Responsibility

Last weekend, KJ and I went on a crazy adventure to Chicago to get my visa. Unfortunately, the French government is a little needy and requires everyone to travel to the nearest Consulate. Luckily, the nearest one from Ohio is only 7.5 hours away in Chicago! (I hope that you could hear the hint of sarcasm there). While it was a lot of fun (we packed a TON into those 30 hours spent in the Windy City), I was so nervous that something was going to go wrong that I couldn't really relax or let my guard down until after my appointment at the Consulate.

When I was an exchange student in 08, I had to do the exact same visa application and travel to the exact same office and sit in the exact same waiting room in order to give them my documents and become legally permitted to live in France. This time was actually easier. There were less documents that I needed and I didn't even have to pay any money for the application. I imagine that it was so easy because I was hired by the French government so I have a bit of street cred in the system. While it's not an automatic thing, the odds are in my favor. All in all, the appointment itself was painless (other than a blister on my toe from the new shoes) and it only lasted about 8 minutes. Now I'm just waiting for my passport to come back in the mail with it's brand new visa inside of it.

One of the biggest differences between this time around and last time is that I, myself, am in charge. I was responsible for acquiring and filling out all of the necessary paperwork. I made the arrangements for the plane ticket and the visa. I showed up to the appointment by myself. It's such an odd sensation being so responsible and grown up. When I get to France, I will need to find myself a place to live (if I don't already have one) and will be pretty much on my own for the first time in my entire life. It's a daunting yet completely exhilarating feeling of helplessness. There is nothing that I can do to change this. It's going to happen whether I'm ready or not. Hopefully, I will be ready and prepared.