The chinese boy in France!

The story of "Tandem"

2010-01-23T23:20:00.013+02:00

Tandem is a two-seat bicycle, a type of bicycle that can be found in most of the European countries. So, the front seat is for the one who guides and the hind seat is for the one who follows. So why I choose to talk about a bicycle as my first blog after months, this tandem maybe ordinary but behind this, there is such a meaningful story that I want to share, the story that inspires me, it may inspires you as well. We'll see. When I went back to Colmar, Alsace for my christmas holidays, I happened to have a wake-up call from the Lord. There, I admit that I had a lot of fun, I got to see my old buddies who came to France for the first time with me two years back, I got to see my french teachers who were in good health, bless that they will be the same all the time, it was a gathering. But the most rewarding experience is the Sunday that I spent right there.

At 10 am, I walked with several friends of mine, to the church which is situated near the place I stayed. I stepped into the foyer, passed through the corridor, found my usual seat and ready to listen to the words of God. This day, the minister talked about "tandem". What about it?

With a beautiful french, the minister talked about Jesus sitting at the back-seat of this tandem and guided by you or me. She asked us if it would work this way. Slowly, she answered, why not, both of the seats were filled, we could go anywhere we want. True, but who's the leader, us, but sometimes we never know where our destination is; on the contrary, Jesus does. So, why don't we exchange our seats, let Jesus be the one who guides, and we the one who pedals behind. It's true that sometimes, Jesus might leads us to some hills or some muddy places to reach a place where we can reach there easily by other roads. But, believes Him, He knows what he is doing. He is always there for us. He will never abandon us no matter how we are.

This beautiful analogy will never be erased from my mind. After the worship, I felt a sudden change in my charcters, I know that He has found me, and I am ready to accept Him in my life. That's what I learnt that day.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. "(John 3:16-17).

YouTube - Anne murray-you are my sunshine

2009-04-13T00:37:00.000+02:00

YouTube - Anne murray-you are my sunshine: ""

It has been such a long while.

2009-04-12T23:45:00.003+02:00

I was actually at my table, preparing for my chemistry test which will be taking place in 2 days time and suddenly, I was disconnected from my homework, I moved to my laptop which is right behind me and I start blogging. And I told myself that it has been such a long time that I didn't blog and I may be disappointing the others because this time, I'm not blogging about a trip in France. For once, this is about me!

And then, I have submitted my choice of school which I intend to pursue my education for next school year, starting this September, right after I come back from Malaysia, I put INP Grenoble as my first choice, and the program offered is actually a preparatory class. I am interested to this program which is called CPP (Cycle Préparatoire Polytechnique) because I want to give myself more time to think of what field will be my niche, my exact niche. So, for now, I am a generaliste in enginnering until two years later, I will be on my way again to decide and again to achieve my livelong goal of garnering a top-drawer education. Click on this:Preparatory classes - CPP to check out my program.

Logo of INP de Grenoble:
Knowing the fact that the admission into this so-called prestigious school requires hard work and eventually high score. I am always keeping my finger crossed whenever it comes to the day when my test results are announced. Well, you can't be hoping that I get high marks all the time sometimes the marks don't really satisfy me but I still have to make do with it but of course, I tell myself that I will have another chance to redeem myself. By the way, to all the readers, you don't have to worry, I have never failed my test (passing mark is 10/20) but I have got near to this mark, trust me, it's not always that easy!

Studying in France is a lesson to me, a whole new experience. I am found far from my family, yet I am totally free from them, so it's all up to me to take up any decision, it might not necessary be a wise one, but there's no one out there to help you; sometimes to be totally independant is not a good thing after all! Yeah, that's right, total solitude.

For so long, I have not been on vacation, the last place that I visited was Chamonix where I skied. (Sorry for not writing a blog on it) I am hoping that July is tomorrow, and I will be totally breathing the fresh air, and looking at the blossomed flowers; for now, I am simply exhausted, isn't that the life of a student?

Post you guys a picture of Mont Blanc where I took at L'Aiguille du Midi

I am dreaming to have all the time in the world to continue writing but I haven't finished my work. So, I have no choice but to say good bye for the moment. See ya! Listening to 'You are my sunshine' by Anne Murray to motivate myself. Haha!

A visit to Switzerland.

