India 2011 Begins!

Sitting in Detroit Metro Airport, at Gate D6, 12:45pm

The first of three legs of my journey to Bangalore begins in Detroit. We left Grand Rapids around 9am and arrived at the Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) in around 2.5 hours. I entered into the North Terminal for my United flight to Dulles (IAD). Check-in at the counter went smoothly and very quickly. But I am pretty sure the United agent at the counter was not having the best of days. I handed over my confirmation and my US Passport and, after some examination, she asked me, “Do you have a green card?” I was a bit flustered by this question. A green card was not on my list of documents I was constantly being hounded over by my parents. After a moment of “WTH?!!!,” I responded, “Umm...I'm a citizen.” The agent responded with the most acute look of embarrassment on her face and proceeded to process my check-in.

Then going through security, came the necessary emptying of pockets, removal of belt and shoes, and placement of the Mac into the gray security bins. Everything went smoothly until my larger carry-on began to attract the attention of the x-ray examiners. The bag was pulled off the conveyor belt and brought to me for opening and inspection. I denied any sharp objects in the bag, but it turned out that what caught the inspectors' attention was a 3-pack, bulk Costco-size of Vaseline lotion. The inspector looked at me and exclaimed “This is definitely more than 3.4 ounces. You can't take this.” I laughed at myself – so typically desi to have a bulk package of lotion confiscated. The lotions were returned to my dad waiting in the terminal, I put my shoes on, and proceeded to down to Gate D6. It's a beautiful day in Detroit. I'm sitting next to a large window overlooking the tarmac and looking forward to what DC and Dubai will have in store over the next 24+ hours. :)