Why?
Well, I received a letter Friday from the friendly neighborhood CAF office. I receive letters from the CAF office about twice a month. Usually the letter requests that I provide some sort of official government document/proof of income or residence/vials of blood so that they can continue reviewing my case for another few weeks until they realize they need clippings of my hair and the impossible-to-receive stamp from the Office of Immigration. Then they send me another letter requesting such items.
Although I've probably explained it, I'll bring you up to date: as a young person with a low income, I am eligible for government housing assistant to ease the burden of paying rent. As this is France and as the CAF is a shining example of French bureaucracy, I expected the process would be slow and tedious. Then, the immigration officials changed the rules for people like me living in France. In years past, I would have received a carte de séjour, a residency permit to prove I was allowed to stay in France for a certain period of time. But the Office of Immigration, OFii, no longer requires it. Instead, I have to get a stamp from the office in Nantes on my visa. But I cannot get the stamp without first having a medical examination with OFii. A medical visit, that is, that I cannot schedule. I have to wait for them to send me a letter with a date, which I have not received. Confused yet? What does this have to do with the CAF? Well, no one bothered to update the CAF about the changes, and it continued to demand the carte de séjour. In fact, one conversation with a CAF employee went like this:
"Ms, you can get the CAF when you have a carte de séjour."
"Mam, the carte de séjour no longer exists for me. They changed the rules."
"No. Without the carte de séjour, you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to the CAF."
But, someone finally updated the CAF, now they know that we are waiting for OFii stamps on our visas, which basically means nothing except our conversations with the CAF are now slightly more polite. And I continue to receive letters requesting information, and I continue to send in that information.
Then, this week, Elvynia received a letter notifying her that she would receive a fairly large sum of back pay from November to December. And she did. It was deposited directly into her bank account.
Then, a day or so later, I received a letter from the CAF. Per usual, I expected a request for several documents that I didn't have. Mais, non!! It was a similar letter with the following sentence:
Vous avez droit à €686.79. You have the right to €686.79.
The amount is back-pay from October to December, and because I live in a foyer it won't be directly deposited into my account. But, I talked to the girls who work here, and it's the real deal. I'm getting financial assistance. Of course, the whole process continues to be convoluted, and it is paid in a sort of credit to the foyer where I will only pay the difference in rent (which should be zilch).
The funny thing is: I still don't have the OFii stamp.
But who cares! My monthly net income is now at a level where I won't cringe after purchasing each plane/train/bus/boat/hot air balloon ticket!
A final thing: all of this having the right/not having the right, reminded me of my favorite children's books, Eloise by Kay Thompson. Eloise in Moscow is probably one of the most hilarious children's books you'll ever read. It was published in 1951 when the Cold War was just getting going, and Eloise gets to shake up the Soviets a little. Their fabulous tour guide takes them around the city and explains "Is possible to see...." "Is not possible to go" here, here, and here. It's not that funny here, but read it. Trust me, it's hilarious.
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