2008-12-22T11:34:00.027+02:00

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

2008-11-22T17:50:00.018+02:00

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!

2008-11-10T19:08:00.014+02:00

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?

2008-10-26T07:21:00.019+02:00

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!

La Randonée (Jungle-trekking)

2008-10-17T05:56:00.017+02:00

The azure sky, the brilliant sunlight and the chirping of the birds on the branch of the trees outside my window, all these indications lead to one hypotheses, the day is superb. But that is just an hypotheses, to testify, I have to blend myself in the nature. How to devote myself to the nature? Obviously, there is no other better experiment than to trek in the jungle-mountain-forest (a combination of these three natures of elements.)

Since the train service is well-managed here, we never hesite to take train to anywhere we intend to go, including this time. So, 11 students and 2 french teachers of mine and a friend of one of the teachers took the train to Metzeral from Colmar, in between, we pass by Colmar-St-Joseph, Logelbach, Turckheim, Wihr-au-Val-Soultzbach and Munster. It was a journey of 30 minutes. We chatted gayly in the train, basically, we chatted on any subject that we could think of. And the most funny thing was we created a cacophony of 4 languages: Malay, English, Mandarin and French in the train.

As soon as we reaced there, we started trespassing the village of Metzeral to reach the foothill which is our starting point. We are being informed that another teacher of ours, Rosie would be joining us. And when she arrived, most of the malays were shocked because she didn't only bring herself but also her beloved enormously large dog, Balou.

At the foothill

My 2 smart friends: scholars of Petronas, left: Danial from Royal Military College; right: Nithes, the natioal badminton player from Kedah.

Akmali, a funny friend of mine who sits beside me in the scientifique classes.

Left: Akmal: JPA scholar, he jokes all the time. In the middle: Danial (again). Right: Izhat: TELEKOM scholar: really good in cooking.

The arrival of Rosie marked the beginning of the journey. 1, 2, 1, 2 hop-là, off we went. The whole jungle was full of fresh air and the yellowish leaves of the trees gave a sensation of the pesence of autumn. I marched and at the same time took some pictures, not much, I admit. So, this writing will be more to sense and sensibility.

The panorama

Check out the cleanliness of the lake.

The hill is quite sloppy at the beginning and it's quite rocky, so my advice is that you really have to wear those hiking shoes in order to reduce the impact of the ground and your feet. If not, you will get hurt (obviously) and the hiking takes generally a minimum of 4 hours. Be prepared!

During the hiking, we stopped at one of the lakes before continuing our journey to the hill-top, We had our lunch there, in front of the lake. We touched the lake water, it was cooling and clean. Besides that, we saw a lot of other hikers as well, young and old, they were also doing what we did. So, I sat at the bank of the lake with Akmali, Nithes, Caroline, Patricia (organiser), Rosie, they are all my french teachers and Marc, a friend of Caroline. In the conversation, we talked about the language, Alsacien. It is the language of this region, it's a mixture between french and german, with a very funny accent. By joining the conversation, we have learned some Alsacien.

So, after 30 minute of rest, we continued our journey to the top, this time was even slopper and rockier, really have to be very careful, but it was fun though. At one point, I knew that I was approaching the hill-top, so, there was a satisfaction in me. So, a competition of becoming the first to reach the top among the boys commenced indirectly, people ran. And, finally, I was the second to arrive. I felt good. With the wind blowing strongly in your direction, you would have the feeling of being on top of the world. The feeling of "I am the conqueror of the world".

A group photo after reaching the destination.

A more complete group-photo. (With Rosie's dog). I was beside Patricia, the organiser cum my french teacher. A really fiendly lady.

There was an Auberge (a small hotel) right there, but since the things sold were few times more expensive than at the foothill, so we just stayed there for a few minutes and we descended.

On our way, we saw a lake, that became our point to rest automatically.

My friend, Thina, the JPA scholar. He is a very attentive and alert guy, he pays a lot of attention in the class and he likes posing the questions during class, the questions are generally the good ones, not a typical asian student.

The chatting continued. From time to time, people broke into laughter. I wondered what was so funny. And during the journey back, we reached a place where there was an Arc right above us. Without missing the opportunity, we took the pictures there.

