Pandora’s Paperwork-filled Box

On April 16, 2022December 31, 2022 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

This month’s post might be a little different than usual. Actually, at this point I’m not convinced this isn’t just a form of catharsis (if I write it all down, I can let it go, right? Right?) We’ll see what happens. In reality, I hope this will be more than just my venting about my last few months in paperwork hell. I would actually like for this to serve as a record in case I have to do some of these things again and perhaps also as a guide for anyone else that has to go through these incredibly tedious processes. So, all I can say is buckle up as I endeavor to take you on a journey of a thousand citas (or “appointments”).

Okay, you might at this point be wondering what the heck I’m even talking about in this post. To clarify (and to account for any absenteeism these last few months), Tucker and I have been absolutely elbow-deep in various administrative processes. It all started in January when Canadian immigration (which we applied for back in 2019) contacted us needing updated and additional documentation to continue their processing of our permanent residency status. They needed another “up-front medical exam” and a copy of my renewed passport.

Up-Front Medical Exam

While not the most complicated of our soon-to-be mountain of administrative tasks, getting a medical exam in a foreign country always comes with a few added challenges. For one, Canada requires the exams be performed by one of their IRCC-approved doctors, of which there are only 12 in Mexico. Super unfortunately, none of these twelve happened to be in Guadalajara. However, there was one clinic in Monterrey, which we knew we’d be driving through in February while on another paperwork errand. The next (and probably somewhat obvious) issue with medical exams abroad is the language barrier. I had to call and make our appointments in Spanish and, of course, all the background questions and instructions throughout the exam were also en español. I learned quite a few new words throughout this process (como altura, vejiga, aguja, y radiografía), and I even made a joke about Tucker needing a paleta after his scary, scary blood draw.

Happy to have an excuse to visit Monterrey, honestly

Passport Renewal

The next request from Canada was for my renewed passport information. This was a tricky one because they needed me to renew it 6 months before it expired! When you live abroad your passport is your main ID, so to change it before we renewed our Mexican residency would have been impossible. We also knew we’d be going back to the border in February, so for this one, I actually appealed to Canadian immigration and asked for an extension. I was somewhat successful.

I think they’re just as sick of me at this point…

Mexican Residency Renewal

Of course, we also knew that in February our Mexican residency status would also need to be renewed. Everyone who applies for temporary residency in Mexico is given one year at the start, and after those first 365 days, you have the option to renew for 1, 2, or 3 more years. Since getting our initial residency cards was a fairly straight-forward process, I (perhaps) naively thought the renewal process would be even easier. We’re already in the system, no?! However, a series of extremely unfortunate events had us going back and forth to the Immigration Bureau 5 times (often having to wait weeks in between citas due to the new Covid procedures, thanks a lot Omicron). Unfortunately, one of the main reasons for all of these trips was a confusion with my apellidos (“last names”).

Reimbursement at SAT

In Spanish “apellido” refers to your family name or last name. In Mexico everyone has 2 apellidos – their paternal surname and their maternal surname. My name actually follows this structure pretty well, nombre: Danielle, apellido 1: Francuz, apellido 2: Rose. So, when the bank processed my payment that’s how the documents were filled out. However, in the eyes of the US (i.e. in my passport) and thus to the Immigration Bureau, I actually have 2 nombres: Danielle Francuz and 1 apellido: Rose. This discrepancy was a huge one in that I had to pay twice and later file for a reimbursement at yet a different office. I’ve now been to the SAT office (Mexico’s version of the IRS) twice to receive instructions and then my very own Mexican tax ID. I’m now in a “virtual line” for a third appointment where I will need to get my electronic signature before hopefully (finally) getting the reimbursement. Fingers crossed!

Import Permit Re-do

Of course, that wasn’t the only problem we had with the residency renewal…another issue came about because in order to straighten out the name debacle and successfully renew our residency cards within the new Covid procedures, we actually went past our initial residency cards’ expiration dates. Fortunately, the office assured us this wouldn’t be a problem with immigration because everyone was given leniency with the new digital cita process; however, very unfortunately, the Banjercito office (at the US-MX border), which issues import permits for foreign vehicles, did not have the same leniency in place. This meant that while we could remain in Mexico beyond our cards’ expiration dates, our car could not.

