Au Pairs Beware!

Wow....no one told me all the crap I'd have to go through to be an au pair. I thought, "Hey, I'm young and want to see Europe - might as well get paid a little for it, yeah?" And then came France. And the French ridiculous system of everything. Ughhh....

First off, in order to live abroad for a year, you have to get a long stay visa at the consulate, in this case the French consulate in Houston, TX. No problems, right? Hmm. The long stay visa is $100-something, but is actually only good for 2 months (at this time, anyway - the system has since changed, though who knows if it's any more efficient), during which you must jump through 822 hoops in order to get your carte de sejour (residency card), allowing you to stay the "long" part of your visa. As it turns out, the consulate in Houston is full of morons who issued me a visa that couldn't possibly be completed in the brief 2 months alotted. This is because....

To be an au pair means you get screwed in terms of the salary required by law you're paid, the cash you have to shell out for the univeral healthcare (whether you need it or not, ie. whether or not you have private insurance back in the States - the French don't care), and the French language courses you're required to enroll in and attend. This last bit is one of the steps you have to take to get your residency card. No classes, no card. And these aren't community college, affordable, light commitment classes. No no, thse are 900 euro/semester, 4 hrs/wk, 3 semesters/yr monstrocities. Maybe it doesn't sound so bad - hey, doesn't everyone want to learn French?! - but bear in mind your employer is only required to pay you 300 euros/month for 50 hr work weeks, and the precious hours you aren't chasing small children would be more enjoyably spent either traveling (as much as your paltry salary will allow - contrary to popular belief, though there ARE tons of trains in Europe, none of them are cheap) or sleeping.

My problems were multi-layered. First, by the time I got all the documentation together to take to the Prefecture (the good folks who issue that pesky carte) in Nancy, it was after May 30, thus the end of the school year for the Prefecture. The classes I'd signed up for when I arrived in April were no longer valid. Yeah, I attended them just like a good little foreigner, but because the University, medical system, and Prefecture were sooooo slow issuing all the other documents, it was too late for my classes to count by the time I got to that point in the process. Not fair? Damn right it's not. Does the Prefecture care? Not a bit.

Summer time for an aupair is especially busy because the kids are home all day - LONG work days. Obviously, there's no time for au pair French classes in the summer. Again, does the Prefecture care? Not even a little.

To try and fix my problem, I attempted to sign up for fall classes (ie. actually fork over the cash so I could get the official enrollment form) in the summer. No dice, said the University. You can't sign up until the first day of classes in October. Hmm, but the Prefecture wants my enrollment document now? Does the University care? Hell no. In an attempt to hold the wolves at bay, I got a pre-Inscription document to give to the Precture, which convinced them to extend my recepisse (pre-carte document) until the end of October. Phew! In the clear, right? Oh, if only it was so simple.

October arrived and I trekked to Nancy to pay my class fee. When I arrived at the University, the lady - the SAME lady who had pre-inscribed me back in July - informed me I was too beginner for these French classes and couldn't sign up. Oh sure, I could apparently PRE sign up, but not actually sign up. Right..... The classes I needed, she said, started in February. I'd have to come back then. I went to the Prefecture to tell them my dilemma. Sorry, they said, but February was too late. If I couldn't sign up for classes asap, I'd have to leave the country at the end of October when my recepisse expired. Did it matter that 1) I DID sign up for classes when I arrived in the country, like I was supposed to - I should've had my card months ago!, 2) the purpose of me being in the country was to be an au pair, so I obviously couldn't shirk my repsonsibilities at the busiest time of the year - what would be the point of these people hiring me??, 3) I was pre-inscribed in a class, then the University changed its mind without informing me in a timely enough fashion to find alternatives ???? No, the Prefecture didn't care. It wasn't their fault, they told me. No no, of course not......bastards.

So now I stare down the barrel of a loaded gun called deportment. Will I actually get this whole God-awful mess worked out? Maybe, though I can guarantee the French government and University in Nancy won't be to thank.

The Ghost of Blogs Past

Wow, apparently I was too kind to myself assigning only Myspace follies to past web blogging. I discovered, but moments ago, an old Livejournal I started, what, 4 years ago? And, like most web-based programs, kept up with for 10 seconds before abandoning. It's kind of funny to look back on the girl I was then. Man, the deep heartache and sense of loss over a boy....laughable now, not so much at the time. And yet it was that very sadness that is chiefly responsible for making me the tough, woman of steel I am today - score!

For the enjoyment of the masses (meaning, um, me): http://seester-of-tito.livejournal.com/

It's like reading through an old diary from high school you discover shoved back in a closet at your parents' house. Terribly embarassing, hilarious, yet strangely nostalgic. Good times for all.

Wednesdays.....redefining "patience" since 2009

11 hours with 3 kids under the age of 7....

They can be adorable, but all too often they're in rare form (as they are today). How do you say "impertinent" and "obstinate" in French?

Presenting "Blog"

As my first forray (Myspace doesn't count - I was young and confused) into the glorious world of self-indulgent blogging, I feel it necessary to establish some basics as to what this is and is not. On a very good day, I may possibly say something of use to the world at large, profound in nature, full of poignant insight into the human plight.

These days will likely be rare.

More often than not I intend to use this outlet to rant, rave, ramble, and do other things that begin with the letter 'r', to be determined at a later date. You must forgive me in advance for my intellectual shortcomings, stream of consciousness writing style (which is in no way intentional -- sorry, not that cool), and (what I suspect will be) the generally shallow nature of my missives. I give anyone permission to call me simple behind my back.

And on that note, the obligatory disclaimers due any self-respecting Rankin woman have been issued. Let the fun begin.