La Cédula

We decided that it is important to get Sofía an Identification Card with the Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados. This way, we have an ID for Sofía for when we travel on domestic flights, but most importantly, there is a picture and other identifying information available to whatever agency may need it should, God forbid, something happen to her. They don’t fingerprint, but I will save that info for another post. So I took Sofía today to get hers. It was a fiasco. She doesn’t feel well because her top molars are coming in. The internet said that the wait at the Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados was only 9 minutes. It took us half an hour standing in line just to get a number to GET IN, so that we could stand in another line. Sofía was restless (like everyone else) and it was closing in on her naptime. I reached in the diaper bag for some toys and there were none! We finally get to the first ticket Nazi and he is surprised at how young Sofía is and wanting an ID. He is not foreign, by the way, and says, “Oh she is 16 months old and you have another one on the way!” Refraining myself from colorful comebacks, I let it go with just an, “Oh, not yet!”. He couldn’t leave it there…. “Oh, I thought you were pregnant.” Well no duh….would you have said it if you didn’t? Still I didn’t hear an apology. Whatever. We go to wait again. Much easier this time because I can sit and Sofía can move around. I go to pull out my phone because it has some games for her…aaaaaaahhhhh, I left it in the car!!! ¿Seriously? Do I really have neural connections in my brain? Ok, so we manage, we take the picture, pay, get everything put away and the clerk tells me that they will mail out the ID. Bummer. I of course want it NOW. That is fine, I wanted it before we went on our trip, but oh well. (I could have waited instead of bringing her TODAY???)

Oh well. Did I mention that Sofía was tired, cranky, teething and being a brat? I get home, put her down for her nap and put the paperwork away. I want to scream!!!! I filled out the application form at home before going to the Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados, so I know I didn’t make any mistakes. I was so distracted with Ms. Busy Body that I didn’t verbally make sure that the clerk input the correct information. And there it was…..it will be the first of many errors that Sofia faces on her formal documents because we decided to not hyphenate her last name. The receipt for the transaction lists her second last name as her LAST NAME and clumps her middle and last last-name together as her middle names. Let me explain. In many countries, not just Latin America, children receive their father’s last name and their mother’s last name and in that order. Sofía’s name reads like this: Sofía Magdalena Father Mother. If one needs to shorten the last names, the mother’s is always dropped (What a surprise!) On her receipt, it reads: LAST NAME: Mother FIRST NAME Sofía MIDDLE NAME: Magdalena Father. I want to SCREAM!!

(Foto is curtousy of VADMV website--hopt that is OK1)