Tuesday, March 11, 2008

england

This past weekend I had a little reunion with some friends from grad school. We met in England because the majority (2 couples, 1 with a young child) of us live there and it’s also the most central. As I’ve stated before, I’m not a fan of the parts of England I’ve seen so far. And now, traveling to England via Eurostar is losing its charm. French immigration has never been a hassle for me, but getting through British immigration has gone from being a hassle to being a pain in the butt. I feel like getting a t-shirt with pre-printed answers to all of their %$@$#@!! questions (purpose of visit, how long will you stay, occupation, employer etc.) along with a general statement along the lines of: “I don’t like England and have no desire to stay beyond this trip much less indefinitely. I am THE LAST person you have to worry about remaining in your bloody country illegally.”

After this most recent trip, I have a new rule: when joining the UK immigration line, avoid dowdy women and older men who appear as if their last smile was during the early part of the Thatcher era. This time the pole-up-the-ass lady actually asked me what I was going to do when my carte de sejour expires. I’m going to get it renewed like I do every friggin year!! That’s what I’m going to do! What are you going to do when you shrivel up and become a bitter old maid before your time?? Oops, too late.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember traveling through England when going to France. Oy! that was interesting. On a different note, I would have to be a non-US citizen going throug US customs.

Anonymous said...

*note to self* Do not, I repeat, do not write comments or anything after 3 glasses of wine.

1001 Petals said...

I never had a problem travelling through the UK. It always has been with my British husband though, wonder if that made a difference?

US customs is always the worst for me. . I have actually vowed to never visit that country again because the last few times was so horrendous, I've actually cried (and I don't cry easily, they just always put me aside in that little room, make me wait for a couple hrs while grilling me/ video taping me every once in a while, making me run for my flight at the last moment. Plus they killed that little boy recently. .)

A (Parisian) Seattleite back in Seattle said...

function - I thought your comment was cute :)

1001 - I'm sure it does make a difference. The easiest time I had going to the UK was when I was with my brit b/f.