France - Tree Killers

France's structure of doing things is completely different than that of the US. First of all, they have no concept of time. I am currently in my second week of "orientation." It is just a cover up for saying, hey you aren't going to be doing anything for two weeks except waiting around not knowing what is going on, oh and paperwork. France also likes to waste paper. Erin, you would be very disappointed and need to show them how to use the double sided button on the copier. 


Signing up for classes:
You would think signing up for classes would be a generally easy concept. Nope, its not, its a long and tiring process. Let me fill you in on the steps I have taken thus far.
1. Find which classes you want to take in the course listing book
2. Look at the times in which the classes meet in a 10+ page packet (very confusing to read) to make sure there are no conflicts
3. Fill out a pink paper and have the mechanical engineering advisor sign off on it
4. Find a computer and request your classes
5. Wait for your name to be called and receive an orange paper which has the classes you got and the ones you didn't. (luckily, I got all of the classes that I wanted).
6. Stand/sit in line for 2 and a half hours to meet with another advisor to have them sign off on the orange paper that these are the right classes
7. Hand the orange paper to a lady who puts it into another pile
8.Wait until Friday to find out which sections you got into via email (this is the step I am currently in)


Are there any computers involved in this process, nope, but it would make it more convenient. Also, we started this process last Tuesday or Wednesday. It should not take nearly two weeks to get your classes approved. Who knows if we even get to pick what times we want the classes or if they do that for us. I have never missed e-campus so much before.


Social Security:
One would think that having social security in their home country was enough. Well for France, it is not. They want you to have their French social security on top of your social security from home. It's not like it costs 203 euros or anything. On top of that, you then need to apply for your social security number which is another 27 euros. So I have spent (possibly my parents) 230 euros on something that I already have, just awesome. When do you get this number and the card that says you have this social security and everything - oh not for two to three months.


In general:
1.Everyone wants a copy of this paper or a copy of that paper, and are they nice enough to make the copy for you, no. You have to go and make the copies yourself and spend even more money! 
2.On top of that, everything in France is a slow process. It takes forever for anything to get done. You would think that they are technically advanced, but they are not. No one uses a computer to get anything done. It is very strange. I have noticed that France does not have a lot of trees and I am beginning to see why.
3. People at the UTC do not talk to each other. I am pretty convinced of it. One lady did not know that La Mare Gaudry was a university residence. It has been a university residence for at least four years, I am certain. Mind you, UTC consists of two buildings connected by a skybridge. Another lady did not know what ALESC, where we pay rent to and is in charge of university housing, was. It is located down the hall from where her room was. People do not pay attention here. They are clueless. It would be like the IEP directors not knowing that Angela existed - crazy!


Before coming abroad, I would have said that URI was the most unorganized school, but I am certainly wrong. URI is milestones ahead of the UTC.