Globe Jotter

Why they almost didn’t let me through security

April 2010

I was going through customs in Dubai to get on my plane back to Prague when the customs official stopped me. He kept looking from me to my passport photo (top), bewildered and suspicious. That photo was taken in 2006, after an afternoon of playing lacrosse at the end of summer. I tan really quickly, and when I do I look like a different person. I was also not the most…put-together high-schooler.

The customs official just couldn’t believe that was me. He even went to get his buddy at another booth to figure out what to do. I eventually remembered that I had my czech visa (bottom) in my passport, which had a more recent photo of me taken in the dead of winter.

You should see the scans of my passport. You can’t even see my face, just the glint from my braces.

When the customs official finally let me go, he asked: “What’s your secret?”