HEC Paris 2010

I checked instantly for 2 days long, planning the best transportation route. What’s the best route? The cheapest? No. The most adventurous? Not really. However, under the similar budget, the simplest traveling is out of purchasing basket.

Paying a big buck to taking a train from Paris to Berlin is definitely not a good call. Taking an easyJet flight Paris- Berlin is ok but boring. How about Paris- X city- Berlin by Ryanair? It’s cost-saving and more exciting. Initially the itinerary Paris-Milan-Berlin grabbed my eyes. Hmmm, it could be a good chance to visit Italy. The dreadful scene didn’t take a long time to prompt up- pickpocket, crazy guys in heat, hilarious street view, etc. I couldn’t help but imaging the scenario that my baggage was scrambled by a group of gangsters.

Though I was so eager to reserve the ticket, I just couldn’t do it. The other two choices are Paris-Oslo/Stockholm-Berlin. Clean and well-organized northern European countries are always a big thrill for single female traveler! However, the price for Paris-Stockholm or Oslo-Berlin was definitely not a knockout. Right at that moment, an idea struck me- how about Paris-Oslo-Stockholm-Berlin, while Oslo-Stockholm is by grounded vehicle? I found a night bus which costs nothing but a pinch. When I got back my consciousness, I had already booked my ticket. I neglected a risk- it is said that my student visa might not allow to go to Schengen countries before getting a sticker from OFII. Some people didn’t get into trouble whereas some were stopped in the Custom. This remains one of the biggest non-clarified secrets of our one year student visa. Taking a train will for sure diminish the risk. Finger crossed for me.

For the coming up journey, I was like, on one side anxious while enjoying the unpredicted journey on the other side. After receiving mostly negative response for accommodation, finally my couches are Oslo and Stockholm done. Moreover, I might have a car trip with some CSers and experience the sublime and picturesque landscapes in Norway (presuming that I will enter this country smoothly.)

There are so many choices from city A to city B, especially for the big cities such as Berlin and Paris. What’s the best way to travel from Paris to Berlin? In the very beginning, the only transportation that struck me was airway. I have heard that many cheap flight companies offer a very favorable price for their selected points. However, as far as I saw, the price of easyJet from Paris to Berlin was just ok.

Then my target switched to railway with a pass. However, should I buy France-Germany pass or just buy Germany pass while purchasing another ticket from Paris to the border city? After a comprehensive comparison according to traveling flexibility, I almost made up my mind for France-Germany 2 month pass. Not only does it solve my worries for the itinerary Paris-Berlin, but fulfill my expectation to travel inside Germany. I planned to visit one of the spots during the itinerary:

1. Köln- for its famous Dom. Its tourist spots are so concentrated that half day visit is fairly enough.

2. Frankfurt- One of the biggest city in Germany. However, it’s said too commercial.

3. Heidelberg- beautiful castle, rivers, and campus. My colleague Henry, who will go to Germany for training in July, strongly recommended “to go up the hills in the morning and down to the river under the sunset.”

4. Würzburg- one of the famous castles in the south.

According to my description, it’s so easy to detect which spot I prefer. However, Sunday evening Henry told me the exciting news: Deutsch Bahn (Germany railway company) will celebrate its 175 anniversary by the 2 special offers. One is to travel uninterruptedly by train for 175 hours with the price 175 Euro. The other offer which costs 299 Euro allows travelers to take train without limitation for one month. This is really awesome! I just didn’t even hesitate one second to get it. I can’t expect next time when my current situation fulfills these conditions again- (staying in Germany) ∩ (no work) ∩(Deutsch Bahn’s special offer). Of course, go for it!

The following dilemma came back to the way by which I travel from Paris to Berlin, without using Railway pass.

There is a French song that I like very much, the name is “Comment te dire adieu.” (How to say goodbye to you) Normally when we break up with our lover, the toughest moment is not only the breaking-up day, but the following 1-6 months. When we think of the sweet memories that we experienced, tears fall down. Fortunately, when I break up with my company, the hardest moment would be only when giving the leave notice to my boss.

