The Oath

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March 7, 2011

This morning we had our consulate appointment. The big day…the day we take the oath!! The US consulate used to be right next door to the White Swan hotel, which is why all the adoptive families stayed at the hotel and which led it to become famous for the “red couch”. Now the consulate is about a 40 minute drive away. In my opinion, another hotel might be a better choice...you could always get a red couch for pictures?. We say this because the hotel is not really set up for little ones!!!!!!!

Our travel group and another group (children under the age of 2) (2 and over are scheduled for the next day, everything is delayed by one day for them due to a mandatory tb test) arrived at the consulate. I have to say you could feel the emotions, after all this was the climactic moment. We were ushered into one half of a small room (set up like a small DMV with the different “take a number stations behind glass partitions), there was a very small play area for the children. While the other half of the room was being called for other consulate “stuff”, kids in both sides of the room talking, babbling and/or crying a women came in with a microphone had us say yes after she asked us one question and that was it.
I have to say, while trying not to be a negative nelly…it was extremely disappointing. Our names were called, an agent took our paperwork, asked us to sign here and there and we were done. Then…it was back to the bus for another 40 minute ride back to the hotel.

The rest of the day was “free” for us.

Now we wait for the paperwork to be processed.

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