Goodbye 2015, thank you!

Last post of 2015 (excluding all the backlogs and drafts of my trips which I will try to get around to eventually), so I thought I'd do a basic recap and reflection for the year!

- Jan: back to school for term 2, rehearsals, got the year abroad allocation and found out that I was going to Strasbourg! But everything was pretty slow-paced at the start.

- Feb: Watched Les Mis, went to Tromso, saw northern lights, apps and ints that turned out well so was very very thankful!

- Mar: Went to Stockholm, String Orch concert, opera rehearsals and crazy week of attending SW in the day and playing for opera at night but I survived that week!!

- Apr: Easter break, studying for exams, Brandy shopping, SW, more ints and AC with positive outcomes, more studying. Super grateful for everything :)

- May: Last bits of studying, exams, end of exams, packing, brunch dates around London. Sprained my right ankle.

- Jun: Moving out, cleaning, Thorpe Park finally and then back to SG! Admin stuff once I got back, applied to work at TS, met up with friends, started work at TS!

- Jul: Still working at TS, met up with more friends, ice-skating, basically SG life. Sprained my left ankle, LOL.

- Aug: Last days of work, packing, back to London then moved to Strasbourg all within the same week! Super excited to be in Strasbourg and weather was so amazing.

- Sep: Strasbourg life, started school, made new friends, went to Oktoberfest in Munich, great times with my Strasbourg friends!

- Oct: Came back to London for one weekend, more school, exams, did my 10-day Scandinavia-Europe trip: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Milan. Met the HCSE girls in Scandinavia and went to see the World Expo with M in Milan!

- Nov: Back to school, more exams, more studying, went to Cologne the last weekend to meet XC and met P for a few hours in Amsterdam!

- Dec: More studying, more exams, coursework, came back to London, met up with friends over meals, went to Nice and Monaco with S, Christmas Party at J's, Boxing Day, met more friends and now it's NYE!

It's been a crazy year of travels, new adventures and great times with friends, but I think I've also found the peace within myself that I've been searching for. I'm pretty proud of myself for staying positive and determined (maybe not calm all the time) even in times of adversity, and to always be grateful for everything, even the smallest of things. I've been lucky to have met many kind strangers who've helped me this year during my travels, and I'm really thankful for their random little acts of kindness. Last but not least, I'm thankful for all the friends that I've kept in touch with as well as am the new friends that I've made during the year, and of course for my family especially my parents who have always been so supportive of me no matter what I do. And I'm thankful for technology that has allowed me to keep in touch with everyone despite the physical distance between us all.

For 2016, to be honest I'm actually really happy with the way things are right now but then again, the only constant is change. I hope things stay the way they are or get even better! And I guess I should have some resolutions, but I'll keep some private for now :D I guess I've achieved about half of my resolutions for 2015 (as always haha it's almost impossible to achieve all because some aren't really within my control), but for 2016 I would really like to learn more new skills, travel more and remain positive and grateful towards everything! :) And of course do better in my studies and all. Good vibes, good vibes always :D

Thank you 2015, you've been absolutely amazing and I've been really really happy this year. Here's to an even better 2016 ahead!

Happy New Year / 新年快乐 / Bonne année à tous / Felice Anno Nuovo!

Back in London - and off again!

Sitting in the Starbucks at Gatwick now with Steph waiting for our flight back to France later! Hahaha. Had such a hectic 2 weeks before I came back to London omg was so busy with exams and coursework and all. Had 5 exams in 3 days between 8 - 10 Dec, then another oral evaluation on Friday of that week. Tuesday was the linguistique synchronique exam which was actually supposed to be the following week but turned out that it got shifted forward and I had no idea so I went in and thought the paper was a practice paper before realising 15 min into the paper that it was the actual exam ... Major FML moment LOL. And I didn't even study for it nor did I bring a dictionary. But the passage wasn't that hard so hoping it went well ... Rest of the exams were awful I really hate having back-to-back exams argh. But the oral exam went pretty well I think! And then I had to submit the literature dossier before I left so stayed up until 5am to finish it on Tuesday morning T_T But at last it was done and submitted, so I spent Tuesday afternoon doing last minute chocolate shopping, then went ice skating at the rink at Place Dauphine with K! The rink was really really tiny though and the ice wasn't smooth but it was fun and I hadn't skated for half a year omg. Then met V for a last dinner, we had Lebanese food and it was so good!! I got back quite late so showered and packed and backed up some files on my com but didn't sleep as my train was at 6.20am from the gare. Got to Saint Louis station and was trying to figure out how to get the bus to the airport with this other Spanish girl but this super nice lady walked past and saw that we were lost and she just offered to send us to the airport in her car! The airport was a 5 min drive away but apparently they'd changed the bus route or something so we couldn't find the bus stop, but I'm gonna have to figure it out when I next take the plane from BSL ... But anyway the lady was really nice, her name is Claude and we thanked her when we arrived. I was pretty early for the flight but I had a crappy seat and the flight was really full but I was so tired I just slept all the way LOL.

London days had been really really busy so I'm just gonna do some daily summaries here:
16/12 Wed - arrived in afternoon, picked up some stuff from WT's place, met O for dinner at All Bar One at Canary Wharf and also had a tour of his office!! Had a game of pingpong in the gym room LOL and the view up there was so amazing!
17/12 Thurs - Had breakfast with E at 8am at Le Pain Quotidien and then had a second brunch with the SW girls at the Breakfast Club - 2 places which I've always wanted to try! Food was really really good. Then S and Y and I went to check out the new Brandy Melville store at Covent Garden! Didn't buy anything cause there wasn't anything new. Met J and Y again for dinner at Shake Shack and also had Biju for dessert hehe.
18/12 Fri - Met CW for dimsum then we went to shop on Oxford Street - for the first time it was me waiting for someone else in the changing room LOL. Then went to meet H and J for dinner at Flat Iron, but there was a queue so we went to macs first and ate nuggets LOL. But the steak at Flat Iron was really really good omg will want to go again.
19/12 Sat - Went to explore Broadway Market with Car in the morning and had brunch at El Ganso - the avocado toast with salmon was really good but the pancakes were average except for the huge serving of berries. C had work after that so I got off at Russell Square to check out Office at the Brunswick for shoes - and the New Balance 574 in black and pink which I'd been eyeing was on sale!!! And it was the last pair, in my size!!!!! Was so happy and it fitted perfectly :) Then I saw another pair in burgundy and it actually suited me even more and I couldn't decide between the two so I just bought both LOL. But then again I never wear any other shoes anyway so I will probably wear the shit out of those shoes. Went back and was so tired I fell asleep and overslept for dinner ... Met the HCSE girls at Hare and Tortoise (but the Kensington one) for dinner! Didn't expect to see them so soon after Stockholm but we were once again reunited in London!
20/12 Sun - Had lunch with FY and helped her to shift some stuff, then went to meet M and L in Chinatown. They had dimsum but I missed it but we went to get Sharetea after that. L had a train to catch and M had until 5 before his dinner so he went with me to the post office at the Plaza. But it rained so we were stranded there so we decided to check out the sale at USC. And I found this super super pretty pair of Sketchers in pink and blue!!!!!! Didn't intend to buy shoes again since I'd just bought 2 pairs of NB but it was SO PRETTY and really light and comfortable to wear. And they were half price!!! So now I have 3 new pairs of sports shoes so I probably shouldn't be buying anymore for like the next 3 years maybe ... Then went back to UCL to print stuff before going out again for dinner with I Hall. Good company but made a bad decision so had the worst 炸酱面 ever LOL. Then went back to Car's place and chilled until about 11.
21/12 Mon - Met YX for a quick catch up over hot chocolate, then was supposed to run a few errands and go shopping but I was so tired I just slept the whole afternoon. Showered and packed before meeting S and Car for dinner! Went to eat at ASSA then went to Bone Daddies to try their French toast with matcha soft serve. Then packed and left for Gatwick. We caught the last tube so was one hour early but made the stupid mistake of waiting at bus stop 8/9 instead of GATE 8/9 inside the coach station lol we weren't even in the coach station. But we managed to get the 2.30am bus instead and finally got to Gatwick! Checked in our bags and went to Starbucks.

So anyway the past 5 days have been literally food food and more food. Boarding right now hehe very hyped to go back to Frenchland!

Sunday

So I'm stuck in Strasbourg while the Brandy Carnaby is having a garage sale today :( I have absolutely awful timing basically the only one I've ever been to is the first one ... And also realise my blog views are mostly for the Brandy sale post that I did back in June HAHA. Guess people are doing their research :P

Anyway, last night was a good night :) I woke up miraculously at 4.30am this morning to use the toilet, then I couldn't fall back asleep -.- Got up at 6.30am finally, made breakfast - milo and what was supposed to be a hardboiled egg turned out to be a soft boiled egg instead but all the better LOL. Then I actually went for a run by the canal!! :D Well it's my first time running in ages so didn't run too much only did 20 min but I was so tired LOL. Came back and had a fruit yoghurt and showered and it's only 10am. Normally I would only just wake up at this time, so feeling rather productive today and hoping this productivity will last LOL. And amazing gradient sunrise this morning I swear it's the only motivation for me to wake up early HAHAHA.

Okay but I have friends going for the Brandy sale for me so hopefully there'll be nice stuff OMG.

05122015

HAHA cool date today it's anagrammable!!

