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

Arrival in Strasbourg

The journey after arriving in Strasbourg wasn't all that smooth as I'd imagined. I got through the border pretty quickly while realising in horror that I'd forgotten how to speak even basic French, then waited a bit for the luggages. The luggages proved to be a huge problem cause they were so difficult to handle and so freaking heavy.

To get from the airport to the city centre we had to take a train then change to tram. It was €4.20 for a ticket that lasts for 1.5h, so I went to the airport café to change for coins as the machine didn't accept notes. Walked to the train station and freaking tripped at the end of the escalator cause my huge suitcase wouldn't budge and the guy behind me tried to help me and ended up dropping his suitcase also T_T I felt so bad omg. I thought we were taking a train but apparently it was a bus called the TER and I don't know if normally there's supposed to be a train or what. Then the bus came and everyone rushed to put their luggage into the holding compartment while I was just standing there like an imbecile cause there was not enough space and my luggages were too big. But then this kind lady tapped the window and pointed at the other side for me to go there. So I went there and then my luggage got STUCK. There was this weird wooden board thing and my suitcase kind of went in between the board and the wall but it got stuck. With the edge of the board digging into my suitcase. I didn't want to spoil it but by then I had absolutely no energy to pull it out ... So I asked this man nearby for help (I later found out he's called Naciri). He helped me to load both suitcases in (super grateful) then we only just managed to board the bus and took up the last 2 seats ...

The bus from the airport to city centre was quite fast. I managed to unload the suitcases myself then I didn't know what to do. Naciri asked me where I was going so I told him I was going to Paul Appell. Turns out that he'd studied in University of Strasbourg before so he knew where was the place. We went to take the tram to Etoile Bourse (?) then he said his wife was driving and that they would send me to my residence hall since they live nearby. Omg I was so super grateful cause I was honestly really tired by then T_T And I know there's the whole don't talk to strangers or take their car thing but he honestly seemed like a nice person!! So anyway his wife drove over and they helped me to load my luggage into their car because I was too freaking tired and useless to lift anything T_T and their daughter came as well!! I think she's called Camille and she's 6. They also offered me pizza but by then the only thing I needed was water cause so freaking thirsty haven't drank anything since like 3pm and dying of thirst from all the running and all. And by the way digress Strasbourg is really really humid kind of like Singapore hahaha even though it's supposed to be 20 deg but it feels like 27?? Haha Idk.

Anyway, Naciri's family drove me all the way to Paul Appell and then he helped me to bring my luggage to the reception and up to my room T_T Felt so bad for inconveniencing them but also super super grateful!! Very thankful to have met so many kind people here T_T The first thing I did after checking in was to DRINK WATER HAHAHA I vaguely remember tap water in Europe should be drinkable but desperate times call for desperate measures. Then I realised I didn't have the wifi password for the residence. So I went out and took a walk to find the macs nearby. Asked for directions from this couple walking a dog and they were very helpful too. But alas the macs was closed so no wifi and I was craving for a drink so I went into this other fast food store nearby. They were closing I think but the staff still let me in so I asked for a can of Pepsi. Then I asked what's this Oasis drink and the guy replied something about orange so I said I'll take that too, plus water. The girl was looking at me funnily but I couldn't understand so nvm I guess they must've found it weird for someone to come out at midnight and buy so many drinks HAHAHA. But I was really freaking thirsty and I think my bottle of mineral water costed €2 sigh forgot about how bottled water in France costs a lot. Anyway after I got back I heard noise outside my door so I came out to say hi to my neighbour opposite and also to ask for wifi LOL. Lesson from experience: ask and it shall be given HAHA.

I've showered and unpacked my biggest suitcase! Had a total of 50kg this time which includes one 20kg luggage (all food + rice cooker + toiletries + bedding + and NO CLOTHES AT ALL) + one 15kg luggage (clothes + STATIONERY FREAKING HEAVY + more toiletries) + one 10kg handcarry (electronics + more clothes + small random things + 1kg MILO FREAKING HEAVY) + one 5kg backpack (laptop and documents etc). So that was 50kg in total. I didn't actually have that many clothes?!?! I think the food took up the most weight but nvm I'm gonna finish those anyway. I don't even have a mug T_T will retrieve it when I go back London next. Anyway so after I unpacked I realised I'd stupidly left my correct size bedsheets in London and only brought the super single ones over :( So now my bedsheets don't match my duvet and I don't even remember where I left my bedsheets argh ... Also I'd forgotten to bring stuff like plastic bags because people use paper bags over here shucks ... And also I have like no tissue or toilet paper HAHAHA I am such a joke for forgetting to bring the essentials. Okay have to go to the marché really soon to stock up on stuff ...

