U-S-A! U-S-A!

Had my interview for naturalization as a US citizen today, marking the end of a couple of weeks of monster stress, as my mind built the civics portion of the interview into the cross-examination of a Constitutional lawyer and I learned the ins and outs of every amendment and the history of the United States from the first landings of the colonists to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Turns out that, not surprisingly, I was getting a bit too wound up.

The actual interview was almost shockingly brief, low-key and professional, and then it was done, and I am now waiting for a letter telling me when and where the swearing-in ceremony takes place. Once there, I’ll surrender my Green Card, take the oath, and be a citizen.

In case anybody’s wondering why I went through this process instead of simply renewing my Green Card every 10 years, it’s that I feel I’ve been here long enough and rooted myself enough that not being a citizen feels like there’s a flimsy membrane between me and the country I’m living in, and I want that membrane gone. Hope that makes sense.

Also, for some reason, I kind of want to vote.

And now I’m very, very tired and have had some bubbly…