1 month in France...

It has officially been one month in france. Up till now, I am quite comfortable with the surroundings and have already gotten used to the entire system ie. Mode of transport, where to get cheap groceries, where to find the best deals for shirt, how to travel, how to book the trains, tgv, tram, planes, how to open a bank, how to cook dishes, how to listen to french people talking, how to speak in such a way they will understand(yes.. this is really a skill), the food, the lessons(still struggling)etc.

Before you book the tgv(bullet train), I got the carte 12-25 which gives special discount to people between the age 12-25. Trust me, it is worth it. The discounts go from 25% to 50% at certain periods.

As for the airlines, I am still in the midst of discovering. Have been using www.skyscanner.net as it compiles all the prices of the airlines. I also learnt that prices for RYANAIR via the skyscanner is not accurate. Hence it is necessarily to check it out on the site itself. Sometimes, prices which are more expensive on the skyscanner may in fact become cheaper than RYANAIR.

For my money, I have asked my parents to telegraphic transfer it to me. As for opening the bank account, it is quite simple but you need to fix a bank appointment first. For grenoble students, the Societe Generale got special plans and they give us money to open bank accounts. If possible, open more bank accounts and you will be given more money!! =P By right, after we gotten our carte bleu, we will be able to register for a telephone line but well, I am just going for the prepaid card =)

At the present moment, winter is ending and spring is coming. The temperature is steadily increasing~. However, at some times of the day(especially without the sun), it may become very cold.

I am living in a residence called Residence de la Houille Blanche(RHB). It cost 204Euros a month and our room consists of a cooking stove, fridge, beds, free internet(which sometimes will disconnect for certain time period). The toilets and bathroom are outside. There are great facilities like ping pong, gym and swimming pool. I could say that this residence is very good. Comfortable and nice~ =) Made quite a few friends here too!

Some disadvantages about this residence are that the timings of the bus ends very early(around 9pm). However, it is just around 30min walk from school (15min bus ride). The receptionist doesnt speak english.

The mode of transport is by tram and by bus. If possible, try to grab the tag pass for students with your attestation or carte d'etudiant. After which, for one month, you just need to tag your card on the bus or tram and you are able to travel around Grenoble.

There is a pizza shop nearby which allows you to get a big pizza (for 2 person for 4.90Euros) Trust me the Medium size is of the best deal. We have calculated that using (pi)(r^2) =X


Indeed, this SEP has allowed me to open my eyes even bigger to things around me. Today, I went to the Alliance Francais de Grenoble at Ave Gambetta to check out some courses. There is this speaking lessons (not exactly lessons) and as long as we pay the 20Euros subscription fee which will last for one year, we can go for the speaking classes as many times as we want. Good deal right! Well thats exactly what I want. If best, I want to grab a french guy and keep talking to him, and he can continually correct my french. It is really now or never. If I dont muster my french here, I will have missed the boat and there will not be a second better opportunity to do so.

For the past 3 weeks or could I say, more recently, I have been approaching people in the supermarket, on the streets, in school or whatever place and start to chit chat with them. Maybe I have become very fanatical but I feel that through normal conversations, I can get to know more about the culture, other people's views which I have always been interested and most importantly, have the opportunity to speak in french.

At the supermarket, I will be talking to someone either queuing at my back or front. Just by starting off with a simple question, I will start to ask about what is the best deals there etc. My aim: The day I fully understood what he or she tells me, I will be 60-70% there for my listening. The day when I can talk to him/her without any hesistation and spontaneously means the language is internalised just like my english and chinese. The day will come =)

In school, the lecturer still speaks super fast. I still have problems understanding what he says. Even when the lectures are in english, I will need some time to understand to think and understand. Whats more that is is french! =) But things are getting much better now. Out of the 4 modules, 1 have not begun, 1 is partially in english and I kind of learnt some of them, 1 is in french and I am pretty lost and the final one is in French but with no exams and lots of programming(which I have been busy with for the past few days). So far so good but I will need lots and lots of practise for the module in french which I am pretty lost. Hopefully will be able to understand them soon =) Must buck up!

The countries which I want to visit are still there. So far, I have been visiting the places within france only. So far so good. =)

Cooking is a must. If you want to eat good and cheap food, bring along a cook book. I must really thanks my roomie John for bringing one! =) Dont worry, you can get most of the ingredients from Carrefour Asiatic. Some of them can be gotten from normal groceries shops(Ed, Carrefour, Casino). Each is cheap in some areas of product and the house brands need not always be the cheapest.. Still in the midst of compiling =)

So far, I have tried some bouldering, ice-skating, skiing, running, gyming, table tennis and mountain walking(like army.. Shag). Fun! =) Have been keeping up with my fitness through gym as the weather is pretty cold. Hope to start swimming next week..

One last thing, just like any place in the world, people will start responding to you once you make an effort to know them. I am doing that and hopefully I will make lots of friends here =)