P.s Passport In Hand

We actually got P.s Passport in our hands yesterday and her "Report of Birth" certificate. That's cool. However, after all the problems with O.'s name they put it on there backwards - his last name as his first and his first name as his last. Oh well. P.'s name is fine. Petra.

Our Semi-Vacation

Since P.'s Passport appointment was scheduled for June 3rd in Bombay we decided to take the whole family there for four days as a little vacation since we didn't go anywhere this summer. It was a hassle and our hotel room was Way Too Small and everything was really expensive. But, we went to Essel World ("Asia's Largest Water Park") and the girls had a great time swimming and playing in the pools. I mostly tried to keep my pasty white skin out of the sun and the skeevy water off my head.*

P's American citizenship interview went very smoothly with the only glitch being that O.'s name was different on all three of the main documents. We ended up writing an affidavit stating that O. is known by ALL these names but prefers to go by ... and everyone was happy. I got notified by the consulate today that P.'s passport has already arrived there and they will be sending it to me by courier very soon.

The whole names thing in India is kind of funny. A man in front of us was trying to fill up the form for his son's passport renewal and was talking with the American woman behind the booth.

Consulate Lady: You need to write your wife's maiden name here.

Man: Ah yes, but you see in Indian culture the woman uses her father's or husband's name as her middle or maiden name.

Consulate Lady: But it says "Maiden Name."

Man: O-kay.

Those silly Americans. Such sticklers for the rules.

We also got to go to a small aquarium one day. Did I mention small? The names of the fish and descriptions were hand written. That was amusing. But not as amusing as the description of a weird fish from the Amazon who feeds on "live fish and raw shrimp."

So, all in all, it wasn't, say, Hawaii, but the girls enjoyed themselves and I got to eat lots of chocolate croissants from the bakery near our hotel. Definitely worth the trip.

*I did end up with a nasty infection that sent me to the doctor on Saturday. I'm convinced it was from the water park water...

P. Is Now American

As of today, June 3rd, P. is officially an American citizen. I attempted to teach her the pledge of Allegiance but I've somehow forgotten the middle part.

There was a small problem because O.'s name is different on the 3 main documents- his passport, P.'s birth certificate (Indian) and our marriage certificate. It all worked out in the end when we wrote an affidavit stating that O. is know by all these 3 names and that the name on our marriage certificate is spelled wrong, but he prefers to go by ---.

In the end we'll get P.'s passport, and report of birth (birth certificate) in the mail in a couple weeks and her SS# in a couple months. All in all, much easier than giving birth in the US.