Embajada

Today we returned to American soil. Yes, we entered the (somewhat) welcoming arms of the U.S. Embassy this morning, and had quite a time. First of all, the place is HUGE. Looks relatively new and very imposing. We came to work out a problem with Laura's passport. She got her passport before we were married, so after her name changed, the U.S. government added an addendum in the back, stating her new name. Apparently this method is not accepted by the Peruvian government. They would not give her a residency visa because her name is not the same as what is on the passport (front). We needed something from the Embassy stating officially that the addendum is the U.S. way of changing a name on a passport, but the folks there could not give us such a document. They did the best they could and gave us some notarized sheet confirming Laura's new name as truly hers, so hopefully Peru will accept that. If not, she may need to get a new passport (in order to get a visa). We have plenty of time, so we're not worried, just seems more complicated than it needs to be. Anyway, it was interesting to see the place - you've always got to have a visa story, right? If you visit, just be careful if you have any addenda on your passport; Peru doesn't like them.

Speaking of the U.S., I am still keeping up online with my dear Washington Post for news, and I was pleased to see that my good friend Linda Allen and the middle school where I taught made the paper! Way to go Gunston!

A few pictures of our daytrip: