Philippines Birth Certificates: Paperwork and a Pair of Very Small Feet

A letter arrived for me today, it contained some forms and a certificate. I’ve mentioned before how much more satisfying it is to receive actual mail rather than email, something to do with the physicality of it I suppose.

Well, this piece of mail was especially exciting. It contained the paperwork for our sons’ NSO birth certificate, several copies all requiring my signature….I’ll be posting it back to the my partner in the Philippines tomorrow.

But there was an extra special surprise attached, a hospital issued document recording some of the physical details of my son’s birth. Weight, length…that sort of thing….and right in the middle of the page there are a set of very small footprints.

Smack dab in the middle of the page, one labelled “Left” the other “Right”…(funny about that). Each a perfect impression with five perfect little toes.

It’s difficult to describe exactly how I feel looking at this document. It has no weight or value as actual ID, but it is perhaps the most important of all.  The other bits of paper will move our visa application forward but this one particular document has actual physical proof that this tiny little person exists.  

It’s very much a case of mixed emotions…naturally I’m happy, but a little sad to…the certificate has the names of the doctors  that delivered him…all of who have had the chance to actually see him in person and hold him….something I’ve not yet had opportunity to do….

Ah well…just over a week to go till my Fiancée collects her passport and we begin the visa application process…

Next…Thoughts on cross cultural/lingual communication

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