Toothache and Homesick

Almost a month that I have been here in France. I am starting to feel really really homesick, especially when I go shopping. In Jakarta I always had my best mates with me choosing this and that at the shopping centre, asking them which one suits me better or them begging me to buy a new jacket. And eating out together, buying my "Quickly" drink or simply sit at a coffee shop and talk for hours. Then we would wait another hour for a taxi and another hour for the traffic jam while we take Christa to her house and then back to the flat. Oh! How I miss those days!


Then back at home I would always have my mum and my sister with me...I miss them both as they're always fighting about my "taste" lol. They're always cooking me all this delicious stuff and I can't have that here, the kitchen is miles away from my room and it's always bread for everything. Excuse my complaints.

And well, homesick is not the only thing I'm dealing. Apart from the "interesting" courses, I have this stupid toothache at the back of my mouth, which I should've done the operation while I was still in Jakarta. I hate going to the dentist.

Oh, sorry for this batch of post, I really don't usually do this kind of post :S I'm trying to figure out a way to bring a bit of the atmosphere back home into my 9 squared metre room (in a very noisy building where people like to skype with their dog while shouting and singing loudly in the middle of the night.....just saying)

But on the other hand, Nantes has been very good to me, not adding my pain of homesick and toothache. It has been sunny for the past 2 weeks, a trip to the sea this weekend (hopefully) will cure everything.

Drizzle in Nantes

Nantes is what they say a town of drizzle. No it's not rain, it's drizzle. In Nantes, it's a speciality apparently. We will get this drizzle from time to time and we'll just have to get used to it. And well, what they say is right as I was welcomed with the famous Nantes drizzle as I dragged my suprisingly not-so-heavy luggage trying to find my way to my 9 squared metres residence.

And as I entered my building, I found my room was isolated from the others. Next to an exit (which has been proved noisy at night), in the corner (far from the kitchen which is in the other corner) and no neighbour. The room is small, well that's what you get for 9 squared metres I guess, and cold, my theory is because of its position. Brr...and it's still summer, which means the heater is off. Pfft! Boo to me coming from a tropical country.

Started my course this week and I was shocked. Lots of mathematics which means I need to dig deep and remember my maths courses from what it seems forever ago. This going back to school thing is definitely harder than I thought. Who knew the transformation from an employee to a student could be this complicated.

Though it seems I'm complaining (which I'm not btw *rolls eyes*), I am enjoying this moment. New friends and new country, a very tasty (tasty?! I must be hungry!) experience. And my life right now, wouldn't want to change it!

And let me introduce you to the famous elephant of Nantes:

...aaaanndd did you know that crepes were originally from Nantes? We have the best ones in France! I love this fact! :)

So Europe?

Arrived at Lyon two days ago and my first thought was "Wow, I'm really in Europe, but it doesn't feel like Europe". The long flight and and the many transits were okay, not really blown away by the experience though. Had a headache for half of the flight and was squeezed sitting in the middle at the back row and was fed too much food. Bleuh. But hey! I managed to arrive safely here.

I didn't think I would make the journey smoothly, but I surprisingly did. An Indonesian lady who has lived in France for 12 years showed me the way to the immigration at Schiphol Airport. I was accompanied by another Indonesian lady (well, I accompanied her) who was visiting her daughter during 1 hour while waiting for my next plane. Then before jetting off to Lyon, I was greeted by another Indonesian woman, whose friend was picking her up at the airport. The airport was really quiet and so calm. They both helped me to take Rhone Express and showed me the bus. I got on the wrong bus, and a French lady helped me out (in English!). And finally I saw CISL.

There was a time when I thought "What the heck am I doing here?!" and here I am two days later: a lot less homesick, made great new friends, went round Lyon's city centre, and eating leftover pasta from lunch. At this point I can't say that I'm loving it, but I'm sure one day I will. So Europe? OUI!

For Good

I made a thank you video, to my amazing friends at AAB. I think this video summarizes all the things I've been through and all the fun I had.

For Good

Inventing Shadows

I love love love Dia Frampton from The Voice. Love her unique voice and her new solo Inventing Shadows.

