Oct 21

In Euroupe, the rent is usually very high, espcially in Paris, where I live right now. Even though Paris is a fascinating city, to live in this city will cost a lot of fortune. My 9m² room in the sixth arrondissment costs me 480€ per month. As a student coming from a worker family in a developing country, 480€ will be a great burden.

Fortunately, as one of the welfare country, France provides subsidy for rent, which is managed by CAF (familial allocation fund), and the subsidy also covers the international students. I have got my CAF card for several weeks but still do not receive the subsidy in my bank account. So I went there today, which was not that easy. Spending almost forty minutes going to the CAF office at Rue pot de fer, and then I waited for twenty minutes for the information desk.

When it was my turn, I asked the lady at the desk about my rent subsidy, she told me I had 202€ per month, which delighted me because I mistook that would be only 111€ before. But she told me the subsidy would only be paid from November since the first month are usually not subsidized.

I pursued, asking her if my scholarship status could permit me with more subsidy, which made me regret severely afterward. She checked and confirmed that more subsidy will be if I received scholarship, but at the same time she found out an error of my document, on which my residency status was not apartment, but foyer, which would lead to less subsidy.

I felt so desperate as if I fell from top of heaven to the abyss by her emotionless announcement. Why could this happen? Why don't they just keep their charity mistake to benefit a poor student like me? I hate France administration! Even though I tried to consoled myself with the maxim I have in mind always "adversity is opportunity", it does not really help. Injustice is always there. The only thing I can do is make myself distinguished from others to get rid of the bottom of social class.