Today the US Consulate in Mérida (where we live) moved into their new building. I have not been able to get any information on the old building other than it is old. One local told me this last weekend that she thinks the old building has been used by the Consulate for 50 years or so. But one of the new Consulate officers told me that he thinks the old one was only about 15 years old. I tend to believe the local lady more since she has lived here all of her life and the officer has only been here about 6 months.
It was an honor to be there. The reason we were invited to the dedication ceremony (other than we are US citizens) was so that our son could sing the Star Spangled Banner with a group of US children. It was very enjoyable to be part of the event and to be able to feel like we were part of something special. The US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza was present at the event. We were able to meet him and chat just a bit. He is a good man, if for no other reason than he is from Texas.
The US Marine Corps sent two young men to be the honor guard for the event. They did a great job in representing the Corps as they raised the flag at this historic occasion. One was from North Carolina and the other from Colorado. They were between 20 and 22 years old based on how long they have been in the Marines. They are both stationed at the US Embassy in Mexico City. Though I thanked them for their time and being there for us today, I regret that I did not take the time to express my appreciation for their service to my country by serving in the military. I don’t think our service men and women hear it often enough. They should be proud to serve, which I am sure they are. But they should also be encouraged by the public for the service and protection that they give to keep us free.
Hopefully I will have a picture to include in here soon. We were not allowed to take our cameras in to the event. Though, had we arrived an hour late like most people, we would probably have been able to have the camera. Though normally prohibited, there were many who had cameras. We got there on time and the security guards had not yet been told that it was OK to allow cameras. We have some friends that will be sending us a few pictures. I also might be able to snag a picture or two off of the newspaper’s website tomorrow.
That’s pretty darn cool!