Dia Frampton - Inventing Shadows lyrics



It's not surprising it could end like this

Your eyes are open even when you kiss

You're so distant

So cold, so resistant

You see the world in only gray and black

Now how can anybody live like that

Without screaming, without dying for dreaming



And you stare out the window at the passing cars

And you look at the sky, thank your unlucky stars

No you're never quite happy right where you are



So you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none, no there are none

Yeah you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none

You don't even see the sun, can't you see the sun



It can't be shocking I might want to leave

The way you're living's like you're half asleep

You just drain me

If I go who could blame me



And you stare out the window at the passing cars

And you look at the sky, thank your unlucky stars

No you're never quite happy right where you are, right where you are, with all that you are



And so you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none, no there are none

Yeah you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none

You don't even see the sun, can't you see the sun



You're so young, so beautiful, so flawless in my eyes

Don't you know the world shines

Every time you smile

Why can't you just smile



So you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none, no there are none

Yeah you keep on inventing shadows

Where there are none

You don't even see the sun, can't you see the sun



You dim the lights in the world I see

How I wish that I could still believe

Time to save me

If I go, who could blame me







Lyrics | Dia Frampton lyrics - Inventing Shadows lyrics

The Greatest Gift Ever

Bu Yeni: Congratulations! You have been accepted at AAB, you can now go and tell your mother-in-law-to-be that you have a job.

I could never forget the day Bu Yeni said that to me (I have no idea why she said "the mother-in-law-to-be" bit though). I was relieved, well I was unemployed, a fresh graduate, and all I wanted was a job. And boy was I lucky to be recruited at one of the most prestigious companies in the country. I was ecstatic.

As I started working, I had so many mixed feelings. I began by being grateful for having a job in Jakarta. Then after I started my job it was stressful, then I found out that I had such an amazing team. I learned a lot of team work, I appreciate every support, every help, every argument. I love my team.

But a job is just a job, what makes it different in AAB is the atmosphere and the friendship. Just as I entered my second year, I met a lot of new friends which soon became my best friends. Never did I expect to gain so much from this job.

I'm gonna miss being mentored by CHA, REL and BAG.
I'm gonna miss the advise from my first friend in AAB, CAD.
I'm gonna miss being calmed down by DEY with his soft, calm voice.
I'm gonna miss the arguments with RGR, I believe she has learned to be meaner and tougher.
I'm gonna miss our so-called overtime and chits chats between hours with ETH and RWD.
I'm gonna miss CAA's wet hair in the morning and her slow slow response.
I'm gonna miss everything about AAB and everyone in AAB.

If I could crumple AAB into a mini pocketsize keyring, I would. It'll always be a part of me. Peace of mind :D

By the way...Anyway...Busway

Me : two please (shoves 7000IDR through the tiny hole)
The woman : (shoves back 2 tickets)
Me : (silently walk pass a man and gives the tickets to him)
The man : *kreeeeekkk* (that was supposed to be the sound of paper ripping)

If that wasn't too obvious, that was one of the many repeated conversations I've had before settling my feet on one of the most (supposedly) reliable bus service in Jakarta: the Transjakarta or you can simply call it the busway. Oh busway how I have so many controversial feelings for you! But let's talk about those feelings later shall we?

On to the main topic. I was just thinking as I was on the busway, Blok M route, when I looked at the tickets. I don't know if this applies to all routes but it does to the Blok M and Lebak Bulus routes. As we know almost all ticket machines are now disfunctioned (surprise surprise), which is a complete shame and waste of money by the way, and all tickets have been replaced to "paper tickets". Here's a preview, just incase you haven't seen one.



This is only HALF of the original size, since half of it has been ripped. I was curious at how the busway industry in Jakarta has contributed to global warming, a lot I presume.
I mean if you're gonna rip out the paper in half and THROW it in the bin straight away then there's no need to print out such huge tickets! At the end we're also gonna throw the other half anyway, and this usually happens even before we enter the busway. What a waste of ink and paper! And not to mention, hel-lo we already have ticket machines, why not fix it???!? Again, waste of money!

When I was in Penang, Malaysia for a holiday, I took their buses called Rapid Penang. They also had bus tickets, trust me they also contribute to global warming, but at least their bus tickets were wayyyyy smaller than what we have in Jakarta, about one tenth to what we have with smaller prints. Not that I'm comparing (I know how sensitive we are about it).