Aug 27
After dinner, I took a different direction for the walk. Passing the railway overhead, I arrived at Levallois, a commune next to Clichy. There is a supermarket here called E Clerec, much cheaper than Casino market, but the interior is not that inviting.
吃完晚餐後，我試著走不同的路。穿過頭上的鐵軌，我走到Clichy旁邊的小鎮Levallois。這裡有間超市叫做ELeclerc，比Casino超市要便宜許多，但裡面裝璜並不是那麼美。
Aug 28
With no metro card, I persisted on saving my money by going nowhere on Saturday. I spent the whole morning sitting in the park writing and reading, luckily the sun was pleasant so it was not too cold even it was no more than 20 degree. In the afternoon, I passed the Pont de Clichy and did a jogging along the Seine. The view is marvelous. I stopped by a graveyard for dogs, and le Parc du Robinson, the latter is a riverside parck providing work-out equippments. I ran and walk all the way to la Defense, it took 2 hours to go there and get back.
因為沒有捷運卡，為了省錢我堅持什麼地方也不去。整個早上我在公園裡寫文章看書，太陽很舒服，不熱也不冷，即使氣溫不到二十度。下午出門，穿過Clichy橋，沿著塞納河慢跑，景致十分優美。經過一個專為狗而設的墓園，在羅賓森河濱公園待了一會，裡面有很多戶外健身設備。之後我就一路走到拉德方斯，來回總共花兩個小時。
Aug 29
I went to Hillsong Paris this morning. The worship was cheering, but I didn't have much chance to talk to other people. After that I went to many places with Navigo. On Sunday most of the shops are closed so I have no choice but to have a 6.95 euro hamburger set in a fastfood chain. I also stayed in La Defense for near a whole day becasue it was the only few shoping complex that open on Sunday.
今天早上去巴黎的Hillsong教會。敬拜讚美十分鼓舞人心，但是可惜的是，我沒有機會跟其他人交流。作完禮拜之後，我拿著Navigo卡到處走，星期天大部分的店都關了，最後因為實在太餓，就到一家叫做Q的漢堡店吃午餐。我在拉德方斯待了一整個下午，這一區是少數星期天也有營業的。
Aug 30
The first day in Science Po was not bad, but not worth the 260 euro. The principal did a brief introduction of the history of the school and other departments and student associations also. After the class, I took a walk to Musee d'Orsay, le Opera and then took the train back to Clichy. To my amazement, there are many Japanese staff in Uniqlo and Bookoff in Paris, and they speak Japanese! It is clear that the influence of Japanese culture is really strong here.
Aug 31
Day two of Science Po Welcome It was a super long day. I started my "art of public speaking" class from 9h00. During 1h to 3h15, I went to the administrative office asking for student card and BNP for my bank account, but only for the information. I couldn't do anything until tomorrow. The afternoon sessions were composed of 2 hours of French class and 2 hours of methodology class. According to Yichun and also the teacher, the welcome program used to be several weeks, and the price was the same. However, the contents were quite good and my classmates are very intelligent and fluent in French (mostly European and Australian), so under the peer pressure, I should work harder to catch up with them.
mardi 31 août 2010
vendredi 27 août 2010
August 26
Last night I did something really bad. Dominique and his sister Alice went out for a film, and he gave me the keys, which I promised to open the door when they got back from the cinema. However, I was in my deep slumber and did not hear the phonecalls they made nor doorbell for many times and they waited outside till 12h when I was asleep. They even thought I was lost, and contacted Taiwei to see if I was Ok. When I woke up it was almost 4h, and I called him right away then knowing that they were at Xiaofeng's. Without cellphone and metro card, it seemed to be hardsome.
They said they would come back in the afternoon, so before lunch I strolled around Clichy and tried to take some picture of this beautiful city, as Paris, the tree is everywhere lining the border of the sidewalk. I did a google research but still not sure the name of the tree which peeling looks impressionistic. The bulk peels into flakes of different nuances, forming an Impressionist painting. I have never seen this before elsewhere so I enjoyed it. The terrace and the balcony are all decorated with plants, flowers. The condominions are also in eye-catching modern design, with the lawn. Another remarkable scene is their construction site. They made effort to keep the traditional building and they renovate them. The condition of the workers are clean and orderly.
We took the train to Xiaofeng's appartment, it was a nice location with the metro right down and the view of Eiffel Tower. We also celebrated Catherine's birthday with wines, beer, baguettes and all kinds of hams. The birthday gathering was enclosed with a sweet chocolate cake. Then we went to a see a film called "Le Bruit des glaçons" at UGC, the ticket costs only 4.2 euro for youths under 26. The film itself was not that appealing, maybe it was because I did not comprehend what they are talking, but I did enjoy all the trailers and TV commercials spoken in French.
