"You're in France, how could things not go great?"

last post

2007-02-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

url for new blog, in romanian this time.

http://scurt.wordpress.com/

extras

2007-02-20T05:11:00.000-08:00

ok, i know i should have finished with this, but now that i'm telling ppl the true story live, i realized that i forgot to say many many things...

i didn't mention the creepy guy from south africa who walked around only in his bath robe like he was highlander or something, and who was certifiably crazy. he said he is African-American, but he's been living in france for a long time and before that he lived in England. or i didn't get it.
he heard my friend speaking english in the kitchen, and he asked her what nationality she was, and when she said Polish...he yelled "How can you speak english then?"

i guess i forgot to mention the cooking circle, made up of everchanging chinese girls, distinguishable only by height...they kept on coming..and cooking, all the time, all kinds of things..and as soon as i left the kitchen, they always took my things either from the stove or the microwave so they could cook even more...more..
for christmas they were 20. the sink died. it drowned in pasta and soy sauce. i didn't think a sink could look like that. poor thing.

and my favourite story: the moving shit...

somehow some ppl have aiming problems. it's hard to imagine, since a toilet is made larger than a jar in size, and a jar is pretty much all the space you would need.
anyway, it wasn't uncommon to have traces of shit on the toilet edge. but once, and only once (thank god) the shit moved..it went crazy...
there was a line oriented from the toliet to the door, and strangely enough it climbed up, went on the edge of the door. for a second, the trail was lost. but then the smell reoriented me to the path... another line, thicker this time, engulfed under the shower door. opened the door, and then it continued on the wall, and found it's death in the sewers.
we will miss it.

there were two cats in the residence, pretty friendly and almost obese. one day, i saw one of them on the hall, but i was in a hurry so i ran out the fire exit. i noticed the cat went out after me, but i was so in a hurry that i kept on running. and the cat after me. for about 2 minutes. it's like it was a mad dog out to get me. i still don't get what all that was about...

ok, must stop with this blog already.

you're in romania, how could things not go great?

2007-02-14T00:15:00.000-08:00

my three worst fears about the bus were luckily unfounded:
i was scared 1. that the bus wouldn't come, as they told me to be there one hour earlier (so at 6am) an the bus wasn't there until 7.15 am
2. that i won't have 2 seats for myself and my cold, and in fact i had half the bus for myself, as there were only 5 passengers and the 3 drivers
3. yeah, my laptop is just fine.

my other fears were closer to the truth...
we did not arrive at the planned moment, but earlier, which is surprising. let's say, if we add up, deduct, compare, they still owe me 5 hours from the road to france (was 9 hours late)...

the drivers were in fact three uneducated bastards that listen to manele, and one of them had to hit on me...

at the border with hungary, they took our passports and returned them to 2 of the ppl in the bus, and called the other 2 "downstairs". after 3 minutes they were yelling at me "why are you still in the bus, go down"
i went down, the customs guy points at my visa and mumbles and shouts
so i say, yeah, that's a studies visa, it's not expired
he continues to yell mumbo jumbo
i repeat
he yells again, this time in a more comprehensible way: "Why you not bus?"
oh, poor customs officers, they are starting to loose weight already..

they had movies, which was a good thing until you saw them... the best was the day after tomorrow, and if that one was the best, imagine the rest..
oh, i made a rhyme. i must be too tired...soooo this is the end.
this is how it looks like:
will miss you!

the 5 second rule

2007-02-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

if you drop something on the floor and pick it up in less than 5 seconds, you can still eat it.

(thanks to I. for sharing this and other things ;)

closing my account at the bank

2007-02-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

there had to be something wrong, of course...
i went to the bank 15 minutes earlier, to be a good client and not keep them waiting. of course, they kept me waiting another 15 minutes, to keep their reputation as busy ppl, even tho they had their lunch break of 2 hours before that.
so, i sign the papers, my counselor tells me we're done, it's ok, she takes two minutes to cut my card in a weird origami shape (no, not like in the movies when they cut it clean in three). and she opens the door and says bye bye.
i say: wait a minute, what about the money on my account?
she says: there's no problem, we can close the account even if you are on minus.
i say: whaaat?
she says: yes, you have -7 euros on your account
i say: no, i have 14,99 euros
she says: no, you have -7e.
i say: check.
she checks.
she writes a note to one of her colleagues to give me the amount of 14,99e and opens the door again.

ha! i win!

stupid bastards have done it again...

