The morning was spent with another jie jie to do my experiment. She is from University of Rennes 2 and is currently finishing her thesis. Hence, she is quite free to help. And she is 27 yrs old. I have to go to the lobby and bring her to my office. At the end of the exp, I asked her if she would like to have a cup of coffee. She said she had to go somewhere else because today was her birthday! Wah! Made me more paiseh to ask her to do such boring experiment on her bday. I should sacrifice myself and give her a birthday kiss. Near lunch, hui mentioned that there is another public holiday coming up on 16th May. It is called Whit Monday, something to do with Christianity. But we weren’t sure because although the French website states that it is one of the PHs, it seems like they are going to remove Whit Monday. I asked Laurent and he said as the population pyramid is changing, with lesser people supporting more and more elderly, some PH were ‘blacklisted’ and Whit Mon might be one of them. This is really a sad news because it means a long weekend gone! Hui and I initially planned to go to the Loire Valley this long weekend but it is too rush for us to do anything now. Hence, this 16th May long weekend would be just nice.
For lunch it was just Laurent and I. I invited him to play soccer with us because we are short of players tonight. Moreover, he drives so he can drive me to and fro. But I genuinely wanted him to play also of course… He also agreed to accompany me to the prefecture tomorrow and try to get my 55 euros back. After lunch, Ravi brought his colleague Mickael for the experiment. I hope this is not the only one he can find for me. When Ravi left, he had a smiling face, satisfied that he had accomplished his task. Please, I need 10 more people… The participant was very cheerful and after that I treated him some coffee. We chatted at the cafeteria and he was envious of my tour plan. Haha. He said it is so nice that I can go to Rome, London, Amsterdam. But he strongly recommended me to go to Berlin. Because they have very large discotheques. Wah, exactly the same as what Jaroslav had said. Mickael also mentioned that I should go to La Corse, a big southern island of France. Very big. But he said it is very expensive to go to that island. The coffee treat was of course to show my gratitude. Also to widen my circle of friends here. And lastly, was also for me to complain how hard and pitiful it is for me to get people to do my exp. Gain some sympathy from the participants so that they can help me spread the words.
Earlier, I had sent to Julien Perret that I am really desperately in need of participants and wanted him to ask his students in INSA to help. He came and asked me how urgent and how many. I said 20 and hopefully I can complete everything by next week. He said a good time would be this Thursday and Friday. I told him it would be a long weekend and IRISA would be closed. He then said I have the access card to enter. But I said I can enter the building but not this office. He said it shouldn’t be a problem because I can find someone with the key. The problem is, he said very explicitly that I didn’t want to work during this long weekend. Really dio suan. But who would want to work over the long weekend? Esp. when it is not my fault? I didn’t ask for so many experiments. I kept telling myself that I have completed whatever tasks given by Anatole and shouldn’t blame myself for not completing the exp. If I am needed to extend my contract until 30th June, it isn’t my fault for the delay. If I were to extend, I am doing out of goodwill. But of course I wouldn’t extend in any case because I have booked everything for my tour. Julien really had a bit of tone indicating that it isn’t that urgent and important. The access to the office is really not a problem to him. It is whether I am willing enough to do it or not.
In the end I went to look for Mathilde who has the master key for all the offices. She said by right she can’t give it to me but since she loves me so much, she is willing to sacrifice. Haha. sorry. Daydreaming again. The first part is true. It is a master key and very important. Not to be given to anyone easily. Esp. a small little foreign trainee like me. I asked if I can ask someone who has higher authority to sign out for me. She thought for awhile, then passed the key to me and said I must keep it very very very safe. She will get it back on Monday. It showed that she really trusted me. Nah… I think she is just bochap. So I have the key and went to see Julien. He showed me the timetable of his students and gosh! It is very packed! Initially he mentioned that the students have lessons from 8am to 7pm. I thought they must have breaks in between. When I looked at the timetable, there are breaks. In fact 2 of them. 30 min in the morning and 15 min in the afternoon. That’s all. Some time ago, Vincent asked about the number hours for eng students in SG and I said around 24 hours per week. He said that is quite ok. He thought it would be like 40hrs. Here I think the engineering students are having more than 30 hrs per week. I think their study life is more jialat than ours.
In the evening, hui and I were planning for that Loire Valley tour. There is no doubt this time. Both of us are determine to go. And we were both pretty excited partly because we are able to visit the castles and partly because we would have a chance to meet. And even thought of what are the things we could bring and exchange, like VCDs for example. The only problem is the youth hostels. I had Laurent called them for me. The office phone wasn’t working again but he was very kind to call using his mobile. He is really my best friend. I need him to call again tomorrow to confirm the vacancies. And getting him to call is much better not only because he speaks French but also because he is experienced in booking youth hostels. Really hope that this Loire Valley trip would turn out fine. Actually, I did the entire planning for the Loire Valley and really have not much info. I have only a rough idea of the location of the castles as they are spread all over the Valley. It is unlike planning for a visit to a town. Everything is in the town and will be much simpler. I think we have to take a bit of risk. My idea was to have the places in mind, go down to the tourism office and ask for info. Hope hui wouldn’t blame me if the trip turns out to be a flop.
