French Consulate

Friday, Maggie and I joined the "normal" morning commute downtown en route to the French Consulate, where we positioned ourselves right in front of the lobby's security desk and prepared to spearhead the 9 AM rush of visa-applicants. New arrivals to the "line" couldn't understand why they had been forced to sign up for an "appointment" if everyone apparently signed up for the same time. (Oh, French bureaucracy!) Maggie and I knew better - that's why we arrived plenty early.

At 8:50, the security officers allowed us to start a new line, this one directly outside the consulate, which was on the 7th floor. The consulate door opened only a few minutes late (inside the consulate they were right on time, since the last person to arrive had turned their analog clock back a few minutes, to make it seem as if they hadn't arrived late) and I was first up at the Visa window.

I was grateful to have a young, American intern on the other side of the window. She was much less brusque and much more accomodating than most French bureaucrats I've encountered. Still, there were misunderstandings: no where on the long-stay visa application does it ask you to describe what kind of visa you want. I wanted a "general non-professional" long-stay visa; I didn't know that this is also called a "visitor's" visa. So I was asked whether I was a student, a chercheur (researcher), or visitor, and I hesitated, and we eventually figured it out.

Another funny miscommunication between website, applicant, and employee involved the number of copies required. The website says originals plus two copies; that's what I brought. The girl at the desk only wanted one copy, and sometimes none at all. So wasteful.

Finally, it turns out I needed a "letter of intent" describing what I'd be doing during my stay in France, which makes perfect sense. However, nowhere on the website was I instructed to write such a letter. I ended up having to scrawl something out while Maggie was getitng her visa, and they may need me to submit more documentation in the near future. Hopefully not.

Maggie's process went more smoothly, and the girl at the desk helped me out by grouping our applications together so that my passport would be shipped back to us in the same Fedex envelope as Maggie's. (Here's hoping my (potential) rejection doesn't prevent Maggie from getting her visa, too.)

In conclusion, I'm glad we started preparing a long time ago, and I wish the French Consulate would redo their website so their instructions are completely unambiguous. And I wish the French Consulate employees would then read the website. Thank you.

Chez Panda

WE'RE SO EXCITED!

We found an apartment! For the 9 months we will be living in Paris, you'll be able to find us on Rue de Belleville:

View Belleville in a larger map

Located in the 19th arrondisement, Belleville is close enough to the center of Paris to be convenient but not too close to be out of our price range. [Speaking of the center of Paris, did you hear about the guy who bought a parking spot for $654,000!?]

You can read about Belleville online (this podcast and blog in particular), but the short story is that it's a diverse neighborhood composed of many different immigrant groups (more Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese in the eastern part ("our" part), more North Africans and Arabs in the western part (a few blocks away)). There are tons of great supermarkets with super cheap Asian food, and on the nearby Rue Rebeval are many up-and-coming gourmet restaurants. Many people seem to point out that the area isn't your typical, "picture-perfect" Parisian quartier, but I'm more inclined to see it as a preview of what the future holds (for Paris and elsewhere). And in any case, there are plenty of fine, local boulangeries and patisseries, which is all we really care about.

As for our apartment, it's a recently refurbished one-bedroom with its own private courtyard garden and parking space. Go ahead, check it out!

The red, leather loveseat converts into a single bed, and we'll probably pick up an air mattress so we can host more than one person at a time. We hope you'll come visit!

A Year in the Merde

or, A shameless plug for a funny book.

I got Maggie a copy of Stephen Clarke's A Year in the Merde (2004), a pseudo-autobiographical novel about his time in France, to celebrate our year of colocation. She read it, and now I'm reading it. It's pretty funny, especially the transcriptions of heavily French-accented English. The title refers to the protagonist's unfortunate habit of stepping in every pile of dog poo he comes near (a result of Parisians' unfortunate habit of not picking up after their dogs), as well as an idiomatic French expression meaning "to be in the thick of things."

I highly recommend the book, and I'll probably refer to it again in future blogs - especially once I, too, fall victim to the bane of Parisian streets . . .

Visas, Part Louis

When Maggie first posted about visa requirements, I didn't yet know which visa I'd apply for. Unlike Maggie, I'm technically not a student - I'm not signed up for classes at a French university, and I'm not even informally affiliated with one. (If I were affiliated, or could convince a French prof to make pretend, I might be eligible for the "Visa for professors and researchers holders of a 'protocole d'acceuil,'" but I think I'm happier as an independent, unaffiliated researcher.) I'm definitely not working (ha!), so that's out.