First of all, how to present a proper reason? I chose not to say the truth about HEC. If I worked here for 5 years, pursuing further education can be a good reason to leave. However, for only more than 1 year’s working experience in this company, this reason implies that I made up my mind not to stay longer when I applied for this job. Moreover, if my boss announced the cause of my leaving, other colleagues might discuss this behind me. Some of them might suggest that many MBA students in Taiwan came back and couldn’t achieve their career goal or, even worse, gain less than their previous job. (MBA students are not valuable here and most companies don’t want to offer a good pay. Experience is the only bargain chip for a better salary) In order to keep a low profile, HEC and France is my secret.

Secondly, when should I send the leave application form? Since both our law and the company policy require at least one month before the leaving day, I have to check on my ticket. In the previous article, I had a strong intention to go to music festival on June 21 in France. I succeeded in booking the ticket to arrive in France on June 20 or 24. Yesterday I issued the ticket for arriving on June 24 and I knew May 23 was the time to quit my job.

When breaking up with a lover, all the reasons are not the reasons. The real one is ”I don’t want to stay with you anymore.” In the same way, the only reason of breaking up with a company is ”I don’t want to stay here anymore.” Instead of pointing out all the deep-rooted internal flaws that drive me to leave, I wrote very vaguely in the form. The email is full of my gratitude to my boss. I sent the notification yesterday 4 minutes before 18:00 PM, the official time that we can leave the office. I was a little bit anxious and praying that my boss would not call me. Meanwhile, I was kind of relieved to take heart of grace and take a big step.

Today, I got a mail that my boss would discuss with me tomorrow when he visits our branch office. I need to prepare a well structured outline for this speech.

Update for my Euro-trip

1. Flight from Taipei to Paris: Eva airline, taking off 23h55, June 23.

2. My school in Berlin is only 16 min walking distance from my apartment. That’s awesome.

3. My best colleague is going to Germany for training course in June and will visit Berlin with his wife in July. We live in 32 min walking distance. We plan to have a nice dinner on July 2 in a beer garden.

4. I plan to buy a second hand bicycle in Berlin.

5. I am working on the transportation from Paris to Berlin.

My life tastes very insipid at this very moment- Métro, boulot, dodo. Sometimes I just feel my life somehow comes to a standstill and I am perplexed by this feeling of stagnancy. My pleasure outside work is basically built on musical instrument and American TV Series ”Project runway”, which I followed since 4 years ago until Season 7 now. I have a strong taste of art and fashion, and this designer fostering program please my eyes.

Even though, the inspiring news’s advent still motivated me to go forward. On Friday, by showing my HEC admission letter I applied for international student card, to get a favorable price during my vacations in Germany. In the afternoon, the French Institution informed me that the student visa is ready. How efficient they are! I did not expect that the procedure moved without any obstacles (except they asked me to have a declaration that I will be responsible of contacting OFII.)

This planning mode now starts! With the confirmed date of visa, I could arrange plan- ticket (Taiwan-Paris and Paris-Berlin), place to stay, language school, etc. The best plan would be arriving on June 19, attending “la fête de la musique” on June 21, heading to Berlin on July 1and starting my German course on July 5. However, the reservation of Taipei-Paris is now on the waiting list. Otherwise, I will probably go with the previous plan to land on June 24 by Eva Airline.

Next action: give notice and leave and pack the tons of clothes.

My team in the company holds a meeting in the Taipei headquarters once a month. If the meeting is on Friday, I stay in Taipei to meet some friends. This time, I arranged my France student visa interview the next day.

In the morning before the meeting, I discussed with a colleague about a promotion event with Mercedes Benz and our client in Taichung. To my surprise, she said “Are you supposed to attend this event? I saw your name on the Outlook invitation list.” I was so surprised. Is that the company’s due process arrange the human resource by notifying them only one day before? It was not the first time I was forced to face this dilemma. For example, the day I arranged 1 month ago for GMAT test was arranged the training course 2 weeks later. I described it as an expensive English level test without showing any clue to oversea studies.

“I am sorry to forget your leave, but I can’t change it. You can choose if you want to attend it.” My boss said. In his logic, there is no way to rearrange the schedule only for one member after his announcement, even though it was caused by his indiscretion. What should I do? My mentor told me,”you know what you should do.” I canceled the exam and paid the penalty. After working here for more than one year, I know so well how the scuttlebutt would run if I was the only one member who was absent.

