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Out of the Hospital

6/3/2015

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          So I was released from the hospital on Friday. I sat there for the rest of Monday and Tuesday and then Wednesday became the day of hell, aka colonoscopy prep. I don't understand why they haven't created an easier going, better tasting method. It tastes like lemon, ocean water, and dissolved chalk. I had to drink two pitchers of it, one Wednesday evening and one Thursday morning. More specifically, 4 in the morning on Thursday. My procedures, for I am getting not just a colonoscopy but also an upper GI endoscopy where they enter from the mouth to look at the esophagus and stomach, are scheduled for "morning". When in the morning? Who knows! 
          Finally at 11 am, a transporter comes and wheels my bed into the hallway to attach to a machine that will help him transport me to the operating room. After a few minutes of fiddling around, it becomes clear that my bed will not support the machine. He calls someone up and tells them it will need to be pushed manually which requires two people. Never mind that there are, like, 5 other empty beds in the three closest rooms that I could switch to. So now I have to wait for two people to be free, which takes another 20 minutes.
          I'm brought to a prep room where I strip down and wait for what feels like an hour. I'm wheeled into the operating room, anesthesia is administered, and I don't know anything more until a little after 2 pm when I wake up while spitting up as a nurse removes my breathing tube. She uses some kind of suction tube to help clear out my spit up. Apparently this happens a lot, especially if you've had an upper GI endoscopy. I keep coughing and more phlegm is coming up. I can barely talk but that doesn't stop me, in my drugged state, of asking for the suction tube so I can play with - I mean, clean up after myself.
          After she gives me that, she does an evaluation of me. The French, especially those in the medical field, have this annoying habit of saying "Oop" whenever they do something or touch you. When you're not used to it, it gets real annoying real fast. I wish I had kept a count of how many times a day I heard it, because it was probably at least 20. Usually, I just smile and ignore it but apparently in my drugged state I am less tolerant. Every time she "Oop"ed, I "Oop"ed too. In between "Oop"ing, I pointed to random things in the room and asked how to say them in French. She answers me the first couple times but once she is done her evaluation, the last bit of which was mysteriously "Oop" free, she leaves and I am ignored. I eventually dropped the suction tube and my poor brain couldn't grasp the concept that I just needed to tell my hand to grab it, so I just sat there and whimpered at my loss.
          Eventually someone else post-procedure got wheeled in. I waved, even though she was unconscious, and the nurse promptly set a curtain barrier between us. But this let me see who was originally behind the curtain so I waved at him instead. He wiggled his foot and a paper from his bed fell on the floor. For some reason I was very troubled by this and cried, "Ooooh nooooooo!" It was at this moment the nurse decided I had recovered enough and called someone to wheel me back to my room where I spent the next couple hours winding down alone, though I still felt drugged well into the night.
          I wanted to use the bathroom but the hand IV was still in. If you're not familiar with an IV placed in the hand, it's very annoying and hurts more than the kind placed on the inside of the elbow. Typically, extra IV line is gathered and taped to your hand as well which makes the needle move around less and allows slightly more comfort. This luxury was not performed for me, so I opted to wait until they removed the IV line to go to the bathroom. I didn't really need to go, it's just that except for a robe draped over me, I was still undressed and I wanted to put some clothes on. The doctor said they keep it in for 4 hours after anesthesia in case of emergency. It was finally removed and I went to go to the bathroom. The next paragraph is graphic and honestly a little embarrassing, but I think it's important to share as an important view of French healthcare. Skip the next paragraph if you'd like.
          I get up and notice that they had left me in the mess they created during the colonoscopy. I had thought something felt off but honestly I was so drugged up I couldn't make a good connection. I had received a colonoscopy in the US about 5 years ago and they clean you squeaky clean afterwards. It wasn't until now that I even knew that the nurses in the US did that for me. So here I am, laying in my own waste for 4 hours and it is not contained to just one area. It's all over the lower body and they leave it to the drugged up, uncoordinated patient to clean up in their bathroom sink (there are no showers in the hospital room) with anything they have on hand once they are coherent enough to understand something is amiss. Luckily I had saved my washcloth they had given me that morning. This was disgusting and I am outraged that such a thing happened. I am actually currently fighting off a minor urinary tract infection because of it. I wonder if they do the same for elderly patients who have a hard time cleaning themselves on a normal day?
          The next day the doctor comes in to tell me results. The inflammation and ulcers are confined to the colon, specifically the descending colon and rectum, which indicates ulcerative colitis over Crohn's. The histopathology, however, came back as indefinitive. The samples of the inflamed, ulcerous areas came back as neither Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, but as undefined inflammation. What does this mean? Who knows! The doctor still thinks it is ulcerative colitis, just caught early on. The symptoms are right, it looks like it, so it will be treated as such. I was sent home with a long prescription list and orders of blood work in 2 weeks and every month after for 3 months, and an MRI and check-up in late July.
          Even though the food was horrible and I am very upset over the state they left me in after the colonoscopy, I am very grateful it happened here in France, where a 9 day hospital stay won't have me in debt for the rest of my life like it would in the US. I'm sure it'll still cost a pretty penny, but nothing like the US. This reminds me to ask you to please shop amazon through our affiliate link in the Support Us page. It costs you nothing extra, but gives us a small commission. Thank you!
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Hospital Hooky

