the DMV vs the Fortress

My darling Isaac has dual citizenship for the US and Chile.  While it's a great opportunity for him (he can own land in both countries!), it was kind of a pain for me to get him registered.  Not terrible, but you wouldn't believe all the documentation we needed to get our hands on.  And, let me just say, for Chile, it was easy.  For the US, it was ridiculous.

Think about going to the DMV.  It probably makes you want to throw up a little bit or even poke your eyeballs out.  Well, that is what I would compare the Registro Civil to, which is where you have to go to get a birth certificate, an ID and your child's passport here in Chile.  While it looked like the DMV with all the people waiting and all the "windows", etc, it was actually virtually painless.  All we needed was the birth certificate (which Steve had already gotten - you have to go there separately for that), Steve's and my passports (we both had to be present), and our child.  When we take a number, we get a preferential number since Isaac is less than 5, which meant we waited about 10 minutes before being helped.  They took his pictures right there (so we didn't have to deal with going to get passport photos at least for that), and it was all said and done in about 20 minutes.  We go back to pick up the documents (his ID card and passport) in two weeks.  Done and done.

Now, for the US.  In order to get him his US birth certificate (which is actually an official document of a birth abroad) and his US passport, we had to get our passports, an original copy of our marriage certificate, original copy of college transcripts, diplomas, fill out 2 thick forms (including showing where we have lived in the US for our entire lives - a daunting task for both Steve and I), and my favorite part is you have to bring a pre-paid DHL envelope to them if you want them to send it to your house.  So, thank goodness Aunt Vicki is well-versed in Spanish and is not afraid to venture out into an unknown city by herself so she could go to DHL for  me!  Thank you, Aunt Vicki (for that among 100,000,000 other things!!!).  Then, you have to make an appointment and wait for about an hour.  It was like entering a fortress.  You should see the US embassy here.  Luckily it is close to Steve's office, so it's not far for us to get there, but this place is gorgeous with tons of marble everywhere and fenced in like we are doing super secret important business that no one can even get a glimpse of.  Long story short, if you ever need to register your child in Santiago, let me know because the requirements seem endless!

Now, for a little pic of my "gordito" as I am starting to call him.  What other baby at 3 weeks old houses 3 ounces of milk ever 2.5 hours??