Kong Yan Siong aka Prince Siong aka the maths genius and I, but sometimes a little bit stiff. By the way, he and I are the only chinese in the group. And he really creates an atmosphere of competition in studies, nice to be his friend! I am glad!

A natural one.

In about an half a hour time, we have reached the finishing line. We headed back to the train station. And in conclusion, I have learnt a lot of new things in the conversation between Patricia and me during the journey, and we have the intention to have a jungle-trekking during winter where everything will be covered by snow. Wow, how is that?

When we reached Colmar, it was already 7 pm. "Il fait entre le chien et le loup." (meaning it's already dusk). Since there wasn't any bus, we walked together back to our appartment. Seeing that the whole thing was ending soon but the memories of the rando that we have gained will stay in our head equally signified by this cliché: We left our footsteps in the jungle and we took away the good memories. Au revoir.

A visit in Paris! (Part 2)

2008-10-14T05:08:00.041+02:00

Dear friends, are you waitng impatiently for the release of the second part of my visit in Paris?After a few days of repose, I resume my work. Before telling you about the visit, I have to make myself clear that I was staying in the ambassador's house for that night, sleeping on the sofa particularly with many other students who were sleeping on the floor, so I claim that I have a better night than the others but it wasn't really as comfortable as you think.

Let's move on, that day was breezy, and it was drizzling. But we had to take this opportunity to discover this amazing land regardless how bad the weather was. So out we went, our first destination was the well-known, Eiffel's Tower. It was a tower situated in Le Champ de Mars. It wasn't that crowded that day because as I mentioned, the weather wasn't that nice. In addition, the wind was so strong and it could even blow a person away. Here comes the pictures:

Under the Eiffel Tower.

This was taken from a further view.

Look at the intensity of the light behind the Eiffel Tower.

My friend and I spent about 1 hour plus right at this square, I really became a labourer by taking pictures for the others. During our visit, there was so many vendor selling souvenirs, epecially those keychains, there were convincing the tourists to buy and the tips is if you come to encounter these people, try bargaining with them, you can even have 10 keychains for just 1 euro. For example, pretend not to be really interested in buying them. Well, this is the best solution that I have ever tried.

A picture of the building opposite the Eiffel Tower.

Another picture of the building opposite the Eiffel Tower where people usually go to take a picure of the whole Eiffel Tower.

A group picture of my friends and I on one of the bridges that connect the two banks (left and right).

Ok, I promised to tell you who's the one that I fetched from the train station, who lost her phone, and who helped taking a lot of pictures of mine. She was the second person standing from the left. The chinese girl, her name is Xin Ni.

The next destination, Paris Opera House. When we were on our way to the metro, we saw many musicians playing violin beautifully, they are those who prefer musics more than money. It was really interesting, looking at them, you will be thinking why are they here since they can play so well, they should be in the orchestra. I didn't ask them, well, it's not that good to disturb them when they are so into the music that they are making. In Paris, they are called 'Musiciens RATP'.

When we reached the Opera House, immediately we took some pictures of it, and one of my friends who is a lover of The Phantom of the Opera kept remembering me the story during our visit here, Christine Daé, Raoul and Eric. Ok, he really added some colours in my visit.

The Paris Opera House - Regardez, C'est magnifique, non? L'architecture.

The plan of the Paris Opera House.

Let's go inside and explore the charm...

The ceiling of the entrance, not really that interesting but it surely gives you a better view of this House.

When we officially passed throught the security, we took a picture with the help of a japanese visitor.

One of the great contributors of this opera house-Haendei

Another one

Lulli

Gluck

The well known "Grand Staircase" (30 m high)

It is one of the most famous features of the Palais Garnier. Built in marble of various coulours, the double stairway leads to the foyers and the different levels of the auditorium. The Grand Staircase is itself a theatre where, in years gone by, the crinolines of fashionable society ladies would brush. The four sections of the painted ceiling depict different allegories of music.

The Grand Foyer (18 m high, 32 m deep, 31 m wide max)

The vast and richly decorated foyers provide the audience with areas to stroll through during intervals. The vault of the avant foyer is covered with delightful mosaics in sparkling colours on a gold background. There is a splendid view of the grand staircase.

Oh là là!

From one of the windows.

At one of the balcony

At one the Balcony. Alone.

Take a deep breath, you are about to see the secret of the Paris Opera House...

