Presidential Election 2012

I have always been in the United States on Election Day. However, this time I was in North Africa. I don’t know that I missed the great intensity from individuals that strongly support their political party. Many people become rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful to those who speak against their political beliefs. Some of the arguments are very informative, but much of it is done so distastefully it becomes hard to pick up any good points .

Thanks to AFN (American Forces Network) and YouTube, I was able to watch all of the debates. Oddly enough, there were several Algerians that also watched the debates and followed along with the campaigns. Most of them were very strong supporters of President Obama. I’m not just saying that because I am too.

Over the past several years, U.S. Embassies all across the world throw a large bash to celebrate the election. This would give Americans the opportunity to watch the election live as it was happening in the United States. Since Algiers is 6 to 9 hours ahead of the United States, we were due to be awake for a very long time on election night.

The party began at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 6^th. Douglas and I assumed it was a casual party for the Americans. To our surprise, the party was for Americans as well as our neighboring embassies. Also, it was far from casual. We found that out after arriving in our comfortable sneakers, jeans and casual sweaters. Thankfully, we live very close to the embassy so it was not a problem to return home and change clothes. Everyone was dressed in semi-formal attire. The normal embassy was turned into what resembled an upscale night club. They brought in white sofas and chairs, tables, and set up several TV’s throughout the main lobby, all on different stations. To top it off, the event was catered and fully staffed. They served appetizers, dinner, and a full bar was readily available. The event was posh!

We had a wonderful time celebrating with fellow Americans and individuals from other embassies. Douglas and I called it a night around 2:30 a.m. We had no intention of going home and falling asleep, but we did intend on going home and getting comfortable on our sofa - and that we did until 8:00 a.m. when it was all over.

Congratulations to our re-elected President Barack Obama and his entire family. Although this was my first time living overseas for a presidential election, I am so grateful to be a proud American living overseas. It was a great campaign, a wonderful night, an outstanding win, and a superb victory speech. "Yes we can" do anything in our great land of opportunity. This was 100% worth staying up the whole night to watch live. God Bless America and four more years.