What a Bargain

Yesterday I moved my last few luggages to the new appartment. It felt great.. But I still have loads of clothes to fold and hang.. The problem is that I dont have hangers to hang them.. Anyway, at 1pm, Fidah and I met up with this Chinese guy, Fan, cause he and his friends are selling futintures and stuff cause some of them are going back to China and some of them are moving out of their place.. They live in Planoise which is about 20-30mins away from the city centre so we had to take the bus lah..

When we arrive there, gilaaa kotor eh. and banyak wah barang durang lagi.. And the first thing we saw were the long-length mirrors.. and we're like how much is the mirror? and he said 5euros for the big one and 3 euros for the smaller one.. And I'm like? 3 euros? 2 euros lah.. and he said ok.. and then banyak lah barang nya and everytime he set an amount, I would try to bargain and minta discount.. haha and I ended up buying the mirror for 2 euros, over 30 hangers for 3 euros, small kettle for 5 euros and 20set of unused ceramic plates for 15euros.. It was a good bargain.. I love bargaining..


us in the bus stop with the mirror
being vain in the bus
the keys to mi casa =)

Mi Casa is Ma Maison

I finished at 12.30noon today.. And I hung out at the canteen with the Japanese during lunch time.. I stayed in school till 3.30pm to wait for the girls to finish their classes cause they invited me to join them to walk around the city centre after their class.. POURQUOI PAS?

Along the way, we stopped by at my agency and I talked to him.. and he said that he'll give me the keys on THURSDAY after the état des lieux (inventory).. I CANT WAIT TO MOVE IN!!! naaaah.. I brought the Japanese to look at my place of where I'll be staying insyallah by the end of this week..


The building inside the building.. The flight of stairs of which I have to climb up to everyday once I live there.. 4 tingkat yooooo
the first thing you will see once you climbed the forth and final stair..
The lounge in the hall way
My double bed!!! My bedroom is located just opposite the stairs and the lounge.. and next to the bathroom..

The bathroom!! =)
The kitchen/dining/living room
Kitchenette
with Chihiro
Living 'Room'
Dining 'room'

and the beranda..

Mas, Satomi, Megumi
me with the Japanese girls

bah PEACE out! (you get me? haha *lame*)

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY!!


ps/ nanti tah aku buat video macam MTV Cribs utk kamu.. hahaha paksa tah ku bali healthy groceries and susun icebox ku and usai katil apa ni.. aseeeeehhh hahahahaha iski ku banar kan pindah ahhh!!!

AKU JEALOUS!!! I wish I was There

Just look at this!!!! Sudah aku nada baru tah baik Rock Band ahhh... sudah aatuuuuu...






Emosi ah Ka Mia ahhh...
Si Azi tamak ahhh... ia saja jadi drummer! Aku yang punya position tuu sebanar nya.. haha.. C MUIZZ PC ah dalam gambar ah..


Btw, coincident kah tu baju melayu Abang Inoh, Hafizh and Udin warna PINK??? and apa ni ku dangar c Udin FULL Sembahyang Terawih and Witir ah??? hahaha

I MISS YOU ALL

Voilà!!!

I've just finished my essay in the nick of time!! It is due today at 1.30pm.. It's almost midday and I am so proud of myself for making it before the dateline.. =)

There are a lot of weird-os living in this foyer.. I feel like living in a mental institute.. I don't think I can stand living where I live for another week or two. Fortunately, I'm going to move out of here by the end of next week.. I am half way packing my stuff.. I just can't wait to mooooooove..

By the way, an update on my BIRTHDAY WISH LIST...

I've been thinking about my 'ultimate' birthday wish.. And it's a bit selfish in my part to ask you to go to Besancon to surprise me... But, if you have the money and the time, WHY NOT? Anyway, for that, I think it'll be also great if you guys can call me on my birthday or just send me a birthday card or something like that.. I don't mind.. It'll be cool as well..