Okay but I've finished the syntax exam on Thursday then we all went to l'Epicerie again for dinner then Christmas market where I got another nutella crepe. I came back early and did some work :D Then Friday (yesterday) was a quite productive day, went for an atelier for FLE in the morning, stayed there for another 2 hours and got some work done, then went for lunch with Viivi in the uni resto before going for the methodo revision class. Went back to the library after the class to do some work before dinner, came back and cooked a really lazy soup for dinner, and went back again before the library closed at 10 so I would say that was a really productive day! But I didn't do anything after I came back ahaha. Slept a solid 10 hours so feeling well rested and talked to quite a number of friends it feels so nice to catch up with people after so long! And heard good news too so very happy for one of them :D And very excited to be meeting people in Dec when I go back :D Good day so far even though it's 4pm and I've not done anything for today but I've just showered and gonna do some work now woop woop!

First time at Strasbourg's Christmas Markets

Had the histoire de la langue exam today. Completely screwed it up we always thought it was going to be on everything including stuff from the first exam but turns out it was only the stuff taught after the first exam which was basically all the Latin stuff. I'm so bad at the Latin stuff gah so that was horrible ... couldn't resist checking the answers after the exam, not very hopeful for it at all :( Just hoping I can pass omg ...

Anyway after the exam V and O and I went to check out the Christmas markets in Strasbourg! It opened this weekend but as I wasn't here so today was my first time :D It was quite cool but we went before the sunset so couldn't see the lights, but I'll go again soon when it's dark! Was absolutely starving after the exam so we went straight for the food, but they had tons of cute stuff like candles and Christmas ornaments. I wish I could have a tree but there is no space at all in my room HAHA. Anyway, I got a bowl of spaetzle which is a type of Alsatian noodle/pasta I believe. It was quite good and about standard Christmas market pricing i.e. €5. V and O both got flam baguettes with cheese!

After the spaetzles I was still really hungry so I went for a crepe. Btw we were at the market near Place Broglie which seems to have more food. The one at Place Kleber was mostly clothes and accessories and stuff. Got a crepe with nutella from this store quite near the sides called Stand La Bonumeur. Prices start from about €2 for a basic crepe and you can add stuff like fruits and nutella and other stuff! And the owner was super friendly hahaha he gave me chocolate buttons as I was ordering as well as a brochure menu thing. But the crepe was so good omg it was really soft and chewy and the nutella was heavenly HAHA. Will want to go back again! They also have a Facebook page here: Stand La Bonumeur (it's on the brochure hahaha).

We walked over to the cathedrale afterwards for mulled wine. It was not bad but I still think red wine is a bit strong for me hahaha. Anyway it's really good here in Strasbourg that they dont use disposable cups, but instead they re-use proper plastic cups. So like basically you pay about €3 for a cup of say 30cl and you can return the cup to any store afterwards and get €1 back. Or keep the cup. I didn't really like the design that I got today so I returned it but I saw some people carrying nicer cups when I was walking back so gonna get one of those next time!!

After I got back I was really sleepy because of the mulled wine I think and also general fatigue from all the exams so I slept for 2 hours. Have the syntax exam tomorrow so need to study for that now!! As well as 5 hours of classes before the syntax exam omg ... so much for exchange life T_T

November

Omg can't believe it's been one whole month since I got back from Milan. THE WHOLE NOVEMBER. And it's already 1 Dec today last month of the year omg seriously 2015 is passing by way too quickly ...

Anyway, I have a whole row of exams coming up so gonna make this a quick post because I just wanted to update the stuff in November before I forget. So yep, got back from Milan to Strasbourg on the 2nd early morning I think, then had the Methodologie exam on the 5th. Didn't go anywhere on that weekend because Car came to visit me on the 9th!! I had classes on the 10th so we just explored Strasbourg, ate a LOT HAHAHA then 11th was Armistice Day in France so we did a day trip to Basel since everywhere in Strasbourg was closed. Basel was cool but it was my 2nd time there so nothing new, dragged Car to the Brandy as always and got quite a few items from the last chance rack at 50% off. We also managed to get free tickets to the Natural History museum because they close at 5pm and they give free entry from 4pm onwards. Unfortunately everything was in German so couldn't understand anything ... Then on the same week on Friday made the impromptu decision to go to Zurich because Charles and Han were there on a society trip so another excuse to travel. But I stupidly missed my 5am bus HAHA so got a blablacar instead and finally made it to Zurich at 3pm!! First stop as always is the Brandy so now I can proudly say I've been to all the Brandy stores in Switzerland which is a small but still an accomplishment. :D Got the bus back on Sunday and I was seriously so tired the whole week. Nothing much went on that week but we went to check out Academie de la Biere which was not bad, then Charlie came to visit Viivi that weekend so we all went out. I fell sick and lost my voice on Saturday, didn't even realise until I was calling my mom then I realised I couldn't talk!! So it was quite shitty. Had the synchronique exam on the 24th (last Tuesday), went to all my classes despite being sick and all. Met one of my neighbours on Thursday and he gave me soup and tea and a lemon after seeing that I was sick omg seriously people here are so nice!! Then on the same night I took the overnight bus to Cologne to visit Xichen cause that was something that we planned ages ago! 

Didn't sleep much on the bus and arrived at 6am but ended up sleeping until like 12 noon LOL ... Went to the university for lunch, then we went to the city centre where we climbed the Kolner Dom! A million spiral steps later we finally arrived at 157m up. I think it's like the first cathedral I climbed? Can't remember if I climbed any others before ... then we went to the bridge and caught the sunset and visited a Lindt chocolate factory :D Also went to like 4 Christmas markets, German Christmas markets are absolutely amazing! I think the Strasbourg ones also opened during the weekend so gonna have to check it out sometime ... Then on Saturday we were supposed to go to Aachen, but ended up sleeping in until 2pm LOL. We still went in the end but missed the daylight hours but we went to the Christmas market and cathedral in Aachen and they were really good!! Also bought a lot of Printens (this local chocolate and ginger biscuit thing which is absolutely amazing) and had champignons. Then we went to the Carolus Thermal Bath and spent 2.5 hours there HAHAHA new activity to do in Germany. Got back to Cologne quite late but we cooked dinner! I haven't properly cooked in ages. The next day we were supposed to go to Amsterdam, so thank goodness we woke up in time but barely just caught the train :P Met Petros at the central station, then we went to the Van Gogh museum. Xichen had a concert to watch after that so Petros and I just went to walk around and yes Brandy again LOL but they didn't have much stuff so I only bought the new grid print Kaitlee skirt. Met Xichen again at 6pm then we went for the Heineken Experience! We were the last batch but the staff were all really nice and chill so it was a nice experience :D Got back to Cologne quite late again and had so much difficulty waking up in the morning cause I had to catch a bus back but I made it and got back in the evening!

Then today was the phonetics exam which was quite hard and I have 2 more exams tomorrow and Thursday so gonna stop this post now but omg busy days!!

Sick again

Brief update. So I'm sick again, for like the second time since coming to France :( Also lost my voice again and it's absolutely awful. Had the exam for linguistics this morning, 9 more exams to go + 1 dossier to submit before Christmas break. Been spending lots of time in the library. Also spending lots of money on food. Horrified that my waist has expanded 2 inches since August. It's been freezing these days but no snow so it doesn't really justify the cold. It also gets dark really early and I feel like a plant sometimes wanting more sunlight. I think winter is making me sad and miserable. :(

Amo Milano

Sitting on the Flixbus going back to Strasbourg now and there's supposed to be wifi but it's not working very well ... And so this marks the end of my grand 10-day Scandinavia-Europe solo backpacking trip :( But it was so amazing haha and everything was actually so impromptu?! I like it better this way hahaha basically the only things I planned were the travel timings and even that I only booked everything in like beginning September. And October is over too! I was marking my calendar and I've actually spent half the month out of Strasbourg haha.

So I stopped when I was boarding the flight to Milan (oh shucks did I even publish the post I need to check). Slept the whole way on the flight because I was SO TIRED and even when I landed I still looked like a zombie with huge eye bags hahaha so super sleep deprived. Everything went pretty smoothly though, M came to fetch me from the airport (so super nice of him!!) then he showed me around Bergamo. Also he was driving, so that made everything a lot easier hahaha while I appreciate the convenience of knowing how to drive I don't know when I will ever bring myself to go learn ...

Anyway, Bergamo is an absolute GEM. I can't believe what I would've missed out if not for M bringing me there!! And I was lucky that the weather that day was brilliant. Actually I've been pretty lucky this whole trip with weather because it was nice and sunny in Stockholm and Copenhagen even though it was super cold last week. Then London had okay-ish weather, like it didn't rain during the day but it was drizzling at night when we were going back to C's place so that was annoying. But the weather in Milan was good!! So we drove up to the old town part of Bergamo and walked around. It's not huge, but I really liked the interior of the church that we visited. (And as always this will be a photo-less post but everything's already on my Instagram anyway. And VSCO.) I also tried polenta, which is this corn-flour dish (I think it's really similar to 玉米粥/窝头?!) for the first time and it was super filling T_T I couldn't finish it even though I'm usually super determined never to waste food. But still that didn't stop me from having 2 gelatos after that HAHA. I freaking LOVE gelatos omg damn sad I actually only ate 3 this time :( The first gelato shop we went to was called La Marianna, and apparently it's famous for inventing the stracciatella flavour. I kept thinking that it's cookies and cream but I was wrong!! It's actually milk with chocolate chips. So I got that with strawberry and that was my first gelato ^_^

After that we drove down back to the lower town. There is actually a BRANDY MELVILLE IN BERGAMO. That I didn't know about!!! But it was closed T_T so I am determined to go back again ahh they have a siesta thing between 12.30pm - 4pm and we went around 2-ish so arghhh why do they do this!! T_T Okay but I will definitely have to go back again HAHA. So we went to get another gelato instead and this time it was at La Romana (or something). I got pistachio and pear!! 2 gelatos in a day felt very accomplished LOL.

