A Lesson In Civics...Whoes Embassy Is It?

We live a mere ten minutes from the U.S. Embassy here in Singapore, this is an obvious field trip choice for any home school family. We have studied our government many times over the years and wanted to learn first hand what an embassy can do for it's citizens.

Boy did we ever get a lesson in U.S. Government over seas but not the lesson we expected and certainly not a lesson we are in any way pleased with.

We took a taxi as our embassy does not have parking available. Upon exiting the taxi you are met by two smiling but very much not American guards that speak ok English if you listen closely.

I explained that we were citizens and we are here to see our embassy.   Do you have passport business they asked, no we said. Do you have an appointment? No.

We before going to the embassy looked on the web site and did see that for citizen services we need an appointment but we simply wanted to go into the lobby, we were not even asking for a tour, just simply to enter OUR embassy.

The guard gave us a phone number and said we needed to call and get permission to enter. So I took out my cell phone, called the number, got another foreign person this time with poor English skills and after each of us repeating ourselves several times to understand what was being said she told me that we are citizens and we can just enter the embassy directly.

Ok, this is what I thought, it is our right as citizens of The United States to enter our embassy.

We went back to the guards by the door and told them of our conversation and she said ok, you may enter.

Upon entering you are met with a picture of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with more foreign workers and the security scanner.

  We were all set, passports out, all phones, bracelets watches removed.....and then they looked at Keegan's insulin pump. They have no clue what it is,  remember foreign workers at my embassy who don't speak great English, how frustrating to try and explain he needs it because it is giving him medication.

One guard understood and said it is no problem we just need the supervisors ok and because you are citizens you may enter after we get clearance please step aside and wait. Ok no problem we appreciate that there is good security so we don't see this as any big deal.

We wait, and wait, finally I said, excuse me, someone is coming to clear us right, then the phone rings and the guard from outside comes in and tells us that we do not have an appointment so we may not enter the embassy at all. WHAT?!?!

She then says who did you talk to on the phone did you get her name, I said of course I could not get her name she did not speak good English. But she took our passport numbers and birth dates and e-mail address, put us on hold, then told us that we are citizens so it is not a problem we can just go into OUR embassy. To this the foreign guard said I am sorry mam but you can not go in.  You have to call the number and then be escorted by an American into the embassy.  So there must be Americans in there somewhere?

There you have it your tax dollars paying foreign workers at our government facilities to not communicate so well with U.S. Citizens.

Like I said we learned a lesson in civics today and now pray we never  truly need our embassy because really I have no confidence that they know what they are doing over there.  So frustrating, whose embassy is it anyway?