Here's my contact detail:

+33-611-505-239

Masitah Jaafar
4e Etage
3, Place de Victor Hugo
Besancon, 25 000
FRANCE

CHEERS!

Schooooooooooool

My timetable is waaay better than what i had last year.. I only have 15 and a half hours of school a week compared to the 33 hours a week that I had for last year.. AND....

The earliest lesson is at 9.30am.. and it's only once a week.. Last year , my school starts at 8am everyday..

Here's my time table..


MON- 13:30-15:00 - ÉCRITURE (composition and comprehension)
15:00-16:30 - SÉMIOLOGIE (study of signs and interpretation)

TUE- 09:30-11:00 - ORALE
11:00-12:30 - LINGUISTIQUE GÉNÉRALE

WED- 10:30-12:00 - ÉCRITURE
13:30-15:00 - ORALE
16:30-18:30 - L'ORALITÉ

THU- 15:00-16:30 - ETUDE SOCIAL (social studies)
16:30-18:00 - JOURNAL EN LIGNE (online news)

FRI- 13:30-15:00 - LINGUISTIQUE GÉNÉRALE


at the canteen during lunch time with the japanese, Meg and Satomi..
Chill out with the Spaniards at the terrace outside the canteen
Julian, Ancerna, Fee and Mas..
at the canteen
at the bus stop with the Malaysians after school..

Most of my subjects are with the Malaysians.. Actually, ALL my courses are exactly like the Malaysians except for the JOURNAL EN LIGNE.. that's because the poor Malaysians have to do LITTERATURE (that's how the french spell literature.. with two Ts.. bukan nya aku inda pandai spelling *looks at Jimbo*..).. So basically, I see them everyday..

There's 15 Malaysians.. There are also students from Kuwait, Libya (2 orang), Turkey, Ivory Coast, Australia, Germany, Philippines, Myanmmar, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (2 orang), USA (2 orang) and Brazil.. Surprisingly, I dont have any Chinese classmates.. So basically there's 15 Malaysians and 18 other nationalities including me.. tapi kami semua inda in the same class lah.. we're divided in two groups and sometimes, we have a smaller group or a big group.. depends on the subject..

Apa lagi???

Oh I went to the Agency and they said they'll give me MY KEYS by the end of next weeeeeekk!!! I can't wait to move out!! SERIOUSLY!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee =)

ohhh yeah.. I have an essay due on Monday.. I have to argue whether I am for or against CHILDREN having mobile phones.. and Children in this case, refers to children below 12 years old.. It's sooo weird having to write essays again.. The last essay I wrote was for my General Paper exam when I did my A levels TWO YEARS AGO.. I hate essays.. That's why I prefer doing science subjects cause we dont have to do essays.. Kalau inda, ngambil history ku sudah time form 6 ah.. Other than that, I think I have other assignments to do.. Like reading two pages of a document given to us. I haven't read it yet.. Maybe during the weekend kali. entah.. we'll see lah.. haha

My Ultimate Birthday Wish

Hi.. I was just looking at my birthday countdown and In less than 3 weeks, I am going to turn 20..

So I opened my organiser and *sounds of glass being smashed*.. Turns out it was on a Monday and I have a rendez-vous at the prefecture (immigration) at 3.20pm on my birthday! Merde! I have to go there to renew my titre de sejour.. Annoying eh the french system ani eh..

Anyway, someone asked me the other day what I want for my present... And I couldn't think of a thing.. I am not really a materialistic person *looks at JIMBO*.. But I am the type of person who looooove surprises.. So I thought of this...

MY ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY WISH..

To have any of my friends surprise me and told me that they're going to Besancon a day before or hours before arriving (that way, I can meet them at the station).. Now THAT would be the ideal gift for me this year..

Just in case you are going to SURPRISE me.. nah my phone no +33611505239 'CALL ME!'

