Officially a Resident of France

In order to get your residence card (carte de sejour) in France, there is a complicated maze of paperwork and visits to government offices that one must somehow navigate through.  Maybe it is like this for immigrants to the U.S. as well, but I will tell you that it is quite exhausting and pretty much impossible to figure out on your own. 

Fortunately, we have had the help of an immigration specialist.  Dustin's company hired her and she has pretty much saved the day on numerous occasions.  Today was the last step of the process for me (Dustin received his carte de sejour about a month ago).  I won't have to renew the card until July of next year.

Today's step in the process was to get a medical exam.  I had everything that our immigration specialist told me to take.  Paperwork/passport/recepisse (temporary resident permit)/proof of vaccination/and my glasses.  When I arrived, I joined a line of about 100 people who were apparently there for the same reason as me.

I'm starting to understand a bit of French when I hear it (YEAH!), so I knew that the lady who checked my paperwork told me to go straight back to the clinic and have a seat.  I waited for a few minutes until a doctor came and called me back, "MADAME SMITH!"  I feel pretty old when people address me that way. 

I went back into an exam room where several doctors were meeting with patients all at once.  The doctor attempted French, but quickly realized that I didn't quite understand what she was saying.  I was catching bits and pieces, but not everything.  She switched to English and promptly patted my stomach, bent down as if she was looking it in the eye, and shouted, "BABY IN THERE?"  I quickly replied, "NO!" and she checked a box on my paperwork which I assume means 'not pregnant'.  Wow, I've never been asked a question by a doctor quite like that!  She did a quick eye exam, got my weight and height, and sent me back to the waiting room.

After a few more minutes of waiting, another woman shouted my name from behind another door, "MADAME SMITH!"  She showed me to a small changing room and I gathered that I was supposed to undress from the waist up.  NOTE:  there was no robe to put on as there would be at home.  EEK!  She told me to lock the door on one side and someone would open a door on the other side to take me back to the exam room. 

I had barely started to undress when the door popped open and an annoyed radiologist glared at me.  Apparently I did not undress quickly enough.  She literally took the straps of my bra and tank top and yanked everything down to my waist.  OK!  So much for modesty! 

Once inside the room, she took an xray of my lungs and then sent me on my way.  Yet again, I found myself in the waiting room.  And yet again I heard, "MADAME SMITH!"  This time I went into what appeared to be a doctor's personal office.  This doctor was WONDERFUL and KIND and EVERYTHING I needed right then.  She took my blood pressure, read my xray, and asked a few general questions about my health.  She stamped my paperwork, meaning that I was in good health, and sent me back to the waiting room.

Finally, I was called up to the reception desk.  All my paperwork from the clinic was finished.  The receptionist told me in French that I was finished in the clinic.  Now I needed to go to the third door on the left outside of the clinic and give them my papers.  Hmm...I had no idea what this was about.  I had been told by our immigration specialist that once I was done in the clinic I would just need to send her a copy of the paperwork and then I would get my carte de sejour in 2-3 weeks.  She said nothing about going to another office once the exam was over.

Well, when I arrived at the 3rd door on the left, I realized that it was a prefecture office (this is the office that handles the carte de sejour).  I handed the lady my health paperwork, my passport, and my recepisse.  She immediately started getting angry, although I could not figure out why.  So, I took my things back from her and walked out.  I didn't know what else to do!

And that is when an amazing gift was given to me.  One of the women who works for our immigration specialist was in the hall with another client!  PRAISE GOD!  I nearly ran up to her (and would have thrown my arms around her had I known her better) and asked her if she remembered me.  "OF COURSE, MADAME SMITH!"  So, thank goodness for Janes.  She marched me back into the prefecture office and asked the annoyed lady what was going on.  Apparently,my carte de sejour had already arrived and they needed 12 stamps (totalling 340 euros...yes, you read that right) to process my paperwork. 

Janes sent me down the street to a Tabac, where I purchased the stamps.  As soon as I arrived back at the prefecture, Janes was waiting for me and helped me actually pick up my carte de sejour.  I really don't know what I would have done if she wasn't there.  Isn't it awesome how God helps you cross paths with people RIGHT when you need them? 

Now that I have my carte de sejour, I am an official resident of France.  I am also allowed to travel outside of the country now.  So watch out, Europe, here I come!