First Day in United Arab Emirates(初到阿拉伯联合酋长国)-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

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		First Day in United Arab Emirates(初到阿拉伯联合酋长国)	2020-03-16 08:58:13

2013-12-05

【Aiden in English】

This was it! I couldn't believe I would go to the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Already, I was imagining the endless desert and the leisurely animals. Just thinking about it, the trip made me so hyper that half of the time at the airport, I would run ahead of Mom and tell her to hurry. But I didn't know today would be one of the worst days of my life.

We arrived at Philadelphia International Airport at 11 O'clock sharp with plenty of time to spare. Our flight didn't leave until 13:56, and it was a connecting flight to Washington, D.C. From there, we headed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mom and I blew by the security with no problem and arrived at our flight gate so quickly that the inbound airplane from Washington, D.C., didn't even take off yet! That's when things went wrong.

It was nearly departing time, and still, no plane was in front of us. I checked the update on TV to see what happened and almost had a heart attack. At the top of the screen, in big, bold letters that seemed to be mocking me, it said that the flight to Washington, D.C., was a whooping 3-hour delay and still no sign of a plane the United Airlines that was coming to take us away soon due to heavy fog in the northeast area. If this continued, we would miss our connecting flight in Washington, D.C. We had no choice but to change our tickets to Dubai through Amsterdam, Netherlands, via US Airways. That sounded okay with me until Mom said we would arrive in Dubai around 3:00 am after midnight, which was delayed 11 hours. Just like it, my smile vanished.

When we arrived in Amsterdam, it was pitching black outside. I thought the plane needed better seats so that I could tell the difference between my seat and a piece of concrete. And as for the entertainment, I had a heck of a time trying to guess what was going on with the characters speaking Dutch. When I boarded the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plane to Dubai, I noticed it was a tiny bit of 2 hours late again. But once I stepped in, I suddenly didn't care. Every seat was made of soft leather and had a TV! I toppled into my spot and turned on the screen. I saw an endless collection of movies and games. I was having so much fun. Before I knew it, we landed in Dubai.

Do you know how we say, "the calm before the storm"?

We waited for our luggage to arrive at the baggage claim area next. One of the two came out. And we only had one suitcase! Immediately, we shot toward the Lost/Found Service. We met a gentleman there who asked us many questions about its weight, size, shape, color, etc. When he finally finished, I couldn't help but sigh with relief. The answer shocked me that our other luggage probably traveled to Washington, D.C. alone. It surprised me so much that I felt like I was dreaming for a moment. However, he told us that he would alert all airplanes we flew on and that our baggage should be with us by midnight, no later than the following day. That reassured me a little with comfort. But I still couldn't believe one of our bags was on the other side of the world in Washington, D.C. After Mom and I were told not to worry, we left and found our service guy who was supposed to take us to the Raffles Hotel in Dubai.

It was a crazy day.

【红霞译】

简直难以置信我马上就要开始中东、南亚和非洲之旅，眼前频频闪现广袤无际的沙漠和自由自在的动物，真令人禁不住情绪高亢脚步生风。一走进机场我便把妈妈远远地甩在身后，并不时回过头来敦促她快马加鞭，可谁能想到今天将是我有生以来最晦气的一天。

故事还得从头说起。上午十一点钟整妈妈和我早早来到费城国际机场，前往华盛顿的飞机要到下午一点五十六分才会起飞，经首都再换乘联航直奔阿拉伯酋长国迪拜，我们顺利通过安检，这时前来接应的班机仍滞留华府按兵不动，前景并不乐观。

马上就挨到启程时间，候机室外空无一架飞机，我查看电视屏幕上显示的飞行近况，不看不知道一看差点儿没休克过去，因为美东地区大雾天气，原本从华府飞入费城的航班继续原地待命，照这样下去我们至少要晚点仨钟头，弄不好今天能否离开美国都成为悬念，无奈之余我们只好改变线路，经荷兰首都阿姆斯特丹飞往迪拜。乍听起来这条航线还算不错，但当妈妈提及我们必须推后十一个小时到达目的地、也就是说直到第二天凌晨三点钟，我再也笑不出来。

当抵达阿姆斯特丹时外面漆黑一团，但愿我们刚刚乘坐的全美航空公司能够讲究一点座位质量，不然照这样下去真令人难以区分椅子和水泥板之间的差别；娱乐节目更不敢妄加恭维，我费了好半天劲才猜测主人公所说的荷兰语到底是什么意思。糟心事接踵而至，从阿姆斯特丹飞往迪拜的荷兰皇家航空班机又推迟了两个多钟头，不过等我登上飞机，突然不再把飞机晚点一事放在心上。机上配置皮革座位安逸舒适，每位乘客前还配有一台微型电视！我一屁股坐了下去立马打开屏幕，里面电影游戏五花八门好玩至极，不知不觉地我们竟到了迪拜。

什么叫“风暴前的淡定”？

接下来我们赶到行李处提取行李，一个皮箱很快闪亮出台，但这仅仅是两件行李中唯一一个。我们二话不说旋即冲进拾物招领处，当班的男士询问了一连串诸如重量、大小、形状、颜色等问题，等好不容易结束应答我禁不住叹了一口气，查找结果令我吃惊，原来那件不知去向的行李按照旧路线由费城托运到华府，至今与我们远隔千山万水，听来简直不可思议，不过他表示马上向联合、全美、荷皇等各家航空公司发出紧急通知，要求在明天午夜时分将行李转送到我们居住的莱佛士酒店下榻，让我们彻底放心。

多么叫人抓狂的一天呵。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2009: 博爱(Philanthropy)