It's official. This past Thursday, we became card-carrying temporary residents of Costa Rica.
The process that brought us to this point took close to two years and involved documenting much of our lives in the U.S., paying legal and government fees, working with a Costa Rican attorney who navigated the sea of red tape, and a seemingly interminable wait for the finish line to come into view. So I found it fitting that the process should culminate with an abbreviated chorus of the same song - a little more paperwork, a few more fees, and a little more waiting all under the guidance of our attorney.
When it was over, a short 90 minutes after it began, we each walked out of migracion carrying our very own cedula, the Costa Rican national ID card.
One thing I have learned through this process is that each milestone ushers in a curious mix of elation, satisfaction, and poignancy. And so it was with this one - the biggest since this journey began.
For sure, we are thrilled to have completed the gauntlet. Having our new cedulas means that we no longer have to carry our passports every time we leave home (a personal "Wahoo!" for me, since I rarely have a really safe place to carry mine). It also means we can flash our cards to receive discount admission to national parks and other venues. And because mi esposo is over 65, we were issued "gold card" cedulas that entitle us to go to the front of the line at government agencies - a benefit worth its weight in gold at Caja clinics where waits can be unbearably long.
With it also came another one of those "pinch me" moments when you take a mental step back and try to bring the larger picture into focus. A moment when you say to yourself, "Holy cow! We really did it. We're immigrants living in a new country." A moment when you flip the coin back and forth, rub it between your fingers, and study both sides.
The side from your old life bears a comfortable familiarity and warm patina that is missing from the new side. And in those moments when you are truly honest with yourself, you have to admit that you miss it terribly. But the new side of this coin, impressed in a strange language and unfamiliar symbols, possesses the undeniable allure that comes when you know that you are exactly where you should be at this moment in time.
For us, Costa Rica is the place and this is the time.
Pura Vida