The chandelier! which weighs 8 tonnes.

Close-up!

Of course, the stage! There were having some kind of practice that day.

Sad, yet we have to move on,around 1 pm, we decided to go to Le Musée du Louvre. If you have read the Da Vinci Code, I'm sure you know what am I talking about, it's where the curator was shot and he posed like the Vitruvian Man before he died. Yes, or maybe you have watched the movie, it's the part where Robert Langdon was escaping from the polices with Sophie in the car, they passed by the pyramid. Nevermind, I show you the pictures but I have to tell you that there is hardly a chance to take a good picture because there were so many people, for your information, the entrance is free on Sunday. Obviously, me, such a penny-wise student wouldn't waste much of my money, so I went there on Sunday.

So, this is the pyramid that I have been talking about.

One of the statues which I think is nice enough. Frankly, I don't know what is it called.

The Ceiling

Here comes the reason why people go to this museum so often, La Joconde, Monalisa. Sorry, I couldn't take a good picture of it because the painting was guarded so strictly with the vitrine and some security guards there. Hope you don' mind. And now, at least I can tell people that I have seen the genuine painting of Monalisa (oops, someone is showing off.)

La Joconde (Monalisa)

In case that you all can't imagine the situation of Salle 6 where La Joconde is kept, look at this video.

So that was it, my visit in Paris. After having had my lunch, I went back to pack my bags and left Mr. Yusri's house at 6.30pm because I had a train to catch at 7.20pm. I looked around again, this lovely city of Paris. I propose to you that this is a place that you must visit, no matter how much you are going to spend, because all the memories that you will be bringing home are all good ones.
I boarded on the train, seached for my seat, talked to the mister who sat beside me during the journey. And he is a doctor. At 10:55pm, I reached Colmar. Home sweet home...

A visit in Paris! (Part 1)

2008-10-12T07:04:00.032+02:00

On the 4 and 5th October 2008, I went to Paris to attend the "Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House" at Malaysian's House situated in the west of Paris. My train took off at 6:43 am that Saturday, and the bus that could drive me from my house to the train station would depart at 6:20 am yet, I was still cleaning my studio at 6:22am. I knew that the remaining one minute was extremely crucial in order not to be left walking 3 kilometres. I ran down from the third floor to the ground floor, hoping that the bus would wait for me. When my wrist-watch striked 6:23 am, I saw the bus stopped at the bus station which was about 400 m from the point I was standing, in 10 seconds time, it left.

I was left with the only choice: run as fast as I could to cover 3 km in 20 minutes time. This task was seemingly impossible, and in between, there were a lot of doubts, I was wondering whether can I make it in time, I ran like a professional runner, with my formal shoes on (luckily I have been having the habitude of jogging every evening, 3 km is just too little). The continuous running was fun and that morning was freezingly cold, and I was informed that it was snowing at the Vosges (a mountain near Colmar). the breezy wind numbed my receptors, but the determination to catch the train kept me running.

At 6:39 am, i reached the main entrance of the train station, after having my ticket composted, I went to the platform indicating "Colmar-Strasbourg-Paris Est", it was platform 1, I climbed the stairs, the sense of victory that was generated within caught the better side of me. Suddenly, the speaker was on, "Messieurs-dames, le train TGV 2352 en destination de Paris Est sera eu un retard de 20 minutes... Merci pour votre compréhension." In your opinion, what was my feeling after hearing this announcement regarding a delay of 20 minutes?

At 7.03 am, i boarded on the train, I sat beside an auntie who knows Paris very well, during the trip, she explained to me places that I must vist before leaving Paris, suchas Montmarte, le Sacré-Coeur, le Jardin de Luxembourg, Les Champs-Elysées, La Tour Eiffel... She even showed the map of métro of Paris and gave me some advices like:

1. Be careful with the pick-pockets.

2. Get the map of Paris as soon as you reached, it's free.

3. Have fun.

At 9:54am, I reached Paris, got down from the train with my backpack, and walked all the way the platform which was surprisingly quite far, i followed the signs shown to the métro station. Oh là là! There was such a long queue in front of the métro counter. While I was waiting, I chatted with a couple standing behin me who was actually visitor from England, so we spoke in English and we chatted for quite a while. Nice talking to them. Did I tell you that I had an assignment of fetching another friend of mine who came from Blois? For your information, there were 6 main train stations (for TGV): Gare de l'Est, Gare du Nord which goes to London, Gare de Lyon which goes to Lyon, Gare Montparnasse, Gare St.-Lazare and Gare d'Austerlitz (I have no idea), but my friend was right there: Gare d'Austerlitz.