The only thing left is "General long-stay visa for non-professional purpose." This seems to be intended for retirees, the independently wealthy, basically anyone who comes to France without anything to do but somehow manages to pay for it. So, grad students on fellowship.

I wish this were my visa . . .

Requirements:

• Three Photographs
• Two long-stay application forms
• One Passport
• And a par-tridge in a pear tree - just kidding. Seriously now:
• A proof of US resident status (not sure if this applies to me, but my MA driver's license should suffice)
• Financial guarantee such as: a letter from my bank stating that I have "sufficient means" of support to live in France (how much is "sufficient?" I could live in the streets for nothing...) plus your last or three last (!!?!??) bank statements, plus a note stating that I don't plan to engage in any activities that require a work permit
• Proof of medical insurance (discussed below)
• Proof that I'm not a hardened criminal ("certificate of non-criminal record," which I attained at the Somerville Police headquarters this morning!)
• Deed of my apartment/house in France

Uh, hold up. Deed? I think they mean lease. Right, guys? Guys??? Also, what if I don't know where I'm living yet? On the long-stay application, there's a spot to put your place of residence in France, "if known" - so clearly they don't expect everyone to know already.

Unlike Maggie's short-and-sweet student visa (3 days to process), my long-stay visa for drinking two cups of coffee and three glasses of wine per day takes around two months to process. Maggie and I both scheduled our visa appointments for June 26th. We leave August 31st. Cutting it close? Yes and no. Wish me luck.

Airfare Purchased

Put it on your calendars, because it's official now: we leave August 31st, at 6:40 pm, from Boston's Logan International Airport.

We arrive at Paris-Charles de Gaulle on September 1st, at 7:35 am, at which point we will take a cab to our apartment (exact location TBA) and pass out.

(For those of you planning on traveling with a pet - we found that American Airlines charges the lowest rates for carrying-on or checking an animal ($100 and $150 respectively). USAirways doesn't allow pets on international flights. (Booo, hisss!) Delta charges $550 to check a pet. United, I can't remember, but it's more expensive than American. Luckily, we'll be flying American.)

Final Fellowship Tally

Heard officially from my last fellowship on Saturday (well, Maggie heard, since I'm in South Jersey for a few weeks). Here's the final results breakdown from the five fellowships I applied for:

• Bourse Chateaubriand - Got it. Declined it in favor of . . .
• Kennedy, Sheldon, Lurcy (all Harvard fellowships, one application) - . . . the Lurcy!
• Fulbright - Alternate nevermind, I guess I'm a Fulbright Fellow. (WOOO!)

Now I have to fly to France on an American carrier, get a physical, and submit reports about my progress. Oh, bureaucracy - but I'm not really complaining. 

[Insert great big smile here.]

Green Paris

Parks/gardens I've been to:

Parc de la Villette

Parc des Buttes Chaumant

Parc du Champs de Mars

Jardin du Luxembourg

Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Tuileries

Parks/gardens I want to visit: 

Parc Montsouris

Parc Kellerman

Parc George Brassens

Parc Andre Citroen

Parc de Monceau

Parc de la Butte Rouge

Parc de Belleville

So many parks... so little time... and this list doesn't even include all the parcs/jardins/bois outside the Periphique! 

Insurance

In addition to all the other annoying things one must do to procure a visa (reviewed by Maggie in an earlier post), there is the curious hurdle of proving insurance coverage. Quoth the Boston French Consulate website:

Makes sense - they have universal coverage in France, and want to make sure you're not taking advantage of their system by coming over without health care. And lots of companies specialize in insuring travelers, plus your regular insurer probably has a provision for overseas or "out of network" travel.

Problem: Most insurance companies do not cover "repatriation expenses" as part of your regular plan. So, in addition to your normal American health insurance, in most cases you would have to pick up traveler's insurance. Luckily there are tons of companies who can provide Medevac services - for a few hundred dollars, of course. I used www.insuremytrip.com to get quotes from a number of travel insurers, and prices ranged from $250 to $655 per person for a 9-month stint. Bummer!

