Photo ID, necessary forms, and baby

If you live in France and ever have any administrative stuff to do and you don't have a baby under the age of 6 months or so, try and think of one in your entourage and give his or her mommy the day off by taking the baby off of her hands to accompany you to your administrative tasks. The following example is why you should never, ever forget the baby.

As a French citizen, I now have the right to vote. Although I don't know much about politics, I do, however, live in this country and have my opinions about some of the things that go on here. I am a user of the systems and infrastructure and would like to have a say about how things should be run, so of course I had to wait until the very last day possible to go register to vote for the upcoming presidential elections this spring. Mind you, I've had the nationality for 2 years but no, I have to wait until literally the last hour that the election offices were open to do this. Etienne warned me this morning "You are going to wait for 3 hours". I didn't believe him. Surely, if I get there right when the doors open after lunch, I'll be at the front of the line and be in and out in 5 minutes. Wrong. Luckily, though, I listened to him and with my photo ID and other documents, I had carefully studied how I would take Louise into the Town Hall with me- by Baby Bjorn, stroller, or car seat? Finally, I decided that stroller wouldn't make it look like I have a very young baby, car seat people wouldn't see that I had a baby as much, but Baby Bjorn, that would surely make everyone see that I can't possiby wait in a 3 hour line with a baby strapped to my belly. As we circled around the Town Hall, walking past people towards the end of the line (which was at the other end of the Town Hall, definitely a 3 hour wait), I thought to myself someone will tell me to go to the front of the line. Finally, we were at the back, and I called Etienne to tell him that we'd be there awhile and I had just as soon hung up the phone when the two women behind me urged me to please go to the front, I can't possibly wait that long with such a young baby. As I started inching my way up, a woman from the election office came and escorted me to the front where 5 more women and their young babies were also waiting. 20 minutes later I called Etienne (who had taken Gab to the hardware store), "I'm out you can come and get me now."

That's the second time this week. The first was driving back from E's mom's and we got pulled over for speeding. As soon as the cop saw that I was feeding Louise, he told his colleague to drop the ticket.

I don't think any of this is fair, and I used to feel guilty about these things, but France is a country of survival of the fittest and if you don't try and play with the system, you will get run over. Nothing is 'fair' here. And if others are going to do it, I might as well too. As I walked out of the office, one of the women who sat next to me with her newborn was downstairs with her husband (who had been waiting for her with their older son), and I was sure that he came to watch the baby while she enrolled to vote but as soon as she saw the line, she knew the trick too and took the baby with her.

Oh, and by the way, as a sidenote, thank you for your encouragement and remarks on my last post! I feel more focussed and have decided to dedicate 3 hours a day to this test, not more, not less and that is a goal I can feel motivated with rather than seeing a huge mountain that I'll never be able to accomplish. I don't know really what I want to do for certain and if I want to go on to the doctorate, but at least I won't give up, for now, academics all together.

Comments

[Marie]

Great tip, I'll have to make a note of it, it could come in handy :)
... although I'm not sure I have any baby available among my circle of friends/family right now :)
I had no idea people had recourse to such stratagems, but as you aptly pointed out, it's a man eats man world!
Marie

[becky]

Glad that you have a motivational boost. If you can do three hours, then great, but if not--don't beat yourself up. Two (with a short 15 min. break in between) might be more realistic? Going from zero to even 15-30 minutes would be an accomplishment! Who knows how far you will go--but the impoortant thing now are the small steps you can take to get yourself there, if that is what you want! Good luck!