East.Side.Back.Street

Day 6

I want to find my own apartment!
Why?

So that:

I can wash my clothes
I can unpack my luggage
I can cook my food
I can sleep on the bed
I can walk around naked and change in the bedroom instead of the wet toilet after I bathe
I can pee loudly
I can move around freely and not be confined
I don’t have to bathe in a 80cm by 80cm cubicle and knock onto the panes whenever I move my hands to rub my body
I can watch TV, use internet, listen to music and do whatever I want!!
I don’t have to wait for Chloe to finish doing her things before I can do it, like bathing or internet
I can talk with a little more dignity.

This is a torture man!!

Day 7

Today I spent a whole day walking. Walking and walking for hours and hours. My friends, coming for exchange really isn’t that easy, especially for me. Maybe I’m very much dependent on other people without actually realizing it until I’m down here alone and have to do everything by myself.

In the morning I tried to look for the American Church where they put up ads for housing. However, I walked for a while and could not find it. I realize how lousy I was at looking at maps because I was holding the $13 comprehensive map Laura bought for me in Kinokuniya but I just couldn’t find the church.

Next, I went to look for the guard at Lionel Doyen’s apartment’s concierge. The 2 people were seemingly unhappy to help and they couldn’t speak English either. So I went to the police station near his place, and again they do not speak English well. After much hand motions and trying my best to explain with the limited French I have, they realized that I have been cheated of my rent deposit and explained that I was the 23rd victim they have heard. 23! Lionel Doyen you must be a rich guy now. God bless you man. They directed me to another police station where there is a special department in charge of these fraud cases. After much asking I finally managed to find that police station and again, they do not speak English. I mean, what kind of government department doesn’t employ at least some people who speak English? Or either that they were simply not very willing to help. They asked me to go back again with a friend who can speak French. I contacted Terence, and he may be going down with me tomorrow or on Friday.

After that I decided to look for the Singapore Embassy. Finding the place was difficult, and I walked for 2 hours non stop till I finally found the place, which was hidden behind a closed gate with other buildings with the Singapore national flag seemingly obscure.

Again, the person couldn’t offer me any practical help, and only offered me a list of websites, which most of it I have already gone through. I explained that to them, but their answer was that that was the best they could do. Slackers. I want to work in the Paris Singapore Embassy next time. Outside the Embassy were Mercedes and they did not have help for Singapore citizens who cannot find housing?! There was a Singapore old lady at the embassy who overheard my conversation and took down my particulars and promised to keep a lookout for me if something suitable pops by. I hope she helps me.

After which I went to back to my school only to find that my academic advisor has already packed her bag and ready to go off. I then went to visit an apartment which was great but the deal did not pull through. Reason being, another girl wanted to rent the apartment for a year, and that Laura’s friend did not feel that it was appropriate to share the apartment with me, although she was the one who approached me in the first place. Now she wants 2 private rooms. I walked back a disappointed man to Chloe’s place, back to my own dark corner in my sleeping bag.

Actually the feeling of putting up at someone’s else place really sucks. I can remember those Hongkong TV serials where the characters in it say things like,” Shou liu wo ba! Wo mei you di fang zhu le!” Yes, that’s EXACTLY my case now. I really do not have ANY place to stay other than here. I could try hostels, but this means I have to pay more and move all my luggage again and share spaces with other youths and have to grab on to my valuables at night even when I sleep. Sigh.

But I’m holding my head high! I believe and hope that there must be a place that can accommodate me! Wish me luck my friends.

Day 8

My first lesson got cancelled. What the hell. Is God trying to tell me that I’m not suited to come for exchange to see the bigger world, and should have just stay in my own little pea-sized country? The teacher did not come, and after speaking to a French fellow student, he told me that no students were taking the initiative to look for the teacher, and the students were enjoying doing nothing. I went off and proceeded to open my bank account, which was one of the few things I actually managed to get it done.

I then went to Moulin Rouge with Chloe. Moulin Rouge is a super sleazy place with lots of sex shops, live shows and peep shows. I went to visit the Museum Erotique and took many photos, some of which are interesting and I will post them up.

