A visit to Switzerland.

It was because due to the invitation that gave me this ocasssion to visit Switzerland. On the 21 Dec 2008, a Sunday, I woke up as a very determined person, more or less due to the holiday season, I don't feel as tired as the other days. In other words, I was fresh that morning. After having prepared everything that needed, I departed from my house and I rejoined my friends at the entrance of my appartement. It was 8:50 am.

As usual, to go to somewhere out of town, no matter where, we have to take the train; so, we walked together to the railway station, which is not that far from where I stay. It wasn't as cold as usual, so I had made an assumption that it would be the same in Swizterland.

Off we went, we boarded on the train, riding happily all the way to Basel, the border of Swizerland and France, then transitted on another train from Basel to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. About two and a half hours , we arrived at Bern. Another 5 minutes of walk, we were allowed to discover the tramway station:

The tramway, it's always red!

Stupidly, we bought the tram ticket from the tramway station, in which the vending maching is unmaned; in spite of the fact that we don't read german, we have suceeded in finding the right tram which would lead us to the Malaysian Embassy, it was the tram number 3, heading towards Saali. And the ticket costed us 3.8o swiss francs(which is considered expensive). At this point, are you wondering why I introduced this paragraph with an unkind word 'stupidly'? The following statements will help you in solving this enigma. Looking at our beautiful watches, they indicated 11:30 am, which meant that we had another 1 hour to spend before we were obliged to attend the luncheon. Our absurdity first appeared when we found out that there was a time limit in the validity of the ticket: 1 hour. I confirmed to all my friends that "ok, we have the right to board on the tram even at the last minute of the time limit." So the silliness wasn' that obvious!

However, after having walked about 30 minutes and being mesmerised by the beautiful architecture and being amused by the entertainment on the street, we came to decision that it was time to go to our primary destination... But of course, before heading towards the embassy, let me show you the pictures that I have taken during our promenade.

The zebra crossing which is extended to the tramway station.

Look at the cables above our head, they are the cables that supply current to the tramway an eventually guide them.

At the end of the road, we couldn't resist taking picture with the beauty of this wonderful town. Next to me is Khairul, a scholar of JPA.

This friend of mine was showing his desperate to take a picture with me, so this is the result.

And the street performance, of course, they are performing chrismas' songs, like "Petit Papa Noel", "Stille Nacht", "Mon Beau Sapin"

Well, let's get back to our topic of discussion, we got back to the tramway station, and finally, we were in the tram. We were getting excited and few minutes later, we were surprised to find that our destination was just one station away which was about 3-5 minutes walk. In conclusion, we paid 3.80 swiss francs for a 2-minutes-ride. We have learnt our lesson, we would be going to Malaysian Embassy for the next invitation-ON FOOT!

The surroundings of our arrival point.

Towards Zurich and Basel, this way please!

Aha, the snow!

Behind me it's the Einstein's museum.

Bern means 'bear' in english, that's why you can see so many bears everwhere in Bern.

Voila, I have taken a picture with Einstein.

The road that I have taken (a metaphore derived from a poem).

We spent almost a day in the embassy, meeting students from all over Swizerland who are currently pursuing their studies in Hotel Management, we are more or less of the same age, and for your information, they are not sponsored by the government, they came here all by themselves. We exchanged our ideas, we laughed while eating, and we ate while laughing. Regretfully, I didn't take any picture there, but all I can say here is that it was worth travelling all the way from France to attend this luncheon. From the luncheon, I know more about the lifestyle in Swizerland, I was shocked when they informed me how calm is Switzerland, people can't really speak loudly even in the house, they will get a complaint from the police sometimes, no car washing sundays because it's the day thatthey want to have some peace. All in all, I will never reside in Switzerland.

The good side is that in Geneva, they speak french, and for those french speakers, we will eventually get a higher salary than those who don't, this interests especially me, because I am hoping to work for CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) one day, and now I am preparing myself for the qualification round in the selection of employees of CERN in 2015.