For this reason, we had to drive back to the border (before the expiration date) not exactly knowing what we would be able to do without the new residency cards to tie the permit to. Turns out there wasn’t anything we could do. You have to have either a tourist entry or a residency card to get an import permit (both of which were impossible for us as we were in limbo with cards on the verge of expiring and a scheduled appointment in another month). We also couldn’t just drive in Mexico without the permit and/or an expired permit because if we got caught, or when we came back to get a new permit, they could impound the car. Therefore, we opted for door number 3: drive the car across the border, store it for 6 weeks while we get our new residency cards, and fly up at a later date to re-do our permit and drive back down. OMG.

Police Certificates

If that wasn’t enough, while we were dealing with all the chaos of our Mexican residency renewal, Canada asked for MORE documents. With our updated location (i.e. Mexico) we needed to provide a police certificate verifying our legal/non-criminal status in yet another country (they already have these forms from us for the US, Poland, and China). However, completing the background check process in Mexico was yet another new experience for us, and it led us to another new office: the Fiscalía General Del Estado de Jalisco. Here, it took us a scouting mission, a few phone calls (en español), 3 citas, and a trip to another office (for a permission slip of all things) to finally get our fingerprints taken. Although, “fingerprints” is not really the right word. In Mexico, they take prints of your fingers, your palms, and the sides of your hands, it was actually really interesting. I’m also happy to say that I am officially NOT a criminal in Mexico. Tucker’s still waiting on his results…

Passport Renewal (for real this time)

Okay, so now it’s April. We’ve got our renewed residency cards (good until 2025), got our car with its rightful import permit back in GDL. Our appointment to try again for the reimbursement is pending, police certificates are in process, medical exams have been sent to Canada…time to renew my passport (still several months early, but what Canada wants, apparently, Canada gets). Much like all the other processes, this one took me 2 attempts. Forms, photos, payment methods, etc. everything the website says differs from the actual requirements in person, on the day. However, I have now successfully crossed this off my to-do list as well, and the new passport should be shipped sometime in the next 2-5 weeks. Praise be!

And with that, I think we’re done, or at least very nearly. I do feel a little better getting all of this off my chest. I also feel extremely proud that we were able to juggle various forms of bureaucracy from three different countries all at once. Sometimes I think people see my travel photos and have the idea that Tucker and I are on a perpetual vacation, but I’m here to tell you it isn’t easy to live abroad. Of course, for me, it’s worth absolutely any amount of paperwork! This is my life now. 🙂

Fun Facts: US Presidents Edition

On February 13, 2021February 13, 2021 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Lots of holidays this week, no? Pączki Day, Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and on Monday, Presidents’ Day! Yay! I know you probably feel like you’ve heard enough about US politics to last you a lifetime, but since I love a good theme AND I actually read a really interesting book about the US presidents last year, I thought I’d post some fun facts about our chief executives throughout the years. I promise these are solely amusing trivia tidbits – nothing that will make you want to smash your head against the wall or angrily take to Facebook.

Washington strikes me as a cat’s eye man.

1 – George Washington was an avid marble player.

2 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same oddly fitting day: July 4^th, 1826. James Monroe also died on July 4^th (five years later in 1831).

3 – Thomas Jefferson loved pasta and designed and built his own “macaroni machine”.

4 – James Madison was the shortest president (Lincoln was the tallest).

5 – James Monroe ran uncontested in 1820 ushering in the “The Era of Good Feelings”.

6 – John Q Adams liked to swim naked across the Potomac.

7 – Andrew Jackson was known for dueling and occasionally taking a bullet for his wife’s honor.

8 – Martin Van Buren had the nickname “Old Kinderhook”, which many believe is where we get the expression “O.K.”

9 – William Harrison got sick after his long, outdoor inaugural address and died after only 1 month in office.

10 – John Tyler was called “His Accidency” as he was the first “Act of God” president.

11 – James Polk banned alcohol and dancing (among other things) from the White House.

12 – Zachary Taylor laid the cornerstone of the Washington Monument while snacking on cherries and milk, which might have given him the bacterial infection that eventually killed him.

13 – Millard Fillmore married his teacher, Abigail Powers.

