Residency, baby.
In which I finally get a 10-year visa, plus Cup Noodles and more.
You guys. I got a 10-year visa. I almost can’t believe I’m typing those words. And thank goodness, because I’ve been so busy this week I wasn’t sure what I’d write in today’s intro! But, as if on cue, HUGE NEWS.
Some of you are new here, so welcome! Here’s the brief backstory: I’ve been living in Paris for nearly 7 years now, but I’ve always had “visitor” status. I’ll spare you the bureaucratic nonsense, but this basically meant I couldn’t work for a French company (should I want to) and I also had to renew the visa every year. The former wasn’t too big of an issue, because I mostly write for American media. And perhaps the latter wouldn’t be that big of a deal either if it weren’t France and if it didn’t require making a gazillion photocopies of birth certificates and utility bills and bank statements and tax documents, not to mention making appointments six months in advance on an archaic online system that crashes several times in the process. Oh, and let’s not forget the actual, in-person meeting of handing over the aforementioned dossier to staff that does not mince words or take pity on a nervous foreigner’s inability to think of the French word for “company” under pressure. (It’s entreprise.)
So! After living here for 5 years, I was eligible to apply for a covetable 10-year card that would allow me to legally earn income from French companies AND avoid having to reapply year after year.
I submitted my application in 2020 only to be denied for unspecified reasons. (Because France.) Then, with hope and a dream (or is it on a wing and a prayer? let’s go with both), I gave it another go this year—bringing my much more fluent friend Jess with me to my appointment where she helped me plead my case. The first man I gave my dossier to was on the fence. Then, after waiting 45 minutes, his boss had a look and thought I had a good case. But, because France, they had to show it to yet another person. So with an eyeroll and a shrug—and a teensy bit of the hope/dream/wing/prayer I came in with—I left uncertain about what card I’d eventually be granted.
That was two months ago. To be honest, I kinda assumed I wouldn’t get it and was prepared for another one-year. I was just being cautiously optimistic, people! Hopeful, but not so much that I wouldn't run out of there livid and crying like the year before.
Well, yesterday was the day to pick it up. I woke up anxious before the sun at 7 a.m. But, to be honest, I’ve been overwhelmed all week. I’m having one of those “when it rains it pours” work moments that freelancers know all too well, and can barely catch my breath. My color-coded calendar is more dizzying than Charlie’s Chocolate Factory.
On my way to the prefecture, I realized I’d forgotten to put on this charm bracelet that I’d been wearing to previous appointments. It has all of Paris’s most famous monuments on it. Oh well, I thought. It’s sweet, but it also didn’t necessarily bring much luck last time... I also chuckled to myself thinking: Watch, I’ll get the 10-year on the day I’m going to London in the afternoon. Because, of course. Because France.
And that’s exactly what happened.
I’m sending this from London, where I’m seeing friends and doing my thing ’til next week. It’s a do-over trip for the one I canceled during the Omicron Rage in January. But don’t worry. I’m just visiting. I’m a resident of France now.
Bon week-end, friends. xx —Sara
Clickable
On traveling solo and defining home. | Me for Travel & Leisure
TL;DR - When researching drugs and doing them collide. | Intelligencer
Let’s change the discourse about a mentally unstable Kanye West. | The Cut
Are you a Content Creator? Who isn’t, these days? | Vox
The human behind, and the humanity of, ‘Humans of New York.’ | Intelligencer
Watchable
In the event you need a primer/refresher course on the “why” and the “how” of the escalating war in Ukraine from a geopolitical standpoint, this video from Vox is a great resource. While I was granted the ability to more easily make a home for myself in France this week, far too many Ukrainians are being displaced for completely unjust reasons. It’s hard not to feel hopeless and useless watching this unfold from the sidelines. The least we can do is stay educated and take care of each other.
Currently overthinking…
…whether it’s heartburn or anxiety…a cold or allergies (but hey, at least we know it’s not Covid ‘cause been there done that!)
Souvenir: Cup Noodles
Considering my bonkers schedule and my congestion-allergies-heartburn-anxiety situation this week, I made something I haven’t eaten since junior year at Syracuse University: Cup Noodles. (PS. Since when is it not Cup o’ Noodles?!) What’s more, I started watching “The Dropout,” the new drama about Elizabeth Holmes on Hulu, and in the first episode she heats some up, so it felt apropos to throw it back to everyone’s favorite microwavable soup today. Meanwhile, it had been so long since I made some, I totally ripped off the top before putting it into the microwave like a total amateur. (I got crafty, though, and those noodles got soft. Not to worry.)
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