HooLife。法國居留 OFII

相信所有申請法國長期居的人，一生中總有一次機會到 OFII 法国移民和融入總署，因為那是辦理第一年正式居留的地方。

早在我去年 9 月底拿著一年簽證入境後，第一件事便是要將香港法國領事館交給我的表格填好，然後寄到 OFII。後來才聽說一定要寄雙掛號，因為很大可能會寄失⋯ 反正我就這樣寄出了，到了 11 月中收到預約 12 月中的通知，可惜我那時出國去了，所以又寄信去要求改期 （是，寄信，沒有電郵)，結果改到昨天。對，這就是法國人辦事的速度。

For those who have ever applied for a French Long-Stay Visa, they must have visited OFII (French Office of Immigration and Integration) at least one time in their lives where is the place to process the first year residence permit.

Right after I came back with my 1-year Long-Stay Visa end of September last year, the first thing I did was to complete the residence form provided by the Hong Kong French Consulate and sent it to OFII. I just discovered lately that I should have sent by registered mail because the documents might somehow vanish like magic... anyway, I got a reply in mid-November for an appointment in mid-December. Unfortunately I would be out of town at the period so I sent a letter to them for rescheduling (Yes, send by mail instead of email), and finally got a new appointment date which was yesterday. THIS is the French speed.

預約時間為早上 8 時半, 8 時 15 分到達時已經有 20 多人在排隊。沒所謂了，只要大家規規矩矩排隊就好了。聽說下個月開始早上的預約時間會改到 8 時，到時申請人辛苦，工作人員也辛苦。

My appointment time was at 8:30 in the morning. There were already 20 plus people waiting outside the building when I arrived at 8:15. I was actually fine as long as everyone lined up neatly. I have heard that starting from next month, the morning appointment will be changed to 8:00, which is really harsh to both the applicants and the staff.

第一次辦證的就會被安排到一個房間，讓工作人員講解一下一天的流程，然後就看十多分鐘介紹法國的短片。短片的法語說得很慢很清，學過一陣子法文的都會聽得懂。內容就是介紹法國、什麼是自由、平等、友愛，及叫大家法文等等。

The applicants obtaining the permit for first time were all placed in a room. The staff explained the agenda of the day, and then showed us a 15-minute video to introduce France. The vocal of the video was speaking in a very slow and clear French, as long as ones have learnt French for a short while should be able to understand. The video was mainly introduce France, what's liberty, equality, fraternity, and to advise people to learn French.

完了後就會有人來叫名帶去做體檢。這部份很兒戲，我就穿著所有衣服及鞋子去量體重及身高，視力測試也是戴著眼鏡去做⋯之後就是照 X 光，主要看肺部的健康程度。這部份很快但比較認真，至少大家都須要脫去上衣⋯ 眼見這部份的工作人員都是女性，可能是想盡量避免大家脫光光上身的尷尬吧。

照好後換回衣服就在外面等與醫生面談。醫生會很細仔地看 X 光片，並順便看看背骨是否彎曲。另外就是量血壓，及查詢有否打過破傷風、乙型肝炎等疫苗 (醫生備有一本不同語言的疫苗名稱簿，不會攪錯的)，這些針如已超過 10 年醫生建議最好再去打，是免費的, 並給了我一張接種疫苗地點清單。

After that the staff came to call for physical examination. This part was a bit like a child's play. I was wearing my full set of clothes and shoes while measuring my weight and height, and same for the vision testing that I did it with my spectacles... then was a chest X-ray. This part was fast but far more serious, at least everyone had to be half naked... Most of the staff were ladies which should be for avoiding the embarrassment for the applicants being topless.

Afterwards, the film was examined by a doctor who explained the condition of the lungs and the backbone. Then she checked the blood pressure and if I have done any vaccinations like tetanus, hepatitis B (the doctor had a notebook marked with the vaccination names in different languages to avoid any understanding). At the end, the doctor gave me a list of vaccination centres and advised me to do the vaccinations again for those I have done more than 10 years, which is free.

好了，來到最後一步就是等與專人對話。他們找來了會說普通話的人員跟我對話，雖然我已表明法語或英語就行⋯ 可能他們覺得我會感到親切一點吧。專人很友善，在會談中，除了閒談中、港、法各地的好處短處、三星還是 iPhone 好、並提醒我要在一年內去將我香港的駕駛執照換成法國的 (因為一年內是免費並不用重新再考試) 之外，主要目的就是要收齊文件：護照、相片一張、住址證明、體檢報告、以及最重要的，241 歐元稅務郵票 (事前可上網或在煙草店購買)! 想長期居留，第一件事便是交稅! 

