of duplex, lebanese parties, sisters, flea markets, trip planning and walking

such a long title! i’ve done quite a bit since i last blogged.. well.. on to the 1st item- duplex!!! its the club in paris that allows exchange students to enter without a cover charge on tuesdays! and its amazing! it has 2 rooms- one with hip hop and latin (i likee!!) and another with house music and electrico (ok.. with enough alcohol, its nice too).. so we went there- me, tasmina, lemuel and anna.. there, we met tasmina’s friends from HKUST and we made up a grand total of 8 people! it was lots of fun dancing and enjoying the latin-music! and with time (ok, translated.. that was a drink and 3 shots (its my 1st time drinking shots and i did 3 in one night.. bahh)) electrico was nice! the night was good! no guys picked me up (which is.. strange.. am i that ugly???), but the other 2 girls did have people who struck conversations with them.. maybe its because they sat down and the guys moved in, whilst i was always on the go and dancing.. hmm.. perhaps.. perhaps..

oh well, it was a good experience and i managed to hold my liquor! so that’s good!! it would have been really bad if i had to rely on others to take care of me or to see that i stay safe! will go duplex again, definitely! but maybe at a later date! its too expensive!

lebanese parties! ah! what can i say! look at facebook! the pictures are there! will tag them soon anyway.. hmm.. basically, the lebanese people transform their room into a dance area with cool lights and speakers that boom the music! of course.. they play some strange music which i dont quite understand, but the party was good! made some new friends and the atmosphere was really good for a room party!

ahh! sister! choppa came over the weekend! and we went.. shopping! naf naf has a 50% sale! and we were very happy with promod as well (well, yes.. we didnt technically buy sale items in promod, but its so pretty!!) after that, we went to st germain des pres to walk about and familiarise ourselves with zadig and voltaire, kookai, tara jamorn and other lovely people (shops).. we then met clement who showed us around the st michel area and boy oh boy! so much food! so much variety! what great prices!! will HAVE to go there for a meal some day! we also went to the eiffel tower at night! which i told her was gonna be a brand new experience! and indeed, it was! however, what we didnt count on was the walking to find a metro/RER.. we didnt have a map and spent too long finding our way to a metro stop!

next day, we went to the flea market at porte de clingancourt! its this huge market (supposedly.. i think we found the wrong one.. or maybe we didnt explore the whole market) that sells vintage stuff (like genuine, vintage, louis vuitton bags and the like).. what we DID find was lots of old postcards (with people’s writing at the back and its stamped!), old books (that are falling apart), posters, furniture, cameras, beads and other small items.. however, we didnt find that many vintage clothes or bags or accessories.. so i think we found only 1/2 of the market.. on the way in to this old-ish area, we strolled past shops selling clothes that are far east plaza inspired.. hmm.. i cant quite describe it well, but yeah.. its like the kind of clothes and shoes that one can fnd at far east plaza.. BUT! the prices are really good too! usually its 10 euros or less for most items!! so yes, i will go there, someday and will get some of them ballerina flats and tops.. sadly, sis left shortly after and i went back to cergy..

today, i had a very interesting day.. the time difference between singapore and france is now 6 hours instead of 7 hours previously because the daylight savings has been moved forward and so, now, my body clock wakes me up at.. hear hear.. 10am! gasp! as such, getting to my 1pm class proved to be a bit difficult as i had a late night last night. BUT! because i had to buy water from auchan, i did a mad rush to the supermarket for my groceries before heading off to class. after class, me and jiting went over to esmond and lemuels to do some trip planning and for her to catch up with ling sze (her friend since primary school, and is now bunking in with esmond as she has her exchange program in manchester)

trip planning is going well! will be going to vienna and prague and edinburgh during my spring break! yay! got accomodation and travel settled, so what’s left is the proposed itinary and having fun! yay!

and yes, need to plan and confirm (in a way) the 2 road trips i have coming up (one with friends, another with family).. will have to get that done soon-ish..

walking.. walking.. where do i start! ah yes! as you have read from above, i was at lemuel’s and esmond’s doing the trip planning and lo and behold, it was soon time to leave. so, me and jiting went out of the residence and proceeded to cross the road to catch the shuttle bus back to le haut.. NOO!! we saw the shuttle bus drive past us, drop off students and.. it.. left..

so now what!!?! do we stay till 10pm for the last shuttle, do we walk to the train station for 20 mins and take the train for 10 mins and walk back for another 10 mins, or.. do we trek 6km to our residence?