5/23/2015

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          Our doctor told us to make sure we get to the ER by 9 am as it gets very busy after that, so we opted to cancel the landlord visit for the water heater to concentrate on my health. Jeremy's boss took the morning off to meet us at the hospital and help translate. Since we still don't have our insurance card, the hospital was going to require us to pay a portion up front and the rest at departure. She told them that we have insurance but the card has not been delivered yet (the first time you apply for health insurance in France, the card takes a very long time to be delivered). We were given a form to fill out and mail back to the hospital proving this, and do not have to pay. Thank goodness!
          The ER was very much like a US ER with lots of waiting and overcrowding. The one substantial difference was the sheer amount of interns. Three interns were the first to see me besides the admitting nurse. They looked at all my paperwork, lab tests, and the note my primary doctor had written detailing my issues. They poked and prodded and listened to practically my whole torso with their stethoscopes. They asked a hundred questions and conferred between one another. This took a couple hours. They eventually decided to refer to their lead doctor. The process was repeated at a faster rate, and she decided the gastro doctor should see me. So basically it took them 3 hours to decide to actually listen to my primary doctor's note requesting the aid of a GI doctor.
          We're waiting around for the GI doctor when Jeremy's boss understandably has to leave. It is now 12 pm after all. We're still waiting when all of a sudden an intern brings in a chair with a bucket attached underneath and says I have to give a stool sample. There are two problems with this; one, I already gave a stool sample two weeks ago and the results were negative and two, my doctor had pumped me up with so much anti-diarrheal medication it was like Fort Knox down there. I was told it doesn't matter and a sample is needed.
          An bit later and we're presented with some more problems; we are being moved to the hallway so instead of having a private room with a private potty chair, I now have to share a communal bathroom with about 15 other people. Furthermore, the collection basin doesn't fit in the toilet but is jammed in there anyway, so when I sit on the toilet my feet are a good 6 inches off the ground and I'm sitting at a high backwards incline. I felt like I was in a roller coaster, riding up to the apex. Can you poop while feeling like you're about to be launched into outer-space? Because I can't. They refused to give me a laxative and refused to let me see the GI doctor until I went. This was going nowhere.
          They finally gave up and I got to see the GI doctor. He listened to my issues and said he was admitting me for a "short week" to run tests. Seven hours after arrival, I'm finally being admitted. Two days and an endoscope later, ulcerative colitis is confirmed. Tentative treatment is begun and I am monitored for another day which brings us to today. I am told that a complete colonoscopy will be performed next week at some point to determine how much of the large intestine has been affected. At this point I am bored out of my mind, missing my pets, my bed, my home "When can I go home?" I ask. The answer is unknown but since my blood levels and temperature have been steady I can, I'm told, go home for the weekend and come back Monday! My room will be held for me in case I feel I need to come back early. I quickly accept and within 3 hours I'm given all my medications and sent on my merry way!
          Inpatient care, as far as an inexperienced person like me can tell, seems to be the same as the US. You are left to your own devices and checked on about 5 times a day. The nurses are very friendly and helpful, but not very quick to answer the call button. Meals and medicine are given on a very consistent schedule, I know exactly what time it is based on when a nurse comes in and what she is doing. Hospital food, however, is horrendous. I long for the hospital food I witnessed last year while visiting my father.
          I am amazed at how long people are kept in hospitals here. I understand ulcerative colitis, while not an immediate life threat, is a serious condition that requires monitoring but in the US unless you are dying or are being administered medication or treatment impossible to give at home, you are generally out that door within 72 hours. On one hand I like the attentiveness but on the other, I feel like it is a bit of a waste. While ulcerative colitis is a painful, serious disease nothing they were doing could not be done in my own home. Either way, I am grateful for the weekend at home and will update once I am out again!
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Plumbing Problems

