We're here!

We finally have our internet up and running after almost 2 weeks of being here. It was supposed to be already set up and going upon our arrival. Good to know the speed of service didn't change while we were in the States. Nothing here is "urgent."
The flights went well. The 12 hour flight to here from Chicago was fairly uneventful. The younger kids slept well and the older kids were able to stay out of trouble. It was great having Todd along this time for that long flight. I still ended up holding T for most of the flight because he seemed to sleep better than in the carseat we brought along. I think Cricket was the only one who got sick this time and it was right near the end.
I knew we were definitely close to the Middle East about a half hour before we landed. The flight crew was making the arrangements for landing. I had buckled T into his FAA approved car/airline seat and he was actually being pleasant. A male flight attendant came by and asked me in his Arab accent to take T out of his seat and hold him on my lap for landing. I was surprised (and annoyed) by this request as my back was killing me already for having to hold him for most of the flight. I told the guy that the seat is airline approved but he said he would "feel much better" if I kept him on my lap so I could hold on to him during the landing. I guess those hours I've spent at the gym have paid off in that he thought in the event of a crash landing I'd be able to hang onto the baby better than having him buckled in. But since things were going smoothly and there was no indication it would be a crash landing, I agreed and we made it safely on the ground.
The next indication of being in the ME was when we did land there was a round of applause. That is common here. Upon a safe landing the passengers applaud. It's not a huge ovation or anything but just a "happy to be safe on the ground" celebration.
Then I knew we'd arrived upon entering the airport as we were immediately greeted with the stench of cigarette smoke. Smoking is still allowed inside public buildings. They do have little areas where the smokers are supposed to go and PA announcements asking them to use the smoking areas. Nobody really pays attention though. I actually got used to it in Kuwait and didn't notice it as much after being there a while. But then after being in the States and spending most of my time in Idaho and Utah it was again a shock to see so many smokers inside buildings.
We're happy to be here though and we're getting settled in and looking forward to new experiences.