Some students replied to Julien saying they are willing to do the exp. Julien sent out to 48 students and hopefully I can have 10. I don’t think I am asking to much; 10 out of 48 leh. So far I got 3. But they really only have time after 1930hrs. It would be long working hours next week I guess. But I am willing to sacrifice as long as I get this mission impossible cleared. For this weekend, I was planning to go to Quimper initially. Then I realised that on Sunday it is Victory Day for WW2 which is a PH in France. I thought perhaps I can go to Caen which is in Normandy where there is this huge war memorial site with thousands of tombstones (tens of thousands I think). If not I think I would go there on 6th June which is D Day (the day the Allies landed on Normandy Beach). Should be quite meaningful. I even thought of going to Barcelona for this coming long weekend. 4 days is really a lot. But most likely I would be in Quimper, Caen or IRISA…
At 915pm, I went to Laurent’s block and waited for him. At 920pm he still had not come out and hence I decided to go and find him. While looking at the letter box to check which room he is staying, Ana coincidentally came out to check letters. First thing she asked was if I have got my money back. I said I would go tomorrow. I then asked her about the participant and she said sorry she had forgotten about it. She will send me an email tomorrow. Laurent came down and then we went off. We went onto the highway and there was a man standing at the edge hitch hiking. We stopped for him but the place he wanted to go was really out of the way. Laurent said normally if he is alone, he wouldn’t stop for such stranger. You never know if he has a gun or something like that. We took a long route but still managed to find the place.
The game was very tiring. We played for 1 hr and 40 min. There was this black guy who was very rough, kept pushing. I had a lot of contact with him and I was more aggressive than he was. Because I was really kind of angry. And when I knocked into him, he just fell easily. Diving. I raised my hands and gave a bewildered look. But being a gentleman I still pull him up. Then there was another incident when we really clashed together and he yelled out loud. He was wearing this metal watch and I thought he got cut. I took his hand and he was alright. Then I realised cb, I was the one who got cut. And I didn’t make a sound at all. The guys might think I was the one at fault. Freak. Why he shout so loud? I still have that cut on my palm. I told him to remove his watch immediately. Laurent was quite good, quick and skilful.
For lunch it was just Laurent and I. I invited him to play soccer with us because we are short of players tonight. Moreover, he drives so he can drive me to and fro. But I genuinely wanted him to play also of course… He also agreed to accompany me to the prefecture tomorrow and try to get my 55 euros back. After lunch, Ravi brought his colleague Mickael for the experiment. I hope this is not the only one he can find for me. When Ravi left, he had a smiling face, satisfied that he had accomplished his task. Please, I need 10 more people… The participant was very cheerful and after that I treated him some coffee. We chatted at the cafeteria and he was envious of my tour plan. Haha. He said it is so nice that I can go to Rome, London, Amsterdam. But he strongly recommended me to go to Berlin. Because they have very large discotheques. Wah, exactly the same as what Jaroslav had said. Mickael also mentioned that I should go to La Corse, a big southern island of France. Very big. But he said it is very expensive to go to that island. The coffee treat was of course to show my gratitude. Also to widen my circle of friends here. And lastly, was also for me to complain how hard and pitiful it is for me to get people to do my exp. Gain some sympathy from the participants so that they can help me spread the words.
Earlier, I had sent to Julien Perret that I am really desperately in need of participants and wanted him to ask his students in INSA to help. He came and asked me how urgent and how many. I said 20 and hopefully I can complete everything by next week. He said a good time would be this Thursday and Friday. I told him it would be a long weekend and IRISA would be closed. He then said I have the access card to enter. But I said I can enter the building but not this office. He said it shouldn’t be a problem because I can find someone with the key. The problem is, he said very explicitly that I didn’t want to work during this long weekend. Really dio suan. But who would want to work over the long weekend? Esp. when it is not my fault? I didn’t ask for so many experiments. I kept telling myself that I have completed whatever tasks given by Anatole and shouldn’t blame myself for not completing the exp. If I am needed to extend my contract until 30th June, it isn’t my fault for the delay. If I were to extend, I am doing out of goodwill. But of course I wouldn’t extend in any case because I have booked everything for my tour. Julien really had a bit of tone indicating that it isn’t that urgent and important. The access to the office is really not a problem to him. It is whether I am willing enough to do it or not.
