Wow! I am glowing for the news of Obama! My cheeks are super pink and my adrenaline is rushing for a party. While Americans in Chicago were gathering in Grant Park I was, alas, sleeping - only to wake early to the news from my 9 year old cousin of this amazing mark in history. In a place like South Africa, where people have been questioning me relentlessly about Americans' capacity to vote for a person of color, it makes me proud for the U.S. in a way I have never felt before. It's swooping and sweeping and weepingly sweet, for you all must know as a youngun I have only had the chance to vote in elections where the outcome was Bush.
All in the same 24 hours, I queued in line at the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria once again to see if my birth registration had yet been recognized. And guess what?! I am now officially recognized in SA as a citizen by decent - I have a birth certificate & an ID number. The process does not stop here - I still cannot get a bank account or a job without an ID book, which is very much similar to having a Social Security card in America. And then still a longer wait for a passport. But I've made headway and I officially exist - not sure if I should celebrate that too much for it means they now have my fingerprints on file. Oh well, the price one pays. At any rate, anyone want to meet up in Cuba?
So between the sleep in my eyes and the emotional spur of Obama, I shared with many of you early this morning. I wish I could have been home with all of you (especially in the stomping grounds of Chi-town) to celebrate with champagne and massive hugs. Instead, tonight, I'm joining my hosts at a big Obama extravaganza in the multicultural neighborhood of Troyeville in Jo'burg. I toast you across the clickety clack of the keyboard with a solid, "Here here, to us!" xoxo
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