Now this happened again! I had not even known anything about this event beforehand and had already asked for half day leave. Moreover, it was too late to cancel my visa interview. I knew that my boss would say nothing and my mentor would suggest me to cancel my personal schedule, thought it didn’t matter if I attended this event (it was not even my event). I decided to keep my schedule since I will not stay here too long. So far I didn’t get any call from my mentor, but I know she would keep in mind and complained to me soon.

The visa interview fell on a rainy day. I entered the French institution and sat down on the sofa. Not even a second, someone called my name: Yachuan?!

Wow, it’s my friend Yalun who worked for this institution as an event project manager. It’s been several month that we didn’t see each other. I was so happy to meet her again here and we talked to each other so ardently.

“This is my friend. She also knows Yung-Chung (another friend in common).” Yalun told the person who would interview me later.

Then, the interview started. I don’t know if Yalun’s showing up helps, but the interviewer did not spite me when she found I missed some documents. How come?! I checked up several times before coming here. When I finished it and checked the website again, I got the reason. The website of “French visa institution” and “French education and culture institution” mentioned about different required documents. I think I have already experienced the “French style” before coming. The interview was nonsense, to be honest. I was asked to have a brief self-introduction in Chinese and then in French. She asked me some basic questions and told me I could go to the visa counter.

“I didn’t know if my supervisor will accept your appliance more than 2 months before the school starts. If there is no problem, we would send the application to France and send back again. Normally it takes 2 weeks.” The visa counter told me. Well, I still have no idea if I could issue the booked ticket of June 19.

Here is an interesting article I found to provide the things we might be interested before the semester begins. I organized and translated it into English, in the intention of sharing with those who are heading to HEC too.

1. Transportation 

HEC is situated in the southwest of Paris JOUY EN JOSAS, two stops by train from VERSAILLE. Because of its remoteness, it’s better to understand the inconvenience of transportation.

The walking distance from campus to the train station is over 10 minutes by short cut, (My fastest record is 7 minutes) or more than 20 minutes from the main gate (a long, long way) Sometimes if we are lucky enough, we can hitch a ride on the way.

The above information tells you it’s better to have a friend with a car when you arrive in Paris. Otherwise, take RER B from the airport to MASSY PALAISEAU, change to RER C, to JOUY. The station MASSY has NO escalator. As a man, I have even tried to carry 50 kg baggage. No one came to help me.

After arrive to the station JOUY, you can find a bus stop to go to HEC directly. Normally the airplane starting from Asia will arrive in Paris in the early morning. Don’t worry for the bus. However, the bus will stop running after 8 pm. Bus ticket is the same one as that used in Central Paris, around 1.3 Euro. You can get 10 for a better price. The train ticket from JOUY to Paris is around 3 Euros and 10 for 2.56 Euros.

Also remember, the uphill to go to campus can build you a strong body.

2. Accommodation

(Résidence Expansiel for MBA students)

SAI students usually stay in Dorm H or B building. Single room bears a shower room shared by two rooms. Girls can ask for a female roommate to share the shower place with you. Toilet is for public use.

Someone will come to clean your room. Normally it’s twice or three times a week. If FEMME DE MENAGE is lazy and forget doing it, remember to tell her. Bed sheets are changed every two weeks. The dorm does not provide pillows, so you have to buy it by yourself. I bought one in GEANT for 8 Euro with a good quality. Room illumine is not enough (in my opinion). It’s recommended to bring a desk lamp.

APPT has a kitchen to cook, but CHAMBRE does not. You can prepare a small induction cooker or so. Single room usually has its own balcony, but some rooms also have common one or even bears no balcony. Applications can specify requirements when asking for the accommodation.

The rent for either a single room or a suite is around 200 after CAF compensation.

3. Alimentation

The school will give us a dedicated magnetic card for campus restaurant (RU, RESTAURANT UNIVERSITAIRE) after registration. You can deposit cash in.

Breakfast is free of charge and serves until  9:30. It includes milk, coffee, tea, bread (PAIN DE CAMPAGNE, the solid one) accompanied with butter or jam. If you take breakfast earlier, you can find toast and bake it by yourself.

MENU for lunch and dinner is 2.84 Euros, including salad/soup (in winter), main course, fruit/ COMPOTE (fruit paste, FROMAGE BLANC, etc.), cheese/yogurt (the cheapest one without sugar or flavor). You can also choose something other than MENU with a higher price.

