Aaah, the joys of German bureaucracy...
I've run in to a situation here that I find rather hard to believe. It sounds like something the German government would come up with, but I can't believe that after WWII it is actually still in practice. In America, where people are hesitant to give their personal information to get a discount card at the grocery store, I can't even imagine the storm of bad press that this would create.
Everyone in Germany has to register their address with their city hall. We are all on file. Everyone in the whole country has to notify the government of their address, and they're responsible for updating it every time they move. However, not only do you have to register your address - you have to do it in person. I have to go stand in line and submit the forms to someone who won't be able to talk to me anyway, because I don't speak their language. But mailing it in is strictly not an option. Even if you're just letting them know that you moved across the street. We get to renew our drivers licences by mail for up to 10 years - and yet I have to go to an office just to officially let someone know where I live.
Just to make things more complicated, though, is the fact that I'm technically living in a commercially zoned property. The apartments above us are residential, but the place I actually live in (although it has a shower and a shower and has been inhabited for the last 5 years) isn't supposed to have people living in it. So I can't register my actual address. I have to make friends with a neighbor and give the government that address.
I would just skip the whole thing - one of my roommates was here for 6 months without registering. And because he never registered, no one ever noticed that he didn't have a visa. Of course, when he flies home in a few weeks, someone is going to notice that he overstayed his allotted three months in the EU, and he'll have to convince them that he was in the Czech Republic, or Switzerland or Poland or something. I'm too nervous to do that, and besides, I'm eligible for a student residency visa as long as I'm taking German, so that part is OK. It's just such a pain in the ass to deal with it all.
I asked my German housemate why we can't just mail the forms in. He laughed and said "Well, first of all you're in Germany. Secondly, you're in Bavaria, which is the most German part of Germany. And then, you're in East Germany, so it just adds that extra level of bureaucracy to everything."
In other news, I've been looking all over for refrigerator poetry magnates in German. How many hundreds of varieties do we have at home? I can't find them here. Everyone tells me they know what I'm talking about, but no one can think of where to actually find them. I suppose it wouldn't really do that much good yet, anyway - I would probably only know about 1/8 of the words. But it would be sorta cool.
Yesterday I went to a bookstore and flipped through a children's book. I couldn't help but laugh at myself - here I am, 24 years old, struggling to read an illustrated book for three year olds. It was about a small sheep who wanted to grow. He ate a little more every night while everyone was asleep, and soon he grew bigger and bigger... until he floated away and turned in to a cloud. Because clearly, that's what obese sheep do - they float. Yeah. But the point is, I read the damn thing! I actually recognized about 80% of the words, and along with the illustrations I could read it! Considering that a month ago I couldn't even count past 3 in German, I'd say I'm not doing so bad.
I have a million other funny observations that I keep meaning to write about, but when I sit down to post them I can't remember what they were...
I've run in to a situation here that I find rather hard to believe. It sounds like something the German government would come up with, but I can't believe that after WWII it is actually still in practice. In America, where people are hesitant to give their personal information to get a discount card at the grocery store, I can't even imagine the storm of bad press that this would create.
Everyone in Germany has to register their address with their city hall. We are all on file. Everyone in the whole country has to notify the government of their address, and they're responsible for updating it every time they move. However, not only do you have to register your address - you have to do it in person. I have to go stand in line and submit the forms to someone who won't be able to talk to me anyway, because I don't speak their language. But mailing it in is strictly not an option. Even if you're just letting them know that you moved across the street. We get to renew our drivers licences by mail for up to 10 years - and yet I have to go to an office just to officially let someone know where I live.
Just to make things more complicated, though, is the fact that I'm technically living in a commercially zoned property. The apartments above us are residential, but the place I actually live in (although it has a shower and a shower and has been inhabited for the last 5 years) isn't supposed to have people living in it. So I can't register my actual address. I have to make friends with a neighbor and give the government that address.
I would just skip the whole thing - one of my roommates was here for 6 months without registering. And because he never registered, no one ever noticed that he didn't have a visa. Of course, when he flies home in a few weeks, someone is going to notice that he overstayed his allotted three months in the EU, and he'll have to convince them that he was in the Czech Republic, or Switzerland or Poland or something. I'm too nervous to do that, and besides, I'm eligible for a student residency visa as long as I'm taking German, so that part is OK. It's just such a pain in the ass to deal with it all.
I asked my German housemate why we can't just mail the forms in. He laughed and said "Well, first of all you're in Germany. Secondly, you're in Bavaria, which is the most German part of Germany. And then, you're in East Germany, so it just adds that extra level of bureaucracy to everything."
In other news, I've been looking all over for refrigerator poetry magnates in German. How many hundreds of varieties do we have at home? I can't find them here. Everyone tells me they know what I'm talking about, but no one can think of where to actually find them. I suppose it wouldn't really do that much good yet, anyway - I would probably only know about 1/8 of the words. But it would be sorta cool.
Yesterday I went to a bookstore and flipped through a children's book. I couldn't help but laugh at myself - here I am, 24 years old, struggling to read an illustrated book for three year olds. It was about a small sheep who wanted to grow. He ate a little more every night while everyone was asleep, and soon he grew bigger and bigger... until he floated away and turned in to a cloud. Because clearly, that's what obese sheep do - they float. Yeah. But the point is, I read the damn thing! I actually recognized about 80% of the words, and along with the illustrations I could read it! Considering that a month ago I couldn't even count past 3 in German, I'd say I'm not doing so bad.
I have a million other funny observations that I keep meaning to write about, but when I sit down to post them I can't remember what they were...
posted by Kristal at 11:06 AM
2 Comments:
You think Germany is bad, it's a good thing you didn't try living in France...Since the holidays are coming up, I would be interested in some of the traditional stories about Santa and the cast of characters. My friend Heather lived in France for 6 months, and apparently the French children's presents arrive via a bell that flies in from Rome. Right. Because an Italian bell could get a work visa for something that a French bell could do better...keep warm darling, lots of love C,G & E
Okay, so after i talked to my friend again and she spent 15 minutes rolling on the floor with laughter because yes, ladies and gentlemen, Carmel messed up a story yet again...the bell delivers Easter candy not Christmas presents to children...my point was, what do they call Santa in Germany, and does he come down the chimney? Inquiring minds want to know.
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