Yesterday was quite an adventure while I was on a mission to get my visa extended for an additional two weeks in Bahrain. In order to even get into the country you need a visa. However, you can only apply for two weeks at a time unless you are to be employed here. My visa does NOT allow for employment. At first, I was planning to do some under the table tutoring here. But once I got here and heard some horror stories from girls telling me they can't leave the country, there are court cases against them, they can't get their visa approved, etc.....I decided it wasn't worth the risk to attempt! So, I am happily still umemployed...darn ;)
Anyway, so my first visa expires on Monday. My plane ticket back to Europe is for September 10th, so I needed to get my visa extended immediatly or I was going to have to switch my ticket to get the heck outta Dodge. First place we went to was the US Embassy. We were immediatly stopped by a guard who said we could not get in without an appointment. We handed over our passports and he called inside the building. They then told us that I needed to go to immigration to get my visa extension, but nobody could give us directions there. WHAT?! There was also a military man with a rather LARGE machine gun watching over us. And a creepy black Mercedes that just sat in the lot and stared. Finally we figured out *about* where to go. We decided to try the Bahrain Embassy. As we left, the Mercedes literally backed up and followed as we walked to the car. Apparently there have been cars blown up in the parking lot of the US Embassy, so security is tight now. I'm not convinced the Mercedes was "secrurity", and it was honestly not a comfortable experience!
So, we drove across town in search of the Bahrain Embassy. We cut through a black flag neighborhood. It was CrAzY to see piles of ash from the protest fires. Even the stoplights were literally MELTED from fires and there was grafitti spraypainted about killing. I wanted to get some pictures, but thought maybe it wasn't the best idea while there were people outside staring at the car! Eeek!
We finally find the embassy and park the car. We are walking through the 100+ degree desert when we get stopped by 2 guards. They tell us we can not go into the embassy because we are not covered enough. They said there are cameras inside and we will not be allowed in. We asked if they had things we could borrow to go inside, like they do at the mosque. No such luck. We would have to turn around, drive all the way back home, find something to cover ourselves up, and try again. Hmph. So we did....
We got back to the embassy for our third attempt at getting my visa. In my short walk outside fully covered, I really thought about how horribly hot the women have to be covered head to toe daily. I'm sure you get used to it to a point....but do you ever get used to being covered in black in 110 degree desert temperatures? Wow. Not something I think I could get used to!
This time we actually get to go inside a building! WHEW! Step one. I stopped at the "information" desk to ask where to go for non-citizens. The man snapped his fingers and pointed....in the obvious wrong direction. Helpful.
I tried the next desk. This man just kind of stared at me. But, there was a nice Arabic gentleman talking to the worker who asked me what I needed. I told him and he told me to go fill out a packet from one desk, write a letter, then photocopy my passport. Well, I did the "packet"....kind of...I left most of it blank, (I'm not employed, don't speak Arabic, have no idea what half of it actually said....). I saw no "letter" form so I didn't do that. The copier was broken and according to the helpful workers, there is not another one in the entire embassy building. So....feeling like this was questionable...I went back to the non-citizen desk and attempted to hand over my pitiful application.
The helpful non-employee began talking to the employee in Arabic. I obviously did not complete even half of what they wanted, including copying my passport. The man asked to see my passport so I handed it over. He said "You are the luckiest girl in the world." He stamped my passport, extended my visa until September 12th, and smiled. WHAT?!?! He didn't even ask my why I was here, where I am staying, what in the world I am doing....or even for my passport picture? Okay! I gladly handed over my money for my visa extension and walked out with a huge smile on my face. I really did get LUCKY!
Then.....I got even luckier! When we got to Amanda's house I recieved a package from my parents. It was like Christmas!! And one of the fabulous items inside the box was.....a......VISA! A credit card, of course, hehe. I've actually NEVER owned a credit card. This is my first, just incase I have an emergency while traveling solo. Let's hope I don't get crazy with it ;)
But....two visas in one day...now that was a successful afternoon after all!
What an adventure! Lesson learned: When going to extend your visa, first clarify if you should go to the US Embassy, or the embassy of the country you are visiting. Also, call ahead and ask if there are any rules such as proper attire, appointments required, etc. Had I known this, I could have saved several hours of my day. Then again, this is what this trip is all about: learning as I go and soaking it all in!
