So, there is considerably as much paperwork to do in Germany as there is in France. Luckily, the German efficiency doesn't stop with their cars. Dealing with their bureaucracy is considerably less painful than the French system, in which no one seems to know anything.
For being all creeped out over the US spying scandal, Germany is really big about knowing exactly where you are. You have to register each of your residences and the family members who live with you no matter where you are in the country. Every time you move, you have to "check out" of the old apartment and into the new one. It's no different for foreigners.
When you first arrive in Germany with the intent to live, you must register at the local Einwohnermeldeamt office within a certain time period (generally a week). There are multiple offices, so you have to make sure you go to the one in your neighborhood. The registration is called the Anmeldebestaetigung (say that ten times fast..) and basically just says you are living at X address. It's free and all you need is your passport and a copy of your rental contract. Sounds simple, right?
I spoke with our office manager yesterday about how to get my Anmeldebestaetigung. She recommended that I get an appointment at my local office because it could get crowded. I checked online and the next appointment was in 10 days! Unacceptable because I am on a strict timeline--I have to get these things done ASAP before my visa expires. The only other option is to just go as early as possible and try to beat the crowds. I checked again and saw that my local office opens at 7 am on Wednesdays. That is extremely early for me, but at least I wouldn't miss any work.
So this morning I rolled out of bed at 6:00... OK, fine, 6:10.. and left with enough time to get there right as it opened. It was raining but I didn't have time to go back in to grab my umbrella -- I'd miss the subway train. I realized I didn't have enough coins to buy a ticket so I just jumped on the train. I'm pretty sure that no one pays for the subway here anyway.
Inside the building, there was a waiting room surrounded with doors that had numbers on them (1-4, 5-8, etc). There were already a few people waiting, but nowhere near as many as I thought there would be. At the DMV you go immediately when it opens and there is already a huge line. The inside of the room was DMV style, though -- uncomfortable plastic chairs and little monitors to call your number and tell you which counter to go to. Right -- I needed a number! Everyone else had theirs. I wandered around the room looking for a ticket machine. Nothing. Went into the foyer. Nothing. There was an information desk but it was empty. By this point the people in the waiting room are looking at me like I'm crazy.
Finally I noticed a small sign that says something like "If you don't have an appointment, get a number from the information desk." So I went back to the desk and finally! someone was behind the counter. In very broken German I told him I need the Anmeldebestaetigung. He asked me something in German, and I just blankly stared. He repeated it as though I would suddenly understand. Ha, I wish. I told him I need a number to get my Anmeldebestaetigung, and he asked me something else. I said "I have an apartment here. I need a number for my Anmeldebestaetigung" and finally he gave me a form to fill out and... a number! Yes, got my number, step 1 accomplished! We are in business!
I thanked him then go to fill out the form. I had looked up some words beforehand to help me because German is actually pretty much nothing like English, but when my number was called I had only filled out about 1 section. They had 3 different name sections and I had no idea which was for me!
I went to the appropriate desk and sat down. I told the woman my memorized broken sentence about the registration. It didn't work too well with the Info desk but it's all I had. The woman asked me a question and again I just stared blankly. In a desperate attempt to get things rolling I pulled out my rent contract and passport and showed her the practically empty form I was struggling to fill out. She was getting more frustrated at my lack of German. Her tone was getting sharper and sharper, and definitely condescending. "Fill out the form," she said. I pulled out my vocab list but I still couldn't figure out which section was for my information -- there were seriously 3 sections for names and personal information!
I pointed to the first section and ask "Ist das fuer mich?" Is that for me? She snaps and went off me in German. I only understand the part where she says "That paper is not for you, it's for my colleague and myself. You just fill it out!!" Finally she asked what language I speak, and I told her "Englisch."
She (thankfully) switched to English and brusquely told me where to write what. I handed her the completed form, she typed some things into her computer for 2 minutes, stamped a piece of paper and gives it to me with a smile. "That's it! Here you go. Bye!" Total 180 in terms of attitude...Talk about Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde. I grabbed my papers and ran out of there, happy to have survived my first experience with German bureaucracy.
Takeaways: the German system is very efficient, which is great! But I was shocked at how rude they are when you can only speak a tiny bit of German. I can understand that they probably feel "Hey this is Germany, you are coming here to live, speak freaking GERMAN" but you know what?? I found out I was moving here just two weeks ago. TWO WEEKS. You try mastering a language in 2 weeks, lady.
Anyway, that was round one for the bureaucracy. My goal for tomorrow: apply for a work visa and my residence permit.
Some useful vocab:
Wohnung - apartment
Einzugsdatum - the date you moved in
Geburtsdatum - birthday
Geburtsort - birthplace
Geschlecht - gender (F = Weiblich, M = Mannlich)
Familienname - last name
Vorname - first name
Staatsangehoerigkeit - nationality (Amerikanisch in my case)
Familienstad - marriage status (leiding = single)
Personalausweis - passport
