Monday, July 19, 2010

Battles with beaucracy (and a healthy dose of perspective)

So I'm currently in the process of renewing my visa, which involves a number of irritating items of paperwork (including a 52 euro official translation of my birth certificate into French...*sigh*). After that, my tasks for next week will be to apply for my carte vitale to be eligible for state health care and to deal with the CAF, the socialized welfare program for students who could use some help for their rent (in my case, because my non-EU, student status prohibits me from getting a real, full-time and full-paying job). Being an adult is tiring.

On the bright side...

...I'm in a country that provides me with these great services--health care, student social aid (for a non-citizen, even!), and even the opportunity to get and keep a student visa without TOO much hassle (comparatively, at least). And worse case, if things ever get too difficult to handle here, I always have the option to return to the good ol' US of A, where I am guaranteed to find safety and employment. It is with all of this in mind on this muggy Monday that I'm going to put aside my lusting for air conditioning and revel in my apartment, job and boyfriend, with the knowledge that emigration could be much, much more difficult than my experience has been.

No comments:

Post a Comment