5/19/2015

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          After 4 months of not having enough hot water for both of us to take a shower and wash dishes in the same day, we will hopefully have some resolution. Due to a combination of Jeremy being a stubborn do-it-yourselfer even when it is past the point where he knows how to do it himself, poor French skills, and how long it takes the French to do things, we didn't get a plumber sent to us until 3 weeks ago.
          He told us we would need a new water heater and we haven't heard anything since. Last week we contacted our agents asking what was up to no response. Then Monday of this week we finally get a response that the landlord is coming over with his plumber at 7:30 am on Wednesday. Gee thanks for the notice. I'm also concerned because if the landlord is anything like our last one from the US, nothing ever gets fixed properly. I couldn't tell if the maintenance men at our old apartment complex were the most incompetent lot ever, or if they were told to do the bare minimum on purpose. The fact that he wants a second opinion from another plumber makes me nervous, on the one hand I understand a new water heater is expensive, but on the other hand if that's what we need, anything else would just be putting a band-aid on a broken bone.
          I'm also concerned about our pets. You see, our landlord doesn't know we have any. When we informed our moving agency we had a dog and a cat, they told us not to mention it during apartment visits because in France while landlords can say 'no pets allowed', if you get one anyway they aren't allowed to do anything. I know other people in the building have pets, but this isn't like America where the whole building or complex is owned by the same person. Each apartment has a different landlord and therefore different rules.
          Speaking of plumbing problems, I've been having some of my own. Without going into too much detail let's just say I've been having some painful, concerning problems for the past month. A stool sample and ultrasound came back normal, so today I went back to my doctor. She said I need to go to a specialist, as she is concerned about it being ulcerative colitis. She wrote a letter for me to give to the gastroenterologist and said she would call to make an appointment for me, as a doctor is more likely to get a closer appointment than if a patient were to call. She really is a caring doctor, we really lucked out!
          Well, she just called back and informed me she called all around the city and everyone is booked for at least 2 months. She is concerned that that is way too long to wait, and wants me to go to the hospital tomorrow and hand them the letter she wrote for the gastroenterologist and hopefully the GI doctor at the hospital will take care of me. I'm very nervous, this is all happening so quickly! Jeremy will take off tomorrow and he is also thinking of asking a friend to come with us so nothing gets lost in translation. It will be very embarrassing for me to tell a friend all the intimate details, but I understand it is for the best. I am fasting tonight just in case! I have a very busy day ahead of me tomorrow!
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Deciphering Apartment Ads

