Adventures in Babysitting Bureaucracy

Due to the delightful language of my contract as an English Teaching Assistant in Germany, I am allowed (almost required) to take one full day a week away from the school for my own time. I chose Fridays. (Who wouldn't?)

Thus, today, I had the privilege of sleeping in. Because I am now old and my body is used to getting up at ridiculous o'clock every morning, I slept in until the beautiful hour of 8:30 am.

This means that I can Skype with friends at 1:30 am Minnesota time, while they are still going strong. One Pro for the list, I guess.

All was well, though, as I still have a list of bureaucratic crap to get through. I had intended to go to the Ausländeramt of the city of Düsseldorf (for you Anglophiles, that is the Alien Registration Office) to wait in line and attempt to convince officials that I would be a gracious and appreciative recipient of a visa that would allow me to legally live in Germany until next July.

Following such an adventure, I planned to find the Akademisches Ausländsamt on the university and attempt to persuade them to let me register as a student without making me pay tuition. I'm told that Fulbrighters often are exempted from tuition fees, though we still pay the 200€ student fee... which I will happily pay, as it allows me free public transportation throughout the entire state of Nordrhein-Westfalen until the end of next March.

Of course, being Germany, both offices closed at 1:00 pm and 12:00 noon today, respectively. Furthermore, the university office closes at noon every day. As a productive member of society, this does not work well with my schedule.

So, I decided that the visa could wait; after all, my American passport gives me tourist status for three months, so another week won't hurt. I hopped on my bike, praying not to get lost, and set off for the uni. Turns out, it's a mere 8-minute bicycle ride from my apartment. Beautiful, really. I found the correct building without a problem and headed in, rehearsing my words in my head.

"Hi, my name is Amanda. I'm a Fulbright grantee in Düsseldorf until next July, and I would like to register as a student at the university."

But, alas. Germany has foiled me again. I explained my request to staff members, only to be told that my particular person only has office hours from 9 am - 12 pm Monday through Thursday. And, she'll be out until next Wednesday. Come back then.

Germany: 1.
Amanda: 0.