2007-01-31T06:40:00.000-08:00

i'm here, on the 31st of January, waiting for the ppl in the administration to come at 10.30 sharp to check my room for damage and all that. of course, i had to wake up one hour earlier, didn't eat so there are no crumbs anywhere and no garbage in the room...
and i wait, i wait...at 13 i decided to go see why they're not coming. i go to their office, and they say that's impossible, they came, they must have left a note. i insist that i was in my room the whole time. finally, they said that they won't check again so i should just leave the keys. ok.
i go to pick up my luggage and move it to my friend's room, who's not here.
and what to i find on the table?
a note that the room has not been cleaned up and that i will be charged 19 euros. in my name, my room number and all that.

it's as if they knew i'm gonna live there for a few days. creepy. bastards.

ketchup!!

2007-01-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

on the 23rd of January, snow decided to fall upon Lyon, just when i decided it was time to forget about winter and be merry and all that. sucky pic of what was going on around 10 pm:
ketchup, Lyon!! get it?! ah, watch Pulp fiction...

anyway, more juicy stuff about the bank (fortunately they didn't manage to do something to me lately, so they mess with my friends now)
there was a possibility of opening a savings account on opening the normal account, which i applied for. i was supposed to get 20 euros out of it, but of course they didn't open any account and no money was received.
a friend of mine did manage to get them to open the savings account, and she put 300euros on it, and let them to rest for 4 months. now, needing them, my friend wanted to transfer them to the other account. and then! surprise!! no savings account was opened in her name and of course no trace of the money... and they sent her a secret code for a card she didn't ask for and which she never received...
after long discussions and waiting and stress and all those nice feelings that the bank inspires you, they admitted to having misplaced the money. the sum was returned, of course with no interest and of course without the 20 euros promised for the opening of the account and the promotional gift. of course.
for another friend of mine they misplaced the money she had just put on her card, about 150 euros.
i have an appointment to close my account. can't wait, of course.

and some more juicy stuff about the residence:
on my last day here, they need to verify that my room is in order and that everything is ok with it. afterwards, they are supposed to give me back the guarantee i paid ( one extra month), and i'm supposed to give them the key.
the thing is, on the day they appointed me to be checked, the office is closed, so no possibility of getting the money. of course, i need to give the key back or else i pay another month, but of course i can't stay longer in the room. of course, they told me that i will give the key back and they will give me the money afterwards, and i said no way. the old hag i've talked about in earlier posts replied in a candid manner:
"What, don't you trust the administration?"

what a joke!

should i stay or should i go...?

2007-01-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

From a distance, the french specimen of human seems really nice to live around. always smiling to strangers, saying "pardon" when bumping into you...helping with directions, willing to show you around.. one might think it's paradise to live among them.
I'm starting to wonder...is it possible that i only met the low of the low? the hard to live with kind?
i need to explore other cities and see if the pattern repeats itself.

the blog is slowly dying out of lack of bad things happening. that's probably a good thing. i need to go to the bank these days, that's probably gonna make at least one more post...

but as the very dearest someone observed, the dog shit on the street gets overwhelming. and in some weird twisted manner, it's always soft and stinky. i think the shit back home is rather dry and easy to loose once you stepped in it. you can even imagine it brings luck. here, it's not that lucky. it's impossible to walk around without stepping in something soft, and the wierd part is that there are no homeless dogs.. and no grass to wipe your shoes afterwards.
i prefer the garbage you find on our streets. bottles, newspapers, beer cans.
few weeks ago, on a romantic walk in the old town, center of the city with cafes and small restaurants, beautiful narrow streets we found, in the middle of the road..... a very freshly poo-ed diaper. no thanks...

ok, we found the bottle opener so that's it for today.
ppl, try litchis if you haven't already.
buh-bye

crafted stuff

2007-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

i am very bored so i thought of making some earrings since they are a kind of obsession. here are the results: the last one is so you can have an idea of the size, it's not that i'm bragging that i have money :P

vacation

2007-01-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

i'm on vacation till the beginning of March. na-na :P

and if someone else tells me congratulations for entering Europe and getting free from communism and entering civilisation i'm gonna snap.

anyway, view my pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rox_c/

i am currently busy studying the possibilities of crafting earrings and the possibility of opening a textile shop in Portugal on the beach. and enjoying Vonnegut's books. and shopping, since the sales have started few days ago. In the hours in which my voice fails me i rediscover one of my childhood passions: sinclair games. i found an emulator on line who turns my laptop into one of the first computers to be used by individuals..i remember it needed a keyboard, a big battery, a tv, a radio cassete player and of course the games to play which were recorded on tapes.
My old time favourite, Saboteur II Avenging Angel. Best game ever. You're a ninja and you need to escape from a huge building and have missions to fulfill. it has kept me from many hours of doing useful things. oh, it was worth it...