Drove back to Milan after that and we went back to M's place for tea. Again I need to say it's damn shiok to travel around by car HAHA new experiences every time woop woop!! We wanted to get to the Expo by 6-ish since the night tix only allowed entry after 6, and it took about half an hour to get there by car. Super sian that the sun sets so early in winter it was almost completely dark by then T_T

Arrived at the expo around 6+. It was HUGE. To get to the actual place we had to cross this white bridge. But everything was very fascinating haha it was like a huge festival. So that makes 2 mega events I went to since term started hahaha Oktoberfest and Expo Milano. The Japan pavilion was supposed to be the nicest but it was already closed when we got there, so we just went into the Estonia pavilion randomly and sat on swings. Also saw the USA pavilion. The rest of the pavilions had too long queues and there wasn't much point to wait. But we saw the light show at the Tree of Light!! It was AMAZING omg and I really really loved the music hahaha they had Vivaldi's summer in there! And we went to the side so we were pretty close and got a rather good view. M's Chinese friend MX came to join us afterwards and we had pizza at EATaly hahaha I think that was my first pizza in Idk how long, maybe since April when we ordered Dominos in Argyle?!? HAHAw. Left the Expo around 11 and M drove us back, super grateful otherwise I would have had to find the Airbnb place by myself hahaha. But anyway J and the rest were already back by then so I just had to ring the bell. The Airbnb was a loft and it was so nice omg!! There was even a spiral staircase HAHA I have an obsession for spiral staircases now after the one inside Copenhagen's Botanical Gardens. But yeah the apartment was huge and damn shiokkk. Was super tired by then since I didn't sleep the night before so I just bathed quickly and slept because my eyes couldn't even open anymore HAHA. Almost forgot to set my alarm but luckily I remembered and had to force myself to get up to set my alarmS LOL.

31/10/2015:

Woke up at 6.30am even though my alarm was set for 6.15am omg super sorry for waking up J who was sharing the same room as me cause they weren't intending to get up so early T_T I was supposed to meet M at the Pta. Venezia metro station but luckily it was only 12 min away from the Airbnb place. We went to the expo early to queue for the Japan pavilion!! Arrived at about 8+ even though the gates only open at 9, but they let us in slightly earlier and people were actually RUNNING to the expo LOL. Despite going there so early there was already a super long queue at the Japan pavilion and the staff told us that the waiting time was 6 hours. SIX FREAKING HOURS. I didn't believe him at first but turned out it was true lol. But yeah, we waited for 6 hours. At least there was free wifi in the expo so it wasn't that boring HAHA could be worse. And I think most people who went on the last day were Italians because everyone around me were speaking Italian and I had to keep asking M for translations T_T Feeling the need to learn more languages now to facilitate my travels HAHAHA.

Finally got into the pavilion at around 3pm holyyyy it was really a 6h wait lol ... Apparently there was 1000+ people in front of us O_O But the queue went around the pavilion building so we couldn't really tell how long it was. I don't think I've ever queued so long for anything besides the Brandy Carnaby sale in May LOL but hopefully this kind of things don't happen again HAHA I mean I won't even bother queueing for the new iPhones ... Okay but the Japan pavilion was really really cool so it was rather worth the wait I guess? I mean it's not like we could've done anything else in the 6h when it was so crowded haha. There was this amazing wall of FOOD (pictures not real food sadly) in one of the rooms haha omg I want to eat the whole wall LOL. Then there were quite a few videos but the best part was the Restaurant of the Future at the end! And I still don't know how to use chopsticks the correct way hahaha mega disgrace T_T But the last part was probably why it took so long to wait cause there were limited seats and each show is quite long.

After the Japan Pavilion M's other friend A came to join us, then we went to get food and look at the shops. I bought this super pretty weaved bracelet from Cruciani in ombré pink and now I'm regretting not getting another one ... Wanted to wear it as an anklet but I think now I 舍不得 cause so nice so I'll keep it on my wrist HAHA. Then we went to the Open Air Theatre for the closing ceremony :D Super hyped that I got access thanks to M and A hehehe!! There were a lot of speeches though mostly in Italian but they had French and English translations so I was technically still revising French in Milan :P But I really wanna learn Italian now!! It's similar to French so it'll probably be easier to learn via French than English anyway. But yes the closing ceremony was really cool and they had fireworks in the end! We wanted to take pictures on the stage but sadly they didn't let people up anymore.

We went to eat again at EATaly afterwards and I finally had some legit Italian / Milanese (according to M) risotto HAHA (but was a complete waste cause it all came out afterwards T_T). Also had wine!! I've missed it hahaha haven't had any since like last Wednesday?? Then we walked around and wanted to go to the bar at the Russia pavilion, but it seemed close until some guys ushered us up a secret flight of stairs ... To the rooftop bar where there was a party going on LOL. I think it was some exclusive Russian party but we were there anyway. Drinks were free!!! BELUGA VODKA. HAHAHA. But I was gone after 2 drinks 2 shots and a bit more when the guy came around and just basically shot vodka into people's mouths LOL. So I don't remember the rest and hopefully I didn't do anything stupid even though M said I was okay. He sent me back then J came out to get me too ... Very very grateful again for friends that you can trust to take care of you T_T But I felt very bad for being a burden, AGAIN T_T Hopefully things like this don't happen again omg lol. And it was Halloween!! No Halloween party this year but I think partying on a rooftop bar Russian style in Milan Expo was pretty worth it HAHAHA.

01/11/2015:

Woke up this morning on the freaking floor HAHA but J put a duvet on me. But I was perfectly fine and actually got a solid 9 hours of sleep hahaha. Quickly packed cause I was leaving today while the rest are only leaving tomorrow. Then we went for breakfast/brunch/lunch even maybe?? It was this place called café Sansovino that was only a few stations away and THE CAKES AND PASTRIES WERE SO GOOD?! I bought 8 of the small cakes at first and then went for a second round with pistachio mousse and 2 other cakes ^_^ Then we nua-ed at the café cause they wanted to wait for the new batch of croissants that never came out :( So we left around noon then they went to the castle area (which I only just discovered so I have to go next time!!) while I headed for Brandy Melville. FINALLY!!! I didn't even go for the whole of Friday / Saturday and only the Cesare Beccaria store is open on Sunday :(

Wanted to deposit my luggage at Centrale at first but it was too out of the way and in the end I just left it at the Brandy cashier counter. The staff were really nice about it! But I spent like 2 hours there HAHA I bought 2 signboards, 1 pencil case, 1 pair of pants, 3 Brya skirts, the grid print Abigail dress, the Ellery top that I tried on in Basel but didn't get and 2 other tops! They have the Alena dress in new colours of mustard yellow and baby blue but they didn't really suit me even though they look so cute on their own. And I find Brandy's new colours so weird HAHA like bright colours are so not Brandy?? Idk hahaha. And I was really lucky to have gotten the Brandy Melville signboard!!! Been wanting it for like the longest time ever but it's usually not for sale at their stores. I think I saw it in the Stockholm store but it was 220SEK and it'd have been impossible for me to lug it all the way from Stockholm anyway so I didn't buy :( But it was only €15 at the Milan store!!! And it was the last piece HAHA I was at the counter explaining to the guy that I wanted more signboards, then he asked me which ones I wanted cause there were a few more California and Madrid ones behind the counter. I told him I wanted the big Brandy Melville one on top and surprisingly he said "Yes you can buy it" and I was like REALLY?! Then he got it down for me and told me I could only buy that and not the ones above (which I didn't even see) and it's actually the last piece!! So I was freaking lucky hahaha omgggg. And it's HUGE haha it can't fit into my duffel bag so I had to carry it separately but the Brandy paper bag broke halfway so I had to throw it away T_T

Walked to over to the Duomo to take a few photos, then took the metro to this station called Cairoli where there was supposed to be another Brandy store open on Sunday. I found the store alright, but it was closed even though Google said it opens on Sundays! But it was probably a good thing anyway cause it was already close to 4 by then and if I stayed any longer I would probably miss my bus at 4.45. So I just went to Lampugnano quickly and it was quite easy to find the Flixbus. Also bought a new phone cover with Tour Eiffel (cliché I know but I'm in France!) on the way cause my current one is breaking and a rainbow weaved anklet woop! Then I boarded the bus quite early and have been on it since then.

It's 11.30pm now so I've been on the bus for like, 7 hours already? And we've just arrived in Freiburg one more hour to Strasbourg! I can't say this more but I'm really really happy with this trip HAHA and very very thankful for amazing friends who hosted me literally everywhere!! And honestly travelling experiences are the best hahaha I just have this perpetual urge to go everywhere now but sadly my November isn't gonna be as hectic and wild as October hahaha. Also having 3 exams and 1 commentaire exposé so gonna be spending lots of time in the library!! But right now I just wanna get back quickly to my room in Strasbourg and unpack and rest HAHA.