And, I am actually inspired by the speech of the malaysian ambassador in Swizterland, he gave a lot of respects to students and he advised us to study really hard and bring the knowledge back to help in the development of the society; get into the best school; graduate with a distinction. Yes, I can absolutely do that!!!

At about 5pm, the sky was already dark, we made our way to the railway station, and there, I saw a book store, I couldn't resist myself, there was a huge force of attraction, and I went inside to see what kind of books they have there. What intrigued me was that I saw some English books, I had some in my hands, and thinking that I was having 5o swiss francs in my pocket, in a blink of time, I intended to spend all of this amount on books. Without hesitation, I bought two books in a rush because my train would be departing in 10 minutes time. These are the two books and I am very happy with my choices:

I haven't started reading it, but soon!

I am halfway through.

In the train, I was concentrating in these new books that I had bought, and my friend took a picture of mine.

The result was quite good, I find it.

Next trip, the luncheon during Chrismas' day in my teacher's house, Patricia. Let's wait for the excitement to come! And this is the wrap of the one day visit in Bern.

The Last Chemistry Class with Paul Bois

The title is indeed a little bit too much but it's partially true. I have had my last chemistry class with Paul Bois for this year. The reason is that he is specialised in Atomic structure studies, since we have tackled down the whole syllabus, naturally we have to proceed to different branch of chemistry which willbe taught by another teacher. However, certain of us will be meeting him again during the study of thermodynamic.

It was a cold day, I was on my way to school, shivering but at the same time, catching those snowflakes that deop from the sky. It was fun to see snows falling down in real. The sensation is superb. Those tiny snowflakes dropped on your palm, they rested for a while, slowly, they melted. A droplet of water was what left. And the dry wind carried away the water molecule, there was nothing left. All I could see was again my bluish palm. The snow comes and goes quickly.

This is the first time I said, "it's snowing" out loud.

This is the stairs that I always take before reaching my classroom for scientific subjects at IUT de Colmar (I have talked about it in my previous blog, if you do notice). Slowly as I was reaching the door of 101, I was recalling what I have learnt in my previous chemistry classes. Knowing the fact that there would always be a test after each topic, I prepared myself thoroughly, hoping that my first impression to the teacher was a good one.

The point of view from the second floor of building C, it is where the "Classroom for Malaysian students" is situated.

Finally, I reached the door, notice that above the door, there was a paper with some words on it, "Salle des ETUDIANTS MALAISIENS" (Room for malaysian students). What I can say is that we are the priviledged ones in the university, we have our own territory.

The entrance

Room 101

These are some pictures that reflect the situation in the class.

During the break we took some opportunities in snapping pictures, the aim: to pass time.

Daniel and I

Nithes and I

Here, i would love to introduce my chemistry teacher of 'atomistique' to you, Mr. Paul Bois, he is a pHD student, since we are both students, he understand us very well, and he jokes while teaching, in a nutshell, he is a very good teacher.

Some evidence to show that he is a dedicated teacher.

At the end of the class, we packed our bags and headed to our own destination but before that, knowing the fact that it will be the end of the teaching of Mr. Paul Bois for this term, we gathered together, chit-chatted for a while, and took a picture with him. The melancholy is not that intense because we know that one day, we shall meet again!

'The end is always the beginning.'-'For one more day' by Mitch Albom.

My First Job!

Can you imagine that I have just had my first job done here, in France? On 8-9th November 2008, I worked as a representative of the Tourism Office of Malaysia. It was actually a stall in the Parc des Expositons in Colmar during the SITV (Salon International du Tourisme et des Voyages) which is something like MATTA Fair in PWTC. By the way, before I go on with the story, I would like to thank several people who have given me this opportunity to help out during this event. First of all, my friend, Akmali, who received a call from the embassy and who called me to help out. Next, we have Mr. Abdel, who has taught me a lot during the whole process. And last but not least, Miss Elodie, my colleague during the exhibition.

This was the booth where I worked.

