Dear ,
Last week I visited the German Pension Insurance Office (DR) (1). I wasn't looking forward to it - some people at these official places are scary 😧.
When I first arrived here, I had to go to the Foreigners' Office to get my Work and Residence Visa. I heard stories about the officers, how they weren't very nice.
However, the lady I saw was quite nice. She wasn't super friendly, but she was polite and professional. One time she even made a phone call to check on a detail that wasn't in a document I had for her. I was allowed to wait until she had spoken to someone who could answer the question she had.
That was great, because she could have just given me another appointment and told me to come back with a new document!
Over time I learnt that she was definitely one of the nicer officers there.
It's been ages (2) since I've been to the DR and I had forgotten how different it is from the Foreigners' Office!
For starters, the building. At the Foreigners' Office, when you have an appointment (or number), you wait upstairs in a dark corridor. I remember sitting on the floor for more than an hour one time, because there weren't enough chairs.
At the DR, you can sit on comfortable chairs in a waiting room with windows 😀.
(This time, one of the receptionists was super caring. She left her chair and walked to a lady with crutches (3) sitting in the waiting room. The receptionist gave the lady a document and also explained things to her. That was so lovely.)
Then there're the officers themselves. Every one of the people I've spoken with (in English or German) have been polite, helpful, I could even say happy!
The final thing is the time. One time at the Foreigners' Office, I waited upstairs for 2 hours before it was finally my turn.
Last week at the DR I sat for 10 minutes. Amazing!
Everything went smoothly - the officer answered my question and I left 😀.
How do you feel when you have to visit the DR or somewhere else really official? Do you get nervous or a bit scared? Have all the people been nice to you? Hit 'Reply' and tell me your stories - good and bad!
'Bye,
Andrea
(1) German Pension Insurance Office - my translation of Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DR)
(2) ages - a l-o-n-g time
(3) crutches - 'sticks' that help you walk when you have something wrong with your leg (e.g. you've broken it)
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