OFII oopsies

         I am officially legal in France! I passed vers le medecin this morning in Annecy at the OFII office. It started snowing while I was on the train. Not ideal for my bizarre, full-length North Face coat paired with black flats situation. I got there early and indulged in several mini chocolate croissants (which obviously don't count as one normal size chocolate croissant) and coffee. My ridiculous shoewear trapped me inside the mall all day as I waited for my appointments. I didn't think going to a medical visit with hypothermic toes was prudent.
         In any case, OFII stands for Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration. Visas come from the French Embassy, but long term stays are regulated by the OFII. They process students to au pairs to asylum seekers. Everyone coming to France for more than three months, and who is not an EU citizen, is required to get medical approval for their long term stay. I wouldn't have been allowed to leave the Schengen Zone for Christmas break had I not had my appointment...
        My appointment was at 2:30. I'd been in Annecy since 8:30 because I had to get pulmonary x-rays done first. The train back to the 'ville was at 3:30, and if I missed it, I'd have to wait until 5:30. I went to my appointment 45 minutes early to see if I'd be able to get out in time. The receptionist was very sweet and said she'd try. This unfortunately meant that I cut several people in line, which I apologized profusely for. The doctor taught me all the French names for the standard examinations he was doing. I had an interesting chat with the immigration officer about asylum seekers and immigrants in France. I came out of the appointment to find a hysterical girl crying because she now couldn't go home for Christmas. Apparently she was a Canadian au pair and she'd forgetton her passport, missed her appointment, and now had to rush to pick up the kids from school. I helped her translate her situation to the receptionist, which seemed nice and turned out to be a horrible idea. The receptionist and immigration officials got so mad, explaining that she had missed her appointment and they cannot make exceptions. Except I was standing there, translating, and I had had my own appointment moved. Unfortunately, they realized this and redirected their frustration at me. Didn't I have a train to catch, they demanded? Yes, I did, but since they kindly pushed me through, I had time to help translate before I had to catch my train. This brought further grumbling so I scurried out, guiltily. Le oops.
         In other self-absorbed news, I am not quite certain whether the doctor was making a joke about me having scoliosis or whether I do actually have it. That probably would have been a good thing to confirm. However, another French doctor casually told someone that they have heart problems... When I don't know a French word, I often say the English word in a French accent. This rarely works but it did work with "hypochondriac" the other day...in any case my Kaiser appointment at home is officially booked!