9/29/2014

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          Jeremy and I started going to a tutor recently for French and he gave more information about apartment shopping in France.
          First off, which I had my suspicions about but he confirmed, France is like the UK in where the 1st floor is actually the 2nd floor. While in America we say 1st floor, 2nd floor, etc., the French call the 1st floor the ground floor, the 2nd floor the 1st floor, and so on. So if you're checking into a hotel and you're on say the 5th floor, it's actually the 6th. In apartment ads, floors are characterized by T# or F#. For example, if an ad says T4 or F4, that means you're on the 4th floor (5th floor for us Americans). Also of note, if a building has 4 or more floors, it is required to have an elevator. Anything with less than that is not required to have one, so be careful while shopping.
          Another thing I kept coming across that was a little confusing was how many rooms an apartment has. For example, I would come across an ad for an apartment with 4 rooms but upon reading the ad I would find it had 7. They don't count the kitchen, bathrooms, or restrooms (I will explain the difference further on) as rooms. So even though it had a kitchen, bathroom, restroom, living room, 2 bedrooms, and one office/small bedroom, it was only listed as a 4 room apartment.
          Onto restrooms versus bathrooms. Restrooms have a sink and possibly a toilet, but no tub or shower. Bathrooms have a shower or tub, usually a sink, and either may or may not have a toilet. Toilets tend to have their own little closed off room inside or besides the restroom or bathroom. Restrooms are abbreviated as les W.C. in ads (leh doo-blah-vay-say) but when speaking of them, you typically say les toilettes (leh twah-let) and bathrooms are abbreviated as SDB, short for la salle-de-bains (lah sahl-duh-bahn).
          A lot of apartments come with cellar space. This is basically equivalent to renting out the smallest space of a storage unit in America but with lower ceilings. It's also typically difficult to get to (stooping and a flight of stairs are typically involved) so it can't be used to store larger items because it would just be impossible to carry those things down there. This includes motorcycles or bicycles.
          Another thing you might see on an ad is vis-à-vis or sans vis-à-vis. Vis-à-vis (veez-ah-veez) means your view from your windows is poor. Typically, you're facing another apartment or building, sometimes close enough you could probably play catch with your neighbor. Sans vis-à-vis means you have a scenic view. While ads typically tend to leave out if it has a poor view, don't assume just because it doesn't say sans vis-à-vis that it will have a poor view because I have found plenty that have gorgeous views but for some reason the Realtor or whoever didn't up-play it.
          The hardest thing I found to differentiate was yard types. Everyone seems to have their own definition. There are cour intérieures (koor in-tair-ee-uhr), espaces vert (eh-spahs vair), and parcs. Cour intérieure is when the apartment building(s) encompass a large area for parking. You will drive through an archway into the center of the apartment building(s) to park. It's typically cement and gravel with no yard. Espace vert has a wide range of definition but is mostly used for small patches of communal yard. Kind of like here in America where there is a strip of grass in front of apartments of between two apartment buildings. It's not huge, maybe there's one tiny tree or something, you can't do anything with it, but at least your dog has a spot to squat. However, I have seen larger areas still defined as espaces vert. Then there's parcs. A parc is a large area of grass. There are trees or shrubs and enough room to play fetch with your dog.
          So let's take all this and give an example to translate. This is an actual ad from leboncoin.fr:
Type de bien :Appartement
Pièces :3
Référence : T3
Description :
Bel appartement de 73m² dans immeuble récent, comprenant un grand séjour lumineux donnant sur balcon de 10m² sans vis à vis, cuisine séparé non équipée, 2 chambres, sdb, wc indépendant, un parking privatif, espaces vert communs.
          This would translate to:
Property Type: Apartment
Rooms: 3
Reference: Floor 3
Description:
Beautiful apartment, 73 meters squared in modern building, comprised of a large, bright living room with a balcony of 10 meters squared with a good view, non-equipped seperate kitchen, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, seperate restroom, private parking, and a communal green space.
          I hope this helps people in the future, as it was quite a headache for me and I still would have had questions if the tutor hadn't helped me out. Thanks for reading and, as always, feel free to comment! Don't forget to do your amazon shopping through our link on the Support Us page!
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Apartment Shopping

