My life has been a movie since the moment I realized I left my MacBook from work at the security check in Washington Dulles Airport…
On Sunday February 19 I traveled to Tunisia for a First Aid Meeting with Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies from the Middle East and North Africa. This was mas second time during my fellowship that I was traveling abroad to expose the work we are doing in creating mobile applications for everyday emergencies and hazards.
I was having the most pleasant flight in years. With my headphones on and almost falling asleep I was enjoying the beauty of Air France wide seats, when I suddenly started rewinding inside my head. I opened my eyes like an owl and realized that I forgot it there, at the security check.
I asked quickly for permission to a lady sitting between me and the corridor so I could double check if by any chance, my mind was just playing a bad joke. But it wasn’t, I never put it back inside my backpack after the security check at the airport. What I was supposed to do now? My entire work was inside that machine! In addition, I didn’t even send me a copy of the presentation I was supposed to give in Tunisia!
Imagine my desperation knowing that for the next 8 hours I wasn’t able to do nothing about it. Thank God I applied Yoga’s lesson number one and breathe to calm down. I managed to do so, but still couldn’t sleep in the remaining hours of my flight.
5 hours layover in Paris helped me to reorganize my head and contacted a colleague who is working in Paris. I asked her to asked her to call the Lost & Found Department at Dulles International Airport because I didn’t have network on my mobile phone. I also called my family and they also got in touch with the Airport. People there must have thought that I had a bomb inside my Mac or hyper super mega important stuff (which I had!).
10.30 am in Paris meant 3.30 am in D.C. and of course, the lost and found department at the airport wasn’t open. So I had no other option than just keep on waiting calm.
When I arrived to my hotel in Tunisia, I connected to the first wi fii antena that I found and received a message from my colleague in Paris: “They found it!” Oh Lord, you can not understand my happiness in that moment.
Honestly, I didn’t have much hope. If things like this happen in my country, I will be now looking the best deal to by a new MacBook. It’s sad but is the reality. Thankfully this country is much more civilized than mine, and things work how they are supposed to work (of course not all of them! but nobody is perfect).
What happened with my presentation? Well, so a colleague went to look for my MacBook at the airport and sent me my presentation. Therefore, I was able to deliver as expected and the outcomes where actually very good. Now we have a bunch of new National Societies from Middle East and North Africa wanting to develop the First Aid Application in their country.