14 – Franklin Pierce was friends with Nathanial Hawthorne.

15 – James Buchanan never married, the only president thus far to remain a bachelor.

16 – Abraham Lincoln had the legislation for creating the Secret Service agency on his desk the night he was assassinated (although at the time it was an agency meant to stop counterfeiting, not bullets).

17 – Andrew Johnson’s wife, Eliza McCardle, taught him how to write.

18 – Ulysses Grant hated wearing uniforms and received many demerits during his time at West Point.

19 – Rutherford Hayes and his wife Lucy were given a Siamese cat from Bangkok, it was the first Siamese cat in the US.

The Carters also had a Siamese cat, Misty Malarky Ying Yang.

20 – James Garfield was shot by an assassin in July 1881, but died 79 days later due to the misuse of the newly-invented metal detector as well as unsanitary conditions.

21 – Chester Arthur had Louis Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. redecorate the White House.

22 – Grover Cleveland was distantly related to the guy whom the city of Cleveland was named after.

23 – Benjamin Harrison was the first president to have his voice recorded.

24 – Grover Cleveland (again): after being diagnosed with mouth cancer, he had part of his upper jaw removed in a clandestine operation on a yacht.

25 – William McKinley used to be on the $500 bill, which was last printed in 1934.

26 – Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest person to assume the role of president at age 42.

27 – William Taft might have never gotten stuck in a bathtub, but he did install custom-made tubs throughout the White House and various US ships.

There is just something so bizarre with this…

28 – Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn.

29 – William Harding’s death might have been caused by an intentional poisoning.

30 – Calvin Coolidge was sworn into office by his father, an official notary public. Also, Coolidge was the only president (thus far) to be born on the 4^th of July.

31 – Herbert Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi.

32 – Franklin Roosevelt was extremely passionate about his hobby of stamp-collecting. (Bonus fact: FDR’s wife Eleanor once had the KKK put out a $25,000 reward for her assassination.)

33 – Harry Truman’s solo initial “S” was given to represent both of his grandfathers: Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

34 – Dwight Eisenhower changed the name of the famous presidential getaway from Shangri-La to Camp David. He didn’t want to sound too fancy.

35 – John Kennedy was once marooned on an island and sent a successful SOS message via coconut in order to be rescued.

36 – Lyndon Johnson had to deal with the assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr. and Robert Kennedy although he, himself, was never targeted.

37 – Richard Nixon’s daughter, Julie, married the grandson of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

38 – Gerald Ford is the only person to have been both vice president and president without ever being elected by the public/Electoral College.

Joan Quigley, Reagan’s astrologer. The 80s must have been wild.

39 – Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.

40 – Ronald Reagan frequently consulted with an astrologist during his presidency, even keeping a calendar of “good” and “bad” days. Somehow the assassination attempt just wasn’t in the signs…

41 – George H W Bush considered asking Clint Eastwood to be his running mate in 1988.

42 – Bill Clinton has won two Grammy Awards (other presidential Grammy recipients include Jimmy Carter and Barak Obama).

43 – George W Bush’s daughters, Jenna and Barbara, were the first First Family twins.

44 – Barack Obama’s first job was as an ice-cream scooper at Baskin Robbins.

45 – Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, is from Novo Mesto, Slovenia (formerly a part of Yugoslavia) in Central Europe.

46 – Joe Biden’s German shepherd, Major, is the first rescue dog to reside in the White House.

Stereotypes – What do Poles Think about Americans?

On March 28, 2016May 15, 2022 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Stereotypes (or generalizations applied to any group) can be hurtful, dangerous, and (more often than not) completely inaccurate. However, being aware of stereotypes and discussing the reasons they’re held and perpetuated can lead to less prejudice and judgement, and more insight and compassion. In this post, I’m hoping to shed some light on certain national stereotypes, particularly ones held by Poles about Americans. My hope is that by reading the stereotypes others have for us (which we know are not completely accurate), we might start to rethink some stereotypes we hold for other groups (which are also inaccurate). To compile this list, Tucker and I spoke to many of our friends, colleagues, and students here in Poland about some of the most common perceptions and stereotypes Poles (and other Eastern Europeans) have for the United States and Americans:

Aggressive and gun-loving: Many people in Poland feel that Americans are, in general, aggressive and somewhat forceful in the way they behave. Be it in a conversation or in a meeting at work, we seemingly assert ourselves at times and in ways that Poles might not. Many people also threw “gun-loving” in with the aggression. It seems most Poles believe everyone in the US owns a gun, and that we’re very proud of that fact.

