Day 89: Citizen of Dresden

Today, I went to the town hall to take care of one of the many documents I need for my Erasmus grant: the Anmeldung. Germans love bureaucracy, and they have a complex system of officials to gather as much information as possible about their citizens. However, unlike in Spain, you don’t have to stand in a long queue. Instead, you take a number and wait in a comfortable waiting area, complete with newspapers and coffee machines, until your turn comes.

The document I had to complete today officially declares me a citizen of Dresden since I’ll be living here for more than three months (I can even vote in local elections now!). To do this, I needed a million forms and a photo. But not just any photo—there are strict requirements: you can’t smile too much, your head must be positioned perfectly straight, it must be a certain size, you can’t wear a burqa… plus all the usual rules about lighting, contrast, etc. To make things easier, there’s a photo booth right at the entrance of the office with a screen where you can see how the photo turns out. If you don’t like it, you can take another one—the machine gives you three chances, but if you mess up the first two, the third one will be printed no matter what.

Naturally, my photo turned out awful. My goal was to look as terrible as possible so that Dresden would have the worst possible version of me on file. I purposely messed up my hair and tried to look grumpy. But just as I was taking the photo, someone outside the booth started making faces at me, and I ended up laughing with my eyes closed—breaking two major photo ID rules. I was afraid the official wouldn’t accept them and that I’d have to take new ones (which cost €4!), but after inspecting them for a while, she finally approved them.

Being a citizen of Dresden comes with another perk: I can now apply for the "Three Kings' Letter." That’s what we call a €150 grant offered by the Technical University of Dresden and the city council to new students in town. I can apply for it in early January, and the money will be a lifesaver. The only problem is… I have no idea what to spend it on! Suggestions are welcome.

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