So I deplaned from the Air France plane. It is one of those airports without a jetway so you have to go down the stairs, just like the president or a movie star. I was feeling pretty good about myself because I brought a backpack that I was carrying on my back. Everyone else had to stop to pick up their roller bags. If I have learned one thing with my travels, it is that it is almost always easier to get around with a backpack over roller boards. If you get on a bus, a backpack is easier. If you walk down cobbled streets in Europe, a backpack is easier. If you are walking in dirt roads in South America, a backpack is easier. If you are going straight from the airport in a taxi and are staying in one hotel the whole time, a roller bag is easier. I think you get the point. So I had a backpack instead of a roller bag.
There were two buses and people were getting on both buses, so I chose the front one. Only there were only about 10 people on this bus and they all looked really important. Two people were told in French, that they could not take this bus and how to go to the other one. This was a plane with 400 people, so the other bus was going to be very crowded. And I just wanted to make sure to get through customs and immigration before I had to wait in line with 400 people. I must have looked like I knew what I was doing or I looked important enough, cause nobody said anything to me.
The bus took us around to the side of the airport to a small room with only 2 immigration officers. Everybody else there seemed to have someone meeting them and helping them through immigration. So I just went up to the immigration officers and they stamped my passport. And I was directed to a small door that looked like only employees should use it. So I went through and I was outside the airport. I thought it was a little weird as there was no place to pick up luggage. Not a problem though since I didn't check luggage this time. So I exited the airport and starting looking for my name. This was the quickest and easiest immigration that I had ever done and there was not a throng of people.
There were very few people around and no one with a sign. So I asked them what area this was and they said VIP, like the very VIP people (think dignitaries or Justin Beiber, or they Senegales equivalent of Justin Beiber), not me. That is when I first realized that maybe I shouldn't have gone that way. So I asked where the non VIP area was and I was directed to the other side of the airport. When I arrived I saw the longest line of people waiting for people to arrive that I have ever seen. There was no way that I was going to find this guy in this mess of people. No panic though. I'd figure it out. So I sent an email to the guy that was picking me up and he called me. He asked me how in the world did I ever end up there.
Later at dinner, I spoke to the Delta Station Manager who was very surprised that I was able to sneak through the VIP section. In fact she was so surprised that she thought maybe I had skipped the immigration process completely. But I do have a stamp in my passport that says I entered the country. She is going to check tomorrow just to make sure that I am in the country legally. And more importantly, check if I'll be able to leave on Friday.
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