What a day! I became a US citizen today together with 52 other people from 26 different countries. A true melting pot it was, all ages, all colors, all accents, all dress codes (I won't go into any detail about that, let's just say that they ask for 'appropriate dress code" for a reason!). I even had my picture taken with the judge handing me my "certification of naturalization" in front of the American flag.... It was actually quite moving, unlike the "welcome to the USA" letter from George Bush, which made me walk right out of the courtroom and register to vote in the 2008 national elections!!! I had a little flash back from the days before my green card when every contact with the US immigration authorities was trying at best, impossible at worst.... I found out that you cannot legally re-enter the USA with this certificate and need a passport. As I'm in a little time crunch here (going home in August), I almost suffered a little cardiac event when one of the immigration officials told me I had the choice between not going home or not becoming a citizen. After some frantic phone calls, I found out I can expedite my application for a passport and it should be here well before my August trip. I'm just another $200 poorer!!
As that wasn't quite enough action for the day. I got the POD storage container loaded with the great help from Andrew and Connor's muscle strength and teenage enthusiasm, Brian's engineering brain and Deb's common sense approach. It all fit well together and we had it done in no time, well 2.5 hours, which considering the 104 degree heat index (that's about 40 Celsius for the readers in the motherland!!!) really is NO TIME!!
So, I'm no longer surrounded by boxes, just quiet emptiness with my trusted NPR radio station echoing through the house. I can't say it feels great to be here, but I'm happy with today's accomplishments and will hopefully rest well tonight.
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