As I go about my days now I often think of the oddities and unusual stuff that I will or will not miss while living here. Today it was security.
On the way to the airport (I go there to get the mail for the embassy personnel about 3 times a week.) the driver and I heard sirens. That's not a usual sound, but not totally unsual either. Kinda the same as the States in frequency. These sirens were coming from police, traveling at high speed, on motorcycles, on the freeway. 3 of them. As they zoomed past us they pushed their arms out at us --- motioning us to move to the far lefthand lane. (The right lane is used for the fast lane here.)So we obliged. Following closely behind was a police SUV with lights flashing. Then another police car. Then another police car. Then a black Mercedes with (this is the coolest part) 2 black fully-loaded cool of cool motorcycles flanking each side, within arm's reach of the Mercedes. Bodyguards on Bikes! They were ZOOOOOMIN'!
"Who gets 2 bikers?" I asked the driver. "The prime minister" "The deputy prime minister gets only 1." Oh. The prime minister is secure.
Onward to the airport. I get the mail from the cargo area. No regular folk are around, just FedEX, UPS, and the like. As I'm waiting for my paperwork I watch them loading an xray machine with cargo from a large truck. The guy on the machine is totally zonked out. I mean totally. I think, "He'll wake up when they start the machine." Well, not really. A few bags go by. By bags I mean cargo bags that hold up to 100 lbs of stuff. Then he wakes up! Then he falls asleep again. The rest of the entire truck goes by, under his not watchful asleep eyes. The cargo is totally secure.
Then I go into customs to give them my paperwork a local guard says hello to me. They often like to say hello. Not many white women working in cargo I guess. :) I "Hello" back and go into the building. On the way out he happily says with a big grin on his face, "Fed Ex!" so pleased with himself that he knows who I work for. This is what is on my shirt, along with an ID with my name and US Embassy on it.
I'm Totally secure with this guard.
On the way home from work I get a frantic phone call from the Okin (Not Orkin) pest guy. Apparently my maid won't let him in because she doesn't know him. Even though this guy has been to my house every month for the last year and he has my cell number, which he is calling. She doesn't know him, I didn't tell her he's coming. He's not getting in. My house is secure.
2 comments:
oh man, this is funny on SO many levels! i could totally see each scene happening because i've seen similar ones myself. the funny thing about the prime minister being "secure"...one time we were at the Craft Complex ("Compleks Craf") and saw all this security without knowing why and suddenly the Prime Minister & his wife are walking around the gift shop with us! He had a couple of guards but they showed no interest in the white family. He was secure. :)
haha that's too funny. good maid :)
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