The showers and toilets are pretty okay, quite similar to I Hall so it's not too bad and I'm quite used to it. I just couldn't seem to find where they put the toilet paper so I'm guessing people bring in their own toilet paper??? Idk need to figure that out HAHA. My room is really nice it's bigger than I'd expected!! Definitely way bigger than my Argyle room last year omg. It's about the size of my I Hall room I would say, maybe a bit shorter by the length of a cupboard but the width is the same. And I have my own sink!! Which is more than sufficient already because at least I won't have to go out just to brush my teeth and all. Oh and I have a mini fridge. A MINI FRIDGE!!! Not that I have any food to store in it yet but so cool. I am liking this place very much HAHA.

Mental note for groceries shopping:
1) RICE
2) Toilet paper
3) Sheets to line the cupboard ...?

And I have a bunch of stuff I wanna retrieve in London T_T

But this whole moving abroad thing has made me realise the importance of minimalism and decluttering omg. Moving abroad twice in 2 years is no joke hahaha seriously how do you ever compress your whole life into 2 suitcases and just go?? But I realised I can live without a lot of things and most days I don't even use most of my stuff so time to start clearing out stuff ... Donated some clothes and shoes to the charity shop near WT's place today so I'm thinking I'll probably donate more if I can't sell them. And I have an obsession with toiletries and shitz so I guess I should try to quickly finish using everything and stop buying HAHAHA.

Okay it's getting really late now so I'm going to sleep soon but I'll try to post frequently cause it'd be quite nice to keep track of my year abroad! Maybe one day I'll type a whole post in French HAHAHA MAYBE WHEN MY FRENCH IS A LOT BETTER. XXX.

London to Strasbourg

So I'm now sitting in the Ryanair plane with a sprained wrist and after finally peeling off my 2 layers of jackets. Holy shit, that was a close shave. Singlehandedly managing 50kg of luggage (that's actually as heavy as me) from Gloucester Road to Liverpool Street (both stations without step free access) to catch the plane at Stansted was not easy, NOT EASY MAN. I was mentally going FML FML FML the whole way. And my wrist really hurts haha FML, AGAIN.

I left WT's house at about 3.30 but it took me 15 min alone to just walk to the station. Was supposed to catch the 1625 Stansted express train to the airport, but even though I arrived at about 4.15 there was no way I could manage to even get to the platform by 4.25. So I reached the platform at 4.25 to discover that the freaking train had left. The next train was 4.40 and I didn't want to miss that so I got on quite early and managed to secure myself a seat near the door. There was a Korean guy who was sitting next to me and he asked if I'd been drinking. Well that's the effect of hauling your own weight halfway across London ... Anyway I was panicking really badly on the train cause I figured I'd reach the airport at 5.30, which gives me just about 20 min to check in my luggage and another 10 min to make it through to the gate?! And I couldn't even run with all my luggage.

So I got to the check in desk, and if there's one thing I'd learnt from all the trips so far that'd be to ask for help. So I asked, and this guy directed me to another queue at the side called the closing flight queue. I didn't even know they had such a thing. Spoke to a couple of people who were going to Dublin and their flight was at 6.30 too. They got called first and I was starting to panic alr then they finally called for Strasbourg. I literally jumped up and quickly went to check in my luggage.

Okay I'm now looking out of the window and the guy is loading luggage but I don't seem to see my luggage ... Shit, I just hope it was loaded already.

After checking in my luggage I ran for the security check, but it was still pretty hard to run with a 10kg duffel bag and another 5kg backpack. Wanted to use the fast track at first, it was only £5 but they didn't accept card and I couldn't find the ATM so I was just like forget it. Ran to the normal security check and THANK GOODNESS it was actually empty!!! So I made it past quickly and ran for the gates. By then I honestly had no more energy to carry my duffel bag and my throat was so dry it was actually pricking me, so I dragged my duffel bag and ran. Will probably need to buy a new one after this. Managed to catch the train to the gates just in time so that was pretty smooth.

I actually had Priority Q on my ticket for some reason. I think they just allocate it randomly or something or maybe it was cause I bought check in baggage? Anyway I was assigned to seat 7F, and I saw online that rows 1-7 are priority so I guess I could've just been lucky. The other people don't seem to be aware of it though. I felt slightly bad for barging my way through at the gate but hell, I paid over 90 quid for this ticket. Also very grateful to the random strangers for helping me with my luggage at the stairs at the station ... But I think I'm not too bad myself considering how I managed to carry most of it HAHA. Seriously need to declutter my life now then I'll have less things ugh.

Okay I'm now gonna check to see all my important stuff are still here! Will post again hopefully soon when I finally have wifi ... And did I mention I sprained my wrist carrying the luggage hahaha FML. Okay gonna take off soon!