So now came to the last step which was to interview with a consultant. They have allocated a Mandarin speaker for me, even though I have indicated that French or English speakers were fine with me... Maybe they wanted me to feel like at home... Anyway, the staff was very kind and friendly, besides our talks of the differences between Hong Kong, China and France, or whether Samsung or iPhone is better,  or her reminder for exchanging my Hong Kong driving license to the French one as it is free and no further exams if I do it in the first year... the main purpose of this talk was to collect documents: my passport, 1 photo, a proof of residence, the medical report, and the most important, 241 € tax stamp (buy in advance which is available online or at the tobacco shop). Want to stay in France? Pay the tax first!

一切文件都收齊，便到他們發出一系列證書。15 分鐘短片培訓完成會有一張證書；3 小時的職業技能評估，他們也不會強迫你去，就問問你來之前做什麼工作，來之後有沒有打算做什麼，那就會有多一張證書；法語評估，理應會有些小測驗，但結果什麼也沒有。因為我說我在外邊報了班，他們就隨我不用上他們的班 (他們可提供最多 200 小時免費法語班)，並說我應該已達基本程度 （雖然我們沒真的用法語交談過⋯)，所以又即場給我多一張證書；最後一張證書是一個硬性規定的一天公民知識培訓，預約了 3 月底，到時就可以集齊 4 張證書，留待下一年到警察局更新居留時用 （這，才是惡夢的開始⋯)。就這樣，專人就在我的護照上貼上一張正式居留貼紙，經過 3 小時半的手續正式完成! 

After all documents were collected properly, it was their turn to give out a series of certificates. A certificate for the completion of the video introduction section ; A certificate for a talk of job evaluation which is not compulsory to do somehow; Then for French level, I have heard that there may have some tests, but nothing happened to me. As I told them that I have registered some French classes by myself, they let me to go with mine (they could provide 200hrs max. French class for free) and said that my French should have reached the basic level (we have not talked in French though...), as the result, she gave me the certificate for language at the spot. The final certificate could only be obtained after finishing a 1-day compulsory talk which has scheduled in late March. With all these 4 certificates, I can renew my residence permit at the Prefecture next year (which is the real nightmare begins...). After 3.5 hours, the staff finally put a residence permit sticker on my visa and my registration was completed!

我的首年正式居留證! My first French residence permit! 

HooTravel。雪山體驗 Saint Pierre de Chartreuse

上周末，有幸獲得住在雪山的朋友邀請，讓我第一次的雪山生活體驗地點是這可愛的小城鎮 － 聖皮耶爾德沙爾特勒斯 Saint Pierre de Chartreuse。

Saint Pierre de Chartreuse 是法國東南部伊澤爾省 Isère 的一個市鎮，屬於格雷諾布爾區 Grenoble, 從巴黎開車大概要 5 小時的車程。根據維基百科說，該市鎮總面積 80.12 平方公里，2009 年時的人口為 999 人；但我問了當地人，現時就大概剩 760+ 的人口。

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay at Saint Pierre de Chartreuse, a lovely town where has enriched my first fantastic experience in the Alps.

Saint Pierre de Chartreuse is a town in the Isère department in south-eastern France which is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, to the north of the city of Grenoble. It takes around a 5-hour drive from Paris. According to Wikipedia , the size of the town is ​​80.12 square kilometres with a population of 999 people in 2009 ; And the current population is around 760+ people, told by the locals.

旅館窗外境色

The mountain view of the lodge

上山沿途風景

The scenery along the way

市中心

Town centre

滑雪用具租用店舖為數不少

There are plenty of choices of ski hire shops

入場證

 Entry ticket

來自香港的我們，對纜車應該不會陌生

For those who come from Hong Kong should be familiar with cable cars

The ski resort is not really big, but has lesser people relatively

滑雪場不算大，但相對地人也少一點

來到雪山，滑雪當然是重點，但對我這位初哥來說，體驗山上的生活來得更重要。760+ 人口的小鎮，可以想像當地人的工作，除了自家開店外，其餘的大部份都在滑雪場工作、作滑雪教練。他們滑雪，平穩過我用雙腳走路。早上教滑雪的教練們，晚上就與我們在同一酒吧內暢飲，感覺很是有趣。當地人都很友善，見到我這位唯一的亞洲人都非常歡迎，並很熱情地介紹當地及附近的出產，例如芝士、腸、raclette、芝士火鍋及土產甜酒 Chartreuse。