And the award fot the funniest game ever goes to: Jumping Jack!!

and i must mention Knightlore, the little explorer who turns into a wolf at midnight and must replace the elements into the wizard's room in order to save the world. we should all be thankful.

thanks to: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/

new year's

2007-01-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

the french ppl in lyon are sucky. and cheap. and stingy. very stingy.
we went out to see the fireworks in a high place at midnight. guess what? the people in the most remote village of romania must have had more fireworks. because we had none. none whatsoever.

happy new year ppl who are still reading this!

this is a sucky pic with the view right after midnight:

yeah i was a bit drunk, so what :)

Injustice for all !

2007-01-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

yep, it's proved now... i was a victim of not being french again, and some french people admitted it was obvious...well screw them for that and screw the whole french education sistem!

as for the bank, they finally gave me my new card, which is of course not the one i requested. the lady at the counter told me with a big grin: "You must be very unlucky"
and i told her with a bigger grin: "it's not called luck, it's called incompetence!"
i'm so proud of myself :)

as for the money for the room, i'm not getting any on the account of "luck" again. they nasty people in accueil are gonna spend my 200 euros and i can't do anything about it.

one month and a half to go.

fete des lumieres

2006-12-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

The most awaited event in Lyon this year. every year. the city lights up, everyone puts candles in the window, all the monuments are coloured and animated.

*first day, the 7th - heavy rain, presentation the next day, stayed home
*second day, the 8th - even heavier rain, walked around on foot cause public transportation is awfully packed, most of the events cancelled because of the weather. pneumonia danger, went home after a few hours of walking on foot in the swampish disaster surrounded by agressive umbrellas
*third day, the 9th, today - heavy strike of the public transportation network, all metros, funiculaire closed, no way to get downtown. no rain, at least.
*fourth day - tomorrow - hope for the best.

At least i managed to get a pic of one of the buildings: this is a train station in the old town, and it was lit from the inside with a blue light, and white clouds were moving around as if we were inside looking at the sky outside. a tribute to magritte. my favourite.

second contact with french grades

2006-12-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

we had to make a presentation about a chapter in a stupid cryptic novel. the stupid system here is that you need to make it in three parts, and each part needs to have three parts of its own. that's the toughest part, cause interpretation and all that is easy when you're used to it.
and of course, when you are making a literary comment, you should never take the text in the order in which it is written. no comment...

so we made a great presentation, disregarding the fact that we couldn't find any books on the matter cause who on earth would want to talk about a novel as weird and ... weird as this one...
so we spent pretty much 3 days on this and made a great comment, with 3 parts each havin 3 parts, with political interpretation and all the little words the guy loves and repeats on each course. and we presented...

of course, i need to tell you that all the semester he kept insisting that we need to pay attention, that our system of education is ancient and not so good as theirs, and we need to be careful when we make a presentation, we should ask advice from our french friends, etc etc.

ok, we just nodded agreement and decided not to answer to remarks which obviously he had taken as the absolute truth..

so we make the stupid presentation, and the first he says is that he thought it was too general, which it wasn't. ok, whatever, this isn't the type of thing saying i'm a victim, at least not yet...
and then he starts by telling us a new plan, his plan, his ideas...except mentioning another novel of the same author, which wasn't included in the fragment we had to comment obviously, he said the exact same ideas as we did, and each time mentioning that we didn't talk about that.

and the one thing that completely made my day: he said we read too many critics about the fragment and we should have rather kept the text to our knowledge or something similar... great! we looked and looked and the only critic who wrote about this novel (except him, we couldn't find his book) was a lady who didn't talk much about the fragment at all.
is it so hard to beliebe that some young people might have general knowledge and that they might use it in literary comments?

can't wait for the presentation on monday, i'm curious if it will be too complicated for him to understand again...

it's kind of true what they say, they rarely give credit to erasmus students...
we should unite and ... and... and... go home.

some money back guaranteed

2006-12-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

i received a second letter from caf today, and it seems they accepted my dossier after all...the only problem is i won't get all my money back, as i don't receive money directly, it just gets deducted from my next rent money...
the problem is i only have one month left to pay the rent, and the money they owe me will cover it entirely, and still leave 50euros in their account. which sucks.

second avocado is now 4cm tall, first avocado is making a lot of leaves, fete des lumieres started and my wisdom teeth are killing me.

is anyone still actually reading this blog or am i just waisting my time?

great, no money back guaranteed

2006-12-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

gggrrrr this just makes me sooo mad..
i applied for caf, which is a money help to pay for the rent. i was supposed to get a small sum back, but if you count it, it's not such a small sum, let's say it could buy me a ticket to paris in a nice train, so it's not something to disconsider.
when i gathered my dossier for this i was told that i would get the money for sure.
now i received a letter saying that they need my resident card, which i can't really get. i go to my favourite place, the residence accueil ( administration), and they just laugh in my face that i want money back and that i pay such a small rent. that just made my day.
and it figures that some people in the exact situation as me will get the money. just because the person that took care of their dossier was nicer.
"Bad luck" they say.
bad luck which would get me an apartment with bathroom and kitchen back home, not their disgusting little room which isn't even heated.
yeah, bad luck.
if i blow their little heads off, it will still be bad luck, huh?

polish girls and african guys

2006-12-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

It seems that there are a number of things going on between these two different cultures (too bad i don't really know which african countries we're talking about)...