we chose the 1hour trek..

it was a good walk! we managed to see more of cergy and we are pretty happy that we didnt get lost! it was after all, 2 RER stops away and the road was winding and we had no map!

what really made life hard was the fact that i was carrying 9kg of water.. can dieee.. but hey! its good exercise!! so im happy!

life is good!! and i was singing “celebrate good times, c’mon!” once we caught sight of our residence! and true enough.. good times.. these are good times!

paris to room party

we were supposed to go to paris.. to a club called duplex (it was free for international students on tuesdays!) BUT! due to the STRIKE that halted movement of trains and metros, we decided NOT to go to the club and continue staying in anna’s room, drinking our drinks..

can you imagine taking the 1.5 hour long bus ride back to cergy from paris!!??! especially when you are tired and with throbbing ears!? noooo..

it was one funny night! watching people get happier on alcohol and seeing people do the weridest stuff! its amazing that i managed to stay good and sane throughout the ordeal! haha.. thanks to corinna, choppa, jo-ann, sun, vin and yes, even michelle chew! for building up my weak asian tolerence towards alcohol! hahaha..

the past few nights have been very late ones! with me having to host lemuel and esmond at my room after the long night so they need not brave the wind and cold at 2am in the morning!

a bit of background knowledge: essec has 2 residences- les linandes and cergy le haut.. i live in the latter. esmond and lemuel and the other SMU boys live at les linandes. so far, 3 gatherings have been organised at cergy le haut.. and on friday, there is a birthday party at linandes.. i will cook.. SAYOR LODEH! yay! hahaha

hopefully it tastes nice!!! *bites nails*.. haha.. and yes, i will buy baguette too! haha.. there is a price celing on baguettes you know? at 90 cents! hahaha.. BUT! there is no regulation on the size of the baguettes.. yes.. those naughty bakers.. trying to cut corners!

tonight there is yet another outing.. to a club.. but i doubt i will be going.. haha.. which brings my clubbing experience in paris to a big big ZERO! there has been 2 clubbing outings organised.. one was after a heavy dinner and some of my friends were a little too drunk to continue after the dinner and i went home with them.. 2nd one is *please read above*.. and tonight, the 3rd clubbing experience has been organised.. whether or not to go.. now that is the golden question! heh heh..

oo.. i also bought my tickets belgium so i can see chopppaaa!!!

gathering!

my first weekend alone without familiar faces was spent hosting a dinner get-together at my place!

it was wonderful.. granted the space was a tad cramped and some people were sitting on my bed or standing around the room. but overall, it was a good 7 people gathering. we all had our fill and dinner was a mix of mashed potato, 2 types of pasta, korean rice cakes, eggs, porridge and curry! and of course, courtesy of me- belgian beer and juice!

we talked quite a bit about education, policies, and different systems in different countries! it was a very enlightening conversation and i really enjoyed it!

i hope everyone did too! but some were sleepy and some were quieter but i hope everyone had a good time!

thanks to jin! who helped me to clean up after the get together! she is such a darling to have done that!

and tmr.. school begins.. whee!!

moving in and orientation week

well, it was not too bad.

basically, moving in was supposed to be systematic and efficient. so, i moved quickly and had things folded and put away! i was done in one hour and a half (inclusive of mopping and sweeping). come on! how long does it take to mop a 18m square room anyway!

trouble came much later.. grocery shopping..

the bag was so heavy.. i felt my arms would break! i had to get my pillows and washing stuff and some basic food! so you can imagine the kind of weight that was dragging me down.. good news is.. i dont have to go grocery shopping anymore! all i need has been bought! now its all about the cooking, laundry and living! FINALLY!

orientation week is not up yet, but i must say it has been nice- getting to know more people and really getting familiar with the school grounds.. hah.. talking about familiarising myself with the school grounds.. i was looking for the housing office (alegessec) and my friends and i (about 5 of us) walked through the school campus looking for the best and shortest way to get to the alegessec. so, we ended up asking for directions and the kind lady showed us how to get there on the school map. it seemed straight forward. just walk through one corridor and turn left. HOW HARD CAN THAT BE!?