你會問 raclette 及芝士火鍋不是瑞士菜式嗎？其實正確來就這兩款菜式是法國、瑞士、意大利亞爾卑斯山山上居民的菜式，所以各地山上的居民都有各自的做法，而且同樣正宗；法國式芝士火鍋的芝士底則是白酒、博福特 Beaufort、孔泰 Comté 及愛蒙塔爾 Emmental 芝士；然後配上麵包方塊、火腿及沙律。優質的芝士，實在是芝士火鍋的精髓，我們事前就單獨試了 Beaufort 及 Comté，兩款我最愛的亞爾卑斯山硬質芝士，真的好吃得要流眼淚；那濃馥純正的味道，實在不是能在其他地方可嘗到。

Skiing doubtlessly is the main activity during the stay. However, as for a new learner like me, experiencing the life on the mountain comes far more important. With a population of 760+ residents, you can imagine the working life of the locals - either running their own businesses, or working at the ski resort and being the ski coaches. They all ski steadier than I walk. It was hilarious to see the coaches teaching in the morning and we all then stayed at the same bar in the evening. The locals were very friendly to me, the only Asian, and earnestly introduced me their local products - cheeses, sausages, raclette, fondue and the local spirit Chartreuse. 

You may think raclette and fondue are originated in Swiss. The fact is, they are the local dishes of the residents of Swiss, French and Italian Alps. So they have their own recipes which are all authentic. For the French fondue, the cheese foundation is prepared by white wine, Beaufort, Comté and Emmental cheese; and comes with bread cubes, hams and salads. The fine quality cheese is the soul of the fondue. We have tried the French Alps cheese Beaufort and Comté (my two favourite hard cheeses) at a shop at an earlier time and the taste was so good that could make one shed a happy tear. The amazing mouthfeel and incredibly wonderful taste is not something you can find in anywhere else. 

難得來到，怎能不帶些芝士回家？

How can we miss the chance to bring back home some cheeses?

多些! 多些!

More! More!

老闆在親自炮製我們的芝士火鍋

The owner is preparing our fondue

來到最後，為了不要浪費那美味的芝士，將剩下的麵包粒倒進鍋裡，

加一只雞蛋然後攪勻，變成味道超級濃馥的芝士麵包粒。

When it comes to the end, in order not to waste such delicious cheese, 

pour all the bread cubes into the pot,  add an egg and stir. 

Now you can have the rich and tasty cheese bread cubes.

來到 Chartreuse，當然要試同名的土產烈酒蕁麻酒 (Chartreuse)，1605 年由當地修道院的修道士發明的一種黃綠色的甜酒，由 130 種香草、植物及花製成，酒精濃度高達 55%，是那種可點火的酒。它有非常獨特的味道，非常甜，同時也非常辛辣與刺激，那種刺激的感覺就像漱口水般，卻要激烈 3 倍。外來人第一杯都要照以下方法去嚐：將整杯酒倒入口，然後在口裡點火、再含在口裡像漱口般等 30 秒後才吞下。那種刺激度真的令人眼水直標。居民對我已經非常客氣，因為已免了點火那一步驟⋯ 這個酒嘛，試過就好了，由讓它留在本土吧~

In Chartreuse, how can one misses the local spirit Chartreuse, a yellow-green liqueur invented by the local monastery monks in 1605. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers with 55% alcohol by volume, means you can ignite it without any problem.  Chartreuse has a very strong characteristic taste - very sweet, but also spicy and pungent, like the mouthwash but triple time stronger. As an outsider, one needs to try the first glass in the following way: pour the whole glass into the mouth, ignite the liqueur, then rinse the mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing. All the sensations of the oral cavity are stung by the pungent taste. The locals were very kind to me, as they let me to skip the ignition step... Feeling for this liqueur? Good to try but I don't have any desire to bring it home... 

實用連鍵 Useful links:-

Chartreuse Tourisme

http://chartreuse-tourisme.com/

Chartreuse Ski Resort

http://www.ski-alpin-chartreuse.com/

HooShop。高級雜貨 La Grande Épicerie de Paris

與其到像廣東道般已淪陷了的巴黎老佛爺及巴黎春天，下次來巴黎血拼時可選擇去在巴黎左岸的 Le Bon Marché, 自 1852 年開業的巴黎最古老、3 大最出名的大型高級百貨公司之一。內裡各式各樣能令你瘋逛的名牌應有盡有，不單止化妝品及服裝，還有傢俱、高級禮品及家用品。最重要是由於百貨公司並不坐落於名勝遊客區，喧鬧的人流少了 (同樣會令你瘋狂⋯)，讓你可以更自在地在法國優雅的氣氛下慢慢選擇心水出血產品。

Rather than shopping at Galeries Lafayette and Printemps which have already fallen to tourists, like Canton Road in Hong Kong, next time when you come to Paris for a shopping spree, I suggest you to go to Le Bon Marché in the left bank, the oldest department store in Paris since 1852, which is one of the 3 best known luxury department stores with all the brands that can drive you crazy, not limited to cosmetics and fashions, but also furniture, upscale gifts and housewares. As it is not located in the centre of the tourist areas, you won't meet the noisy crowd (which can drive you crazy as well...) so you can enjoy your dreamy shopping spree under the French elegant atmosphere without disturbance. 