1. some african guy knocks at a polish girl' s door. she doesn't really want to invite him in, because she doesn't know him well. he knows this, so he will just push her out of the way, enter quickly, sit on the bed, take his shoes and socks off. it's hard to make him leave afterwards...
as i've heard, this has happened more than once

2. some african guy fell in love with some polish girl. he got her phone number at a church thing, so he keeps sending her messages that he loves her. one day, as he is her neighbour, he knocks at her door. no, not the socks thingy again :)
he tells her that he doesn't understand why she doesn't want to love him back.
she explains that she has a boyfriend, and that he makes her feel comfortable in that relationship so she's not looking for someone else while she is in france.
he replies, puzzled: but why, i'm good in bed, too!!?
plus, i'm handsome, and i respect you cause i don't come to your room in the evening, like your friends do !!?
she couldn't believe her ears..
then he added that if he would have wanted to have sex with her, he could have forced her...so she needs to be grateful that he didn't and should go out with him to prevent this...

3. there's a couple african guy- polish girl on my floor and they seem to get along just fine :)

will add more after lunch

gulii :)

2006-12-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

in Poland they call a girl in her full health (the round peasant that drinks milk from the cow, you know what i mean, fata sanatoasa bine...) ....a gulie!

Kohlrabi in English, not turnip as everyone seems to translate it.

this post is dedicated to someone who wrote once about this illusive vegetable

the bank - sequel

2006-12-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

i went to the bank again, it's been three weeks without their usual spam in the mailbox...i kinda miss their letters asking me to bring the same document over and over again...

soooo, of course they said that they don't have my card yet, and that in a few days probably bla bla. i lost it and just said to the woman not to waist her breath because i know that it's not the case. she smiled in a way that either called me a bitch or said "i just work at the counter here, they are paying me the worst salary ever and i need to make a lot of coffee, but i have cameras pointing at me so i need to keep lying to you"

either way, i managed to take saome money off my account, and asked to view my account...it had 30 euros less, so i asked the guy (in the withdrawals counter) what's up with that, that i didn't have a card so i didn't spend any money. of course, the poor frustrated man felt like yelling at me that he does not deal with this stuff.

went back to my favorite lady, who explained that this was an annual tax for the keeping of my card. i lost it again, freaked out, behaved ungentlemanly ;). then she assured me she will credit my account with the missing money, with her nice smile.

oh, i can't wait.

and btw, my second avocado just pointed his ...head? point? tail? whatever! since two days ago, he's already 1 cm long wooohooo!

miracles happen

2006-11-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

...if you're Columbian...
a friend who happens to be one met another girl from Columbia. on their third meeting, this girl offered her studio (with baaaaathroooom!!oh, and kitchen ooh) to my friend...because she's leaving.
fot three months. she will pay the same amount of money as she did for the simple room.
and the girl said there's a possibility she won't come back. ever.
and she left there her computer, her frigo, her microwave. wow. on their third meeting.

i have a tree in my room

2006-11-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

it all started from this :

in a sunny day of september, i planted three of them in three pots.
this one was the luckiest and quickest, as in the beginning of november it started to grow...and now, the 26th of november i have this:

too bad you can't really see it well, but it's my own avocado tree.
20 cm high.

if you live in france and want to adopt this beauty in february, please call me.

road trippin'

2006-11-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

i signed up for a trip for foreign students. what they said, great opportunity to get to know the region and taste its wonderful wine...well, i already had tasted the wine from the region before, but hey, you don't get to go on a trip every day, right?
they said, be sure not to be late, we won't wait for you bla bla. they were 30 minutes late and we waited in the horrible cold and wind, on the most open square in town..
won't talk about the rest, just the main attractions of the day
stupid group photo they always make you do ^