9/22/2014

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          The Realtor in Besançon got back to us. Apparently all the things we're asking for in an apartment is not very "doable" in center city. We want an apartment that is at least 70 square meters (753 square feet) but preferably 80 or more with an elevator, fully-equipped kitchen, washer and dryer, 2+ bedrooms, parking, and a green space for the dog. "Bonuses" would be a balcony, cellar, community garden, and ample closet space.
          We wanted center city because the taxes are cheaper, but according to the Realtor green space, elevators, and balconies are rare. Unfortunately, my dog can't climb steps and I'm not carrying a 37 lb dog up and down who knows how many flights of stairs who knows how many times a day, and she won't go to the bathroom on concrete, so an elevator and green area are definite requirements. We'll have to talk to her again and make sure we're on the same page about what a "green area" consists of. I'm not expecting a park or huge area for her to run around in, I just want her to have enough grass to happily do her business in.
          Unlike American apartments that come with a fridge, dishwasher,stove, and oven, most apartments in France come without these appliances. Even a fully-equipped kitchen, or fitted kitchen as they call it, doesn't come with a refrigerator or dishwasher. It seems "fully-equipped" loosely means hob, oven, hood, and sink. Also, while apartments can come with the set-up for a washer and dryer, the appliances themselves are not included. These are all extra expenditures we were not counting on, as in our experience, apartments always came with all major appliances.
          The size we're asking for is a little problematic as well. Apartments are ridiculously tiny over there, with apartments as small as 25 sq. meters (270 sq. ft.) being the norm for a single person. There are some, but we won't have our pick of the litter like here in America where I don't think I've ever seen an apartment smaller than 650 sq. ft. outside of a major city like Philadelphia or New York. Our old apartment was 870 sq. ft. and now we live in a house so we are not willing to adapt to the French norm in this circumstance.
          You may be asking why we're not looking into purchasing a house. After all, we'll be there for at least three years, right? The reason we're not looking into buying a house in France is simple. You know how in America you usually put around 10-15% down on a house and mortgage the rest? Yeah well in France you're expected to put at least 80% down. Holy smokes! No wonder why every one rents there! I mean, houses are cheaper there than here, but that's still a whole heck of a lot of money! As for renting a house, that's a pretty expensive option as well and out of our budget.
          Our trip to France to look at apartments will be the first or second week of November. Hopefully we'll have some things figured out by then! Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to comment!
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To bring the car?

9/15/2014

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          I apologize for lack of posts, but until we move I'll just be posting information as I come across it. To bring the car or not is the question of the day. To bring your vehicle over, you have to pay 19.6% of it's value as a form of tax. That's almost as much money as we would spend to buy a junker car while we're there, plus still pay the monthly payment.
          While gas is slightly more expensive than diesel at €5.60 vs. €4.88, my car gets 50 mpg while the average over there is 21.5 mpg so while my car takes gas, it is actually cheaper. This site seems to be pretty on-key with prices, so check it out before you travel for gas and diesel prices.
          If we were to buy a car once we're there, we would not want to spend more than €2500 which would get us a junker with at least 130,000 km on it (80,770 miles). Who knows if we would wind up with something that needs constant repairs or breaks down in a year.

Taking the Prius:
  • €2,211.38 in fees
  • €5.60 gal/50 mpg is €0.11/mile
  • If we drive 10 mi/day that's €7.70 a week
  • €193.09/mo in car payments
  • The first year would be €4897.38
  • The second and third years would be €2686/yr
  • That's €10,269.38 in total
  • A possible fee for bringing it back to the US is unknown

Buying a Car in France:
  • €2,500 to buy
  • €4.88 gal/21.5 mpg is €0.23/mile
  • If we drive 10 mi/day that's €16.10/week
  • No car payments
  • The first year would be €3272.80
  • Following years would be €772.80
  • That's €4818.40 in total