Happy advance birthday to ME!!!!

p/s: to reserve tickets from London to Besancon, go HERE or you can google "SNCF train" and reserve it NOW!

Insyallah I'll belanja the transport around Besancon and maybe kalau murah rezeki, belanja makan the whole time durang d Besancon.

*NOTE:

1. I am going to Lille on the 10th till 12th of October.. So I think it's better if you come here on the 3rd or 4th October..

2. My brother's coming over on the 17th till 20th October.. (I hope he brings a present for me.. I hope his present for me is sealed in an envelope and is green in colour.. meaning 100euros).. So I will be busy that weekend

3. My aunt and my brother are coming over on the 24th till 27th October.. So, again, I will be busy entertaining them that weekend as well..

4.If you won't be able to make it on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th of October.. DONT WORRY cause..

I will be accepting my ultimate BELATED birthday present as well, And my holidays are on the 26th October to 2nd November.. And insyallah I'll be staying in Besancon UNLESS ada orang sponsor aku ticket to go to the UK *shrugged* mana tau ada.. So the belated birthday presents starts from the 7th of November and so on..

Love you all!!!!

and The Results Are Out

So I went to school today to check out my results.. and alhamdullilah.. It was what I wanted.. I got into the C1 group! YES! That means I can skip my B2 exams which I never sat for..


The view from the school cafeteria's balcony.. The cafeteria is in the 5th floor..
hot chocolate on a cold day.. oppps kedapatan tia inda puasa..
with Ath (from the UK), Fee and Julian (from Spain)
Julian is always with his dictionary..


Just outside of the school

across the bridge from the school..
jobless on a Friday night.. we ended up karaoke-ing all night long..

All night long~ all night~

Tomorrow we're meeting up Aishah, this Malaysian girl at the city centre.. There's this music festival in the city centre fro 11am till 5pm tomorrow

begila

How I Got My New Appartment

I cant sleep. I have to go to school tomorrow to find out my results of the exam.. I hope they'll put me in the C1 class.. at least B2 lah... The classes are from A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 from the lowest to the highest..

Yesterday, I've finally decided to take the appartment at Place de Victor Hugo.. It's 30m squared with a double bed in the bedroom, a kitchen, bathroom with a bath tub, a dining/living room.. It's furnished and it's on the FORTH floor (no lifts) and it's actually in the attic.. Cool lah and I can imagine people staying over for a few nights.. It costs 389euros a month which includes the water and electricity bill.. (Usually the rent doesnt include the electricity bill.. but this one does.. So I don't really have to care about how much electriciy I'm using in a month..) Electricity usually cost around 25-35euros a month.. So okay lah..

So today, I went to the agency and signed up my contract.. It was a bit of a bargain lah cause the agent told me the original price was actually 489euros and the guy who rented out the place last year rented it for 469euros a month.. (He showed me the documents).. They lowered it down about a hundred euros cause it was already in September and most students have their own places sudah and there's not many students or people who are looking for a studio by now..

The frais d'agence (Fees for the agency) was originally 359euros.. But I've tried to ask for a discount because I'm a student.. He hesistated a bit and said "normally, I don't do discounts for students.. But, okay.. I'll lower it down by 100.. So he agreed on 259euros..

So I had to pay a month's deposit of 389euros and October's rent of 389euros AND the frais d'agence of 259euros which sums up to 1037euros.. And I was like.. "Let's settle it for 1000euros lah.." He replied "No.. it's not possible.. I've already give you a lot of discount.."

Then bepikir2 ku lagi.. "Come on.. it's only 37euros.. I might be staying here for 2 or 3 years.. Let's just say that's for my birthday present for next month (haha majal aku ah).." Inda ia mahu jua..

