Got it!

"It" being my Consular ID, issued by the Mexican Government. At least, that's what the back of my Matricula (as it's also known) says. More specifically, it says, "The bearer [that's me!] is a Mexican National living abroad. This is an ID issued by the Mexican Government."

I like that phrasing. From now on, I'm going to refer to myself as a " Mexican national living abroad," not as an "undocumented immigrant/student." "Mexican national living abroad" is reminiscent of exiles, I think. It's more straightforward, and less negative. It defines me by where I belong, and where I don't reside, as opposed to defining me by where I reside and don't belong.

Semantics aside, it's good to have my Matricula now. I'm a legal adult (yikes!) and I need some form of government ID.

Were I 21 and had no ID, I would not be able to buy alcohol (the horror!). I'm not 21 yet, though, but my Matricula doesn't expire for 5 years, so that won't be a problem. What I can do now is buy my own cigarettes. That may be a problem for my long-term health, though. (And I have promised myself to hold off on buying a new pack until school starts again. My resolve will be tested, I'm sure). In any case, I can't wait to buy my own Djarums, and not have to convince a friend that helping me smoke won't get them a seat in hell.

The Mexican Consulate has satellite stations that travel around the city, and this past month one has been stationed in a mall near my apartment. It was open Wednesdays through Sundays, and this is the last weekend.

I went there two weeks ago with my Dad, who needed to renew his Matricula. I wasn't able to get it that day, however, because my LAUSD ID was no longer valid, since I'm not in high school anymore, and my current school ID wasn't valid either. I needed to get an official high school transcript with my picture on it, which I did. When I got there at 1:30, there were literally three people in line. Only downside was that I only had one 100-dollar bill on me, and no WaMu card, so I had to break my bill at another store because the Consulate wouldn't. Even with that detour, however, my whole trip took a lot less time than it would have had I gone to the Mexican Consulate downtown. So, I'm eternally grateful to the Mexican government that my time in a bureaucratic office was so short.

ps. This post originally published with two spelling errors; "Sundays" was spelled "Sunbdays" in paragraph five, and "past" was "path" in the same paragraph. Thanks go out to El Random Hero for pointing that out to me (even if he did seem obscenely pleased to catch me on a mistake)