I’ve somehow never had to use the French word for efficient since living in Paris. But, yesterday I found myself searching through my pocket dictionary to figure out how to describe the unprecedented situation at, of all places, the préfecture. That’s right, folks! I wanted to describe my visit to the préfecture as efficace! Of course, I arrived prepared – hot panini in hand, interesting book to read and my current knitting work-in-progress were all sorted in my bag in preparation for the long and nail-biting experience that never materialized. I finished my sandwich, knitted a couple of rows, and not even 20 minutes into my wait-time some brilliant woman decided to prepare the carte de sejours in advance for people who were there to pick theirs up – people like me! Only minutes later, I was walking away with a smile planted on my face and my freshly-minted card in hand.

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