2013-12-05

【Aiden in English】

      This was it! I couldn't believe that I would actually go to the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Already I was imagining the endless desert and the leisurely animals. Just by 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 much I didn't know that today was going to be one of the worst days in 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 would head 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 there was no plane 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 said that the flight to Washington, D.C. was a whooping 3-hour delay and still no sign of a plane of the United Airlines that was coming to take us away soon due to heavy fog in the northeast area. If this kept up, we would miss our connecting flight in Washington, D.C. With no other choice, we had to change our tickets to Dubai through Amsterdam, Netherlands via US Airway. That sounded okay with me until Mom said that we would arrive in Dubai around 3:00 am after midnight, which delayed in 11 hours. Just like it, my smile vanished.

      When we arrived in Amsterdam, outside it was pitch black. I really thought the plane needed better seats so that I was able to 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. As soon as I boarded the plane of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Dubai, I noticed that it was a tiny bit of 2-hour 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 were waiting for our luggage to show themselves at the baggage claim area next. One of two came out. And we only had one suitcase! Immediately, we shot toward the Lost/Found Service. There we met a gentleman who asked us a ton of 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 did surprise me so much that for a moment, I felt like I was dreaming. However, he told us that he would alert all airplanes we flew on and 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 Raffles Hotel in Dubai.

      It was a crazy day.

【红霞译文】

        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，我禁不住情绪高亢脚步生风。一走进机场，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。

        上午十一点钟整我们早早来到费城国际机场，前往首都华盛顿的飞机要到下午一点五十六分才会起飞，在那里我们再换乘联航直奔阿拉伯联合酋长国迪拜。妈妈和我顺利通过安检，这时前来接应我们的飞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班机继续原地待命，照这样下去，飞机至少要晚点仨钟头，弄不好今天我们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。

        我们抵达阿姆斯特丹时，外面漆黑一团，但愿刚刚乘坐的全美航空公司能够讲究一点座位质量，不然实在令人难以区分椅子和水泥板之间的差别。娱乐节目且不敢妄加恭维，我费了好半天劲一直不停地猜测主人公所说的荷兰语到底是什么意思。从阿姆斯特丹飞往迪拜，荷兰皇家航空班机又推迟了两个多钟头，不过一旦登上飞机，我突然不再把飞机晚点当回事。机上配置安逸的皮革座位，每个乘客前还有一台微型电视﹗我一屁股坐了下去，立马打开屏幕，里面电影游戏五花八门，好玩极了。不知不觉地，我们到了迪拜。

        什么叫“风暴前的淡定”﹖

        接下来，我们赶到行李处提取行李。很快地，一个皮箱出现了，但这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，等好不容易结束提问，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。