XoXo!
Anyway, so my first visa expires on Monday. My plane ticket back to Europe is for September 10th, so I needed to get my visa extended immediatly or I was going to have to switch my ticket to get the heck outta Dodge. First place we went to was the US Embassy. We were immediatly stopped by a guard who said we could not get in without an appointment. We handed over our passports and he called inside the building. They then told us that I needed to go to immigration to get my visa extension, but nobody could give us directions there. WHAT?! There was also a military man with a rather LARGE machine gun watching over us. And a creepy black Mercedes that just sat in the lot and stared. Finally we figured out *about* where to go. We decided to try the Bahrain Embassy. As we left, the Mercedes literally backed up and followed as we walked to the car. Apparently there have been cars blown up in the parking lot of the US Embassy, so security is tight now. I'm not convinced the Mercedes was "secrurity", and it was honestly not a comfortable experience!
So, we drove across town in search of the Bahrain Embassy. We cut through a black flag neighborhood. It was CrAzY to see piles of ash from the protest fires. Even the stoplights were literally MELTED from fires and there was grafitti spraypainted about killing. I wanted to get some pictures, but thought maybe it wasn't the best idea while there were people outside staring at the car! Eeek!
We finally find the embassy and park the car. We are walking through the 100+ degree desert when we get stopped by 2 guards. They tell us we can not go into the embassy because we are not covered enough. They said there are cameras inside and we will not be allowed in. We asked if they had things we could borrow to go inside, like they do at the mosque. No such luck. We would have to turn around, drive all the way back home, find something to cover ourselves up, and try again. Hmph. So we did....
We got back to the embassy for our third attempt at getting my visa. In my short walk outside fully covered, I really thought about how horribly hot the women have to be covered head to toe daily. I'm sure you get used to it to a point....but do you ever get used to being covered in black in 110 degree desert temperatures? Wow. Not something I think I could get used to!
This time we actually get to go inside a building! WHEW! Step one. I stopped at the "information" desk to ask where to go for non-citizens. The man snapped his fingers and pointed....in the obvious wrong direction. Helpful.
I tried the next desk. This man just kind of stared at me. But, there was a nice Arabic gentleman talking to the worker who asked me what I needed. I told him and he told me to go fill out a packet from one desk, write a letter, then photocopy my passport. Well, I did the "packet"....kind of...I left most of it blank, (I'm not employed, don't speak Arabic, have no idea what half of it actually said....). I saw no "letter" form so I didn't do that. The copier was broken and according to the helpful workers, there is not another one in the entire embassy building. So....feeling like this was questionable...I went back to the non-citizen desk and attempted to hand over my pitiful application.
The helpful non-employee began talking to the employee in Arabic. I obviously did not complete even half of what they wanted, including copying my passport. The man asked to see my passport so I handed it over. He said "You are the luckiest girl in the world." He stamped my passport, extended my visa until September 12th, and smiled. WHAT?!?! He didn't even ask my why I was here, where I am staying, what in the world I am doing....or even for my passport picture? Okay! I gladly handed over my money for my visa extension and walked out with a huge smile on my face. I really did get LUCKY!
Then.....I got even luckier! When we got to Amanda's house I recieved a package from my parents. It was like Christmas!! And one of the fabulous items inside the box was.....a......VISA! A credit card, of course, hehe. I've actually NEVER owned a credit card. This is my first, just incase I have an emergency while traveling solo. Let's hope I don't get crazy with it ;)
But....two visas in one day...now that was a successful afternoon after all!
What an adventure! Lesson learned: When going to extend your visa, first clarify if you should go to the US Embassy, or the embassy of the country you are visiting. Also, call ahead and ask if there are any rules such as proper attire, appointments required, etc. Had I known this, I could have saved several hours of my day. Then again, this is what this trip is all about: learning as I go and soaking it all in!
XoXo!
I was fairly uncomfortable just reading your story!! ;-) Sounds like the Visa rules are pretty relaxed....although proper attire is not! I wanted to see a pic of you "covered up"!
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