1. a museum in a small city, made up of 2 rooms as small as the one i live in, with some pictures on the wall (you can find much better on google); the guide was kind enough to ask us if we ever heard that there was a revolution in France some centuries ago...stop listening when she started to explain how every country has an army and that it uses it for wars..
2. at 12.30, when we were supposed to make a picnic, they took us to a wine cellar where the owner was nice enough to open bottle after bottle so everyone got very drunk fast
3. after that they made us visit a third museum, which i cannot remember what it was about, only that the main attraction was supposed to be the movie at the end, which everyone waited for in a dark room, but the movie never started so we left. oh, almost forgot, we did see a "low battery, change lamp or something" sign on the screen..

in between they basically made us wait and wait and wait some more.
if i think about it, i could have bought 14 bottles of cheap wine from the supermarket for the price of this trip...
at least when we were all drunk we played some cellar games, but that's too hard to describe, you should have been there :P

the car parket outside the vineyard. i wonder if they had the time to try the new wine...

yeah, it makes sense!

2006-11-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

found this on this site: http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/cat_stormhoek_
cartoon.html
and the guy is great.

social classes

2006-11-24T03:41:00.000-08:00

there seems to be a huge distance from one student to the other in relation to where they live in the student residence.
there are the aristocrats, they live in an area unexplored so far, but their status is undeniable as they have toilets. their building is called Arches and it looks like a sunken ship with glass on it. You rarely get to see the people that live there, cause mainly they don't mingle with the lower classes. i only know one guy from there, and he has infinite power over the wireless network, so i will try not to say bad things about him.;)

then, there is the middle class, represented by the "good buildings": D, E, F, G, H
students here go about daily chores, shop in carrefour or leader price, sometimes go to church on sunday, and always greet people that they cross in the hallway.

i have absolutely no idea where the buildings A, B, C and I and J are. probably somewhere in plain sight...

there is another section of the residence called vieux fort, but i have never seen anyone going in or out from there.

and then there is the lower class. buildings K and L. outside the residence walls, with scratched paint and rust traces. with no frigos in the kitchen and windows that don't really close. yucky paint on the walls.
anyway, those that live here are a constant reminder of their misery. actually, the place is not so bad, but just the thought that there are people that have better rooms drives them mad. when they meet someone, their first question is "from which building are you?". if you happen to live in a different building than K or L, be sure that they will treat you as the enemy...

lucky me, i'm the enemy!

i have a fan!

2006-11-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

well, if you want to, a secret admirer.
or a stalker.

nah, he's too cute to be dangerous...he lives on my floor, he's from Japan and his name is very long and complicated so i haven't even tried to remember it...he speaks some french and some english, but it's really hard to communicate with him...i was trying to get him to tell me a shorter version of his name, but he kept repeating mine...

so, at first he was just telling me bonjour like everyone does, but in a very happy way..like old friends do when they see each other after a long time..

then in the kitchen, he tried to explain to me that he had made a very good investment in some chicken dish, that it was really cheap. that was sudden..i entered the kitcen and he just: -you know, this was a special offer!
i just said..good for you..
what could i answer to that? :))

then one day he showed me how his hand was burnt while cooking breakfast, in the same weird way..
i was putting some stuff to my frigo, he came in, lifted his sleeve and showed me a red mark, telling me "this is from breakfast today"
i said oh, does it hurt? did you put cream on it.
he said yes and left. :O

one other day i was making some soup (the real kind) and he was making pasta, just finishing when i came. of course, i completely forgot about it and about the timer that you need to unwind every 15 minutes. he did it for me, even if his pasta was ready..

now i'm convinced he's a fan cause i hear his door slamming shut when he leaves his room, so i go check the peephole of my door...guess what? every time he passes my door he tries to look through the peephole or listen!
that's too funny, poor thing :))

the bank

2006-11-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

at some point in the beginning of september i decided to make an account for one of the french banks, cause seeing that you need a french card to pay for everything and the comissions for taking cash out on the internatinal one are big, i figured it's the best thing to do...
so i take up on an offer of a friend, who would take me to her bank and earn a gift in the process.

after one month and half of spamming my mailbox, i finally get the announcement that i got my card and i should go to the bank and pick it up. my friend got hers in a week or so.

i go to the bank, the very not nice lady at the counter says that i need to wait for another letter that will contain the paper i need to pick up my card. great.

after 2 days, i receive another letter, that they need my student certificate. i take 2 precious hours of my time, go give them the paper.

after 3 more days, i receive a second letter that they really need my student certificate!?!

after 2 days i finally receive the letter and go pick up my card.

then i realize it's not the visa card i applied for, but an "indigo card". whatever, it's still french. i give them a copy of my student certificate again.

after 1 week of using it, actually 2 times (once in carrefour, once for transportation) it keeps getting refused. everywhere.
i go to the bank again, and while in line, i say ok, let's try it in the machine, see what's up with all the money i put on it (actually, all my money!)
the machine started beeping horribly, ate my card and handed me a receipt that i should contact my bank, ans something with illegal operations..errr...