4. Campus life
K FET has a small shop where you can sit down and chat. Students often gather around after dinner and it’s also the place where SOIREE is held.

Gymnasium is open for badminton, basketball, football, tennis, handball and so on. Under the hill there are tennis courts, but you have to take tiring uphill walking into consideration.

Library is open from Monday to Thursday until 10:30 pm. Popular books can only be borrowed for 3 days (usually those on the recommended booklist in the class), but you can renew at most for three times.

You have to purchase a copy card or a print card if you need it. You have to apply for a fixed phone number and make deposit. I usually spend 20 Euros a month.

5. Daily life purchase 

Down the hill there is a supermarket ATAC. The AUCHAN in LA DEFENSE is easier to go for about 45 minutes. VELIZY also has another AUCHAN; ST. QUENTIN has CARREFOUR.

6. Upon arrival
a. Go to open a bank account. Make an appointment and bring your passport and school registration document.

HEC students usually do that in SG or BNP because they offer HEC students free of charge. SG is quite close to school while BNP near the supermarket ATAC. BNP has a employee dedicated for HEC students. CREDIT LYONAIS also promotes on the campus. However, I do not recommend it at all due to their bas service and location (you have to go to VERSAILLE).

b. Buy insurance

You can choose MUTUEL, which can reimburse what social insurance does not include. Among so many packages, I chose the SMEREP because they have an office on the campus which exempts the long journey to Paris.

You can buy the required accommodation insurance from the bank or SMEREP. I recommend the latter because SG will continue to charge you another one year without notification after one-year expiration date.

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Colleague’s Scenario:

Colleague: Do you know Mary went to vacations to Hong Kong? Are you her deputy?

Me: Yes, I know that, but I am not her deputy.

Colleague: Whatever. Could you please call her clients and ask which subject they would like to have for my product presentation?

I should have refused him at the very beginning because I have no idea about business story so far. The client will get baffled if I just placed them a call to ask something they our company should have known. If I come back with incorrect message due to lack of background information, it’s my fault. However, in the very beginning, I just thought of doing a favor for my colleagues.

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Client’s Scenario:

Client: Doing business is not like what you are doing now by selling products. You should expand and develop your networking. I have arranged a dinner with another important client (for you). Let’s fix it on Wednesday.

I was too naïve to believe that he intended to help my in networking. Maybe that will help more or less, but the client’s main purpose was just to find someone to pay the bill. Moreover, it was inappropriate for my company to show face in our distributor’ business. However, in the very beginning, I said yes because I believed that the client wanted to help me out of good will.

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To choose yes or no before full consideration will expose us in a vulnerable situation. Some excuses such as “I need to check with my schedule first” may serve as a dilatory tactic, especially when we have some doubts at that moment. Otherwise, either we plunge in the dilemma or we have to refuse them right after and get them nuts.

Iceland, a country isolated outside Europe and famous for its rigorous weather and natural, remains a mysterious place for our folks. One friend, who is also my colleague, went there right after his training course in Germany. From his blog, we can see people jumping in the middle of the route. These photos are really knockouts. Since that time, the imagination to go to Iceland has implanted deeply in my brain.

Last weekend, on a whim, I started to search for volunteer work website. Coming out of the pity not able to go to Japan, I was trying to find something cool before my journey. There are tons of projects in the website. At first, I clicked “Germany” as the destination- nothing interesting. The second choice must be… Northern Europe! Compared to Western Europe, I am more fascinated in the 5 Northern European countries. That website only offers opportunities in Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Instead of picking fruits and cleaning and renovating the castle in most of the projects, Iceland offers a variety of more cultural activities, for example, assisting for Viking festival, learning Rune, or promoting football to children. On top of that, the impression of this country was recalled from my mind, and I know that Iceland was the one!

It is nevertheless not a cheap volunteer camp. First of all, the airplane ticket from a major European city to Iceland costs around 400-500 Euros normally, almost the price for Paris-Taipei one way ticket. Second, we have to pay 150 Euros fees for the camps. Some organizations even ask for the register fee of 220 Euros, not refundable. That’s why I am still hesitating. Third, the cold temperature in June: from 6 to 13 degrees. Am I supposed to enjoy the sunshine in the short summer? (I just bought many bikinis!!)