London to Milan

Back at Stansted again ... 5th flight in a row HAHA but okay this is the last one already! Super tired didn't manage to sleep last night cause I was trying to dry my clothes + pack ... I managed to bring back most of the stuff I wanted to bring back to SXB but still left some stuff at C's place like my new Topshop white bucket bag :( And some of my clothes didn't manage to dry in time so am gonna just leave them there for now ...

I'll blog about Copenhagen days 2 and 3 another time (if I ever remember HAHA), but I spent the whole of yesterday in London. Arrived at C's place at about 12.30AM, by the time I showered and all it was 4AM. LOL. And I had a bunch of errands to run and stuff to collect from WT's place in the morning, so I had to get up at 7. Very amazed at how I'm still functioning with so little sleep lol. But then again I've been sleeping on all my bus journeys and the whole plane journey (like literally before take off until landing) so I guess the little bits count ...

Anyway, I met WT slightly before 9 to collect my postal slips, then went to the delivery office to collect my parcels. And I finally tried Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte! Remembered at the last minute to change to soy, so I didn't get any stomachaches this time. But it was so good!! I don't think there's any Starbucks in SXB haha so I don't know when will be the next time I can drink it again T_T

Spent 2 hours packing my stuff, I have so much stuff ugh. But we shoved everything into the storeroom. I feel so bad for taking up so much space with my stuff T_T Then went back to C's place and then I went to UCL to print my airtix and stuff. Then Oxford street. I wanted to return my stuff at Topshop initially but the queue was terribly long and it was so crowded even though it was just Thursday, so I'll have to return them by post instead. Then C, J, JY and I had dinner at ASSA! I haven't had Korean food in the longest time ever but it was so good hehehe!! Then I had sharetea hehe favz yakult green tea which I won't be able to drink again for a long time ... And we went to Primark before it closed. So it was a really long day!! But I did everything I had on my to-do list, except for returning the Topshop stuff.

Okay I think I have to go board now but Ryanair gave me priority boarding again woop woop!!

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Okay managed to just board in time LOL. It was gate 33 which is the same gate as when I took my first flight from LDN - SXB!! They were already boarding when I arrived but I had the priority queue thing so I managed to skip the waiting ... And I just realised I actually got allocated the exact same window seat LOL. But I'm sitting on the aisle seat now because the couple on my row were there first and they wanted the window seat and I don't really mind I'm just gonna sleep the whole way haha. But yeah the last time I had the window seat too and it was a Chinese couple next to me instead. Deja vu much?! Hahaha. Okay gonna take off soon!!

Copenhagen: Day 1

Woop so I made it to CPH!! Despite the horrible experience of hobo-ing in 6 deg temp in the middle of the night without sleep. But yeah after waiting for an hour plus finally the bus arrived and then the station was opened T_T So I sat inside to like, defrost for a bit. Slept the entire bus ride cause I was so tired, then slept a bit more at the airport but I was scared I'd fall asleep and miss my flight so didn't sleep very well. Apparently Zherms said that the food hall at the airport is open 24h (it's very small though), so perhaps the better plan would've been to go there earlier. Well hopefully I won't have to do that again!!! But yes to €5 plane tix still.

Anyway, I slept the whole flight cause I was so tired like I didn't even know we took off until I realised my ears were blocked. And I only woke up when we landed HAHA. The view was amazing but I was so tired I could barely open my eyes. We were flying pretty low I think. I have photos HAHA but it's difficult to add from my phone so maybe another time!! But it was so cold before we boarded!! There was the white mist even when I breathe.

Everything was pretty smooth upon arrival. I was surprised that there wasn't any border control like there usually is, but perhaps cause it was a Stockholm-Copenhagen flight. Took the metro to Norreport, then changed to the S train. The Danish trains are so posh omg?? Like the carriages are really wide and the seats are blue and velvety like first class HAHAHA. But I think they're made to fit bicycles because almost everyone cycles here and people bring their bikes up onto the trains (just like in Strasbourg actually). But yeah was pretty cool. I arrived at Zherms' place at about 9.30, then I meant to take an hour nap while waiting for my phone to charge but ended sleeping all the way until 3pm. My precious sunlight time T_T

Went out to walk around in order to catch the remaining sunlight hours, so I took the train back to Norreport which is basically the city centre. I love Copenhagen already! I think the best feeling is when you step out of the city centre metro station and you just step right out there and just kind of take in everything ... I don't even know how to describe it but it just feels so amazing and so inspiring every single time and for every single city. Like I was thinking about this just now during the moment and I was so inspired but now that I'm back the feeling is gone and I cannot recall what was it that was so inspiring. Okay next time maybe when I visit a new city HAHA. And same goes for the feeling when you just wander around a new place not knowing where you're headed for, but still going on all the same. Perks of travelling alone HAHA in all honesty I love travelling alone and just exploring places sans itinerary even though the only down part is that it does get a bit lonely at times and scary when you're going back alone at night. But other than that I think I appreciate my freedom very much.

Walked past the botanical gardens and then to the canal and the sunlight was amazing. Then it got dark so I went back to the city centre where the shops were and went to find the chocolate store that C wanted chocolates from. They were closing and I managed to get there just in time. Then I just wandered around while waiting for Antoine. There are so many H&Ms HAHA. And Tiger has so much cute stuff I would totes buy everything to decorate my room if I could ever be bothered to decorate my room.

Met A at 6 near the station then we walked around a bit more and he was showing me places to visit (need to find my way back there again tomorrow). Then we had dinner at this Danish restaurant called Restaurant Kultorvet which was really good and just talked for like 2 hours catching up! Miss orchestra times hahaha omg I really wanna find a violin rental place in SXB ...

Okay anyway now I'm back now hehe and I spent the whole day wondering why my phone had no memory space and just discovered that the new iOS update downloaded itself and took up all the space. But I'm going to sleep now because I am seriously damn tired like my eyes cannot open anymore and long day tomorrow don't want to waste anymore sunlight hours!!!

Stockholm is not a night city

Currently stranded at a macs in town that's about to close in 15 min. It's 1.45AM, and my bus to the airport is only at 3.30AM and I literally have no place to go ... Unbelievable how EVERYTHING is closed. Everything!! Even the train station!! There is NOTHING to do, and nothing to eat. As much as I've hobo-ed I think this might just be the worst because it's so cold outside :(

Left HX's place at 12.15AM and caught the last train to T-Centralen. When I got there I spent a long time looking for: a) The airport bus stop, and b) somewhere warm to sit for a few hours. After meeting a few drunk people and asking for directions from various people behind counters, I finally managed to find the train station. With benches!! My single ticket was still valid since it was within 75min, so I tapped in and comfortably sat myself down on an empty bench. Then I saw that I had wifi. Thank you eduroam! I thought it was going to be a comfortable night, so I settled down to read my John Green book on my phone.

- PAUSE while I just got chased out of the macs because they were closing, so I've made my way back to the bus stop and it's fucking freezing. This is not good. Also I am typing this because I have absolutely nothing else to do for the next 1.5 hours. -

So anyway, I thought my plan was settled! Then the guards came over and said something to me in Swedish. I didn't understand. They repeated a few times before switching to English, telling me that the station was going to close in 15 min. This was at approx 1.15am. Oh shit. So I asked them if there was anywhere else I could go to wait for my bus, but they didn't know. Well it's not really their obligation anyway to help ignorant travellers who don't bother planning in advance. So nvm, at least they pointed me towards the direction of the airport bus stop, which turned out to be the correct one. I am grateful for that.

I walked over to the bus stop and managed to find the one that goes to Skavsta Airport. The earliest bus is at 3.30AM. I found a bus stop opposite with seats, so I crossed over and thought I'd sit there and read my book until the bus comes. IT WAS FREEZING. Within minutes my fingers froze until I could barely even feel my phone screen, and only 10 minutes had passed. I could not stay like that for 2 more hours. So I got up, walked back to the train station and took an elevator down to the lower street level where the macs was. And got myself a cheeseburger for 10kr. And sat for 10 min before being chased out again. :( Where do people even go in Stockholm at night?!?!

Okay but anyway that was all a stupid rant because I chose to book cheap flights (think €5) with Ryanair at shitty timings. It was either hobo outside for 2 hours or walk through a forest for 15 min from HX's place to catch a night bus to central station at a nearer timing. To be honest I don't really know which is worse at this point. I am also being very wary of drunk people and strangers in general loitering around (there are many people wandering around and they are scaring the living shits out of me). The bus stop opposite has also been fully occupied and I have been reduced to standing, at the bus stop, behind a barrier to hide myself from the wind. As much experience as I've had with hobo-ing and being up for all sorts of adventures (??) and in general jumping into things without planning I think this is too much for me ... It's boring, it's uncomfortable and it's cold.

What's the moral of the story?? Don't spend your night outside if you're in Stockholm!! (Unless maybe during summer.) And choose your flight timings properly HAHAHA. Okay but seriously it really depends on what you prioritise. #cheapflightshittytiming

It's 2.15AM now and I can barely feel my fingers anymore haha 75 min to go ON Y VA J'Y VAIS.