VERY! the doors were locked and bolted and the more we walked, the smaller our options became.. essec has the habit of locking doors during non-peak hours so that the outsiders wont wander into our school grounds, hence effectively locking us in too.. gosh.. now what kind of school locks their students in school.. nazi concentration camp style.. yikesss

but anyway.. we finally found our way there and its all good and paid up!

now, on to banking.. it takes ONE WEEK to open a bank account in france.. bahhh.. tuesday is my appointment with the man from BNP Paribas and YAY! i can open my account!

tmr, will be going down to montmarte (ahh.. love the place!) and after that, past 6pm, the museums are FREE!! hello louvre!

where are the photos!?

good question.. check facebook. cant upload them here..

wait.. its taking a long time on facebook too! i hope it gets loaded.. gg to sleep already! 2am!

Barcelona, Amsterdam and more

The two main trips i had before i came to paris were to barcelona and amsterdam.. i must say that both trips had their own special moments and were thoroughly enjoyable!

In barcelona, i loved spending the time with my sister and walking about barcelona, walking down the las ramblas, sitting by the water (its not really the sea.. its more like a port where lots of boats and yachts dock), wandering into shops, eating tapas and being frustrated at not being understood by the spanish salesgirls..

more about tapas- its absolutely divine! its small dishes of meat, potatoes, fish, and other foods.. and you just gobble up the yummilicious food! i loved it so much, i bought a 100 recipes of tapas book so i can cook them! what i didnt realise is that the book had a printing error.. YES, a big printing error! it duplicated about 20 recipes, so i missed out on 20 MEAT tapas.. how sad!!

well.. on gaudi and the art work.. loved loved LOVED the artwork and amazing AMAZING architecture of gaudi! its really amazing.. the amount of crazy details and abstract forms is truly dr. suess in reality! Gaudi’s style is being inspired by nature and its forms.. so what we have is pillars inspired by tree branches and windows with lots of floral-like details.. he is so particular about the way his work is to be completed that he actually wrote a manual of sorts detailing how his design can be made real.. if you watched P.S I love you, gaudi tops the singing man from dublin.. he truly prepared well for life after death

park guell has this great vast of space (and hence, the great throng of tourists) and lots of unique pieces.. if you watched America’s Next Top Model, there was this episode in this certain season (sorry for being so vague!!) where the models had to catwalk down in wedding gowns in a “frightened, horror-style” manner.. yes.. well, i went to that “catwalk” and took some pics!

and a story about mango.. we went into the shop and started looking around. each time we wanted to try something in a size that was not displayed on the shelf/rack, we had to tell the salesgirl and she would walkie-talkie the request over to whoever the mysterious person/department is, in order to bring over the shoe/right size.. it was close to closing time and we were waiting for this top to be brought over to us in the right size.. thing is.. we waited and waited.. and the darn top had not come yet.. finally, we asked again, and after a flurry of questioning amongst the salesgirls (in spanish, of course), they said, sorry, last piece.. seriously.. do you REALLY believe that?? they could have told that to us 20 minutes ago! i really think its cuz they dont want to go hunt for the top.. but oh well.. maybe its just me being all picky.. heh

on to amsterdam! it was a first for me.. travelling with someone NOT a relative.. it proved to be just fine! of course, there were moments when i wished i had my sister with me.. but friends are good too! Esmond and i checked into this great, safe, clean hostel! very very happy with the area and we walked around the place all the time..

the canals were beautiful, so nice and calming to just stare as the water slowly ripples across.. all they need is benches to sit.. that’s the one thing.. hardly any benches in amsterdam..

Van gogh museum was beautiful! really enjoyed the works on exhibition! only qualm i have is that you cant take photos inside. in most museums, this is a norm.. but not here! what a disappointment! i really understand why people appreciate van gogh. i never thought he was anything really amazing but because dad and mom said its a definite must, i went and now i see why he is so brilliant.. the way he combines colours and uses the paint with its different consistencies shows how daring he is, in a way..

also, we met this malaysian guy, ryyon who is quite a refreshing character. and he takes such beautiful, good, quality photos! i likee!! he’s very young and very accomplished! so i think that really says something about him and his attitude towards life and career goals.. inspiring and refreshing!

ooo.. funny thing.. we went for this city walk (which is free) and the guide of the walk told us that there was a free boat ride.. and i found out which one it was.. and when me and esmond went on the ride.. it was kind of pointless and not picturesque too! so it was funny.. we went on the ride, got off and looked at each other and said “what was that!?!”

anyway.. its been a great pre-school travelling.. and now.. a new category gets written- school life…