I am now negotiating if it’s possible to skip the local agent. If I succeed, I will probably go; otherwise, it’s a good idea to go to France to celebrate “la Fête de la musique” on June 21^st.

The plume of ash spewing from Iceland did not extinguish my desire, but the concern of budget did.

Latte time: Why an island able to live is called ICEland, while a godforsaken island is called GREENland? It’s said that the pioneers provided wrong information by the name to keep others away from the Iceland and to lead them to Greenland.

Most of us plan for the upcoming event in order to well prepare it. We make the New Year resolution- to enlarge the knowledge, to get rid of the fat, to do regular exercises, etc. One year later, when the next New Year comes, we retrospect and find all the wishes remain outstanding. We apply for B school and start to imagine the scene to give notice and leave. However, we get dinged and feel devastated and desperate. More expectation there is, harder it is to accept the undesirable result.

Two weeks ago, I started the reservation of the airplane ticket. Since I am not sure when I can realize the ticket Paris-Taipei, I decided to buy one way ticket. To my surprise, its price was not as high as I had imagined. A portfolio quickly drew my attention: Taipei-Tokyo-Paris of the Japanese airline company JAL. Even I already have visited Japan twice, this country still has an appealing magic. My cousin, who has been in Japan for at least 6 times, said thatc traveling in Japan never gets you bored. This country can offer rural and modern life, according to your preference. On top of that, inland traveling is easy, especially for us Chinese speakers. What I concerned more is the chance to use my rusty Japanese.

Quite excited by the idea to stay 2-3 weeks in Japan before going to France, I started to look for couch surfering hosts and hotel. On the same day, I passed by a travel agency and asked them for ticket details. “Almost the flight of Tokyo-Paris was sold out.” I got a disappointing answer which ruined my dream plan. I reckon that was because there is only one flight from Tokyo to Paris every day, although there are several between Taipei and Tokyo. Fortunately I have not yet taken too many plans about my Japan trip. Otherwise, I couldn’t imagine how heart-breaking it is!

The other stop over choices to visit other Asian countries, for example, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Vietnam, not really drew me. The only two possible solutions left:

1. Taipei- Hong Kong- London- Paris: In this portfolio, London is the main interest spot. No language barrier and no need of visa.

2. Taipei- Paris: the simplest one (13 hours) which wastes less time in the airport.

It’s April! I started to perceive this coming date and uproot myself from the relaxing and reluctant mood. Finally, two days ago, I decided to work on my visa issue.

“That should be simple if I prepared well my documents.” I had conceived such kind of naïve impression.

First, I struggled on proceeding online application form on Campus France. Why couldn’t I even find “HEC MBA” program? Not to mention a lot of annoying choices. I spent almost an hour on this user unfriendly interface, expecting they will ask me to offer more missing documents. 

This was within the limitation of my tolerance.

What drove me crazy was the procedure to apply for the visa before the semester begins. Even worse, I did not intend to stay in the same country, before and after HEC. In the beginning, I asked French part if I could have a visa to other Schengen countries since Taiwan is not in the waiver list of Schengen visa. The answer was- apply for the visa of your main traveling country, that’s their business. Then I gave the other embassy a call to ask for the visa. The answer was- if I have a student visa for France, they will probably not accept my application. I called French embassy again and got the same answer: if the other embassy turn down my request, I have better to change my plan.

Should I give up my originally plan? Of course not. I realized one thing at that day- if I want to stay in this country for a period time, chances are that I have to find out the solution by myself and fight for the notorious bureaucracy.

In my countries, the governmental service, generally speaking, is very efficient and its staff is very kind to help you. That’s why we all lost the ability to prepare the back up plan when we are refused. If you think No stands for impossible, then you will lose your right.

Let’s turn back to the visa issue. After googling to refer to others’ experience, I spent the whole evening to come up with 2 solutions. The most important thing is not where you go, but where you claim to go and the procedure. 

Plan A: Apply for the Schengen visa first at the other embassy, and apply for student visa for France. However, it will not work out if I apply student visa first and then Schengen. However, I have to spend 60 Euros more just for the visa, not to mention the transportation fee and efforts to go to the embassy.