Let's hope I survive to publish this post!!! (Oh I will because there is wifi from the buses LOL.)

SXB - LDN: Deuxième fois

Typing this at Stansted now. It's 2.35AM (London time so 3.35AM France time) and I've just spent the past 4 hours sitting in Costa Coffee ... But there's so many changes to Stansted like the Costa is 24h and even the M&S!! Or maybe they were always here just that I never noticed HAHA. I remember back in first year there was once we just spent the night at Stansted but now I can't remember for what trip was it Romania?? But everything was closed and we slept on the floor it was so bad lol. But now I actually don't mind, except that the free wifi is only for 1h but giffgaff does this gigabag thing now so I just bought a 500MB gigabag for £5. Spent £7 on food so far, so total damage of £12 tonight which is not too bad considering that a trip back to centre London would cost much more ...

Anyway, I had my second French exam today for Syntaxe. Completely forgot the stuff for the second question, I remember she went through a similar example in class but I just couldn't remember what it was so that's half the paper gone ... Hope my first question went okay :( But I'm so glad that it's the holidays now!! I swear French uni is so much more intense than in UK, like I legit have twice the number of hours I would have in the UK plus all the tests are kind of spread out so there's always things to do. But yeah, feeling rather accomplished that I've survived half the term so far! Have a bunch of exams coming up in the beginning of December and some coursework due in November and I'm not going to be travelling much in November so I foresee myself spending a lot of time in the library HAHAHA. But I really love working in the library though, definitely more productive there than I ever would be in my own room. I think I should just not study in my room at all.

So anyway, the 10AM class that I was supposed to have yesterday was cancelled, so that was great because I spent the 2 hours getting extra sleep (had a massive headache in the morning and I rarely ever have headaches) and then spent lunchtime doing revision in the Portique library. However the exam for that class is going to be right after we come back from break, so I'm feeling a bit unprepared since we didn't have a proper last lesson before the exam. Then I went for a class and for Syntaxe it was supposed to be class for the first hour then exam for the second hour, but she had a change of plans so we didn't have class and just had the exam and we could just leave after the paper! Which makes a lot of sense because it's true that we'd be too distracted to focus for the class anyway. Went back and ate dinner, packed and cleaned my room within 2 hours then made my way to la gare avec O. We were early for the train and made it to the airport in good time. Met a few other Erasmus students on the flight lol seems like everyone is going back early!! Then we arrived at Stansted where I have to wait for 10h until my next flight so here I am. But I'm already halfway through!! Slept a bit just now and I think I am going to try to sleep a bit more before I head off again. Very very excited to see HX and Zherms later!!

First French Exam

Had my first exam in France today. I feel I should've apologised in advance to the tutor for my bad French ... but anyway it's over. One more exam tomorrow then I'm off!!

Anyway I wanted to post because I honestly thought this week was a shitty week but things turned out fine in the end, like:

- I had a panic attack on Tuesday because I suddenly realised that since I missed my last VISA appt for the medical check up they've not yet sent me another convocation and the 3 months deadline is approaching rather soon. Then it turned out that I worried for nothing, because the very next day they sent me 3 emails reminding me of my next appt, which I can finally make!!

- Was so unprepared for my exam today but V was so sweet she went through the stuff with me at noon before the exam!! Very very grateful omg :D

- Came back just now and neighbour opposite was having a party and I was worrying whether if it's gonna last through the night (because I have an 8am class tmr and I really need my sleep) and I really didn't want to be the bad person but ... they've all left before 12 so all's good and quiet now.

- Supposed to have 5 hours of class tmr before the exam but just checked my email and one of the 2h classes is cancelled so I have a 4h break now!!!!!

Cheap thrills, I know. But I am so happy and thankful!!!

Anyway I've discovered the joys of studying in the library again. I like the libraries here, but it's just annoying that all the libraries close quite early i.e. no 24h libraries like UCL. Like the one in Portique closes at 7pm but from 26 Oct (Idk if it's like that for the rest of the year or just Vacances Toussaint) it's gonna close at 5pm. 5pm. LOL. But the U2-U3 closes at 11pm, so that's not too bad. I definitely am more productive in the library than I ever am in my room. But anyway massive accomplishment today when V and I were the last ones to leave the Portique library!! But we were only there for about an hour or so HAHA. Still, we went to the U2-U3 after dinner for another library sesh. And we had BROWNIES for dessert!! Woop woop good timing. Spent an hour in U2-U3 then went out for drinks with the English gang before we all go on break next week (or this week, or tomorrow actually). V and O and I shared a bottle of Pinot Gris (something that starts with S) and it was really good and the bar was so chill too. I'm super super grateful for having found such amazing friends here really <3

Okay so this post turned out not so much to be about the French exam after all but still! I'm going to stop here now because I want to do some readings for the exam tomorrow and sleep early!!

Le weekend avant la dernière semaine de cours

Oui, c’est la dernière semaine de cours au moins avant les vacances Toussaint ! Donc j’ai trois jours de cours avant que j’aille encore à Londres puis à Scandinavie. Mais j’ai 2 examens cette semaine donc ce n’est pas bon du tout ahaha. En fait j’ai un cours à 8h demain matin, mais j’ai déjà dormi pour tout l’après-midi donc je pense que je devrais faire un petit peu de travail avant je dors encore …

Le vendredi je suis allée à centre-ville finalement après quelques semaines ! Le temps passe très vite à Strasbourg c’est incroyable. Mais j’ai dû faire un retour à Galeries Lafayette pour un achète en ligne, mais le procès était assez facile et vite. Je voulais acheter des autres choses mais il n’y avait rien que j’aimais … Puis je suis allée à Le Grand Shanghai, qui est le restaurant chinois et j’ai choisi une boite pour emporter. J’ai mangé chez V et après cela nous marchions chez O pour le risotto ! Au début le plan était que nous sortirons ce soir-là, mais enfin nous avons décidé de rester et regarder un film. Le film que nous regardions était Wolf of Wall Street, qui je n’ai jamais vu mais c’était cool. Et après le film nous voulions encore sortir, mais après beaucoup d’hésitation ça ne marche pas. Alors !

Le samedi B et P et moi nous sommes allés  à nouveau à Le Grand Shanghai pour le déjeuner. J’ai mangé plus que la dernière fois que j’étais là-bas mais comme toujours c’était très très bon. Nous sommes rentrés chez nous après le repas, et j’ai essayé de faire un peu de travail mais sans succès LOL. Le soir V et moi nous avons rencontrés avec S et son amie qui sont venus de Lyon pour dîner a Au Brasseur, parce que Le Michel ferme à 7h tous les samedis. Mais j’adore les tartes flambées ! Après le diner V et moi nous sommes allées à MUI chez P pour boire avec le reste du groupe, mais enfin c’était seulement nous trois qui sortions. Nous sommes allés à LIVE, et c’était bon ! J’adore beaucoup Strasbourg !

Le dimanche je me suis réveillée très tard donc je n’ai pas fait beaucoup, mais le soir nous sommes allés pour le quiz au bar irlandais. Et j’ai dormi beaucoup jusqu’aujourd’hui. J’étais en train d’acheter des billets pour mes voyages en ligne quand B m’a appelé, et nous avons mangé au café avec des pâtes pour le déjeuner ! C’est comme des très longues vacances woop !

Et demain, j’ai des cours … on y va !

Days are getting cold

It's actually quite late and I really should be sleeping but so many of my friends who are on their year abroad right now have been posting links to their year abroad blogs which look really cool so I felt this sudden obligation to update this space! It's been what, 3 weeks since I last posted? Life is going on at full pace and I've been meaning to update for a while but never got round to it and I want to kind of quickly record things down before I start to forget what happened!!

So, I stopped at 27 August. Mid-Autumn Festival!! My craving for Chinese food got satisfied that day because right after I posted V and B and I decided to go for lunch at this Chinese buffet place. Actually, it's the only Chinese restaurant I know of here in Strasbourg. V introduced it to us and it's called Le Grand Shanghai and it's located near Homme de Fer tram stop. And did I mention this already but the best part is that it's a buffet! A BUFFET! I don't fare well at buffets in general but I love desserts ahaha. Their lunch costs €12,80 and dinner is €16,80 I believe, and they also do takeaways which is great. The takeaway boxes come in 3 sizes but I've yet to try so I have no idea how big the boxes are. Anyway, the food was amazing. I tried one piece of every single type of meat before I couldn't eat anymore. And the fried rice!!! Omg I missed rice so much omg. And they also have SUSHI. It was AMAZING. I am getting all hungry again just thinking about the food. But I have pictures!!

So basically, I had 2 rounds of mains and 3 rounds of dessert! One can never have too much dessert. And of course every French meal comes with wine. I had rosé instead of vin blanc for a change.

ALL IN ALL I NEED TO GO BACK AGAIN. Probably this weekend ahahaha.

