The dual national finds her feet, a guest post by Humuhumu.

[nanila]

[Image of Humuhumu in her black n00b onesie, holding the toes of her left foot in her hand.]

Hello, Mummy's flist/dwircle.
You'll be glad to know that I'm now half American!

After my first nursery visit on Thursday morning, which I enjoyed immensely, Mummy & I walked around the Winterbourne Botanic Gardens near the university while Daddy worked. It was cold but lovely and the tea room was full of ladies who thought I was the cutest thing ever, which is of course correct.

Then we all traveled down to London by train. I enjoyed the train ride but the tube journey was not so fun during rush hour. We had to get off one tube because I started howling. Daddy walked up and down the platform and I calmed down a bit but then we got on another tube train to continue so I had a chance to annoy a whole new set of commuters until I gave up abruptly and went to sleep. We met dizzykj in the lift at Elephant & Castle tube station and traveled to her house by bus while I cried. Mummy fed me for a while and I went back to sleep.

The next morning we all got up early and prepared for the trip to the American embassy. Unfortunately, Daddy's trousers ripped from about halfway down his thigh to the crotch. We didn't have time to buy him a new pair so Mummy had him tie a jumper round his waist & we all hoped no one would notice. (They didn't.) We stopped off at Mummy's work to drop off our suitcase and their phones because those aren't allowed in the embassy. But when we got to the embassy we discovered that Daddy still had his remote-control car key on him. Those are also not allowed. There was some disagreement about whether or not Mummy had informed Daddy of this stipulation. It was not resolved, but the nice security man stepped in before the "discussion" could get any warmer and told them that there was a storage facility down the street. Mummy took the car key there and Daddy & I went in to start the waiting process.

It took a total of 2.5 hours to get all the paperwork processed and Mummy & Daddy interviewed to ensure that they told the truth on my forms. The consular officers were kind to us and the waiting room was full of other babies and their parents, so it was a pleasant, if long, experience. At the end of it, the consular officer (who liked my cupcake outfit very much) said, "Congratulations, Humuhumu! You are now an American citizen," as I was being held by my British Daddy in his torn trousers.

The rest of the weekend is something of a blur but I know we saw Mummy's work colleagues, including flexagain. I met purplecthulhu and he gave me a present from Mauna Kea observatory, which was so thoughtful. I tried guacamole, lime and black beans. I attempted to nab sushi but Mummy was boring and wouldn't let me eat raw salmon. I went on many forms of transport including:

• Car (Mummy & Daddy's)
  
• Tube (Bakerloo line, District line, Victoria line, Central line)
  
• Bus (2, 10, 168)
  
• Train (London Midlands, Chiltern Railways)
  
• Taxi (The famous London black cab!)

We saw brother & sister-out-law as well as my cousin before we got on a train to come home yesterday. I slept a lot today.

Mummy sends her apologies to the Londoners we didn't have a chance to see, especially imyril. It's snowy and icy and cold here. Mummy says it's spring, but as I have yet to experience the warmth she claims that season brings, I shall reserve judgment. Good night.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

That sounds like a pretty epic adventure.

[nanila]

It was. It's been a day and a half since we got home and I must admit, I'm still not at 100%.

[sfred]

Congratulations!

[nanila]

Thank you!

[telegramsam]

Tricky things, feet! And dual citizenship thingies!

Congrats!

[nanila]

Yes, mostly I think she's fortunate to have dual nationality, but we'll see how that pans out when she gets to be more aware of it. I have the unfortunate ability to project everything that's innately different (having an American mum with a funny accent, being mixed race) as having the potential to turn her into a target for bullying. :/

[telegramsam]

Hm, you never know, she may get along well with her classmates and it won't be an issue, I knew kids who were in similar situations that got on fine.

[nanila]

Well, I'll try to be optimistic about it, but I admit it doesn't come naturally.

[xylie]

Keep reaching for that salmon. Her reflexes will slow with time. ;)

Congrats on so many exciting adventures.

[nanila]

Yesterday she tried to grab some brie off my plate. All those hard cheeses that would have been fine for her to taste, and she had to go for the squishy forbidden one.

[lark_ascends]

*grins massively*

[nanila]

Big smiles back from Humuhumu, who's sitting on my lap!