Plan B: Apply for Type D+C Schengen visa from France embassy. Type D is for long stay while Type C is for short one. If I want to go to France before the semester, how come do they refuse me? I realized another thing- if I say I want to go to other European countries before the semester begins, it belongs to the governance of that country you plan to spend most time. Vice versa.

Yesterday morning I prepared all the documents to execute plan A quickly by the occassion to go to Taipei, in case that plan B is not accessible. I got a confirmation that- Type D+C visa no longer exists because French government replace Type D Schengen visa with its own long stay visa for one year. When foreigners arrive France, they have to register in OFII and then to get an official visa. However, even before you get the official visa, the original long stay visa can ensure you to travel in Europe.

That’s the whole story. I am still waiting for the news of my online applied visa process. I have to hurry up in order to issue the booked ticket.

Since I really lost inspiration to write new articles, I decided to post something that I shared with my language exchange partner, Fer.

I have made  French and German language exchange. However, French part ended because of my depart of Taipei, whereas German part ended because of the depart of my partner Mirko & Mika.  At this moment, I luckily keep two language exchange- Spanish and Japanese.

Fer is a Spanish guy, very kind and interesting. To end long distance with his Taiwanese girlfriend, he moved to Taiwan and now is living in my city. We do language exchange once per 1 or 2 weeks. Sumio has a Japanese- Taiwanese mixed background, but he couldn't speak Chinese until he came here to learn it. To continue language exchange is not easy. It is sometimes very boring.

Following is some subjects I have shared with Fer and he corrected for me in Spanish.

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En Taiwán, al trabajar no hay tantas vacaciones como para hacer un viaje largo. Es una pena no poder viajar tanto como quiero. Pronto iré a Francia, porque no tendré que trabajar en Taiwán. Voy a ir a Europa en Julio o Agosto, pero aún no sé cuándo. Pero tengo muchas cosas que hacer.

Al final del año 2008, pasé el examen de japonés JPLT2. Las palabras japonesas son difíciles de recordar para mí. Últimamente he contactado con mis futuros compañeros a través de internet. Entonces leo mucho inglés en sus blogs y aprendí muchas palabras.

Una tarde, de repente pensé en un viejo amigo, y le busqué en Google. Vi una noticia que decía que él murió en un accidente de coche. Trabajaba de militar, y el alcalde de la ciudad visitó a su familia después del accidente.

Juegas bien al tenis? . Me gusta jugar al tenis porque también puedes jugar tú solo, contra la pared. En Taiwán, no creo que mucha gente sepa jugar al tenis. Tengo que practicar mucho, así después en Francia puedo encontrar fácilmente un compañero.

The last two weeks I went to Taipei for a long period of staying. My company along with the Singapore and Germany headquarter attended an annual congress. Everyday standing for 8 hours @ booth consummated all my energy. I hit the sack around 10:00 PM and lost a lot of personal leisure time after work. However, it was so much fun to work with colleagues from different countries and learn from them. Though I am not sure if I will continue working in this industry in the future, I still tried my best to get more knowledge where I was still working. Besides, I accompanied two of our foreign speakers Sebastian and Michael, who have the title of “Dr.” from Germany and Switzerland, to visit National Palace Museum. Due to the time limitation, we finished the essential parts and had a great time together. Of course, I introduced them the indigenous food “pearl milk tea.”

 Before the activity, I was toying with the timetable to learn German in Berlin.

Plan A: Berlin for 1 month and Munich for anther 1 month. Experiencing two different cities would be wonderful, just as what I did in France, in Nice and in Paris. In this plan, if well arranged, I can do couch surfing without paying the house. After all, it is easier to find some hosts to fill up one month.

Plan B: Berlin for the complete two months. Then I can live more like a Berliner. The most attractive part is: I can rent the room from a friend who is studying in Berlin and will come back in July. The rent is only 150 euro per month, though only a small space in a shared apartment. Having my own space with such a good price is always an appealing choice.

I might probably choose Plan B if the room is ensured by my friend.

Today I went to Peggy’s blog but somehow I could not post the comment. I am in the same pickle and have totally the same feeling. What do I work for? I have a lot of to-do-list that left unfinished. I have a lot to study, a plethora of books to read, and some musical instruments to play. No more passion for my job. I have to admit that work means nothing more than making money. The worst thing is that I got admitted last November, so early that I have to dam back my excitement. However, my heart has already flu to Europe.

