U.S. Embassy

I have lived here since the beginning of July and have never been to the U.S. Embassy. I did not even know where it was. They keep it hidden. That might be smart for security purposes (but someone who really wants to cause trouble will find a way to cause trouble). It just makes life very difficult for Americans seeking assistance.

So using a colleague's shabby directions (it is hard to give directions around here when there are no road signs and such), I was off to the U.S. Embassy to add more pages to my passport. But I ended up driving into a massive construction site for a damn freeway. It was awful. But I did not give up and eventually found it. I happened to notice on one compound's outside wall a rather small sign stating the Embassy of the United States of America. Victory! Note: There is no American waving flag to help guide you, just a little but still glorious one inside the complex.

But I was not done. I had to go through four security checkpoints. They took my mobile, my camera and my keys (why?) and they went through and looked at everything else in my bag. It is a rather unwelcoming process. Additionally, there was no U.S. military personnel. G4S, a security firm that also works for QF, did everything. I am not sure how I feel about this. I always thought it was U.S. military peeps like the Marines watching our embassies overseas. In fact, I remember seeing them at the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo. You would especially think they would be protecting an embassy in the Middle East! Moving on...

But once inside, you saw pictures of a smiling Obama! It was a comforting image regardless if you like the guy or not. I even cracked some jokes with the security guards. And I swiped (it was free so no need to worry) a cool little book in Arabic about the new administration. Talk about a unique souvenir regardless if you are down with Barack or not. Here are some pics of it:

Front cover. Note: It goes from right to left cause that is how they roll in Arabic.

Information on the first family.

The section on Joe Biden.

And I got extra pages added to my passport and thus I am good to go for more adventures around the globe! But first I had to figure out how to get back home...