Traveling Home

Although I am so beyond grateful for the opportunity to travel, work, and live in Armenia, by the end of three weeks I was very ready to return home. The only thing that stood in my way was 24 hours of travel. Preparing for our trip home consisted mostly of stressing about whether our luggage would be under the airline’s weight limit. Packing was an almost cathartic experience—I enjoy the tactile experience of rolling up each of my skirts, shirts, and pants and placing them into my suitcase one by one. It felt almost as if I was reliving my trip, as each garment carried with it memories of my experience. 

At quarter past midnight, the shuttle that would be taking us to the airport arrived at the hotel. We drove past the gigantic, well-lit “Ararat” brandy factory one last time. Upon arriving at the airport and checking in, I was relieved to find my luggage did not exceed the weight limit. We made our way through security (which was a must more pleasant experience than going through TSA). 

Our first flight, from Yerevan to Doha, was fairly uneventful. I ate a lovely buttered croissant (courtesy of Qatar Airways) and transitioned in and out of sleep. Once we arrived at Hamad International Airport, things became much more chaotic. The airport was absolutely packed. Immediately after getting off the flight, we went through another security check. Once we had found our gate, we realized that we would have to go through another private security screening just to be able to board our flight. Security officials instructed me to take the cases off my laptop and phone. We were instructed to throw away bottles of Gatorade and water that we had bought within the airport. I read later on that the FAA dictates that flights to the USA must depart from dedicated gates with an extra security check. 

This experience was much different than my previous experience flying back to the US from Ireland. The Dublin airport even has a special section where you can go through US customs while still in Ireland to fast-track the process. It’s so interesting to see how geopolitical politics and international relations trickles down through society and impacts so many areas of life.