In the end I went to look for Mathilde who has the master key for all the offices. She said by right she can’t give it to me but since she loves me so much, she is willing to sacrifice. Haha. sorry. Daydreaming again. The first part is true. It is a master key and very important. Not to be given to anyone easily. Esp. a small little foreign trainee like me. I asked if I can ask someone who has higher authority to sign out for me. She thought for awhile, then passed the key to me and said I must keep it very very very safe. She will get it back on Monday. It showed that she really trusted me. Nah… I think she is just bochap. So I have the key and went to see Julien. He showed me the timetable of his students and gosh! It is very packed! Initially he mentioned that the students have lessons from 8am to 7pm. I thought they must have breaks in between. When I looked at the timetable, there are breaks. In fact 2 of them. 30 min in the morning and 15 min in the afternoon. That’s all. Some time ago, Vincent asked about the number hours for eng students in SG and I said around 24 hours per week. He said that is quite ok. He thought it would be like 40hrs. Here I think the engineering students are having more than 30 hrs per week. I think their study life is more jialat than ours.
In the evening, hui and I were planning for that Loire Valley tour. There is no doubt this time. Both of us are determine to go. And we were both pretty excited partly because we are able to visit the castles and partly because we would have a chance to meet. And even thought of what are the things we could bring and exchange, like VCDs for example. The only problem is the youth hostels. I had Laurent called them for me. The office phone wasn’t working again but he was very kind to call using his mobile. He is really my best friend. I need him to call again tomorrow to confirm the vacancies. And getting him to call is much better not only because he speaks French but also because he is experienced in booking youth hostels. Really hope that this Loire Valley trip would turn out fine. Actually, I did the entire planning for the Loire Valley and really have not much info. I have only a rough idea of the location of the castles as they are spread all over the Valley. It is unlike planning for a visit to a town. Everything is in the town and will be much simpler. I think we have to take a bit of risk. My idea was to have the places in mind, go down to the tourism office and ask for info. Hope hui wouldn’t blame me if the trip turns out to be a flop.
Some students replied to Julien saying they are willing to do the exp. Julien sent out to 48 students and hopefully I can have 10. I don’t think I am asking to much; 10 out of 48 leh. So far I got 3. But they really only have time after 1930hrs. It would be long working hours next week I guess. But I am willing to sacrifice as long as I get this mission impossible cleared. For this weekend, I was planning to go to Quimper initially. Then I realised that on Sunday it is Victory Day for WW2 which is a PH in France. I thought perhaps I can go to Caen which is in Normandy where there is this huge war memorial site with thousands of tombstones (tens of thousands I think). If not I think I would go there on 6th June which is D Day (the day the Allies landed on Normandy Beach). Should be quite meaningful. I even thought of going to Barcelona for this coming long weekend. 4 days is really a lot. But most likely I would be in Quimper, Caen or IRISA…
At 915pm, I went to Laurent’s block and waited for him. At 920pm he still had not come out and hence I decided to go and find him. While looking at the letter box to check which room he is staying, Ana coincidentally came out to check letters. First thing she asked was if I have got my money back. I said I would go tomorrow. I then asked her about the participant and she said sorry she had forgotten about it. She will send me an email tomorrow. Laurent came down and then we went off. We went onto the highway and there was a man standing at the edge hitch hiking. We stopped for him but the place he wanted to go was really out of the way. Laurent said normally if he is alone, he wouldn’t stop for such stranger. You never know if he has a gun or something like that. We took a long route but still managed to find the place.
The game was very tiring. We played for 1 hr and 40 min. There was this black guy who was very rough, kept pushing. I had a lot of contact with him and I was more aggressive than he was. Because I was really kind of angry. And when I knocked into him, he just fell easily. Diving. I raised my hands and gave a bewildered look. But being a gentleman I still pull him up. Then there was another incident when we really clashed together and he yelled out loud. He was wearing this metal watch and I thought he got cut. I took his hand and he was alright. Then I realised cb, I was the one who got cut. And I didn’t make a sound at all. The guys might think I was the one at fault. Freak. Why he shout so loud? I still have that cut on my palm. I told him to remove his watch immediately. Laurent was quite good, quick and skilful.
After the game, I went back with Laurent. He said he couldn’t join us every Thursday because that is when he would play jazz music at some centre. Wow. Then I asked him about tomorrow’s prefecture trip. He said he got a lot of work to do and had to leave in the evening for the long weekend. Wah. Not free must tell me earlier so that I can ask someone else to go with me. In the end, he still agreed to go with me. I owe him a big favour. Then we talked about the trip to his parents’ house and he said there would be a pretty girl joining us. Wow. But I not that enthusiastic as he is. But the trip should be good because the pink coast is very famous. I must say the people here are all very helpful and ri qing. I was thinking maybe I should do like what Jaro did; invite the closer colleagues for a dinner at some restaurant when I am leaving. But the thing is I wouldn’t be a good host. Perhaps Laurent can help me do the organizing then. And for this weekend, I think I would plan to go to Caen because Laurent stayed there for 4 years and he said it is very beautiful. But I might not be able to get a bed in hostels or hotels because of the Victory Day.
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