The visa: everywhere I want to be?

So on Tuesday I finally went to get my visa. After much confusion reading and re-reading the French embassy's Web site and figuring out I needed an appointment to obtain said visa (thanks for the info, AU Abroad), I had secured a time slot and obtained all the documents needed to assure France I'm not a terrorist and that I actually have a purpose to enter their country: exposing all things wrong with French society in my tell-all book due out in 2010. Not really. Well, not yet.

Well, I thought I had everything settled. Then Sunday night I started filling out the paperwork, first in French, then in English - because embassy workers should know English, right? - (way to have all the instructions in French, by the way - I'm sure foreigners who are coming to France solely to learn the language are pleased with your setup) when I realized that I had no letter from my insuance company proving I was covered internationally. Quel dommage.

I frantically called my half-asleep father and begged him to call the insurance company in the morning and work his negotiating magic so that I could finish this last bit of abroad business before moving out of my apartment Saturday. (The way the French Embassy sets it up is that they have consulates in different U.S. regions, and different groupings of states must send their residents to one consulate designated to that area. I had the option as a college student to also go to the consulate in the area my school is located.) As a PA resident and a DC college student, I had to go to the DC embassy either way, so I wanted to get it done during finals week. I could have mailed my application and the fee in, but I trust the U.S. Postal Service about as far as I can throw it.

I miraculously obtained some kind of bureaucratic-ese letter about my international coverage Monday afternoon, so I was finally all set for my Tuesday appointment. I went with Clare, another AU girl studying in Paris, to Georgetown. We ran through the gate to the embassy as it was closing, praying a French SWAT team wouldn't come out and shoot us. The fact that the embassy is gated is hilarious to me. Most of the embassies on Mass. Ave. are as open as can be. Apparently the French aren't into the whole "open arms" type of thing. Kind of like their immigration policy. Hmm.

Anyhoo, so we relinquished IDs so the kiosk lady by the gate knew we had a purpose to be there, and we went up to the visa department. Clare and I got in line, all out materials ready to go. Oh, wait. When they say "employeur" on the application form, they mean fill out your school's address since you're a student. Oops. Out of line, fill it out, back in line. Everything else looks good, that'll be $128.57. Oh, by the way, no refunds if you're rejected. Thank goodness I had that other Visa on hand.

Then came the hour-and-a-half waiting period. Luckily, even though Clare's appointment was half an hour after mine, the French work the visa process like a doctor's office - you have an appointment, but when you get there you just get in line to pay the co-pay and they take you as you come. Worked for me. Except for that exorbitant co-pay

Playing the waiting game got me to thinking about all the people who try to get into France but can't, particularly unskilled immigrants from former colonies. Considering the paper I just wrote about racism in France and how immigration has really changed French culture, much to the chagrin of the white French, it's hard for me not to wonder what it's going to be like when I move over there, especially after the race riots last year. Will I be living with an ultra-right-wing family who thinks Jean-Marie Le Pen's anti-immigration rhetoric is the way to go? Maybe a socialist family who agrees with presidential candidate Segolene Royal's "ship-'em-off-to-boot-camp" mentality in regards to ghetto youths who get in trouble with the police? I could go on and on about what's caused these problems and what's perpetuating them, but I'll save that for another day, maybe when I encounter them firsthand. But for now, the French did decide to let me in and give me that visa, so I'll wait and see where it will take me.