The mirror masterpiece by Raul (the artista en cristal) is now installed in the living room. What a difference! We're reminded of the line in The Big Lebowski about "bringing the whole room together." In other events, we've started the process of renewing our residency papers. Hard to believe that time has already arrived. Step 1 was completed this morning, with another criminal background check, which consists of checking our datos personales and fingerprints. We passed. Next week we'll lug photocopies of all relevant documents (which were properly apostilled in the US state of origin and then officially translated and legalized here) down to the immigration office. The process gets much easier, since we already have most of the necessary documentation from our initial permit gained last year. New items are bank statements showing monthly transfer of pension funds to Argentina, thus complying with the terms of our residency permits.
Meanwhile, signs of fall are everywhere. The air has turned much drier and cooler and the sun is now shining into the apartment from different angles. Should be perfect weather tomorrow for our next date with Lorenzo (our pretend dog), scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
In addition, tomorrow is a holiday in Argentina, meaning that both vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be much lighter in our neighborhood. The holiday honors those who served in the Malvinas War of 1982. In one of those strange coincidences, the funeral of Raul Alfonsin also is scheduled for tomorrow. Alfonsin became the first democratically elected president of Argentina in modern times, following the disaster of the Malvinas War and the political oppression and human rights violations of the military dictatorship in the 1970s and early 1980s. Alfonsin passed away at age 82 yesterday, March 31.