不過，我最想介紹的卻是他們最有名的那超大型高級雜貨部 La Grande Épicerie de Paris。當你看到裡面各類來自世界各地的生品、熟品，當中還有很多只有在專門店找到的法國各城市出產的本土優質產品 (酒、芝士、香腸、火腿、鵝肝、水、香料、零食、糖果⋯)，我保證你一定會傻了眼似的不停在遊走。是的，法國最優質的食品都不是產自巴黎的。這些本土品牌產量不多，又不願降低品質而增加產量，故除了在出產城市周邊可找到外，他們都很少外銷到其他城市。

除食品外，他們還很貼心地備有一個烹飪書藉部，讓你可以為晚上的燭光晚餐找些新靈感。呀，別忘了到麵包部買個超新鮮麵包呀。

However, what I actually want to introduce you is its well-known huge luxury grocery store La Grande Épicerie de Paris. When you see the enormous selection of raw, cooked, and preserved food from all over the world, especially those very best high quality French products (wines, cheeses, sausages, hams, fois gras, water, spices, snacks, sweets... ) which you can only find in some specialty shops, I am sure you will definitely be surprised and overwhelmed. Yes, the best quality French products do not come from Paris but other regions. These high quality local products do not have the capacity to do the mass production, or you can say they prefer quality to quantity, so most of the time they do not export to other regions in France.

On top of all these, this huge grocery thoughtfully consists of a cookbook section where you can get some ideas on your candle light dinner at home. Oh don't miss the fresh bread from the bakery corner.

La Grande Épicerie 位於 Le Bon Marché 正大廈旁，有空中走廊相連著。

La grande Épicerie is located at a building separated from Le Bon Marché main building 
and they are connected by an elevated walkway.

不要誤會，這些全是樽裝水呀~
Don't misunderstand this, they are all bottled water~

好大只的生牛髀

The big raw cow thighs

要買火腿，可以一邊喝著紅酒一邊由帥哥介紹，再選個對口味的買回家~ 

Before choosing the right ham, you can take a seat, have a glass of wine 
and let the cool staff do the introduction. 

走到蔬果部，會看到一家懷舊貨車。在舊時的法國，農夫們會將這款貨車 (真正的後面是蓋的) 載滿剛收成的新鮮蔬果然後開到村裡去售賣；可以想像到當時村內的婦女們如何滿心期待這些新鮮蔬果的到來 (還是帥氣的農夫？那就不得而知了 ^^)。據說現在也有農夫們這樣做著，不過已換成更先進的貨車了。

When entering the fruits and vegetables section, you can see an old truck being placed in the middle. In the old time, French farmers filled up this model of truck (there is a cover at the back for the original one) with their newly cropped fruits and vegetables and drove down to the villages for sales. You can imagine how excited of those village ladies when they were awaiting the fresh food coming (or the handsome farmers, who knows ^^). There are still farmers doing this nowadays but only with the more advanced trucks. 

不要錯過他們付款處的收銀機。當收銀員點算好你的物品及價錢後，你便要將錢投進相關的機器內，再由機器找換紙幣或銀幣給你。我想這是確保沒有人為出錯吧。

Don't miss the cash machines at the cashier. After the staff tots up your purchases, you have to put your money in the right machine and the change comes out in notes and coins. I guess it is to prevent any human error.

由於貨品一點都不便宜，逛後可買個環保袋作留念，2.96 歐元。

As the products are not cheap at all, 
you can simply buy a 2.96€ shopping bag after shopping. 

實用資料 Useful Information：

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

24, rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris (Lines 10 and 12 – Sèvres Babylone)


+33 1 44 39 80 00 

早上 10 時至晚上 8 時, 星期 4 及 5 至 晚上 9 時，星期日休息

10am to 8pm, Thursdays and Fridays till 9pm, Close on Sundays

http://www.lebonmarche.com/

La Grande Épicerie de Paris
38, rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris  (Lines 10 and 12 – Sèvres Babylone)

+33 1 44 39 81 00 

早上 8 時 30 分至晚上 9 時, 星期日休息
8:30am to 9pm, Close on Sundays

http://www.lagrandeepicerie.com/en.html