Anyway back to Sunday. So there was the amazing lunch (probably the best I've had in Strasbourg so far legit crying), then in the evening we went to the Irish Bar for the Sunday pub quiz! And proud to say that we didn't come in last or close to last this time, in fact we were 6th from the bottom which was a massive improvement from the last time :D Then the rest of the week passed by pretty quickly, finally got a French SIM card, went out on Wednesday night (bad idea LOL), was so tired on Thursday and then V and I had to rush to catch our flight back to London!! We'd booked the same flights for Thursday and to return on Monday. So the weekend was spent in London, which I think I'll do a separate post on sometime because it was such a hectic weekend I was just out the whole time and didn't even have time to meet everyone I wanted to meet :'( But yeah, going back for the weekend made me realise how much I'd missed London, and also how much I didn't miss the weather LOL. It was drizzling on Monday when I left, so I was actually glad to be going back to SXB though the weather here that evening wasn't much better tbh HAHAHA. But it's less dry here than London I think? Like my skin doesn't dry as much here as it does in London. Oh and I brought back like 12kg of clothes or something HAHAHA. Didn't actually weigh it but I'd bought a new duffel bag which was bigger than my other one so it was freaking heavy my arms were totes aching the whole week.

Classes again for the week (this was last week btw), I managed to wake up for the 8am class on Tuesday despite only reaching back at 11 the night before which was a great accomplishment, but I was SO tired the whole day haha. Went to Topshop after classes and managed to buy the last piece of the indigo denim jacket that I was searching for in London in my size!! But I've still not worn it yet the days are too cold ... V and I went to O's place for dinner on Wednesday. Carbonara! But they did all the cooking I am absolutely useless in the kitchen ... then on Thursday night I was bored and made a last-minute decision to go to Basel on Friday for a day trip. The tickets were €24 with the SNCF carte jeune, and the timings weren't that bad for off peak, except that the Friday evening off peak starts later and I was actually really tired in the evening but had to wait an extra hour to take the next train back. Once again, I'll do a separate post on Basel with lots of nice pictures aha but that'll be another time. But Basel was amazing! I love Switzerland but everything is so expensive there :( Anyway after I got back from Basel on Friday night we went out again but I was so gone it was horrible omg and I was such a burden I felt so bad T_T Was hungover the whole weekend can't believe it's taking me so long to recover aha. So I literally spent the rest of the weekend including Monday in my room. But I did lots of work, so that was a good thing. And I was doing my own laundry by freaking handwashing my clothes even my jeans and shoes!! The thing is that the laundry here costs €4 per wash and when I went to check out the machines they didn't look very ... desirable for me to put my clothes in. And most of my clothes can't be machine dried and I really don't want to ruin anything. It's good now though because they've turned on the heating now so I could just dry my stuff near the heater. I also finally cleaned my New Balance shoes after one year!! It was amazing watching the laces turn from grey to white again lol. But I left my shoes on the heater overnight and I think the sides touching the heater got scorched ... Fml this is the type of thing that always happen to me ugh. But yes, my shoes are clean. I don't know how to get rid of the scorch marks though!!

Then this week was the 17 intensive hours of classes again, and I have 2 exams next week before Vacances Toussaint!It was freezing this week like 2 deg when I woke up for my Tuesday 8AM. Went out on Wednesday night (bad idea again never gonna do that again) then couldn't fall asleep and I had another 8AM on Thursday (which is today/yesterday) so I've literally been up for like 36 hours maybe?! But I had a nap over lunch. Classes were okay though, I'm really liking the stuff especially linguistics because it's actually really practical for grammar. And it's cool that I have a chance to finally take linguistics, because I still slightly regret not taking ELL over physics in JC it would've been a lot more fun and would've spared me the torturous hours of toiling over physics which I never understand ... But yeah. Also I did a French oral presentation today in FLE, and my tutor just confirmed the suspicion that I've had for so many years that I speak French with a Chinese accent. But what she said actually was that it was a melangé de chinois et anglosaxon (??) because I have the tendency of cutting my words instead of letting them flow like how the French speak. But it's so hard since I'm trying to concentrate on the pronunciation ... and also how I focus on chaque mot like in English instead of a phrase. So there was this sentence which she separated into basically just 2 phrases and it felt so long! No wonder I always feel the French speak too fast for me sometimes, I've been getting it all wrong ... But yes, useful things to know!

I have no classes tomorrow, but I need to sleep now anyway hahaha need to do my London and Basel posts soon but probably over the weekend. I've posted about my spacious flights though :D And need to studyyyyyy. Then it's London again + my 10 day backpacking trip!!! So hyped :D

Ryanair: SXB - LDN

En fait j'ai oublié de publier cette poste le vendredi dernier donc voici la poste sur Ryanair qui est un petit peu tard ...

1 Oct 2015:

Sitting in the Ryanair plane now and enjoying possibly the best flight I've ever had (also the cheapest?!?!)! Basically when I checked in today I found out they'd given me priority queue again, which was great but unfortunately it was only for the outbound trip and I kind of need it more for the inbound trip but oh well ... And then it turns out that I had the whole row to myself! So now I've just got my macarons and my bottle of airport water next to me. There're 2 more empty rows in front but no one's moving over. So basically this is a summery of my €15 flight, out of which €8 was spent on the macarons, €2 for the mineral water and €5 for the actual ticket. Less than €5, technically. I love Ryanair!

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5 Oct 2015:

Oops I'd actually forgotten to post this when I was in London! So now I'm sitting in the Ryanair plane (again) and waiting for take off. The seats next to me are still empty even though I'm in the middle of the plane and all the other rows around me (even the ones across) are full. Plane is supposed to take off in 12 min. Hoping that I'm getting the whole row to myself again!! I mean it's not a big deal but having some space would be nice :D I'm at a window seat this time ahaha. And this is a bit like déjà vu but the row in front of me is empty again too ...

1900: Game plan changed: got moved to the row in front instead (row 17) which also happens to be the emergency exit row. There wasn't anyone else in my row so the flight steward asked me to move. The annoying thing is that I can't lift up the armrests for this row but on the other hand I have like A LOT more leg space so I guess it would also look less hobo if I stretched my legs in front instead of horizontally LOL. But I still have the whole row to myself!! And my original row behind is still empty. Omg I love Ryanair LOL.

One month in Strasbourg

It's been a long time since I last posted omg life is getting busy ... Or I've been just lazy and exhausted hahaha. Waiting for my eggs to boil now in the rice cooker I swear the rice cooker is the most useful thing ever ... I've been cooking noodles, boiling sausages and making milo / teh tarik without even having to step out of my room HAHA. The kitchens here are too bare anyway and I don't know how to work the microwave and I don't have pots and pans so.

Anyway where did I stop!! 2 weeks ago ahaha when the internet wasn't working on the Saturday night. Right. So anyway I was supposed to meet Xichen the next day (Sunday), but we lost contact since neither of us have a working French number and ended up not meeting :( Had dinner + pub quiz with the English gang (UK gang???) at night and got to know a couple more people. Monday was another failed attempt at trying to submit my learning agreement, I think it was because I was missing the module code for the FLE class, then V and O and I had dinner at Le Michel, which is this really nice restaurant near the Gallier tram stop. They have a dinner menu for only 11,50 EUR and it included a starter, a main and dessert! The starter and the main was good but the cake for the dessert was a bit dry and I was so bloated but still finished my food anyway because one should never waste food ... Then we went to check out the Erasmus speed meeting thing at La Taverne but there was too many people so we just hung around a bit got one drink spoke to some people and left early.

Tuesday to Thursday was the 17h of intensive classes compressed into 3 days hahaha my timetabling skills are the best ... and also made the YOLO decision to go to Munich for the opening of Oktoberfest with the Brazilians in my hall. The plan was to leave at 3AM on Saturday morning, sleep in the car on Saturday night, then come back by Sunday afternoon. Oktoberfest wasn't really in my plans at first considering the fact that I'm not a huge fan of beer (though Alsatian beer is making me change my mind) but still not going to miss out on any opportunity to actually do something for my weekends. I think I've wasted too many weekends (3 and counting) not doing anything because everything is freaking closed on Sundays and even Saturday nights and I've been decomposing in boredom in the tiny enclosed space of 10m2 that is my room.

And did I mention it's been exactly 4 weeks here in SXB!! I arrived on the Saturday night (29 Aug) 4 weeks ago ahahaha wow how time flies 8 more months ;'( Tbh I can't really tell whether it feels like it's been a longer or shorter time here because sometimes it's super busy whereas other times I'm just rotting away in boredom.

ANYWAY. So last Friday we went out to celebrate Viivi's birthday!! Went bar-hopping and ended up at Agora which was really happening and apparently it's an every Friday thing but I had to leave early because I had to get back and shower and pack to leave at 3AM HAHA. Left at around 1.450ish in the end and got back just in time to shower, pack and to back up my phone LOL btw I really really need a 64gb Idk what is Apple thinking but 16gb is simply not enough to function on. So we went down at 3am, got into the car and I just slept. Most of the time. It's not really comfortable to be sleeping with an empty stomach filled with too much alcohol. Oh but it was really pretty!! I think we were driving through the Black Forest (is it???) so it was really dark and no light pollution so you could see all the stars super clearly *_* I was staring at one super bright star right in front of me before I fell asleep. And the sunrise was amazing too but no photos because I was too lazy I think ... 