74 days of summer

Can't believe my summer is coming to an end :'( School starts for me in a week while everyone at UCL wouldn't be going back until like end Sep or Oct ... such is life. I've spent this summer mainly working, and it still feels really short despite having worked for almost 2 months but I guess time flies when you're having fun. Also I have accumulated way too much clothes but I didn't manage to finish selling all the stuff I don't wear so hopefully they'll be sold before I come back next year. Really going to impose a NO BUY ban on myself for real. There're no shops in Strasbourg anyway. I just have to resist checking the Topshop website for stuff. There's also no Brandy stores. And I have no idea how my timetable will be like but I'm hoping for long weekends since one semester is now 15 weeks instead of 10 weeks. But I'm pretty hyped for France and I can't wait!

Work 4

Tendered my resignation on Thursday :'( I am genuinely sad this time about having to leave I think this has been my favourite job so far!! Much regret thinking back about last summer when I had so much time and I just wasted it being bored to tears when I almost could've worked at TS. The call came like 3 days later gah. But okay anyway I'm still very thankful for the opportunity this year. Sighhhh time really flies when you're having fun :'( Anyway my last day of work will be this coming Thursday. Omg I don't want to leave T_T T_T And I think I'll never look at TS Ion the same way again hahaha :'(

Anyway need to update my daily summaries!!

35 / 16 Thurs: Work day 12 / dinz and dessert with the wasabi gang / went La Salle to hang out LOL (just checked my insta that was 3 weeks ago omg??)

36 / 17 Fri: Worked half day 13 / rushed home for int and missed dinz with I Hall :(

37 / 18 Sat: Work day 14 / met up with Chan Wei after work at Star

38 / 19 Sun: Work day 15 / romper day with Cheryl haha

39 / 20 Mon: Off day / town / llaollao with Anthea

40 / 21 Tues: Work day 16 / supper with the TM guys

41 / 22 Wed: Skate sesh with the sis / lunch at 18 chefs / supposed to be my off day but ... Work day 17 

42 / 23 Thurs: Work day 18

43 / 24 Fri: Work day 19

44 / 25 Sat: Off day / lunch at the Sun's house!! / Swee Choon with Carissa and Ben

45 / 26 Sun: Stay home Sunday / crashed Sun's clique karaoke outing HAHA

46 / 27 Mon: Work day 20

47 / 28 Tues: Work day 21 / Korean food dinz again with HCSE girls + ice cream

48 / 29 Wed: HC / UBS / sprained my ankle argh

49 / 30 Thurs: Work day 22 / finally met Wanting for dinz omg

50 / 31 Fri: Polyclinic in the mornz / Work day 23

51 / 01 Sat: Stay home Saturday woohoo to rest my poor ankle

52 / 02 Sun: Collected my BM goodies with Janice / Teoheng + dinz + dessert with the wasabi gang

53 / 03 Mon: Work day 23

54 / 04 Tues: Work day 24

55 / 05 Wed: Work day 25

56 / 06 Thurs: Work day 26

57 / 07 Fri: Off day / Marina Bay with the fam at night

58 / 08 Sat: Stay home Saturday!!

This summer went by too quickly :(

Fatigue is an endless feeling

At least that's one thing I can feel. One thing.

Days are flying by and it's already August ... Later this month I'll be going back, then embarking on a new journey. I'm pretty hyped, to be honest. Booked my tickets last week and all, just have to pay my reservation deposit now which I'm still trying to figure out how to do and also I'm only getting my pay next week, which is a bother considering how much I've spent and how many people owe me money. It's strange realising that I'm now down to a negative net income, which basically means I've been running on a deficit. Doesn't really make sense considering the amount of clothes I've sold ... Which means I've definitely spent way more than that. Way more. Gosh.

3 more weeks of work to go. I really really enjoy it a lot despite it being tiring and all and having to deal with stupid people sometimes ... I figured I'll be counting down to approximately 12 more days of work. Gonna miss everyone and everything; it's strange to think how some bonds form so quickly but you never know if they'll be strong enough to last.

In other news I've also sprained my other ankle. Trying not to harp too much on the fact that somehow my legs are going to be in this state of imperfection for the rest of my life. I'm still too young for this and I want to have a perfectly functioning body. Cannot imagine hearing a pop in my ankle everytime I do an ankle rotation, or feeling the sharp pain and strain everytime I run, even if it's just to catch the bus. Fervently hoping that both ankles will recover soon.

Going out again tomorrow. It's always the same few places. There are so many places that I've not visited yet this time that I'm back, but I'm running out of time. Next time, perhaps.