          Buying a car once in France would cost substantially less but maintenance cost is unknown whereas we can feel more confident the Prius is much less likely to need repairs. An added plus of bringing the Prius is that we'll also bring it back with us at the end of the three years, so we'll have a car when we come home instead of having to purchase one. We would probably put at least $3000 (€2317.14) down for a new car once we came home, so technically we could add €2317.14 to the total, bringing it to €7135.54.
          So basically this comes down to if €3133.84 is worth the security of having the Prius versus the unknown quality and maintenance required of a car bought in France. I'm usually the kind of person who likes security over risk and if I were working in France as well, I'd bring the Prius in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I will not be working and money will be extremely tight, making me lean more towards buying a junker while there and taking the risk. It's a lot to think about, and a decision not to be made in one day, so I guess I'll sleep on it.
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Shipping Wars

9/10/2014

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          Recently, we tried calling around to get estimates for shipping our stuff to France. Jeremy's company is paying for it and gave us an awesome limit of 162 lbs each for the flight itself and then another 12,000 lbs to be shipped over via cargo ship. Well, no one will give us estimates unless we tell them what we're shipping but we don't know what we're shipping until we know the measurements of our apartment. It's a catch-22. Why would we bring our piano if it won't fit, or three bedroom sets if we only wind up with two bedrooms?
          Jeremy's company is also willing to bring us to France for a week long visit to try and find an apartment before we move, which is very generous, but with Jeremy's crazy work schedule it's almost impossible! This week and next week he's in Washington D.C., and then in October and November he'll be in Toronto for a week each trip as well. With no dates decided for the Toronto trips, we can't pick a date for the France trip.
           Meanwhile, the French side of the company is asking for the estimates, I suppose so they can prepare monetarily-wise on their end. We're probably just going to end up telling the shipping companies a bunch of stuff we won't even bring with us just so we can get an estimate and then revise it later after the apartment is picked out. Now if only the Realtor would get back to us...
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Doctor, Doctor

9/9/2014

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          While this is the week of waiting, it's also the week of doctors. I have a whole bunch lined up. I want to get everything imaginable done before I go to France. Don't get me wrong, we're gonna have awesome health insurance over there, I would just prefer to speak with doctors who fluently speak my own language! I can't imagine what it's going to be like over there trying to speak broken French when something ails me.
          Speaking of health insurance, you don't need to be married to be under your significant other's plan. We have to sign a document stating we're sincere to one another, but that's it. This is a huge relief considering I won't be able to work while I'm there.
          That's right, while all we need is a paper stating we're sincere to one another to be under Jer's health insurance, we need to be married for me to work. This was a huge blow because they originally told us that after 6 months, I would be able to work. Turns out there was a misunderstanding and they had thought we were married which is why they told us that. Since we're not married, I will be going under a "long term visitor" visa, in which I am not allowed to work. I could try to find a job once I'm there that's willing to get a work visa for me, but France is very strict about hiring outside of their country. The company needs to prove that no French person could do the job that they would be hiring me to do. If I had the other visa, this could have all been bypassed.
          Considering I'm a veterinary technician with no other schooling, the chances are very slim. The government has a teacher's assistant program but you have to take a test proving you can speak intermediate French and you can't teach for two consecutive years. That means that, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to work for 7 months out of the whole 3 years we'll be there, as each year's program only goes from October to April. The application for the 2015-2016 year is due this January and I doubt I'll be able to pass the test by then which means I won't be working until October of 2016. If I'm lucky.
          We're going to be scraping by, that's for sure, so please support us! Under the Support Us page in the upper right-hand corner of this blog, there is a link to shop Amazon. There is no extra fee for you but we would get a small commission (very small but hey, every penny counts). Please try to think of us and use our link every time you need to shop Amazon.
          Thanks for reading and, as always, feel free to comment!
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Bringing Our Pets to France

