innocently I answer ‘my clothes, cookies and a few souvenirs’, leaving out the gold coins and jewelry. I am nervous because people around me are ordered to open their bags for inspection, but I am allowed to move on. Next comes the check-in counter of Iran Air. Farhad has managed to obtain a security check pass and joins me here. His ‘man’ still hasn’t shown up. I wait and watch in awe the amounts of luggage people take with them on this flight. Economy passengers are allowed 44 pounds (20 kg) and business class passengers 88 pounds (40 kg), but it looks like everybody ‘s luggage greatly exceeds those limits. Farhad shows up again without his ‘man’. It is getting later and later. Hardly anyone is checking in anymore. Then I see that security is no longer allowing Farhad into the transit area . He gestures wildly to me that I should go check in now; he can’t help me anymore. Without him or his mysterious ‘man’ I am on my own. I take a deep breath and step forward. The Iran Air employee first gives me back the 10,000 tuman (approx. $12.50) that Farhad had slipped into my passport as a bribe. Then he makes my heart skip a beat by saying that I did not confirm my ticket 3 days in advance and that it has therefore been canceled. When I protest he answers quietly ‘no problem, plane is empty’ (I guess he means there are still seats available). Especially when he notices I have a business class ticket there is no problem at all. I get my boarding pass and after a short discussion with another Iran Air employee I get to take my 55 pounds of excess luggage for free. “C class service bedeh!” (“To business class you give service!”) his colleague told him. It is amazing how well foreigners are treated here.

Finally, an hour later than scheduled, we leave the airport. I have taken off my dirty raincoat and sit in my long blouse, with a scarf of course, on the first row of the plane. “If anyone has a problem with me they can send me back to Holland” is my thought. But nobody bothers me; there are only 5 other passengers in the business class. I devour my breakfast and fall asleep.

Above Amsterdam Schiphol Airport I look down in amazement. Holland is such a neat, orderly country! It strikes me every time I come back. The flowerfields are beginning to show color. My brother Bart picks me up from the airport. During the short drive to his house on an orderly Dutch highway I tell him about the chaotic traffic in Tehran. Later that day I tell all my stories to my parents and Bart. I am very happy to be home, but I am also happy that we will visit Iran every year now. There is still so much to discover in this country full of warm people, stories, and sights!

Paula van Schie-K