They said they would come back in the afternoon, so before lunch I strolled around Clichy and tried to take some picture of this beautiful city, as Paris, the tree is everywhere lining the border of the sidewalk. I did a google research but still not sure the name of the tree which peeling looks impressionistic. The bulk peels into flakes of different nuances, forming an Impressionist painting. I have never seen this before elsewhere so I enjoyed it. The terrace and the balcony are all decorated with plants, flowers. The condominions are also in eye-catching modern design, with the lawn. Another remarkable scene is their construction site. They made effort to keep the traditional building and they renovate them. The condition of the workers are clean and orderly.
We took the train to Xiaofeng's appartment, it was a nice location with the metro right down and the view of Eiffel Tower. We also celebrated Catherine's birthday with wines, beer, baguettes and all kinds of hams. The birthday gathering was enclosed with a sweet chocolate cake. Then we went to a see a film called "Le Bruit des glaçons" at UGC, the ticket costs only 4.2 euro for youths under 26. The film itself was not that appealing, maybe it was because I did not comprehend what they are talking, but I did enjoy all the trailers and TV commercials spoken in French.
August 25
In the morning I visited the well-known Luxemburg Garden near the RER B station Luxemburg. It was cloudy and windy. Some were jogging with their MP3 player, some passing by with brisk steps, some sitting on the bench talking, and a male and female elementary school teachers taking care of their students around 8-10. Later I had lunch with two other NCCU students at university restaurant. No bank nor shops accept 500 euro here, so Alice paid for my lunch. One can only get the circulable money by saving into the account and then withdral the bills with smaller denomination or exchange the bills in some specific institution such as Bank of France.
Then I took the metro to Bastille for handing in my OFII (Office francaise de l'integration and l'immigration) form and documents. The clerks were a man and a woman, who both looked relaxed and carefree, they are actually really nice and the process went smoothly. After the OFII, I strolled around the Bastille plaza and into the discreet streets, there is a plaza featuring sculptures and shining green lawn near Maison de Victor Hugo, and then it rained. Seeing the couple fundling on the lawn was a pleasant scene to see just like in the films.
One thing I am really happy is that after two days of adaptation, I finally could write my journal on the train. The seat is comfortable, and the solitude within the crowd provides me with the best concentration I need. The passengers around me were all very curious because I wrote in Chinese but not in French nor English. However, I would like to keep my blog in English and write it every day.
Then I took the metro to Bastille for handing in my OFII (Office francaise de l'integration and l'immigration) form and documents. The clerks were a man and a woman, who both looked relaxed and carefree, they are actually really nice and the process went smoothly. After the OFII, I strolled around the Bastille plaza and into the discreet streets, there is a plaza featuring sculptures and shining green lawn near Maison de Victor Hugo, and then it rained. Seeing the couple fundling on the lawn was a pleasant scene to see just like in the films.
One thing I am really happy is that after two days of adaptation, I finally could write my journal on the train. The seat is comfortable, and the solitude within the crowd provides me with the best concentration I need. The passengers around me were all very curious because I wrote in Chinese but not in French nor English. However, I would like to keep my blog in English and write it every day.
mercredi 25 août 2010
August 24
The clock showed 5h when I woke up in the middle of the darkness. Filling my journal with French, flipping through a pile of French books beside the bed, I was able to fall asleep again. The second time woke up was 8h30. I put on my jogging shoes and the gray jumper, and walked out to the supermarket to buy the food. The morning air was fresh and chill, looking up is cloudless blue sky. People were going to work or do the shopping at this time, many of them look so stylish. However, it's still a typical city, don't expect the stranger will say "bonjour" to you.
In the morning I just stayed in the house using skype and connect We went out at 15h heading to Notre Dame des Champs, Clichy is located in the second loop of the Paris metro so it's very convenient to get around. Then we meet up with other exchange students from Science Po, and went to BNP to create a new bank account. Thank to the help of Dominique, the tedious administrative procedure was done smoothly.
In the evening, I had dinner at the university restaurant in the CROUS office with other Taiwanese Science Po exchangers. Even though I heard many complain about the food there, it was still satisfying because one can have a balanced and filling meal with only 3 euro. After the dinner, I headed to the Eiffel Tower alone because the other two NCCU students were tired. Without the guidance of anyone, to take the metro alone is quite scary, especially I could not recognize the direction of metro lines. Due to some accident, I spent 50 minutes to get to my destination.
Luckily, even without the cellphone, I still spot Dominique and Catherine standing on the pont waiting. To take the elevator to the top costs 16 euro, but to climb the stairs only costs 3.5, we chose the latter. That was Alice's first time, so did I. The view from the tower was good but at night I could hardly make out the spots indicateThe Tower itself with the orange lights lit up was splendid already, the dazzling 20000 strobe lights shone every hour for five mintues were even more please to the eyes.