Arrived at Wiesn camp at about 7+, had an amazing breakfast of eggs and bacon (I haven't had eggs in the longest time ever omg) then took the train to city centre where Oktoberfest was. OPENING DAY. It was super packed and even though we got there relatively early almost all the tents were full so in the end we ended up Paulaner but at the benches outside. The beers came in 1 litre mugs and it was impossible to finish I felt like I kept drinking but the volume of liquid left never decreased?!?! Not to mention like the million trips to the toilet. So yeah, adding on to the existing amount of alcohol in my system I think I was completely gone ......... but still managed to make the trip to Brandy Melville in Munich in the evening before it closed :D :D I had to go on the Saturday because as usual stores in Europe are all closed on Sunday. It was only 20 min away from Oktoberfest anyway and I finally managed to get wifi otw thanks eduroam for being literally everywhere :D Okay but the store itself was a disappointment and Germany prices are a lot higher than the rest of Europe because of the 19% tax which is exactly like their website and I am too poor to afford anything at full price. But they had the last chance rack too with everything at 10% off and I found one last piece of the floral Jeanne bralette there!! It's still more expensive than if I were to buy off the US site / Europe / maybe even UK but I will probably never be able to buy it elsewhere anyway so nvm. And I got the Irosha necklace too hehehe regret not ordering it when I was back in SG because it's actually super pretty irl?!?! Not an accessories person but I think I ought to own maybe like one necklace ... Okay and also all this time I think I was under significant alcohol influence and dehydration so I can't really remember what happened exactly everything was pretty much woozy ... Made my way back somehow to Oktoberfest and went back to Wiesn camp had dinner and all. Then sleeping in the car. Not the most comfortable experience it got really warm at night so I had to get out to breathe but managed to fall back asleep in the end again. Then round 2!!! I think there were less people on the 2nd day probably because most people who came on the first day are too hungover / it was a Sunday but we managed to get a place inside the Augustiner tent!! It's supposedly the best beer in Munich but as usual I can't really taste the difference and absolutely knocked out again after less than 1 mug hahaha I was so sleepy T_T But I went to take the rides this time and I'm pretty sure the first time when I took the rollercoaster I was drunk because I couldn't really feel anything but the second time it was like O_O And we were interviewed by German TV!!! Idk what channel though I will probably never see it anyway but it was cool.

Stayed until past lunch then drove back to SXB and it was already past 10pm by the time we reached. Super tired fell asleep almost imm after coming back and took the whole of Monday to recover ahaha. Finally got my inscription pedagogique done on Monday!!! Such a relief to finally submit it in. Then Tues-Thurs was the intensive 17h of classes again, and on Thursday night went out with the English gang for dinner to celebrate the end of a school week because none of us have classes on Friday woooooo. Collected my student card on Friday, then pre-drinks at Beth's place + Agora. I think I am becoming really week barely had 4 Jaegerbombs and for the first time I had rashes?!?! Okay but I cannot remember what happened except we went to Agora again and I don't even know what happened there or how I got back but I did, with my bottle of Jaeger and 2 cans of red bull hahaha wtf. Terribly hungover ytd so stayed in practically the whole day but now I think I'm all good though there's nowhere to go on a Sunday. I actually woke up really really early today like 6,45am and I don't even know why but okay really need to get out of SXB on weekends cannot afford to waste anymore weekends! Was searching for train tix in bed but everywhere is so expensive I swear if I could actually afford it I will be flying out every Thursday and returning on Monday night but being a poor student one has to search for the cheapest tix which don't exist sometimes. And this no shopping thing is really getting to me omg I need to buy something but there is nothing to buy and nowhere to buy from argh. London and Paris is having a brandy sale today but I am so near yet so far argh was actually supposed to fly up to London this weekend!! But I didn't book and the tix have gone and November tix are still not out yet haha really appreciating the convenience of London now because it's so accessible whereas if I wanna go anywhere by plane from here I have to actually take the plane to London first.

Okay it's been half an hour since the eggs have boiled so am going to eat now and probably do some work today. Classes are too intense need to WORKKKKK. Oh and it's Mid-Autumn Festival today!!! I am craving for mooncakes and chinese food so bad (cries).

La première semaine de cours

L'internet ne marche pas depuis environ une heure donc je vais essayer d'écrire mon blog en français. C'est un grand problème parce que je voulait faire beaucoup de choses et répondre aux emails mais il n'est pas possible maintenant. Néanmoins ce n'est pas la fin du monde même s'il n'y a pas d'Internet. Excusez-moi à l'avance pour le mauvais français ...

Cette semaine était telle vite c'est incroyable. J'avais 17h de classes et elles sont tous très difficiles parce que tous les choses sont en français et seulement français. Le lundi je suis allée au secrétariat pour clarifier quelques choses, et après cela Hannah et moi nous avons assisté à une classe de l'ancien français. C'était intéressant mais c'est un module de licence 2 donc je trouve qu'elle était trop difficile. Le prof était très sympa mais je ne pouvais pas comprendre le contenu comme les siècles et l'évolution du latin au français et ainsi de suite. Alors je pense que je ne vais pas s'inscrire à cette classe ... Après la classe H et moi nous marchions à IKEA qui n'est pas trop loin de l'université, environ une heure à pied. H a acheté quelques trucs mais moi je voulais juste manger les boulettes. C'était très longtemps depuis la dernière fois (en février à Stockholm!) que je l'avais mangé et c'était très bon.

Le mardi j'avais une classe à 8h et je pense que je vais s'inscrire à cette classe mais la seule problème est c'est à 8h haha ... Mais de toute façon je devrais se lever plus tôt. Il y avait deux classes de linguistiques dans l'après-midi et je les aime. J'étais très très fatiguée et après les classes je suis allée à Rivetoile avec Sena pour faire les courses et puis j'ai mangé kebab pour le dîner.

Finalement l'Internet marche maintenant!!

Le mercredi était plus ou moins le même avec 6h de classes. J'ai manqué la classe du matin parce que je ne pouvais pas se réveiller, encore, mais je ne m'intéresse pas vraiment dans cette classe. Après ma dernière classe qui terminait à 18h je suis allée à la centre-ville pour dîner avec Oliver et Viivi. Nous sommes allées à un petit bistrot qui s'appelle L'épicerie pour manger les tartines qui est une spécialité alsacienne, et bien sur avec le vin. Normalement je ne bois pas très souvent mais j'ai toujours préféré le vin blanc que le vin rouge. Le repas était assez bon et je pense que je vais revenir!

Le jeudi j'avais 6h de classes encore et après cela j'ai rencontré mon buddy et ses amis. Ils sont tous très gentils et nous avons mangé à "Au Brasserie" qui a beaucoup de spécialités alsaciennes et la bière. À nouveau je n'aime pas la bière normalement mais la bière alsacienne est très différent des autres bières! J'ai oublié le nom du plat mais il était un nom alsacienne que je ne sais pas comment prononcer.

Hier je n'avais pas de classes, finalement. Au début je voulait assister à un cours de littérature du matin mais je trouve que l'œuvre est un que j'ai déjà étudié alors il n'y a aucun intérêt. S et moi nous sommes allées se promener dans l'après-midi et dans le soir V nous a invités chez elle. Elle cuisinait le porc avec la salade et c'était la première fois que j'ai goûté le fromage mozzarella! Il était assez tard quand je suis rentrée chez moi et j'étais très fatiguée.

Aujourd'hui je me suis réveillé assez tard. S et moi nous avons mangé la nourriture thaïlandais (enfin un peu de nourriture asiatique!!) et nous avons acheté des livres. J'ai réussi de trouver deux livres dont j'ai besoin pour un des modules et j'ai également acheté deux livres de "L'accro du shopping". Je les ai déjà lu en anglais mais c'est cool à lire en français encore. Nous avons faire plus les courses parce que je mange trop beaucoup et je finis toujours ma nourriture très rapidement.

Je ne sais pas quoi faire pour demain encore mais il semble qu'il pourrait pleuvoir demain. Le temps hier et aujourd'hui était vraiment beau et j'espère qu'il va rester de cette façon ...

First Week in Strasbourg

Today marks one week that I've been here in Strasbourg! Somehow it feels like it's been a really long time, but at the same time I feel like I haven't really done that much and there's still a lot to be done ... But generally time seems to pass so much slower here than in London? I feel like I had so much time in London last year yet I don't remember what I even did with my time, whereas here I've been free almost every single night so I've had the time to properly sort out the admin stuff.

Anyway on Friday we had the Erasmus welcome talk in the morning, then Viivi and I went to do our inscriptions administratives before noon. It was faster than I expected and pretty straightforward. I had to pay 215 euros for the securite sociale because I'm not an EU citizen T_T Afterwards I couldn't find everyone else anymore, so I had lunch and then went to the bank. They asked for my attestation de logement which was supposed to take 2 working days to get, so I wanted to join the rest of the students for the rally but again I couldn't remember the meeting point and the school was so big so I decided to just go back to the hall to get the attestation. It was again, unexpectedly fast because they just printed a slip of paper and stamped it and I was good to go. I guess they must be pretty experienced in dealing with this kind of bureaucratic requests. So I went back to the bank and this time since I had all the documents it was very fast. I was quite glad that I went early because by the time I came out there was a long queue already ... Had nothing to do after that, so I walked to the city centre and there was some kind of event going on with people doing cool stunts on bicycles and all. Then at night Ollie and I went to watch the light show at the cathedral again which was amazing as always I would watch it everyday if it wasn't so far from my place HAHA. We meant to check out this welcome party at a bar but there wasn't much going on (Strasbourg is like on the other end of the scale from London in terms of nightlife) so we went back pretty early. But I was so tired I fell asleep almost immediately after coming back.

