Culture Shock

I'm right now in Paris! Woo-hoo!

We actually arrived yesterday morning but I was too tired to blog in anything. It's 8.15am in Paris (2.15pm in Malaysia) right now. Sahur over here ended around 6.32am. We woke up around 4.45am. Just ate bread with Nutella (The BIG jar is frickin' cheap here. In Malaysia it could cost up to RM15 for a normal size jar.) and La Vache Qui Rit (Also frickin' cheap.)

Here's how the journey to Charles De Gaulle airport went. The day that we left Malaysia was a hectic one. Full of stupid challenges that we had to face upon departure. There were still some stuff on the list-of-things-to-buy-for-people-abroad that we didn't buy yet because we didn't (More like couldn't) find. So last minute shopping really kicks ass! In a bad way.

I was supposed to attend class on the 9th. 2pm til 5pm. I couldn't make it. Besides my terrible headaches and running nose, I just didn't finish packing my things yet. There were new things to add to our luggages so we had to constantly change the contents of our bags so it would't exceed the required capacity. 20kg x 3 people = 60kg. More than enough. We were just bringing clothes and stuff, right? Wrong! We weren't just bringing clothes. We had to also bring fruits, kuihs, vegetables and others which are rare in Paris or expensive but cheap in Malaysia. You know the drill.

All in all, one luggage was assigned to carry on the fruits and vegetables, one luggage was assgined to carry presents and gifts and things on the list-of-things-to-buy-for-people-abroad and lastly, the luggages that would be used for our clothes and stuff. Put all that into account.... four luggages altogether. Not taking into account our carry-ons, laptop, camcorder and camera bag. Two big luggages, two wheelies, three "backpacks", laptop bag and camcorder and camera bag. Uncle Jean-Luc had work so he couldn't pick us up.
The alternative = Take The Train.

I was thinking, "Uh, okay. Train. That's easy, right? I'm sure it would be just as easy as the trains in Malaysia."Uh-uh. Think again, Bozo.

It was ok to just walk and drag light luggages. But the thing is we don't have just light luggages, we had three heavy luggages, and few light ones that we had to drag around France. Not to mention that it was a on a Wednesday, so local people in the train were a bit upset to find that the seats were occupied by a couple of foreigners who brought along BIG luggages. My bad.
Viva la France.

What's worst is that the subways don't have that many escalators installed for the people. Did they forget about the disabled people or something??? How are they to go on and about their business here? (I guess they just stay at home or take the bus and stuff.) There were only the traditional stairs available for us. Sad isn't it? We had to carry all those heavy luggages up and down the stairs. By the time we reached the third staircase, thank god we were going down and not up, I felt like just throwing the luggages down the steps, instead of just carrying while descending one step at a time. (Oi, puasa la! Rasa macam nak mati!) Ridzy had to carry the heavy ones up the stairs. Kesian. It was even more tiring for him. When we reached the final staircase, which we had to go up and not down, I could tell Ritz was already K.O. Lena and I waited at the bottom of the staircase. Aunty Alis was carrying the light luggage so she easily went up and waited for us there. I wish our lives were as simple as hers. Plus, she's really fit for her age. She told us that it was due to all the walking around. She said driving in Paris during rush hour is terrible. What else is new? Malaysia juga sama.

As we waited for Ritz to help with the luggages, this really nice man offered Lena a hand - But he spoke in French. At first she couldn't guess what he was trying to say so he just grabbed the luggage and went up the stairs like nobody's business. Lena, of course, said "Merci". (She told me that it was her first time speaking French to a French person. I told her that in Starbucks, we try to speak a little French to our French customers who work in Carrefour, also known as the "Doppio group" and she said, "No, I mean to a real French person that is not required as a script like in Starbucks.".......... Huh??? So, saying bonjour and merci is a script? And the Doppio group are not real French people? What the.....?)

Anyways, it was really nice of that man to help, even though we hadn't asked him to.

At the bus stop (Yeah! We had to ride the bus, too!), Aunty Alis had shown us these bikes that people can rent for the day. It was cool! To rent it, you'd have to have a credit card so that they could charge you in that manner. There are a lot of parking spots for the bikes in Paris. When Aunty Alis showed us, there were about only a few of them left. A lot of the spots were empty. I'm guessing that people in France are encouraged to be environmentally friendly. (No duh!)

We were waiting beside the bus. My eyes wander around to see this town, this town that seems so alien to me, and my eyes came to rest upon this drugstore. (Pharmacy ok? Not an actual "drug"store.) I watched the people inside, paying for whatever they want. Nothing seemed interesting until my eye caught something colorful. The LEDs of a machine outside the drugstore. It was stuck on the wall. At first I thought that it could've been a vending machine for candies or something edible. But as I "zoomed in" on the machine I saw that it was a vending machine for condoms. I was unsure at first but when I saw the word "Durex" plastered on it, I knew that I was right. Takkan Durex jual chewing gum kot? Maybe chewable condoms?? Hahaha. Reminds me of the movie "The Coneheads". Dan Akroyd chewed on condoms.
Hilarious! I didn't know that they were condoms at that time. I was still an innocent little girl. I'd thought that the shape of the bubble gum he was blowing was weird. Few years later...... baru tau. But anyways, yeah it was a bit of a culture shock for me. When I told my big bro, he said that it's common almost eveerwhere. Canada, the Us of A, England... you name it. Malaysia tak ada. Just to promote safe sex in a healthy way. I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. Should Malaysia have it, too?

Anyways, after the bus ride we reached our grandparents flat. Thank god!!!!!!

Our fingers ached from all the pulling and carrying around. Our first day revolved around sleeping only. Jetlag.

Lena caught the bug. I think I passed it to her because I'm feeling a lot better now, besides the occasional sniffs and coughs. She's been sleeping most of the time. Even now. Poor Lena.Ritz went out for a nice long walk after his short nap just now. I wanted to go, too but he didn't let me. Sheesh! Since when do little brothers get to tell their older sisters on what they can and cannot do? Topsy turvy world we live in now. The women bring back the bread and the men make meals out of them. Don't get mad at me for saying this. I'm just saying it the way I see it.

Ok, I gotta go now. My grandma needs help in the kitchen. She's a killer Chef!

Adioz!