In the morning I just stayed in the house using skype and connect We went out at 15h heading to Notre Dame des Champs, Clichy is located in the second loop of the Paris metro so it's very convenient to get around. Then we meet up with other exchange students from Science Po, and went to BNP to create a new bank account. Thank to the help of Dominique, the tedious administrative procedure was done smoothly.
In the evening, I had dinner at the university restaurant in the CROUS office with other Taiwanese Science Po exchangers. Even though I heard many complain about the food there, it was still satisfying because one can have a balanced and filling meal with only 3 euro. After the dinner, I headed to the Eiffel Tower alone because the other two NCCU students were tired. Without the guidance of anyone, to take the metro alone is quite scary, especially I could not recognize the direction of metro lines. Due to some accident, I spent 50 minutes to get to my destination.
Luckily, even without the cellphone, I still spot Dominique and Catherine standing on the pont waiting. To take the elevator to the top costs 16 euro, but to climb the stairs only costs 3.5, we chose the latter. That was Alice's first time, so did I. The view from the tower was good but at night I could hardly make out the spots indicateThe Tower itself with the orange lights lit up was splendid already, the dazzling 20000 strobe lights shone every hour for five mintues were even more please to the eyes.
lundi 23 août 2010
August 23
On my arrival in Paris, to my surprise I found that the French vocabulary and structure I have learned for three years didn't serve me pretty well. I could hardly understand the language spoken by the airport staff and the daily conversation between French people. However I think it will be fine after a while if I just keep on practicinng to listen and to speak the language every day.
I am now staying in my friend Dominique's place in Clichy, a town situated in northern Paris. The weather is really agreeable here, totally different from the searing and humid Taipei. I also benefited from the sunshine in a park nearby till 20h. Sitting on the bench writing my journal, I saw the children playing, people passing by after work or walking back from the supermarket with their two wheeled shopping cart or just holding some baguettes. The baguettes here are much better than what we had in Taiwan, and according to my observation they cost around 0.6 to 1 euro.
I am not sure if this is kind of stereotype, the people Clichy smoke a lot on the road, in front of the entrance building, or in the park. Even the mothers taking care of their children there were holding a cigarette within their fingers. A shop called "Tabac" can also be found here, where one can buy cigarettes or some drinks.
At 21 o'clock I went to sleep, equivilant to pretty early compared with my living style in Taipei. But it may because I just had 13 hour flight and a long day in Paris which all made me exhausted. Anyway, I still feel so blessed that I arrived safe and sound, and have a soft and comfortable bed to sleep on.
I am now staying in my friend Dominique's place in Clichy, a town situated in northern Paris. The weather is really agreeable here, totally different from the searing and humid Taipei. I also benefited from the sunshine in a park nearby till 20h. Sitting on the bench writing my journal, I saw the children playing, people passing by after work or walking back from the supermarket with their two wheeled shopping cart or just holding some baguettes. The baguettes here are much better than what we had in Taiwan, and according to my observation they cost around 0.6 to 1 euro.
I am not sure if this is kind of stereotype, the people Clichy smoke a lot on the road, in front of the entrance building, or in the park. Even the mothers taking care of their children there were holding a cigarette within their fingers. A shop called "Tabac" can also be found here, where one can buy cigarettes or some drinks.
At 21 o'clock I went to sleep, equivilant to pretty early compared with my living style in Taipei. But it may because I just had 13 hour flight and a long day in Paris which all made me exhausted. Anyway, I still feel so blessed that I arrived safe and sound, and have a soft and comfortable bed to sleep on.
dimanche 15 août 2010
Preparation for France
As a débutant to a western country, I am filled with excitement but also anxiety. Last night before sleep, I reflected on my year back, trying to retrive my achievements so far to lessen the unnecessary angst. Science Po was my first choice for exchange in 2009. Then, in order to improve my language proficiency, I started to study English and French more strategically to deal with the Toefl ibt and FLPT, the latter a foreign language proficencly exam only used in Taiwan to evaluate a student. Also, to realize my dream, I start to build contact with foreign students. Luckily, I met my friend Dominique on BBS, who then opened up all the other contacts that I appreciated later on. Taiwanese students such as Amy, Cindy, Jeanne, a politic major, French students such as Quemin, Hatoumata. These friendship are very important for me.
I would describe myself as a white paper, not knowing what is awaiting for me before me. However, I believe that the adventure to France is worthwhile. Be it a self-searching journey or and dream pursueing path. In Paris, France, a city that I have long dreamed of, the answer is unlimited. There will be many interesting people waiting for me to know, and lot of new stories.
I would describe myself as a white paper, not knowing what is awaiting for me before me. However, I believe that the adventure to France is worthwhile. Be it a self-searching journey or and dream pursueing path. In Paris, France, a city that I have long dreamed of, the answer is unlimited. There will be many interesting people waiting for me to know, and lot of new stories.
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