The US Embassy in Cairo

While I was still here in September, protests broke out outside the US embassy and in Tahrir Square over a pathetic anti-Islamic video that deserved no recognition at all. Everyone looked bad. The media played it off like Cairo was up in flames and Egyptians were furious over the video. In Libya, the American ambassador was killed. Here, all the other Egyptians shouted at the protestors through the television, wondering what the hell the American embassies have to do with this guy's video.

The truth is the protests were small, held by a bunch of ignorant people with nothing else to do on their Friday afternoon, Friday being like our Saturday in Egypt, a day off. So thanks to a bunch of dopes, Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims looked like savages yet again.

I can't tell you how many emails I had to write about how business was going on normally in Cairo around that few block radius. No one else cared about the video except the few assembled in garden city. I haven't even seen it.

That all said, I just revisited the embassy for the first time after the protests to find it even more threatening a fort than when I went with my dad in August. Security is heightened and the streets are lined with tanks and trucks filled with officers. I tried sneaking photos and got into trouble. I couldn't even stand on the sidewalk and drink my water while i waited before entering. I had to wait across the street.

The building itself is already surrounded with a 10' high wall to begin with, but it is now wrapped with barbed wire. And all the streets surrounding the embassy (which is also in close proximity to the UK and Canadian embassies as well) are blocked, guarded, and wrapped in barbed wire. It's really sad and pathetic when I think about it. Especially since this is supposed to be my safe haven when I'm away from home. This is where I come to be saved, rescued, guided, supported while living abroad. And it feels nothing like that.

Entering is a pain in the ass because you have to have an appointment that takes weeks to get, then to get through security, you have to go across the street and "store" your electronics because they cannot enter. He placed my things in an envelope, gave me a number, and when I returned, accused me of lying because my belongings didn't correspond with the number I was given... I handled that one well.

When i came in and had my turn at the counter, it was like visiting a bank. Agents are protected behind windows of bullet proof glass, and we communicated through microphones. Are we Americans that badass?

But i have to say, they were extremely helpful and informative. The passport renewal process was extremely easy and I was able to hold onto my old passport until the new one comes in in exactly 2 weeks time (amazingly fast)! I even was able to order it with extra pages at no extra charge since I travel so much. And voting is just as easy too. I was really happy to see how many people were there to vote. Gobama!! They answered all my questions, i literally came with a checklist, and provided me with loads of print outs and information.

Sadly though, the visa process for Egyptians to visit the US isn't ameliorated by my American citizenship status. So lets say hypothetically, if I had a boyfriend and I wanted him to visit NYC, the only way of really improving his chances of getting a visa to visit is if I marry him, or at least intend to within 3 months of arriving on a fiancé visa. The other option is for him to apply for a visa normally and hope he gets it. But it is not easy by any means. (You know, the whole, we're afraid he'll try to stay thing). If he doesn't get it, he can always try again... But it seems really ridiculous to me that you could pay $140 for the application and still get rejected. And if you want to try again, you pay again. This is like a different kind of gambling. It's all very strange and foreign to me, but this is what many other citizens from many other nations have to go through to travel.

So I say, I'm very grateful and proud to be American. My passport is my most prized possession. And if you have an American passport and you don't exercise your amazing privilege to travel and see the world, shame on you. There are plenty of people who would literally risk their lives for the rights we are merely born with. Egypt just had a revolution and people lost lives and limbs for the sake of having the freedom and power to vote.

Be American. Vote and travel.