As of this past Tuesday, I officially have a validated work visa and can stay in France until May. Although I applied for my visa in August, and received it in September, the process was not over. I also had to attend an appointment at the OFII (French Office of Immigration and Integration) to validate the visa. This appointment consists of a medical exam and x-ray, and a short meeting to give the government more paperwork.
I was assigned the same appointment as three other assistants at 9AM in Rennes (the capital of Brittany). I arrived about an hour early and made my way to the office. After checking in you have to work your way through an assembly line of nurses and doctors. First they check for tuberculosis by taking a chest x-ray. Of course France isn't like America in the sense that there is now gown to cover yourself when you have to be undressed from the waist up (it wasn't nearly as awkward or embarrassing as I thought it would be though). Then I was told to sit and wait in a chair in the hallway, x-ray in hand, until the nurse called me in. The nurse asked the usual questions, and preformed an eye and blood sugar test. I had low blood sugar, so she asked if I had eaten breakfast. When I said no she insisted I eat a "pain au chocolat" immediately after the appointment. Next was the doctor who asked a few more questions and then looked at the x-ray (in case you were wondering, I am TB free). She signed some papers and then sent me to the next office where I showed proof of residence, proof that my visit was paid for by the government, and gave her a photograph. I then received another sticker in my passport and was free to go!
After the appointment I was able to spend some time in Rennes before heading back to Guingamp. It is starting to look like Christmas in France (minus the snow), there are Christmas lights up everywhere and there are many Christmas markets around. I also only work four more days before our vacation starts on the 17th!
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