Sentencia!

Sentencia

Yesterday morning I got all dressed up and left Esteban at the Halifax with my brothers, who are looking very jet-lagged in the photo below, and went with our advocate Helena to sign the final adoption decree (Sentencia).
We took a long ride to the very middle of downtown Bogota, to the family court. There were hundreds of people waiting in line to get in, and Helena says, "Let's just go around the corner and go in another door." Helena's secret door turns out to have just 15 or 20 people waiting to get in. Although there is an armed guard at the door of the building and our bags are checked, this isn't your typical neat, clean, well-lit American office building. We go in and wait in line to go on the elevator (our court is on the 6th floor). When we get off the elevator we're in a crowded hallway, with service windows at various locations. When I think of a court office, I think of an office with a waiting area--not in Colombia! Our lawyer, Francisco de Asisi Fonseca (love that name), was waiting for me. That's Francisco and I, after the signing.
He and I stepped up to the counter, the clerk brought the 2" thick file and turned to the back of the last page. She stamped something official on the back of the page and I signed it. She came back and signed it (notarizing it, I think). That was it. It's not a very exciting looking piece of paper, for all the waiting and importance of it. That wasn't the end of the courthouse for us, though. Now we needed 8 copies of the sentencia, and they don't make those copies for you. So Francisco's assistant goes off to make 8 copies. When she returns, the clerk has to certify them all, and we need one last form that officially requests that a new birth certificate be issued. So we wait, standing in the hallway where people come and go and want to look at the bulletin board behind us. We waited more than an hour for the papers after I signed. Finally, we leave with our 8 certified copies and the request for a new birth certificate.

Birth Certificate

We go from the courthouse to the Registry Office where Esteban's original birth certificate was filed. I know this because when we presented the copy, the clerk stepped to a drawer and pulled out his original. She takes our request and all the supporting documentation and goes in the back room. I sit down (there were at least chairs here) and optimistically think that maybe this will be done quickly. After 10 minutes the clerk comes back and says that the printer isn't working, so we can wait while they hand-type a new birth certificate. OK, that doesn't seem too bad. She brings the new certificate and I sign it. So, we're done here, right? Not so fast.

We need 8 copies of this as well. Since they don't handle cash at this office, we have to go pay for the copies at a bank (that's a 45 minute round-trip) and bring the receipt back. The clerk goes to make the copies and we go to the bank. Have I mentioned that it's now lunch time so I'm hungry, and I'm worried about how Esteban is doing with his uncles (no reflection on them, more about the baby)? Back to the Registry Office to get the copies, and the Registrar, who has to sign them to make them official, is gone to lunch--but have a seat, he'll be back soon. Fortunately, he does walk in the door in the next 60 seconds and quickly signs the copies, and we can go.

We get back to the hotel at 2pm. We want to get Esteban's Colombian passport today, and hopefully his physical from the US Embassy doctor. Helena gives me 10 minutes to change my clothes, find some food to eat in the car, get Esteban, the diaper bag, and my brothers. We make it with seconds to spare!

Colombian Passport

Luckily, this Passport Office is near the Halifax. We stop on our way in to get passport photos taken of Esteban. We have to feed him first, so he'll stop screaming. Even so, he's not exactly smiling in his photo. Helena goes ahead of us to pay the passport fee and get a number. By the time we join her in the office, we step directly to the counter and present the necessary papers and photos. We wait about 15 minutes, and they call Esteban's name--his passport is ready! So far, the passport is the quickest part of the process!

Embassy Doctor

Our next and last stop is the doctor who gives physicals to potential immigrants to the US. His office is within walking distance of the Halifax, so Helena walks us in and then leaves us. Again, we wait. Esteban and I go in to see the doctor, who speaks great English and is very nice. He reviews Esteban's medical records, checks his immunization record, and gives him a quick physical check. While he's naked, Esteban pees on me--and I have to put him back in the Baby Bjorn to get home :( The doctor gives Esteban a clean bill of health, and gives me a sealed envelope to take to the US Embassy today.

Phew! That was one long day! And we're back at the Halifax with all that accomplished by 5:30pm!

Tios Peter and Patrick

Esteban and I are both enjoying having my brothers here. Peter and Patrick are both really having fun with Esteban, as well as helping out with washing bottles, changing diapers, and hauling the diaper bag. They came over bright and early this morning to play with him so I could be ready to go to the US Embassy.

US Visa

Helena picked us all up and we went on an adventure to the US Embassy to apply for Esteban's visa, something we couldn't do until we got his passport yesterday. Once again, Helena had all the paperwork ready. All I had to do was answer a few easy questions and sign my name. We were at the Embassy a total of just under 2 hours, and I can go tomorrow afternoon to pick up Esteban's visa. An interesting thing about the Embassy--the visa processing unit (which handles all kinds of immigration and visitor visas) is all outdoors (with some coverings), with about 35 different windows. You are in the Embassy compound, but you never actually enter the Embassy. There were several hundred people there, and never enough seats.

Coming Home

All that remains for planning our return home is to pick up Esteban's passport with the visa in it, and change our plane reservations--both of which I hope to do tomorrow afternoon. Other than that, we just need to play, finish our souvenir shopping, and pack.

It's really a relief to know that the end is in sight, although I'm also a little sad to be leaving Bogota. I've really come to like this city. It's also hard because my friend Jody, who has been here with us all along, still hasn't heard about her Sentencia.

Esteban, Patrick, and Peter