I still have not gotten a place to stay, and Chloe’s landlord has been asking her what was my situation now. I did not want to put Chloe in a spot and told Chloe to tell her landlord that I am moving out on Thursday, which was the day I am supposed to move out if I had gotten the housing deal I mentioned earlier. God, please tell me what to do next, or start sending some divine help to the poor guy (me!) whom you have neglected for a long time.

Day 10

Coming for an exchange seems rather lonely for me, at least for now. I realized that I do not speak a lot. Most of the days when I talked it is only to Chloe. I do not think I laugh as much now as I used to in Singapore, when all of us just sit down and talk nonsense or play mahjong and laugh like crazy. You can be very sure I miss those days a lot.

I visit places alone, and in school because of my language barrier I feel alienated. Everyone speaks French, and from what I understood from my teachers the French are more reserved than the other Europeans. We thought they were dao, but they were reserved. I am still not thick skinned enough yet to talk to anyone that pops by, but I’m making a conscious effort to do so. One thing I learnt while working at Peach Garden is that one has got to be thick skinned. That’s one of the sure ways to success.

I woke up late thinking that my ‘Cross Cultural Barriers’ class was at 1015 but it was actually at 830. Again, dependence on friends. Back in Singapore I could always count on my friends to tell me little things like this, which causes me to become more dependent and blurrer. Good and bad, I think.

I reached school at 915 with a terrible stomachache. After feeling like shit for another hour, I ended my conversation abruptly with my allocated American buddy and went to heaven. Not a very good start to a friendship, especially with my limited number of friends here. Formed a presentation group with a guy who was even later than me. Haha.

When we were introducing ourselves, the class seemed intrigue with Singapore. I was supposed to do a presentation on a very tough subject but in the end the teacher asked me to do a presentation on Singapore, which is very good because the SMU international relations people has asked us before to present ourselves as good Singapore ambassadors and if we needed materials about Singapore, we could just ask from them. And that’s what I’m going to do. 40% of the course grade more or less taken care of. The next lesson was very boring, and I might just drop it. Now pondering between 2 other classes. Will need to make a decision soon.

Then, we went for the international students briefing. Much of it was done in French, which reminds me to ask SQ to send me the online courses which I can download from BitTorrent to improve my French. SQ, you always say my French sounds like Hokkien and now I feel conscious about it. Thanks ah! My allocated senior from Dauphine is a nice person called Elodie, and she has offered to help us in as many ways as we needed. But somehow I realized that depending too much on other people is bad, and depending on myself is the best.

Went to view an apartment, with Laura’s friend, Vania, this time. Both of us were satisfied with the apartment, and the owner was nice enough to offer us a discount too at around 1100 Euros a month. I know that’s pretty expensive, but with the factors of time running short, the difficulties of find an apartment, the satisfaction not only to me but to Vania e.t.c., we really do not have much of a choice.

Her son, a very good looking French with green pupils, is coming to work in Singapore at Ernst and Young, and I have promised to show him around when he comes to Singapore next year. If everything goes according to plan, we will be signing the contract next Tuesday at 2pm. If not, I will have to start the whole tedious process of searching for apartments again. Friends, if you want to see the place where I will be staying, please check out http://www.alineapartments.com/ and look at ‘Renoir’.

Went to view 2 other apartments for backup, in case Aline plays us out.

Went to visit the Eiffel Tower today, and I was impressed. I used to tell other people braggingly (as usual) that the person whom built Eiffel Tower is a smart fellow. Just some pieces of curved metal bars tied together you have an everlasting icon representing a place. But I was awed. Some pictures of Eiffel Tower below, together with other pictures of places which I do not know the names yet, but are all nice to see.

Some photos of Barcelona. I do not think that I do much justice to this place by these pics alone. You guys have got to come and check it out yourselves! Most of the times I visit places but the names are too hard to remember, but Laura knows, so ask her!

See that place right in the background atop the mountain? We went up there!

We only went outside. Hope to watch a match soon.