RER + visa

Today I had to take care of some paperwork for my visa. This morning I woke up and was on the metro by 10 a.m. I took Metro Line 1 all the way to the end (only 2 stops from my stop) and I had to transfer to the dreadful RER. It stands for Réseau express régional (Regional Express Network). It is another form of public transportation that serves Paris and its suburbs. I dislike the RER for the following reasons: it smells like urine in the cars, it is very unsanitary , there is graffiti all over the inner cabin walls, it doesn't come as frequently (2-5 minutes) like the metro but instead comes every 1-60 minutes, it is slow, it is also very confusing. There are multiple end stations for each line, for instance there are 3 end stations for Line A - (A1) Saint-German-en-Laye, (A2) Poissy and (A3) Cergy Le Haute. Luckily I only had to go one stop on Line A so this didn't affect me but it's a real headache when you have to wait for A3 because A1 won't take you to where you need to go. Since my monthly Passe Navigo (metro pass) only covers Zone 1 & 2, I had to buy a supplemental ticket for the stupid RER. I bought it and my ticket did not work for the machine. So I smiled at the camera and hopped the turnstile, a big no-no but I see many people do it without buying tickets so I wasn't worried. After a jostling smelly ride I exited after one stop and then got lost for 45 minutes trying to find La Préfecture de Nanterre. Arnaud, the dad of the family, told me to go here to give them my paperwork. So after standing in line for another 45 minutes they told them that I was in the wrong place and that I needed to go to a completely different building on the opposite side of town. They must have changed their policy recently.

I was pretty annoyed so I got back on the RER and made my way back to Paris and the lovely metro. I had to take Line 1 to Line 13, a journey that took another 45 minutes. I luckily found the OFII (Office of French Immigration & Integration) without a problem but had to wait in another line. A girl from Mexico behind me starting talking to me in fluent English and we both discussed how we had been to different departments that morning and were sent here instead. The only man working the office spoke too fast and used too many official words and I didn't understand, so he had me step aside and wait. He was so annoyed with me and he kept correcting my french as I spoke it which a) I liked because I need someone to point out my errors but b) he was doing this condescendingly but I didn't let it bother me.

The Mexican girl knew NO French and he really disliked her for that so he asked her to wait with me. They brought down a Spanish translator and the girl worked out her issues, then I turned to the guy and starting speaking Spanish. I was surprised how easy it was, I thought my brain would get really confused but I just naturally slipped into the language without a problem. Then the French man dropped everything he was doing with his current client and stared at me with a look of surprise and said - "but you are American! How do you know French and Spanish? (he yanks my passport) Ooooh I see, you got your visa in Los Angeles, well pffff everyone speaks Spanish from L.A. down to Mexico. Oh wow, look at you little miss world traveler - Panama, Czech Republic, Spain, hmm I see." Then he turns to the Spanish translator and speaks rapid-fire French of what paperwork I need to do, then the Spanish translator turns to me and tells me, then I write the notes down in Spanish in my notebook. Turns out I didn't even need to be at the office, I need to MAIL my documents by certified mail. What a joke! Towards the end the French guy loved me and I guess the moral of the story is you can't judge someone by their passport.