Customs 2009

From my journal. I keep forgetting to pass some of this on to you...

"Customs" coming into the country was all but nonexistent and consisted of five or six uniformed Frenchmen standing off to the side pretty much ignoring us (half facing the other way, the better to yak with their pals) as we passengers went out the main door where non-travelers await with the various signs, etc., beckoning arrivees. They chuckled when I asked where customs was (in my defense, there was a sign with an arrow to go straight ahead even though all of my compatriots were taking the left turn to go out the door and into the world). One guy goes, "C'est nous." (We're it.) If I'd been on my own entirely, c'est-à-dire, not directing a program where I was going to be ushering numerous students through the airport 1.5 weeks later and therefore trying to be extra vigilant to details I might need, I'd have gone through the doorway right away but I wanted to doublecheck. His eyebrows raised in surprise when I rephrased (in French), "Everyone's just leaving - we don't need to go through you? You don't need to see anything?!" I could tell he was biting his tongue (What IS it with these Americans!? Such lambs, you could tell them anything and they would do it! No wonder they never go on strike!) but he only allowed the slightest twinkle in his eye when he said, as if dealing with someone obviously fragile, "Non, madame."

I'm not sure if passengers coming from other nations get more scrutiny. Obviously the French aren't too worried about Americans tho. Hey, I don't mind being regarded as innocuous if it gets me out of the airport faster.