Permits, Photos, Police, Peet's, and Pretentious Douchebags

Yesterday I spent the morning working on my Aufenthaltsbewilligung, which is the application that I have to fill out to obtain a residency permit. You know the sort of things...filling out lots of personal information, stating where im going, that i have a job lined up for me and insurance that covers me. I am very fortunate that the Education Commission is taking care of my health insurance entirely, taking a portion of my salary and putting it twords it.

Then I had to go to get passport sized photos taken for the permit. I was specifically told by the Austrian people that "no smiling" was allowed.

Then I went to the Berkeley Police Department and picked up a letter that stated that after searching their criminal file (amusingly titled CORPUS), I have not been arrested! woot. Apparently asking for a criminal record is very common in Austria.

Then I drove out to Marin where I very informally met the Austrian Honorary Consulate representative at a Peet's coffee, who stamped my residency permit everywhere that I had signed. I will have to turn in this application along with some other forms and info to the official Consulate in Los Angeles. There was also another graduate student who is going to be teaching in Vienna that I met at this meeting, but he was a total douchebag. I hope all the teaching assistants arent this way!