Paperwork Hell

With about 10 days left before my departure, one of the things I've been working on taking care of, other than the various things that I want to do on this end, is getting some of the paperwork ready for the stay(s) abroad. Unsurprisingly, it seems both the German and French governments love inordinate amounts of paperwork. At least in Germany, though, the paperwork doesn't seem to prevent things from being accomplished with the usual level of German efficiency.

Most of the stuff that needs to be taken care of in Germany has to be done in that first week before I begin work. And it's not a small amount of stuff, either:

1.) Resident registration: That has to be practically the first thing before I can take care of anything else, and that's because most places require a document called a Meldebestätigung, a document certifying that I completed registration formalities. To do this, I have to find an Einwohnermeldeamt, an office where I can complete this registration.

2.) Residence permit: Since I decided that staying in Germany for about 4 months was what I wanted, I have to get a residence permit, or Aufenthaltstitel. Legally, since what I'm doing isn't classified as work, I have to have it within 90 days of entry. Functionally, however, I have to have it before I can even begin work because my internship is longer than 90 days! Hence, that has to be gotten before my first day on the 16th.

3.) Bank Account. This probably requires the former two to be accomplished so I can receive the stipends from all relevant sources.

Oh, and I also need to start preparing for going to France. Whee! But the reward once all of the paperwork has been taken care of will make it all worth it, I'd imagine.

And maybe getting my driver's license is somewhere in there.

And, with that, enjoy the rest of your weekends.

Zdraveyte

And welcome, one and all, to this, a blog about my misadventures in travelling. Especially to Europe, where I will be in less than a month. Whee!

Europe is one of the many places that I've been familiar with, being a child of a soldier in the US Army. I lived in Germany for 6 years as a result of him being stationed there and in a little town called Ansbach. I got to return to Germany, but this time to Leipzig (a much larger city) almost two years ago on a chemistry internship, and that was a blast. I also went to Swansea in the UK for a semester of study, and that, especially the month of travelling over spring break, was a blast.

Right now, I'm finishing up here at my university, Ripon College, and will be graduating tomorrow. It's not fun having to pack everything up and say goodbye to a place that I've grown to know and somewhat like over the past three years. But, of course, there are bigger and better adventures that await, and the first one is to Ludwigshafen, Germany, as an intern for BASF SE. Afterwards, if all goes as planned with the visa, it'll be off to France to teach English for about 7 months. Then grad school, wherever that may be.

More will probably be posted as it gets closer to the departure date, so stay tuned!