On Saturday morning, Akmali and I took bus number 2 and we arrived at the Parc des Expostions at 9.24am. We waited at the entry for Mr. Abdel who is a french. Frankly, for that first day, I had no idea who was this guy and I didn't even know what I need to do, neither did Akmali. The arrival of Mr. Abdel was a bit late. He reached there at about 10am. After that we were being brought to the booth. At the same time, he explained to us our tasks and before that, he introduced himself, of course. He can speak French, English and Spanish. But I was really astonished when I found out that he knows Malaysia better than a Malaysian who has been living there for 18 years. A little dumbfounded and embarassed at the same time, the first second of my first job took place.

Generally, my task was to give out as many brochures as I can and talk to the visitors about Malaysia, which obviously obliged me to speak french. But I have to admit that I have just been in France for 5 months, so this job was really a challenge as well as a good training for me to improve myself especially in the language. As nervous as I was, I approached te first visitor that I encountered. It was a couple, I greeted them, and they replied my greet. And then, there was a moment of silence, during that moment, I was assuring myself that I could do a perfect job. So, I started to accumulate all the information that I have about Malaysia, and transforming them from ideas to a speech. Opps! What do you think? Did I succeed? Well, not really, I was just 65% succeeded. Nevermind, but I had a lot of fun. That was my first experience in promoting.

The booth from another perspective.

When it came to the 3rd visitor, it was a mister who seemed to be very interested in my speech. And the conversation broke down my nervousness, I felt very comfortable talking to him. And when my chief, Mr. Abdel asked him whether have I done a good job. I received a compliment, this mister said to Mr Abdel, "Il parle très bien français!" (He speaks very well french). "Il n'y a que 5 mois qu'il l'a appris!" (He has only learned it for 5 months.)replied Mr. Abdel. I was standing there, smiling and relief...

Mr. Abdel (at the left), Me (centre) and Miss Elodie (at the right).

Elodie, me and Akmali

Everything was going well, and when there wasn't any customer, I spoke to Elodie. She has just finished her studies in Food Science and she is currently looking for a job. And according to her, "it's very hard to find a stable job right now, especially for the fresh graduate. We can find a job like this (as what I did) easily but not a stable one." That made me think of the economy crisis that we are having, it's really scary, in my opinion. By the way, did I tell you that she is very tall? For quite a while we exchanged our backgroud and our education culture, and from the conversation, I know more about the education system of France. Thanks Elodie.

Elodie, my colleague.

That evening, I met a lady who has been to Malaysia quite a few times and she fell in love with the seenty and the cultureas well as the beautiful panorama of our country. She was actually an exhibitor. He had a son, his name is Victor, and he brought me a cup of Tibetian tea, I didn't really ask for it, but he was to generous. I played with him during my lunch break. And he was so polite, he kept calling me Monsieur although I am just 18.

At the end of the day, I was so interested in speaking French, maybe it's because of the confidence that I gained during my presentation. And it was a coincidence when I met a young lady from Hong Kong who is now based in Freiburg, Germany. She came to the booth with her german husband. In a matter of fact that she doesn't speak french, I spoke cantonese with her. And we talked for half an hour, and from my point of view, she was persuaded to visit Malaysia next year. Interesting, isn't it?

The next day, Sunday, a day where people don't work but not in the sector of transportation. However, there was fewer buses compared to the other days. Actually, we were supposed to reach that exhibition hall by 10am, since the bus service would only commence at 1:20pm, so we were left with no choice but to take the earliest bus of the day. So, we started working at 2:00pm, at that time, it was seriously the peak hour. As soon as I reached there, I had to occupy our customers-to-be.

Look at the mob of Sunday.

A performance during the exhibition (but I can only get the back)

Again, today, I met another young french lady who stayed in Mulhouse, she is a vietnamese cantonese, so I got another chance to speak cantonese, which I didn't expect at all. But, we talked more about the life here in Colmar instead of Malaysia because Akmali has already explained everything to her.