Then aku kalah kalahan lah.. cause I know he's desperate to rent the place kan.. So I was like "Then it's okay.. I don't think I'm going to take it if you're not going to settle it for 1000euros.. It's either you take it or you leave it..Cause, I'm not really desperate to get it anyway.. And I've already have a back up plan because I have an offer at Rue Battant which is near the school and it's on the first floor.." Bediri ku selajur.. (saja lah to make it more dramatic)

And he was like "attendez.." (wait).. "let me see.." and he took out his calculator.. and he was like, "Okay.. For you, I take the 1000euros.." In my mind, I was like, "pheeewww.. Glad he fell for it and took it cause I didnt really have a back up plan.."

Just before I left, we shook hands and the agent said,
"You Bruneians are smarter than I thought.."
And I really took that as a compliment! Who wouldn't? I left the place competely satisfied..

i thought to myself.. I've just saved over a thousand euros for this year..

So yeaaaaaahhh!!! I'll be moving out of the hostel by next month.. Actually, I wanted to leave the hostel at the end of this week BUT the problem is that, I've already signed an agreement with the hostel to stay there for a month.. If not, I still have to pay for a month..

I CANT WAIT TO MOVE OUT AND SETTLE DOWN!!!

The agent said that he'll give me the key a few days priory to moving in but I have to have an insurance first.. So I need to go to an insurance company lagi.. France is sooooo complicated.. And he warned me that I MIGHT have to pay for TAXES.. And I was like, "What? what is that?" (saja.. make dont know).. and so he explained about how the government cut your salary for the taxes and stuff.. and I said "I still don't follow.. Because, in my country, if you're salary is $3000, it is $3000.. and besides.. I'm not even French.. Why do I have to pay the taxes?" Then he said that I can AVOID paying taxes but he must ask the landlord if he would want to pay for it himself.. But the agent said he can't promise me anything.. So, Liat lah cana.. On verra..

Anyway, I've bought my tickets to go to Lille for the 10th to 12th of October and I've bought Abang Alim's tickets from London to Besancon for the 17th till 20th of October.. I need to buy two more tickets for a day trip to Lyon with Abang Alim on the 18th of October..

So I need to

1. go to school to see my results
2. go to school and fill out some forms for my student card
3. go to the prefecture (immigration) to make a rendez-vous to renew my visa for another year..
4. go to CAF (it's something to do with the accomodation thing)
5. go to an insurance company
6. buy tickets to Lyon
7. fill in forms at the hostel to give them a notice that I'll be leaving by the end of this month
8. go to the post office to send off some documents to the Embassy to be translated and mail my brother his tickets..
9. Make sure the bank has already transferred my account from Lille to Besancon.. I've already asked for it by they said I have to go back in a few days to get my new RIB or IBAN (international bank account).. Without my new RIB, the embassy can't give my allowence for next month.
10. pack my bags by the end of this month..

... and then, I can finally settle down..

So I still have LOADS to do.. This is really why I don't like living here.. I can never settle down here.. It's just too complicated.. and the language barrier is worse.. Last year was even worse.. I had to wait SIX MONTHS for my visa instead of the usual three months.. and I didnt have internet till it was March.. and entah banyak lagi lah.. But that was then.. Sigh..

Bah I'll try to sleep dulu.. Nights

p/s: Since I now have a new permanent address,

You can FedEx, DHL or snail mail my BIRTHDAY PRESENTS to:

Masitah Jaafar
3, Place de Victor Hugo
4e Etage
Besançon, 25000
France

Bonne nuit!

Yesterday, I went to CLA for the tests.. We had exams the whole day from 8.30-11am (written exams) and from 2-4pm, we had our oral (includes listening skills) exams.. I had a tough time with my written exams..

We had to do FOUR- one page essays for two hours and EIGHT pages of comprehension paper in an hour an a half.. By the time it was over, my head was spinning..

Then we had the listening skill and the oral interview exam which I think I did Okay.. I had fun with the interview..

The results will be out this Friday.. And classes start next week, the 15th.. So at the moment, I am jobless and there's nothing much to do here..

