I don't know what to say.

I'm overwhelmed.

This is JFK, Terminal Seven, Peets Coffee and free wireless. My hands are shaking from the sheer ordinariness. I nearly cried when I saw the coffee of the day for 1.65 (about 250 Fils) instead of 1 KD (3.65).

I'm back stateside, after a 13 hour plane ride complete with some moron who started screaming in the middle of the flight that an attendant had dumped a tray in his lap. In fact, this guy writes for The New York Times, virtually assuring I will never purchase that media outlet again, should I need it for a blanket in a snowstorm. I went back and made friends with all the attendants instead, who were pretty cool bunch.

To cap it off, we were stuck on the Tarmac for 45 minutes while someone (who thought they were slick) called the cops from their cellphone, then refused to fess up when the cops came ON BOARD looking for who did it. It's good they kept quiet so we didn't sicc the 5 eight year olds on them, who sat in back of K--- and I kicking our seats for the entire 13 hours.

On the whole, I would recommend Kuwait airlines. The food was pretty good, the legroom was adequate, the attendants were nice. The little TV's in the back on the seats didn't work so hot, but I read K---'s book on Islam for most of the way while she snoozed. That woman could sleep standing on her head, I kid you not.

The weirdest part so far has been seeing so many Caucasian guys.

The nicest part is that everyone (even the ones who did The Middle East Search On Me at the Security Gate) is smiling and not cranky or surly at all. I laughed through the search. They make it sound like a privledge... 'You have been selected for a special security screening...' . Bullshit. You just came from/are going to the Middle East, and why would you go there anyway? The good part is that you get to go ahead of about 300 people in line to be puffed by air and felt up by bored female guards. The sick part is that it's not 1/1000 of the trouble that K. goes through when he's trying to travel. He kept shaking his head over dinner- "You guys have absolutely no idea how lucky you are..." and he's right. We don't.