The interesting things kept coming, and if I really want to describe them all, it would take a long time. But, I will try my best to make this story as lively as possible. So, my fluency in introducing in french of my country has improved, I always used three points to attract my interlocutor: The Rafflesia, KLCC, the french village (Colmar) at Bukit Tinggi (Do you know that I stay in the real Colmar?) and sometimes, Gua Niah and Pulau Tioman where diving is so famous. Apart from that, I explained to them our uniqueness which is our multiraces. And they were like trapped in the black hole after hearing all this.

At 7pm, the visitors left, we startd to pack. It's sad that it was over. But it left me a sweet memory which I can recall anytime that I want. And here, I would love to make a remark: Mr. Abdel has been very nice to us, he took good care of us and I'm happy to get to know a person like him.

Abdel, Akmali and Me behind a stack of brochures

So, I would rather conclude that this was a really good experience to me, I got to know many people, I learned a lot from my co-workers, it was marvelous! I really enjoyed talking to the french. And at the same time, I got to realise that Malaysia is a wonderful country.

If you are reading this, you really need to pay a visit to Malaysia (leave me a contact if you want to know more about Malaysia, ex: the guide book, the descriptions of each state...). I AM PROUD TO BE A MALAYSIAN!

It's over!

P/S:

Elodie, je souhaite que tu réusisses bientôt à chercher un travail stable!

Abdel, je te souhaite une bonne continuation!

Do you mind knowing my classroom?

Dear readers,

I guess it's time for me to introduce my studying environment in France. I realise that this is supposed to be the first thing that I should have done when I come to Colmar, hope that it's not too late. Let me begin with the physical condition, which means my classroom, my language school. It's true that I am attending 2 schools, one is where I learn my french (Centre d'Etudes de langues, for short:CEL). The other one is where I take my scientifc lessons, IUT. Unfortunately, I will not be presenting both at once. Let me start with my second home: CEL.

The facade of CEL.

The car park in front of the building. Most of the Malaysian students cycle to school!

The bridge that connects the CEL Building to CCI(another building for commerce students).

So, you have seen the exteriur of CEL, what do you think? Well, for me, I feel really comfortable being in this school. they have all the facilities needed to train a zero to hero. And the working condition is superb too. Let's see, come let's go inside. Firstly, I will show you the corridor that I have to pass through before I come to my classroom.

The corridor outside my classroom (it's underground).

Where am I going to bring you next?

Voilà; this is my classroom for my french class.

The decorations on the wall; they are the masterpieces of the students who have finished their studies in Colmar. They were once in this class too.

Where is the canteen? you might ask, sorry to say that there isn't one but what we have is a re-energising fountain, which means a coffee vending machine, I always buy my coffee or hot chocolate here.

Right now, allow me to introduce my classmates, don't be surprised that there are only boys in my class, all 9 of them, each has their own talent but we are not very different from each other, and since we have been being together since our arrival, we are more or less a family. So they are actually my brothers. According to the birth date, I am the oldest among all. But, I seriusly, I don't think that I look that old.

Now, let me introduce them: from the left: Izham from KL, a witty and funny guy; Khairul from Kelantan who is also sitting next to me in the class; Akmali from KL, the chief of the group (don't judge the book by it's cover, do you know that Napoleon isn't that tall?); Shafiq from KL, the sponge, and it seems like he doesn't sleep at night, (sorry Shafiq but it's the truth.); Next to me, Akmal from Perak, quite quiet; Kong Yan Siong from Sibu, really good in scientific subjects; Thinagaran from Seremban, the only indian in the group who really likes to talk about politic; last but not least, Saiful, good at controlling the atmosphere, he is always delivering joy.

Here we are, the 9 boys.

Nicole, one of my teachers

Nicole, one of my french teachers. Well, i will talk about her when I have the pictures of all my other french teachers. So, readers, you just have to be patient.

I admit that this essay is shorter than my previous one, but i promise that the next one will be longer and the content will be richer. Wait and see. Or, you can make a demand of what you want to know about France, I'll try my best to satisfy you. Salut! for now because I am having my french test and my geometry test tomorrow, all the best for me!