Officielle / officieel

I did manage to obtain my Belgian identity card! It was not too difficult because I have two things that simplified things considerably: EU citizenship and a job. The first visit was to declare residency, what I told you about already where I got lost, then the community officer came to visit the house and check to make sure I am who I am. Our commune is called Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and it is really not hard to find the communal house, once you know what you are doing. You take the bus to Chien Vert / Groene Honden, and try to get ahead of the other bus takers who are clearly also on their way for commune business. If you can't get the jump on them from the bus exit, you try to walk really fast and pass them on the sidewalk to get through the door faster. This is because you, like them, have to get a numbered ticket at the commune counter for foreigners. Foreigners have a long wait because we have lots of things to take care of. The civil servants working the counters are really nice though. On my second visit they took my picture and my money then said I'd get something in the mail that I should bring back on my third visit in order to receive my ID card. I did get something in the mail and I brought it back, and on my third visit they gave me my card all right. One of my colleagues says it was really fast compared to how long it took her so maybe I got lucky.

NB: The transit stop called Chien Vert / Groene Honden means "green dog." The commune house has an art deco stained glass window depicting a green dog but that is not why it is called that. The name comes from an old restaurant that is not there any more, that in turn was named after a 19th century sculpture exhibit on the street that happened to feature a bronze dog, also no longer there. Something gone named after something gone named the stop.