Sunday morning, I met Jill and Jeno, my future classmate and HEC alumni. Jill and I have met each other 9 years ago, in the pop dance club of university. Her two beautiful friends and she stood up in the crowd. I had small conversations with the other two girls but not really with her. She recognized me when linking to my facebook. On Sunday morning, I found we have a lot of friends in common. So do Jeno and Jill, or Jeno and I. Jill and I have discussed about when to quit, and we are the same- impatient for the new life. Maybe we will visit Barcelona together. The only thing I regretted not to do is taking photos and put them on the blog!

Yesterday, in an occasion, I talked to a beauty who will apply Polytechnique for Quantitative Economy. My comment for Taiwanese girls studying in France is thus- impressively charming. Reference: those I have met or heard of. (This might not surprise anyone since there are so many beautiful ladies in Taipei, walking by on the street.)

The destination after Paris CDG was Avignon. However, its art festival did not really impress me during my short stay.  

The first night in France was supposed to be in Nîmes. I chose it only because it was not far from Avignon, where I was unable to find a place to stay during the Art Festival. I almost got off the train at a godforsaken place (which looks like a forest). Fortunately, the controller found that and yelled “it is not Nimes!” while I had got off and been ready to go. (I had asked him how to get to Nimes during the train) How could you French folks know which station to get off, without any announcement? Plus, how could your SNCF staff have no idea about my France train pass? It is about their job!

It was 8 o’clock while I finally arrived in Nîmes. After waiting in the bus station for 20 minutes, a passenger told me there is no bus now. I forgot Nîmes was just a small city in France, unlike Taipei where we have bus until 23 pm or even until midnight. Trudging with my heavy baggage, I decided to go to Youth Hotel by foot. The most amazing part of travelling alone is you can never forecast what and whom you will encounter in the next moment. While walking, a group of Asian-looked people talked to me “hey, your bag is not well zipped!” After perceiving that we were all Taiwanese, we walked together for a while.

My hotel is located in a hill far away from the central city, about 40 minutes walking distance. In this dread and quiet city at night, I asked the direction to two girls who just appeared in front of me and found a coincidence- they were going to the same hotel. One girl is Taiwanese and the other Korean. They had studied French in Nante for one year and later were traveling in France. The next day we visited this pretty and delicate city together. I like Nîmes very much.

(The Korean girl and I)

(It was fascinating, this city !)

(Taiwanese girl and Korean girl I met)

On my last day in Nîmes, I got lost again while thinking I would miss the train. I asked a old French woman while her car stopped in front of the traffic light. A friend told me: if you get lost, ask the old madams. They have more time and would be nice to you. It’s definitely true! After indicating me the direction, she said she could give me a ride. 

”French people are so nice!” I thanked her.

She responded, ”Not all French people ;)”

(The nice French madame who gave me a ride. Thank you! ^_^)

Incredibly, I arrived at the train station on time.

Many people have asked me why I started to learn this “romantic” language French. I have taken Japanese and German courses in university whereas French is a brand new language. My motivation stemmed from a beautiful error. One day, an idea to become a European Union law researcher struck me (and afterwards it disappeared quickly). I consulted several websites and found that many researchers speak French and German. “Let’s start with French while reviewing German!” This is the overture of my language exploration.

My language center selection was based on the good comments that TianKen received in the French learning forum. That was one of the best choices I have made. Their teaching methods fit my need well- kind of spoon-feed of all the basic grammars in 6 months, from pronunciation, indicative, past tense, to subjective. Instead of making me tired, this marathon intensive learning motivated me to study more. After the basic course, I could read most of the French articles “with a dictionary” after understanding the structure of this language, though my speaking and listening was still weak. The teachers also piqued my curiosity and passion about French language, culture and people. I headed to France after 6 months’ intensive learning.

Taiwan

Thailand

Learning French built up a close connection between this country and I. I was so exhilarated when the airplane landed on the airport CDG, although I had been in some Asian countries before. In the class, we had heard from the teacher talking about this country. (Most of them were bad comments. lol) From then on, I could experience and verify them.

France