Colette officially became French today (she is, of course, already American). This is her passport photo. Going to the French Consulate is like stepping off Fifth Avenue into the magic wardrobe that takes you straight to Paris. I guess all consulates are like that - they are literally the territory of their respective country - but down to the accents of the people who work there, the television station (with the Prévisions météorologiques à 9 jours sur toutes les villes de France) and the precise bureaucratic pleasantries Xavier knew to speak - we were in Paris. It is funny to look at little baby Colette and wonder which culture will "take" and which parts of each will "hold." I hope the best parts (and I have some specific ideas on what those are).
9 comments:
Will you be applying for French citizenship? I think I'll be able to next year (5 year) but not sure it will be worth the hassle unless we plan on moving back to France.
Yes - I'll get it in September - working on background checks at the moment. Xavier is working on the American process. One day soon all of us will be dual citizens...
Very exciting. Were they very strict on showing a million documents of cohabitation and such? We've moved around a lot (Paris->NYC->Dallas) so don't know how easy it will be for me to gather everything up. Plus the closest consulate is Houston so I'd hate to go all the way there for nothing!
Congrats on your beautiful daughter! I've always loved the name Colette :)
That is the most beautiful passport photo I've ever seen. She is lovely.
That picture is amazingly cute. In my first passport picture, I'm bald, worm-faced, and asleep.
Emily Marie, the process is annoying and the documents have to be very specific and translated by an approved translator, etc, but I guess that's to be expected...it is bureaucracy I guess.
Figures it can't be any better than la préfecture! I don't miss my carte de séjour days one bit.
As a kid who is a product of Southeastern American and Peruvian cultures, hands down it's the best of both worlds that sticks with the kids. Plus, I feel like I won out on the cultural cuisine lottery.
Although, I must say that I do at times feel like I'm in a cultural identity limbo. I can blend in just fine with the locals in respective countries, but I always feel like something is off about me. Like I'm a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that got soaked in water. I'm in the right place, but don't quite fit as well as the others. It can be frustrating at times, but at the end of the day it's fabulous. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Bon, je sais bien que, pour voyager, on a besoin d'un passeport. Mais quel dommage que les parents ne puissent donner un portrait de leur enfant : leur regard amoureux permet de bien meilleures photos que celles d'un œil étranger.
Cependant, même si la qualité dudit portrait n'atteint pas des sommets de perfection et ne traduit pas vraiment qui est ce petit bout de femme en devenir, elle reste tout de même elle-même.
Post a Comment