I’m back in France! After about 5 months in Brazil, I came back to the country that has been my 2nd home since 2019. I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to get back in, given all the traveling restrictions, so I gathered every document under the sun to prove I have reasons to be here and don’t intend to just parade around trying to acquire some virus.

My deadline to get an internship that would validate my Masters was August 17, so of course I got an offer on August 5. I literally can never get anything important done within a reasonable time frame, everything always works out last minute for me. I feel like I’m walking administrative nightmare. I try my best, but some type of bureaucracy always gets in the way of me being settled and ready to go months in advance. When I first came to France, for example, I couldn’t schedule a meeting at the embassy to get my student Visa until a month before my course started. It was in a different state and they released my Visa just five days before my trip, so I couldn’t go get it, and needed a friend to run there and mail it to me with the fastest mail service available. I ended up getting my passport + visa one day before my flight.

But anyway, I’ve finally started working again and everyone I’ve had contact with has been so incredibly nice. My bosses honestly could not be friendlier and more willing to help, and so I’ve already joined the company with the best possible impression. I really hope it stays that way and that they like working with me as much as I’m liking working with them.

To make things even better, my internship is fully remote, so my chances of getting sick are greatly reduced. I’m still self-isolating, for the most part, and trying to see my friends just enough not to lose my mind. I hadn’t seen anyone besides my parents since March, and now that I’m without them I did feel very sad and lonely. So I stayed in quarantine for 10 days after traveling and spent the day with a couple of friends today. It’s already made an unbelievable difference in my mood.

I managed to extend my student Visa this week, and it wasn’t easy. I had a meeting at the police department (?) at 11:50 on Wednesday, and was naive enough to assume it was only going to take an hour or so, maybe less. Long story short, I got there at 11am and left at 6pm, and without my temporary Visa (the paper they give you as a proof that your Visa has been approved, that you can use until you get the official document). I had to return and get it on the following morning, and was so disheartened about losing a day and a half of work right on my first week. So much for trying to make a good impression from the start.

I’ve also found an apartment outside of Paris (south of France, here I come!), but only for October. I have an airbnb until the 1st week of September, so where I’ll stay before I move is a mystery right now.

The past two weeks have been very busy, confusing, and all around full of changes. I’m making an attempt at eating better, seeing if I can at least be healthier while I go through what is bound to be some very uncomfortable months. I’m also trying to be mentally prepared to stay alone for a while. I can’t imagine I’ll get to meet many people in a new city during a pandemic, so we’ll see how that goes. I know for certain my family and friends from other countries won’t be able to visit, given the traveling restrictions, and the people I know in France might have trouble squeezing a trip to the beach in their schedules/budgets. Out of all the moves I’ve made, this might be the one that’s requiring more emotional strength.

I’ll keep solving one problem at a time. For now, I want to stay healthy, work well and communicate with beloved people as best as I can. The rest will come later, hopefully. As I mentioned, the solutions always come at the last possible second for me, but they haven’t failed to appear so far, and I have to feel lucky for that.