#180 Triple Citizenship!
A long delayed update. I'm still in Buenos Aires, but I have achieved success. Finally, after almost six years, I have gotten my Argentinian citizenship. As I write, I already have the national identity card DNI and I am applying for the passport tomorrow, and it is only supposed to take 24 hours to get it. Then I will be on a plane out of here shortly thereafter.
***6 days later*** It turned out that ‘Express’ meant 3 – 5 working days 😊. But, yesterday afternoon, I got it! 😊 And … I ‘think’ that Qatar has resumed its flights to Buenos Aires so I may be able to fly direct from here instead of going via Madrid.
MERCOSUR (the title on the Argentinian passport) is a customs union in South America (see map) within which I can travel with just my DNI (ID Card) and no visa or length of stay issues.
My health is better, my back is, dare I say it, almost back to normal. Right now the worst thing that I notice is that I have PTSD about movement. I am terrified that almost anything is going to cause a another relapse of the pain in my back. Not much I can do about that. I am trying to be very regular in my stretching and exercises every morning comma and I can tell that I can getting better period yesterday I walked almost 4 kilometers and I didn't notice it.
I am very eager to get back on the road again. This has been a very strange three-month period for me. Due to the back injury, I have been not confined, but certainly I have hardly gotten out of this apartment very much over the last three months. Yes, of course, I leave the apartment at least once or twice a day, but never have I felt so aware that I am not mobile. And until just recently I could barely sit in a chair so that I could work on my computer. There is no doubt that this has affected me mentally. No, I am not going crazy. But just a few days I experienced a period of depression. It was extreme enough that I immediately recognized it for what it was. My 10 cents worth of analysis is that after six years of pursuing the goal of other citizenships, everything came almost to an abrupt end within a two-month period. I have both my Argentinian and my Saint Kitts passports in hand. Looking at my plans for the rest of the year … I have no plans. It is almost like I ran the race without understanding what was going to happen when I won.
However, I am not complaining. I almost hesitate to say that I am proud of the fact that as long as it took, I finally succeded. The last step will be a visit to the US embassy sometime next month, in July. We shall see.
On my walk the other day, I was thinking, as I usually do. I was looking at the streets and the people, and the monuments, and searching myself for any vestige of feeling different now that I am officially an Argentinian. Nothing. I really have no vestige of nationalism in me. I feel the same way about the United States, not to mention Saint Kitts. These are simply documents I need on order to travel and bank. Being born a US citizen was simply the luck of the draw.
From the walk the other day. Buenos Aires really has some stunning buildings from the early 20th century.
The politicians and nations of today's world engender absolutely no sense of pride to belong to any nation. They are short sighted, greedy, venal, incompetent. What an incredibly great combination to have in charge of the world.
This is just a short update. I'm going to be writing a post shortly on an incredible book that I read. I will try to release it within the next week or two. I am only going post this blog once I have the Argentinian passport in hand and I can take a picture of all three. (Above)
I’m staying at the Sheraton right now while I was waiting to get the passport. I could have stayed in the apartment but I just wanted to give myself the illusion of movement I guess. 😊 … But some stunning views. This is looking EAST over the Rio del Plata, and NORTH over the Plaza San Martin and the train station.
So… Talk to you soon. 😊