Ohhh and there was this group of Malaysians as well.. They told me they were 34 Malaysians studying in Besancon alone.. By the way, tinggi ah scholarship orang Malaysia ah.. They get like 860euros a month! And all the Malaysians in Besancon are scholarships students.. They told me, after their SPMs (equivalent to the O levels), they underwent two years of French intensive course to prepare themselves to go to France.. Macam "whoaaaaa".. Aku lapas O levels, dua tahun inda belajar French lapas atu kana antar ke France belajar Chemical Engineering.. HAHAHA

They have their 'Malaysian town' in Planoise, 10 mins by bus from the CLA and about 15-20 mins away from the city centre.. They offered me a place to stay sana.. But.. Entah.. It's so far away from the city centre and I have to apply for the bus pass.. Actually, I dont mind paying 20euros a month for the bus pass.. But the thing is.. I am trying my best NOT to buy a bus pass so that I have to force myself to WALK everyday from my place to school or/and city centre..

At the moment, I live in a hostel which is 25mins away (on foot) from the school.. and I dont mind going to school.. But going back home, bari malas because it's a bit hilly.. That's why I am planning to get a studio or an appartment in the city centre or close to the school..

I cant wait to move out of the hostel actually.. The hostel is ok and has everything.. kitchen, dining room, wifi (in the dining room), own toilet in the bedroom, laundry (have to pay for it) etc.. But I can't imagine myself staying here for the next two-three years.. I want to just SETTLE DOWN..

The appartment that I am thinking of getting is a 31m squared "attic" on the 4th floor of the Place de Victor Hugo in the city centre.. It's probably 20-25 minutes walk to the school BUT at least it's not hilly and it's in the city centre.. It's really big with a double bed, dining/living room, kitchen, bathtub and shower in the toilet.. And I can imagine people staying over at this place..



Apa lagi ah? Ohhhh and I've checked the school calendar.. My holidays will be:

Autumn holiday = 26 OCT - 02 NOV
Winter holiday = 20 DEC - 04 JAN
Spring holiday = 28 FEB - 06 MAR
Easter holday = 18 APR- 09 MAY

So if you have any plans during my holiday, just contact me ah.. Mana tahu aku kan join..

Zhilin is inviting me to join him to go to SWEDEN after Chrismas (27th Dec - 31st Dec) cause he has friends living there.. So free accomodation lah.. and he's planning to celebrate New Year's in PARIS.. And I think I am going for it.. So I guess, I have to miss Boxing Day in London this year..

Actually, Zhi Lin's actually inviting me to go to NORWAY during our Autumn holiday.. But the ticket is a bit expensive.. And I think I'll be a bit kapih by then cause I have to pay 3 months in advance for my appartment.. That's why I'll most probably stay in France till early December..

Other than that.. I'm sorry to say this but I can honestly say that I miss Lille more than I miss Brunei and I don't know why.. I seriously want to go to Lille.. THAT is why, I've already bought tickets to go there on the 10th till 12th of October.. Wohoooo

My brother is PROBABLY coming over to Besancon next month insyallah.. It'll either be on the 17th-19th or 24th-26th.. I can't wait for him to come here..

Mulhouse

As promised... Pictures from Mulhouse (Mul-loose)

Finally! A place to shop! It's certainly has more shops than Besancon but without a doubt, Besancon is a more beautiful city to visit..

Fidah and I in the city centre..
some of their specialities
It's more German than French if you ask me.. The pink building on the left is the Hotel de Ville (city's administration building).. The architecture is definitely NOT french because there are less balconies and less designs..
The 15th century Gothic Cathedral..
with Khoi in the city square
us in the city centre..

Khoi's uni hall

His room where Fidah and I stayed for the night.. He had to stay at his friend's room.. Thanks Khoi in the tram

my sungkai at SUBWAY! They have subway!!!! Besancon nada subway (nor Mc Donalds)
PEACE OUT