‘Congratulations on your achievement’, ‘I heard congratulations are in order’, ‘well done’.
I look at my interlocutor undecided on what to reply. A smiling face looks at me, expecting a response. Eventually I put an end to the awkwardness by smiling back politely. ‘Thank you’, I hear myself saying unconvincingly and rapidly move on. What achievement exactly? I would like to ask.
I was allowed two guests for the citizenship ceremony but only went with my wife. I couldn’t think of anyone else with whom to share the event. A few people would have appreciated the opportunity, but not as guests, rather as researchers observing a strange rite of passage: me entering it as a foreigner and coming out as a British citizen.