Maggie and I are lucky in that, for the most part, we will be able to avoid this extra expense. As a student, Maggie's health insurance will come from the French government. (Thanks, Nanny State!) She may need to show that her current health insurance extends through the first month we'll be in Paris (before her classes start), and that may involve picking up Medevac insurance just for that month (which should be relatively inexpensive - around $150). I'll continue to pay for my Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts insurance because I'll need it when we return, and I'll avoid picking up Medevac insurance by relying on Harvard's affiliation with International SOS. ISOS is an emergency medical services provider that is free to Harvard (and many other schools') affiliates:

Summary of Harvard’s International SOS Benefits

Medical Assistance Services

·       24-hour access to I-SOS physicians who provide emergency and routine medical advice

·       24-hour access to I-SOS Alarm Centers for medical information, referrals and emergency assistance

·       Medical and dental referrals

·       Emergency medical evacuation

·       Medically supervised repatriation

·       Medical expenses guarantee and payment*

·       Arrangement of ground transportation and accommodation for accompanying family members*

·       Assistance with documentation for insurance claims

·       Dispatch of prescription medication and medical equipment*

Asterisks mean that ISOS will pay upfront, but ultimately must be reimbursed. Still, it's an amazing deal. If you're a student, staff, or faculty at any academic institution, check to see if they work with ISOS - it could save you money, and (in booming, dramatic radio announcer's voice) IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!

Fantastic Friends

You may not think that this post is related to our upcoming trip to Paris, but it is! Read on to learn more...

My dear friend from high school, Margaret Stutt, is now the leading lady and brains/heart/soul behind the smash sensation Pezzettino. I have been listening to her bring the funk via accordion, xylophone, and vocals for the past few months through YouTube and Myspace. And now I am so happy to report that I will get to hear her live THIS SATURDAY at Cafe 929 at Berklee College of Music. [From their website: Static of the Gods, The Hollow Sound, Pezzettino. A Ryan's Smashing Life live show delivers remarkable music talent, straight from the celebrated music blog's digital pages to New England's finest live stages. This tradition of music exploration continues tonight at the Cafe 939 with three outstanding acts that promise to thoroughly entertain, reigniting your passion for exciting new music!] 

Whoo hoo!

Pezzettino has a page on Facebook, can be followed on Twitter, and watched/heard on YouTube. Margaret seems to be a master of using social media to stay in touch with fans and find new ones. In my opinion, you should definitely become a fan - you won't regret it!

In fact, once you are done reading this you should go to the event page for her upcoming Boston show and RSVP that you'll be attending! Don't live in Boston? Check out her other tour dates at her Myspace page, and enjoy the sweet (and sometimes sizzling) sounds of this not-to-be missed talent.

Photo by Kevin Groen

Sooo... what does this have to do with Paris, you ask? Well, Margaret and I took French together in high school and one time she stabbed me in the hand with a pencil (she claims it was an accident). I still have the scar today. Ok - that's not really a connection to Paris, but I wanted to be sure that this story was aired before Margaret gets really famous.

BnF

Warning: This post may be boring for those of you who don't get excited by rows upon rows of gleaming, esoteric books.

That's right: The BnF, or Bibliotheque nationale de France, located in Paris, is the national library of France. (Find it on our map.) I'll be spending a ton of time here, both at the pictured Site Francois Mitterand (aka Tolbiac), and at the Departement de la Musique, at 2 Rue Louvois, on the Right Bank. At both locations, I'll be sifting through boxes of unpublished correspondence, personal memoirs, financial records, musical sketches, party invitations, concert programs, and all kinds of other primary source documents from the Interwar years. 

As a foreign academic, I can only gain access to the Rez-de-Jardin (bottom level of the main branch, which is devoted to research) by presenting my passport and a letter of introduction at the Richelieu branch (also on the Right Bank). There, I'll sign up for a year membership (normally 35 euros, but 18 with a student ID). Once at the BnF site Francois Mitterand, I'll surrender most of my belongings at a vestiary and descend into the wondrous depths:

What it looks like inside (I may have taken this picture illegally)

A view of the below-ground-level garden (name-sake of the "Rez-de-jardin," or "garden level")

Here's the floor plan of the Rez-de-Jardin; each letter marks a different subject.

I've already done some research here, and it's a good thing, since initially it took me a few days to figure out how everything works. First I didn't bring my passport to the membership office; then I couldn't figure out how to request books; I also wasted time reading things I could have accessed just as easily in the States. This time around, I'll be better prepared!