Lessons learned at the Mexican Consulate

...which is where we spent our morning yesterday getting hubs his passport.

1) You are on Mexican soil; you are therefore on Mexican time. Do not expect to 'get in and get out' as we Yanks are so fond of doing.

2) You are allowed to have food and drink inside the building.

3) You are also allowed to have screaming babies, and you are allowed to whip out your boob and breastfeed said babies without so much as a second glance from others. (that, IMO, is how it should be.)

4) You are allowed to hang out on the front steps of the building to allow your children to play while you are waiting the eternity for your family member to get his/her stuff done. I'm sure that must be an interesting sight to passersby. It also saved my sanity.

5) Everybody there will expect you to speak Spanish -- in America, no less!

6) Who knew that an official government building could be located in front of a Kroger and beside a Burger King? I bet said stores make a killing, too.

7) There is a lot of stupid paperwork in Mexican government, too. It is, however, far more streamlined than I thought it would be.

8) Mexicans don't have the personal space issues that we Yanks (and you Finns, Kirsi :) ) have. I got so many strange looks for saying 'excuse me' after bumping into people. Seems that nobody minds being crammed into tight spaces, getting jostled is just par for the course, and no offense is taken.

9) The staff working there was very courteous and helpful. I'm not sure what I expected, but they seemed to go out of their way to be helpful, not just to us, but to everyone.

10) We are definitely going to get dual passports for Daniel. Viva México!