Slept through Saturday morning without an alarm which was very shiok HAHA. But I'm trying to wake up early these days it's too cold to get up in the morning. Went to Rivetoile with Sena in the afternoon followed by kebab for dinner. She bought a new kettle which I quickly borrowed HAHA but finally got to drink milo T_T I really really need to fetch my kettle from London. Slept quite early again, I realise I have been sleeping so much after coming here but really it's so cold I feel like I need to hibernate. And today was worse HAHA practically slept the entire day and I'm going to sleep again soon ... Spent the evening going through the fiche pedagogique and I'm intending to attend a bunch of classes tmr so have to get up early.

Anyway to summarize within the first week I've managed to:
- Opened bank acc
- Inscription administratif
- Sent back visa form
- Applied for CAF online
- Sociale securite
- Paid rent

So I guess that's quite a good amount of admin stuff sorted. I still have to get a French number argh and I'm now contemplating between getting a plan from Three in UK for the data roaming or getting a proper plan here in France. Will probably sort that out next week.

Settling down

I am now sitting in my room enjoying a cup of rather cold teh tarik(but nonetheless still teh tarik!!) after my first rice cooker meal of instant noodles. HOHO. Finally figured out how to use it. I guess it was a good decision to invest 5kg of my total baggage allowance seeing that my residence hall has neither a kitchen (only 2 microwaves) nor a kettle. NO KETTLE. I'm thinking I should probably retrieve mine from London, but for now the rice cooker will do. Oh brilliant, wonderful, multi-purpose rice cooker.

Strasbourg has been pretty exciting so far! On Monday I went to register with my hall and paid my rent, then went to check out the university. Had a lot of admin things to do especially with all the paper work, I'm STILL not done yet but hopefully they'll be sorted out soon. Also went to Carrefour to pick up some groceries and finally putting my mini fridge into use! 

Tuesday was more or less the same, went to photocopy some stuff and went to the post office to mail my visa form. I'm still quite confused as to how the French postal service works. Then I walked to the city centre to check out Galeries Lafayette!! There's a Topshop on the 3rd floor and omg, they have their own sales which is amazing because it's 70% off and I managed to find the Poppy Garden Bardot Top which I've been eyeing in SG in my size AND it was only 10.80 euros. 10.80 EUROS!!! They had 2 left and when I went back today (Thursday) again it was gone so very very thankful that I managed to buy it. Also saw they had one last piece of the burgundy knit top in my size but it wasn't on sale and I forgot to see if it's still there today ... Really need to figure out how the sales here work HAHA. I also bought books from this book market at the city centre, all the books were going for mostly 1.50 euros each and even though the books are secondhand they were in really good condition. I left my Les Miserables behind in London, so I bought a kind of like guide copy and also L'Etranger by Albert Camus. Very very happy with my purchases :D I feel like this is exactly the kind of life I've been envisioning for so long. Had a lonely lunch in macs at the city centre, then it started to rain as I was walking back but luckily I brought an umbrella with me. The rain here is quite like the showers in Singapore instead of the drizzle in London so my shoes got quite wet. Took a nap in the afternoon, then my neighbour Renato who lives opposite me came to have a chat and we went to the kebab place near the hall for dinner. The kebab was quite good and it's so much cheaper than London's T_T

Wednesday was quite chill too, went to check out the mall Rivetoile nearby and they have a lot of shops there like Zara and Hollister. There's also this giant supermarket called E.Leclerc which is exactly like Giant they stock everything. Bought stuff like trash bags (because they don't give plastic bags here!!!) and a mug-bowl (left mine behind in London T_T) and more food, but they didn't have cherry tomatoes and the yogurt drink that I wanted so had to go to Carrefour for those. Came back and napped again in the afternoon. I swear I sleep so much here because there's not much to do and life seems to be really slow at times and I'm just really tired everyday HAHA. But I wake up early though. Anyway after I woke up at about 4pm I was contemplating whether or not to take a walk to Germany when my new Turkish friend came to visit so we decided to just go to Germany. Yes, GERMANY. It took us about an hour slightly more to walk over but the Pont du l'Europe was amazing!!! We walked to Kehl and the moment we entered German territory it just felt different. Like the architecture and all. We wanted to walk to Lidl's at first but it was getting a bit late and we wanted to come back before sunset, so we didn't go that far. But still, it's pretty cool to be able to actually WALK to Germany I think I'm going to do that pretty often!! And of course now I've officially visited Germany too despite not going through the proper immigration border HAHA. 

Had our first Erasmus meeting in school today, didn't do much except to find out that we have to pick courses from Licence 3 so have to re-select the modules tonight :( Had lunch with the UCL-SXB gang, then we went to the city centre afterwards. Went to see the inside of the cathedral, then went back to Galeries Lafayette and OMGGGGG the jeans were 70% off this time!!! Like ALL the white jeans including Jonis and Jamies with and without the zip at the ankle. I didn't want to buy white jeans at first cause I already have a pair of white cigarette pants but I couldn't stop thinking about them ... Anyway the Jonis were nice but they were horribly sheer for jeans so as much as I really wanted them they're not too practical :( Also I already have a pair of baby pink ones (the ones that I've been eyeing in SG as well HAHA) so I passed on those. The Jamie jeans ran really small, I couldn't get the W25 past my hips ugh so I went for the W26 and they were really nice and not sheer! They were slightly too loose at the waist but the Jamies come with belt loops anyway so not really a problem. I went with the ones without the zip at the ankle cause they seemed more versatile and more practical anyway. Got them for only 16.50 euros (!!!) and I came back to find that they're still online for 40 quid (!!!) HAHAHAHA OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE GALERIES LAFAYETTE!!! And I got a loyalty card today HAHAHA. I saw dungarees on sale today but they weren't in my size and now I'm a bit worried that my burgundy knit might be sold already :( Guess I might just make a trip back tmr if I have the time ...

Anyway, after I came back I managed to figure out how to use the rice cooker, so I cooked my first meal! Feels good to be eating some hot food at last T_T I'm going to do more admin stuff tonight like go through the guide pedagogique for the list of modules, then tomorrow I have my inscription administrative where I am going to present the 2 shitty passport photos I took this morning. School doesn't properly start until like October cause we apparently have 3 weeks until end of September to sit through all the classes we want to do and decide, but I quite want to fix my timetable soon-ish so that I can start making weekend plans at all. I am loving Strasbourg ^_^

Day 2 in Strasbourg

Today was a pretty exciting day even though most places are closed on Sundays. I meant to wake up early but was too tired after all the excitement from last night, so I only went out at about 11.30. Didn't have any plans at first so I thought I'd just kind of wander around but I did want to at least check out the Topshop at Galeries Lafayette HAHAHA. Walked to the river and then started walking towards the city centre where I had my first gelato! It was really hot today like even hotter than Singapore was absolutely melting in the heat. For half an hour I actually just sat in Macdonald's and used wifi because it was too hot to walk about ... Kind of regret not buying the alien cap from Brandy Melville the other day at Topshop but nvm it's black and I look shitty in black anyway. ANYWAY. It was only 9 pounds though okay maybe I'll get it the next time ...

So after I walked around le Petit France and all I met another Singaporean LOL. Was totally unexpected cause I saw this lady with a selfie stick alone and I really wanted to have my photo taken so I asked her if she'd help me take a photo against the nice scenery and in return I'd take a photo for her too. Then afterwards we started talking and realised we're both Singaporeans and probably the only ones in the region. It was quite cool and she is really nice! Her name is Lendar and she's on a business trip but this was kind of her pre-trip. So we walked around a bit because neither of us had plans and ended up going back to Macs to sit a while and talk. We decided to meet in the evening again for dinner since I had to go back in the afternoon to call my parents. I also discovered that the walk from the city centre to my hall is only like 15 min so it's quite near HAHA.

Anyway I got back, talked to my parents a bit then lazed around on my bed. By then it was already 35 degrees and the sun was coming into my room so I had to draw the shutters. Left at about 6.30 and reached the carousel near the cathedral at 7. We were trying to find a nice place to have dinner at subjected to my budget constraints HAHA ECONS HAHA. But in the end we found this really nice bar called Le Troquet des Knecks. The staff recommended tarte flambee which is this pizza-like pie imo so we got that with the cranberries and another soup-based dish that was like pho. I would post pictures but I'm typing this on my laptop for once and am really lazy so maybe next time or maybe I'll add the photos later ... Anyway the tarte flambee was really good! But the pho was a bit too salty. Anyway it was really cheap though only 24.20 and they don't charge extra for service and all so I would like to go back again!

After dinner we walked around more and went to see the dam and rose gelato!! They have Amorino here too which is just next to the cathedral. I still think the rose gelato that I had in Budapest near the Basilica was better haha but they have this melon cantaloup flavour which is really good and it's so much cheaper than London T_T After that we went to see the light show at the cathedral. This year marks 1000 years since the start of the construction of the cathedral in 1015 so they have this special light show every night. IT WAS SO AMAZING OMG. I'm really glad it's still showing for September at least so I will definitely go watch it again soon. The only thing that it's so late like the first show starts at 10.15 so by the time I get back it'd be like 11. But omg it was so pretty!!

Tomorrow I'm going to check out the university and I have to report to the year abroad tutor + register with the residence hall officially. And I'll need to go check out the shops and do my grocery shopping. Omg I love Strasbourg hahahaha :D