So at 6 am today, after a night of little-no sleep, Mike woke me up to drive to a busy, smoky AF, polluted one-way street where people turn in both directions. Where am I? Oh yeah, on my way to the US Consulate Office. I would be lying if I said that the sight of the American flag send a huge sigh of relief through my body. I felt, for a brief moment, that I was home.
We took the baby lovebug and our crossed fingers crossed, hoping that unlike most governmental visits, this one would be quick and painless. Surprisingly, that’s how it went to get her birth certificate and passport. For the first time in my whole life, it was easy to deal with a government office. It took a few hours but there was no running around, no “see that person” who sends you to see “this person” who sends you back to the first person you saw. No one told me that I had to do ABC while the next person told me that ABC was unnecessary, but that I should have down 123 instead. Dare I say everyone was on the same page? It even worked out that the passport pictures we brought (where she looked like an old man elf) were too close and they had a photographer to take new ones. For 200 pesos ($5.00) our daughter now has a presentable(ish) passport photo.
In three weeks, we should have Rafaella’s first passport. Our daughter is almost a full on American citizen (still needs a SSN).