Avid movie-goers/TV watchers: For Poles, the great American pastime is obviously watching movies. Many Poles are surprised when I tell them I don’t go to the movies every week or even every month back home. They also believe Americans spend the majority of their downtime at home watching TV. Their attitudes towards this tendency aren’t necessarily negative though, as it seems they feel like we have TV programs that are worth watching. Hmm.

Carefree and informal: According to Poles, Americans are quite carefree. We don’t choose to spend our time brooding or reflecting on the world’s problems. Instead we are very focused on our immediate environments and are likely to make sure we have time for fun. Americans are also seen as very informal; we tend to talk to our friends, our bosses, and strangers we’ve just met in the same way.

Diverse and accepting: In Poland, the United States is seen as a very diverse place, with people from different backgrounds all living together; however, there doesn’t seem to be such a favorable opinion of this. Many Poles link our diversity to some larger national issues like security and political correctness. Yet, at the same time this same diversity is seen to have bred a willingness to accept anyone as a fellow American.

Fast food-aholics: Poles usually believe we all eat McDonald’s or something like it everyday. They’re not very interested in the variety of restaurants or the seemingly healthy options either. To Poles, pizza and hamburgers are junk food, no matter who makes them or what goes into them. Even the food we eat at home seems like “fast food” to many Poles. Soup in a can? Pre-packaged croutons? Don’t we make anything ourselves?

Lazy: On the topic of not doing anything for ourselves, many Poles think Americans are a bit lazy. We buy already prepared food, we hire people to do the simplest repairs, and we drive everywhere (even to the mailbox). Our laziness is evident even in the clothes we choose to wear: sweatpants to the grocery store, t-shirts year round, slip on gym shoes – all adds up to the picture of a lazy American.

Optimistic: Similar to our being seen as carefree, Poles also describe Americans as optimistic. Whatever situation we’re in, we’re likely to spout out things like “everything will work out in the end” or “I prefer to see the glass as half-full”. This tendency is often seen as a laughable trait, or in some cases actually comes off as “fake”.

Patriotic: According to Poles, Americans love America. Every day I surprise Poles with my decision to leave America long-term. We are seen as people who don’t care to leave our beloved country, and in order to show our love and pride, we all wear American flag t-shirts, have American flag bumper stickers, and play the national anthem at every gathering.

Google Images of “American stereotypes” are not pretty…

Rich: Many people in Poland also believe that Americans are rich. We don’t ever have to worry about money. How could we, when we’re going out to eat every day and to the movies every week? We are often perceived as having the newest technology, the biggest cars, and the nicest houses possible.

Smile a lot: When Poles think of Americans, they think of chronic smilers. We smile no matter what emotion we’re feeling, and many times without a reason at all. This seems to irritate some Poles and amuse others, but either way, it is one of the first things they use to identify Americans abroad.

Straightforward/Direct: Typically Poles describe Americans as direct or even blunt when they speak. Courtesy words and titles are just not needed in America; we make things happen by saying exactly what we mean with no flowery language or hesitation for other people’s feelings.

Uninformed: Perhaps in part because of our patriotism, we are also perceived as uninformed and egocentric. Most people believe that no one in the US would be able to point to Poland on a map, let alone discuss world issues in an objective manner. Americans are seen as narcissists who care only about things that affect them directly.

I’m sure every American who read this list thought (at least once), “This one doesn’t apply to me at all!”, and every Pole who read it (at one point or another) probably thought, “I don’t think that about Americans!” And that’s exactly the point. We can’t rely on stereotypes; what is true for some, is not necessarily true for all. People don’t fit so easily into the labels we create for them. Whether the stereotypes are based on nationality, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other group, we need to remember that everyone is an individual and should be treated as such. Being aware of the stereotypes that exist and not allowing them to affect our judgement will take us all one step closer to equality and peace worldwide. #Weareallhuman

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