visa update

PROGRESS!

If you were wondering what that strange noise was around 5:00pm this evening, it was my huge sigh of relief. At the end of last week, I learned that the paperwork for my authorisation de travailler that I've been waiting for since June is finally at the ANAEM (National Agency for the Reception of Foreigners and Migration) in Nantes. This is the brand-new requirement that not even Fulbright knew about until mid-June. When I visited the Houston Consulate on June 4th, they were so nice, but unsure of which visa they should give me - they've never seen a Fulbright teacher before. The nice ladies assured me that they'd find out and mail it "tomorrow." Several weeks later, they called to let me know that they were waiting on the form from the ANAEM (pronounced ah-nah-em).

According to Dr. Amy Tondu, our lifesaver at the Franco-American Commission in Paris, the ANAEM is supposed to mail the long-awaited file via chronoposte (the French equivalent of Express Mail) to the Consulate in Houston tomorrow or Wednesday. Afraid that the nice folks at the Consulate had forgotten about me, I sent an e-mail to the visa desk this weekend, and also left a rambling phone message on their voicemail. I simply wanted to let them know that the file was coming, and to let them know that I'll be leaving on the 9th rather than the 3rd, as I had originally indicated. Today, I had a very kind e-mail response from M. John MEUNIER, saying that he indeed remembered me (and that they've been waiting on my file for quite some time). He assured me that he'd process my visa immediately upon receipt of the paperwork they've been waiting for depuis longtemps. In a post scriptum e-mail, he said he'd even try to call me once my passport is en route to Oklahoma City. SO NICE! Ever since buying my ticket on Friday night, I have been panicking about the short amount of time I have left. With the latest encouragement that the paperwork will soon be complete, I am feeling somewhat relieved. Still, as someone said late last week, "Let's not uncork the champagne until the visa is in hand."

Besides that incredible news, today's accomplishments include: getting my international driver's license at AAA (super-friendly employees and a very simple process: $15 plus 2 passport-sized pictures) and having the plumber replace the garbage disposal. Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem, and now I'm searching for an electrician. Anyone know one?

Yesterday, I managed to clean out the bathroom cabinets - they're HUGE, and tend to have black-hole-like qualities. I found all sorts of hair products I didn't know I had, and managed to make lots of space for Nathalie.

Tomorrow's to-do list is quite lengthy, but I suddenly have newfound motivation!