i go to the counter, and the not nice lady welcomes me with the fake smile employees in a bank have. she takes the note, and says something like: "ah! too bad."
i say: ok, just give me my card back..
she says: i'm afraid that's not possible. we just installed a new software, which is deleting all new accounts. but don't worry, we are such a great bank so we will not charge you for the fee of a new card..
i say: %~&__(+>**##@

oh yeah, what a big favour they are doing to me, not charging me for a new card...
i asked to talk to my agent (yeah, i have one), so they took me to her office. i tell them they are stupid, they didn't make the card they were supposed to, and that i had all my money on the old one. she says not to worry, i will have a new one in less than one week. it's been 2 weeks already.

and yes, i almost forgot. they asked my for my student certificate again.
and my friend never received any gift.

this was taken in front of the bank:

porn

2006-11-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

whenever i try to view a site with porn on it, i get the message:

Forbidden By Proxy

You don't have permission to access http://www.x.com/ on this server. Forbidden by category "porn".

someone sent me a link to see a pic of "the giantest zit ever". guess what dear old Proxy said :))

this is sad, i shouldn't laugh..if people in France call zits porn..
oh the world must be coming to an end, oh Dan!

the dead pixel came back to haunt me

2006-11-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

did i say the problems with my laptop were over? ha ha so funny...they will probably never be over..
i keep getting a message to activate windows, which i have ignored until now when it says that if i don't do it in 7 days i will not be able to use it. so i say ok, i will waste 10 minutes on this .
i get to the part when you have to enter the code on the authenticity sticker... guess what?
code incorrect!!

never, never ever buy off ebay

how to know if someone is in love with you...

2006-11-21T03:37:00.000-08:00

...if you're in Columbia
it's absolutely great the way they do it...you always know where you stand

let's take two characters for the demostration, A and B. gender does not matter. the first thing A needs to do if he/she loves B is write the person an sms. saying pretty much nothing, like "i was just wondering how yo were", "i wish you a nice day"...
if B does not reply instantly, he is very rude. then, it's his/her turn. let's say, the next day B needs to write a similar sms to A
from this point, everything is absolutely clear, and they will hook up on the next occasion...
if B never writes the second message, there is no possibility of love.

another method:
A and B are in the same group of friends/ acquaintances.
A loves B, but does not know if B feels the same. when the group meets, A needs to greet B before greeting the others; also, as the habit of kissing cheeks is rather common, A will need to kiss B first. even if B is the last to enter.

when they sit down at a table in a bar, let's say, A will inquire on the conditions that B is in. i mean thinks like : "are you comfortable, B" or "isn't your chair too close to the window, B. it's rather cold" (yeah as if it was ever cold in Columbia)
and A also might pass something to B, like "do you want the water, B?" even if B has a lot of water in front of her/him

if A has chocolates, or candy, or whatever, he/she needs to ask if B wouldn't like to have some first, preferrably only give the candy to him and ignore the others...just imagine this at a 20 people table, A sitting at one end, B at the other. apparently, it works..

also during a walk, A might say to B something like "if you are hungry, i have some sandwiches..." or even " i really like this chocolate, but you can have it"

B will be assured of A's intentions and will reply or not in the same tone, no hard feelings or mockery from the others...

other interesting stuff:

if A were to invite B to his/her appartment on their first meeting ever; this is not interpreted as an invitation to sex. it means more like A would like B to know him/ her better, and they believe that one's home can say a lot about oneself.

-more to come soon-

Little red Robin Hood

2006-11-21T03:08:00.000-08:00

I took up archery!!

it took me some time to realize what is what

-i tried aiming with the right eye, holding a right hand bow with the right hand
-aiming with the left eye, holding a right hand bow with the right hand
-aiming with the left eye, holding a left hand bow with the left hand
-aiming with the right eye, holding a left hand bow with the left hand
and finally the good combination:
aiming with the left eye, holding a left hand bow with the right hand ;)

except for tormenting pain in the arm, very sore skin and a sensationless fingertip, it's great! yay!