After having the information that I need from the counter, I followed the arrows to the platform. When I was approaching the platform, I saw the train there and the door was still opened, I slipped into it. Voilà! Here comes my first experience of taking the infamous, le métro de Paris.

At 10:10 am, I reached the station, I saw my friend sitting there, typing messages on her handphone which in no time would be lost in the métro. My first destination is the Tuilleries Garden (Le jardin de Tuilleries). The starting point of taking pictures frenzy.

The first picture that I took in Paris -Tuilleries Garden.

A nice place to read.
A standing position.

In front of one of the statues in the garden.

La Concorde.

The creator of this Garden, 'André, Le Nôtre-Auteur de ce jardin de ceux de Versailles Chantilly'.

The views are extraordinary except that there are too many falling leaves on the grass which indicates the coming of autumn. And there were many statues made of white marble around this garden especially around the fountain. All in all, it gave me a peaceful atmosphere. Around 11:30 am, I was on my way to Malaysian's House, my friend and I took the métro from La Concorde to Charles the Gaulle, boarded on to another train to Trocadéro, changed again, to Ranelagh. and finally, arond 12pm, I have arrived Malaysian's House, there was a buffet, I served myself and I talked to many seniors there, wasn't really that interesting but I enjoyed meeting my friends who were separated from me since the first day in France and also talking to the seniors who have had already stayed in France for several years which means they have a lot of experience. And guess what, I caught a sight of our Education Minister, Dato Hishamuddin, I took a picture of him.

In front of Malaysian's House.

Dato Hishamuddin was in front of me.

In the métro

Then, I took the opportunity to visit Paris, I went to La Place d'Italie, the chinatown in Paris and I found so many cantonese speakers, and the whole street was full of chinese. I was actually amazed. I finished that day promenading in that place and also St.-Germain-des-Près, a street for the artists.

St.-Germain-des-Près

I crossed Le Pont Neuf where I took a picture. Le Pont Neuf is one of the bridges that connects La rive Gauche et La rive Droite de la Seine (The left and the right bank of Seine in which the living styles are totally different). As we were walking (with another friend of mine) I came to Notre-Dame de Paris, we didn't go inside because there was such a long queue but I managed to take some pictures.

Near the Pont Neuf.

At Le Pont Neuf.

Notre-Dame de Paris (Look at the people)

Notre-Dame de Paris (with me in the photo).

Close-up of Notre-Dame de Paris.

What really intrigued me that day was the trip back to the metro station from Notre-Dame, I found a really big bookstore (you all know me), I went inside and I was so much in love to it because the books were so cheap, I chose 3 books and it only costed me 11 euros, anyway those were second-hand books but they looked really new, so I bought Le Petit Prince de St.-Exupéry, Les Misérables de Victor Hugo and Next de Michael Crichton which is actually a french version of an american novel. I told myself, I will be very busy with all these books later on. Anyway, I just like that store so much... All these pictures are taken by my friend who I fetched that morning. Later, you will know who she is in part 2 of my visit in Paris. By the way, ask me how could I do so many things in one day, I don't know!

Last picture of the day, a statue near Notre-Dame.

A scientific boy enjoying the art!

2008-10-07T19:05:00.000+02:00

Salut, mes amis,

Well, I will be writing this blog totally in English, there are 2 reasons that lead me to do this, the first one is that all my friends speak english and not french, so this is the common ground. Another common ground is that I would love to continue using this language which I have learnt for 11 years in Malaysia. So, that's the second point.

Hmm... How am I supposed to describe myself? Well, I am ambitious, confident, funny and sometimes talkative. But when it comes to work, I am really serious, so for those who know me, they know how I react when someone is not doing their job well under my observation.

In this blog, I will talk more about my life in Colmar, Alsace, France which I am now residing. It's a pretty village but you can find everything here. I am still exploring the secret of this town, so join me in this AMAZING QUEST.