Upon returning from Italy or another far away place, emerging from the airport through U.S. Customs is a joy to behold. Sit in a plane for many hours (longer than the outbound voyage for trans-Atlantic flights because of the jet-stream), and prepare for the airport departure process to be quite painful, further testing the fact that you probably haven’t slept properly for a while. We arrived at Hartsfield airport on the flight from Milan, with many other world travelers, including many who spoke Italian and not much English (similar to us when we flew to Milan). Getting off the plane was not too bad; everyone was eager to get off, and several people had connections to make. Then came the fun part.
If you have ever flown in from a foreign country, you may remember getting off the plane and to your pleasure walking through incredibly spacious hallways, in which there are very few people except for your fellow travelers from the flight you came in on. After walking about 200 yards or more through this cavernous emptiness, you turn a corner and realize that your pleasure has just ended, as you arrive at the customs queue (if you want to call it that). There, airport employees, in no clear uniforms, direct the masses to various lines. Unfortunately, the lines are really more like the semi-linear bunches of cows that you see getting wrangled through corrals in cowboy movies. Most of the cows have no idea where they are going, why they are going there, and many don’t understand a lick of English — exactly like everyone queueing up at customs.
Unlike the people at our arrival in Italy (even though many Italians don’t like Americans much at all), the folks at Hartsfield were both impatient and rude, and offered no explanation of “what” you were supposed to do, much less “why”. Everyone trying to figure out what they were supposed to do were treated as if they were mentally challenged, and everyone not speaking English well were treated as if they were total idiots. Meanwhile, the airport employees were muttering things to each other like “Their just like cows, if one of them goes in that line they all do.” (I’m not making that up, that is a direct quote). Of course, they were right. The folks arriving at the airport were treated like cows, and didn’t know what to do, and didn’t have clear guidance from the people that were supposedly being paid to help arriving passengers. How about that?
In addition, there were many things about customs that make absolutely no sense to the tired inbound passengers. The line at customs was constantly in flux. You may be in one line, then moved to another on the other side of the room at any time (a command barked at you by one of the employees). After getting your passport stamped, you have to go pick up your bag at baggage claim as it drops onto the carousel. Of course, you have to give it right back again at a conveyour belt manned by 3 or 4 employees who ignore you until you ask them if you are just supposed to leave your bag there or show them a claim ticket. After re-checking your bags, you must then exit through security and the metal detectors (to leave the airport?). I left my shoes on and forgot the Euros in my pocket and got through fine, but the smaller metal eyelets on Jenna’s shoes set off the detector (reminds me of the time that an employee at security told me to cover my belt buckle with my hand to get through the detector). After you get through that you are released to go get your baggage from the main baggage claim and you are finally allowed to leave…
I understand that these things just happen, and such circumstances are pretty crazy sometimes, but above all else, I was really shocked by the way that the airport employees were treating the passengers. The way that non-English speakers were treated was pretty astonishing on top of that — and we were doubly appreciative of the patience that the Italians had for us when we first arrived in Milan. Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is — there are several reasons why many Europeans hate Americans, and treating them like complete s&!# as soon as they step off the plane is one of them. Welcome to America! Welcome home citizens!