Teachers and notes

2006-11-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

the french system of giving notes is from 1 to 20. at 10 you barely pass. 20 is never given out.

just had an exam recently. after 2 weeks, meeting to clear up, correct and all that.
teacher: "i was very satisfied by your papers, it really seems that you have understood the point of this course, i'm proud of you"
grades ranking from 6 to 16. probably 20 is just for the teacher herself;
that's weird, because what se underlined in my paper as being incorrect, bad expression, vague, etc were exact quotes from her course. i have proof :/

anyway i got 16, so who cares...

the Post

2006-11-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

the french mail delivery system is always late. they assure you it won't be, but it always is.
they do not have the option "fragile" for packages. they democratically throw them on the ground from the post truck. they do not take responsability for damaged or missing packages.
the three times i received packages, i never received a receipt in the mail to know if they had arrived, i had to go check every day if they had come or not.
the post-restant service is paid for them; if you receive a letter in your post restant, you will pay for the stamp it has on it. if you receive a package, you pay as if you would send it yourself.
don't ask :|

the missing ten gigas and the dead pixel...

2006-11-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

or the alternate title: Never, never ever buy off ebay!

after tormenting myself with the lack of internet and the fact that there is no way of writing a licence paper at the library, i have decided that i neede to buy a laptop. ppl back home confirmed and sent the money, so i considered the quickest and more effective way of getting one was off ebay...
after a lot of debate i chose one from a user with 1500 good recommendations, so i said it was ok...

first problem: sending the money
-in France you cannot put cash on someone else's bank card unless you go to the bank where the card was issued (in a different city, in this case)
-i didn't have a french bank card then, so i couldn't transfer
-you cannot transfer money from your international bcr card unless you are in Romania personally

after pain and torture i managed to discover the mandate by post, which of course costs a lot, not to mention comissions from drawing money from the ro card and all that

this was on the 20th of September. they got the money after a delay that kept me awake at night ( because in case it was lost, the post will start to investigate this after 3 months- i'm curious when they would stop investigating it)

so i waited anxiously a week for the laptop, checking my mailbox every day...nothing...
i sent them a message, and their reply was: "oh, we have a missing piece, we hope to get it soon"
my answer was very menacing and all that, so after a few hours they stumbled upon the missing piece and promised to send the laptop the next working day (of course it was friday).
after one more week of torture and not getting anything, i go to accueil to ask about my package. of course, my favourite old hag was there. She told me that she's busy and that i need to show her the receipt that i got in the mail in order for her to check if it's there. I could clearly see the 3 packages that were there, and one was big enough to be mine.
i told her i will wait for her to finish her work so she can check...she just replied "you do not understand the subtleties of the french language, missy. if i say i'm busy, it's that i don't want to help you"! great!
shouting, menacing and crying didn't budge her

the next morning i found a nicer person in accueil who gave me the package. the receipt was somewhere on the floor, that's why it wasn't in my mailbox...
i enjoyed having a laptop for 23 minutes. then i realized that the harddisk had 10 gigas less than supposed to...damn...and hence it's small in general, this was a big difference.
instantly wrote an email to the ebay guys.
they replied that there has probably been a mistake and they would like to offer me a fnac cheque in exchange for the missing gigas ( fnac= sort of big bookstore)
i replied to shove the fnac cheque somewhere and to send me my harddisk..
so i had to wait another week so they could send me a receipt so i could send the laptop back free of charge (oh, forgot to mention that the normal delay between our 2 cities is 1 day. everything i sent or received was 4-10 days late. great post system)

then came the day of parture...and the start of two agonizing weeks without any reply from them.
and one day it came:
"there has been a terrible mistake, it seems we have sent someone else's laptop on your adress, please could you refuse it so it comes back to us."
hum, this says alot about how professional they are...
and also that they sent my laptop too
of course, the other laptop came in 2 days, and i had to refuse it (please do not comment on this),
and mine was again a week late...

so, after buying it on the 20th of september, i got it on the 7th of november...

and guess what? it had 10 gigas more than it should have had ;)
didn't reply to their last mail, i just think of the poor guy somewhere who was waiting for this harddisk...

...and the dead pixel is another story, another laptop, maybe another blog, huh?

about internet

2006-11-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

To get access to the Internet in the residence, you need to subscribe for a password in accueil. Many people just got their password, and as they waited a lot for it, i said i will subscribe earlier so i'll have it when i get my laptop. Did i mention the ppl in accueil are compulsive liars?
anyway... i went to subscribe, and the lady (old bitch actually) told me they are not making subscriptions, and that they haven't had any this year. i was with my friends, and they told her they just got their passwords...the reply came swiftly: you couldn't have...
she didn't want to hear more, so luckily i found out who the guy managing the network was, and after 2 weeks or so i got it. Did i mention that it's wireless?
and that every once in a while they restrict the access, just like that? or that they restricted access last week to every website on which you needed to log in and every messaging program available..?

my theory is that they are not nice to foreign students so we will not consider remaining in France afterwards so they will have less immigrants. or, that they are plain stupid.