9/5/2014

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           We have a dog and a cat, so I’ve been learning what is required to bring them. I went to this website and learned basically all I needed, but I’ll sum it up for you. Keep in mind this is for France only, if you’re going to another country, go  here and select the country you are going to.          
           Dogs and cats (and ferrets!) need a few things to make their way to France; they need a microchip, current vaccines, an official health certificate, and an airline approved crate.
           The microchip needs to be a standard ISO 11784 or an annex A ISO standard 11785 which are 15 digit microchips. If your pet already had a 9 digit microchip, you will need to purchase a scanner and bring it with you. Even as little as two years back, 15 digit microchips were not used as much in the US. It wasn’t uncommon to have to purchase your own microchip online and bring it in to your vet to insert it. However, it is becoming more common to use these universal, 15 digit microchips.
          My personal favorite is the Home Again chip, that’s what my office uses (for those of you who don’t know me, I’m a veterinary technician). We’ve never had any issues with reactions at the injection site or migrating microchips. If your vet only has 9 digit chips and you need a 15 digit chip, you can purchase one very cheap at amazon. If your pet already has a 9 digit chip, you can purchase a scanner at amazon as well. It’s possible to re-chip your pet with a 15 digit when it already has a 9 digit. It’s much cheaper than buying the scanner, but there can be complications if a universal scanner is used. The original chip will not be taken out of your pet, but the new chip will be placed in about the same area. Since a universal scanner picks up all frequencies of chips, 9 digit or 15, an error in the reader can occur. This can cause problems at the airport and problems if your pet ever gets lost, so please purchase the scanner versus re-chipping your pet.
          Your pet also needs to be current on vaccines, specifically rabies. Something very important to mention is that the vaccines will not be considered current if your pet was vaccinated before getting microchipped. Vaccines have to be given after  microchipping occurs (or at the same time according to a representative of the USDA I spoke to). Vaccines also have to be given at least 21 days prior to leaving the country. This stinks for me and my dog, Kisa. She was vaccinated in January, which covers her for three years, but she isn’t microchipped so she will have to receive another rabies vaccination before we go. Poor pup!
          There is also an official health certificate that needs to be filled out by a certified veterinarian within 10 days of leaving the country and then signed by a USDA agent. You can find your state’s agent contact information here. I would also print out the copy of the certificate with explanatory notes in case your veterinarian doesn’t feel like looking up what something is or means. That way the explanation is right there (it happens)! Also, it wasn’t listed on the site but I’ve read in forums that the certificate should be filled out in blue ink only. This is allegedly the “official ink color” used for French documentation and could be turned down if in black ink. Don’t worry too much though, because in the same forums everyone agreed that no one at the airports paid much attention to the certificate anyway!
          Lastly, there’s the air port carriers. While there are minimum requirements, each airline can request more so check with your airline before buying.

          Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment if you have any questions or just want to add your two cents!
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Intro to Us

9/4/2014

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With the official date of moving to France becoming finalized, I have decided to start a blog detailing my adventures. I, along with my fiancé, are going into this pretty blind. Until a few months ago, we had no knowledge at all on expatriation (living outside one’s own county) or the country we would be moving to! It is very hard to find current information, so I wanted to create something for expats in the future, as well as something for family and friends to read so I could feel connected with them while living in another country.

            Here’s some background information on us. My name is Stefanie and my fiancé’s name is Jeremy. We live in Stratford, New Jersey (30 minutes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and will be moving to Besançon, France. Besançon is the capitol of the Franché-Comte region of France. It is located in eastern France, about a 1 hour 30 minute train ride from Switzerland, 2 hours from Italy, 3 hours from Germany, and 3 ½ hours from Paris. Jeremy works for the US branch of a French company whose headquarters is in Besançon. A job opened up in the French branch where fluent English was a necessary requirement, he applied, and here we are today.

            This is the first time his company has brought someone from the US over to France, so they are pretty inexperienced as well. We are doing just as much research as them about visas, bringing pets over, shipping items, and so forth, hopefully making this blog an invaluable tool for future expats.

            Did I mention neither of us speak French? This is going to be fun!

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    A US citizen discovering expatriation in France.

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