Work Permit Round Two

Yesterday I went to renew my work permit. Despite the fact that I had been assured that the renewal process is much easier than the initial application, my heart started thumping the minute I sat down in the little vinyl chair inhabited by thousands of backsides from all over the world. I came prepared with multiple copies of every document provided by the embassy plus a few extra from my commune (5 euros each). I didn't sign anything until the guy pointed to the line, confirming my hunch on were to write Natalie Passey, which always seems to end up as Nathalie on the printed forms.

I must digress for a moment: There is no "th" sound in French, so why do they insist on putting the "h" in my name when it doesn't belong there and they can't say it anyway??

Ok, back to the story.
I even waited for 5 minutes at the lunch counter to get change that would work in the self-photo machine just in case they needed a new photo (which they didn't so I have 5 up for grabs--I am not smiling--kind of indicative of the whole experience). I thought I had covered all my bases.

Belgium is a special case.

I was missing a form.

A form that they had in my file from last year but needed again for some unfathomable bureaucratic reason. Unfathomable to me and unfathomable to the guy from the US Embassy who I called lickety split to get me out of this mess.

After the requisite second guy came into the office and I passed the cell phone across the table and they chatted quite animatedly in French for a LONG time and fax numbers and e-mail addresses and dossier numbers were exchanged and I got my phone back, the second guy smiled quite pleasantly at me and said "He will fax me the form, which is very good because without the form, you never know, it could take 5, 6 months to renew your permit."

Now the really great part of all this is that just before I entered the office I had been reading a charming book in which the main character discusses the theory of Phenomenology: how reality is arbitrary and conscienceness suspect. So, I decided right then and there to expunge the Ministre du Travail from my conscienceness. It no longer exists.

I feel much better now.