Courses of course

2006-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

...are in no way similar to those i do back home, except the state of boredom they seem to transcend everyone into.
so basically as a foreign exchange student, you are allowed to choose whatever you want as courses, from wherever you want. technically. everything i wanted had to do with optional courses. they said no problem, just go subscribe for them.
actually, they needed my student card for the subscription, which i got on the 18th, after 23 days of doing nothing and trying to choose courses. the subscriptions for the optionals ended on the 14th, of course.
skipping some boring details, i find out that i can only subscribe in two courses, out of which one is obligatory. so much for optionals and liberty of choice...
so i decided to go check out some of the courses to see if they fit the schedule i need to make here and choose the best one. the great thing is that you can only see the day and hour of the course after you have signed up for it. and of course, everything as description, location and all that is classified.
gave up on all the courses i came to lyon for...
this is me too lazy to write so i'm photographing the courses i miss:

Paperwork

2006-11-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

As in every place you move into, there's a lot of paperwork to be done. but it's not as cryptic and absurd as here, i presume...
let's say...in order to get a paper that is necessary for your resident card, you need to get another paper from an agency that will issue this paper if you have your student card; or, to get your student card you need to have a resident card...and the list goes on...and of course, we needed to wait another 19 days to get our student card, because the university subscribes its foreign students only one day per semester. that is 1500 students in 4 hours. that was great, really...

another thing...the monthly transportation title, which you can use in subway, tram, bus, funiculaire, whatever, costs 30euros and something. it says that it's cheaper for those with a scholarship, but that's great for them since no one ever gets a scholarship here... and of course, those back home or the Erasmus grants do not count as scholarships..
another "great" thing about it is that its validity starts the first of the month. you can buy it on the 15th, but you will be able to use it only from the first of the month...no other options for people who are staying in town from the 10th to the 30th, let's say...only tickets, 1,50e each. ouch.

First day, continued

2006-11-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

What was weird: i found out from someone (yeah, you know who you are :P) that the student residence was empty and creepy...yet, they insisted that there were no rooms available...
so i went back to my "favourite" train station and waited some more for my friend...spent there a total of 12 hours more or less...
when she came all was so sudden and we realized that we were spending the night in the basement of a french woman that she met in the bus from the airport to the train station...hmm that was interresting for an experience..

the Second Day

we decided to go to the residence and ask for rooms. in the administration office, which i will refer to as accueil from now on, their first sentence after hello! was "we don't have any rooms available". Great, we explained that we had a reservation, that we need the rooms, the guy said, oh, i'm sorry, you can try to resolve something in the next room.
we go into the next room; one nice lady asks directly, oh you came for the rooms, right? which kind would you like, we have many available...

whatever, we checked in and decided to make some tea and then some quick mashed potatoes.
try doing that when you have only one bowl for two people..we had to drink all the tea so we could make the rest..bleah. cold and rainy.

In retrospective, first day here

2006-11-20T05:14:00.000-08:00

Bus was 9 hours late, so i had the chance to visit one of Lyon's trains stations by night, and to sleep in it... as the hotel reservation was cancelled at 21.00, i had no chance of finding something at 4.00 in the morning... so i found a bench and read, slept, ate, read again, slept again, until sunrise. Left my bag at the check in, and walked around a bit. And i was thinking how great it is to be here, oh so lucky me..
i fed the pigeons in a parc, and returned to the train station to wait for my friend whose bus was supposed to come from the airport. Found out by sms that the plane she was in had to make an emergency landing because one of the windows was cracked... received another sms from someone else that the plane broke in two... anyway the idea was that she was gonna be late..
so i went to the university, as they said, the first thing you do in Lyon, come to the university, to international relations.
So i went, by foot cause tickets seemed too expensive..there i went to the office where the division was supposed to be..big posters everywhere that it has moved..i mean there were at least 15 of them on every door, wall..and none of them said where it moved...
tried to ask some people, they all pointed me in the same direction, the old headquarters..damn..
so i started taking the buildings one by one, checking all the floors..after 1 hour and half i realized it's impossible, as it's huuuge..so i started to ask around again..found a different location, which was also abandoned, as it seemed some years ago. Yeah, i could trace all the movements of the division from its creation!...
then i started to get desperate, as i thought what will i do since the most important thing is to go to the university..where would i go next if i missed that??
after getting the rudest remark ever from a very well dressed "lady", i found some students which seemed international enough and they pointed to the door of the department, closed for another hour cause they were having a break..ironically at this point i was only looking for a toilet..
when finally we are let in, the first thing i found out was that it wasn't necessary to come to the university first.
the second thing, there is no preparatory stage, so "it seems you came a month earlier"
the third thing, "there are no rooms available for you"

great start...
to be continued...