one month in france


Photo with Mama at the airport. Kunwari hindi naiiyak. 🥲

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Three months since I quit my life in Singapore. One month since I moved into one of the most beautiful countries in the world, into one of the best cities in France. My french is still nowhere as conversant as it should be. But I guess I am surviving. So how's life lately?

I arrived during the harshest season possible. Two weeks in and I was already missing the sun. I kept on complaining, "Pourquoi? Pourquoi il fait froid?" (Why? Why is it cold?), even though I know the obvious answer — because man, it's winter.  

The feeling of the sun on my cheeks, whenever I go out on a cold day calms me the most. The warm ray of sunshine on chilly days was definitely a mood booster. There were days when I would just stay at home the whole day, sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon, watch Netflix all day, and question myself what am I doing, I should be studying french. This was one of my worries when we were planning, how the winter season will affect me. And it definitely did, it was affecting my mental health. I had to go the doctor and ask for a vitamin D prescription.

I dreamt of experiencing all four seasons and living through them. So now that I survived the winter, here goes spring where they say is the best season - not too cold, nor too hot. I'm excited to see the changing facades of the city that goes thru the changing of the season. 

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Honestly, it is difficult to articulate everything from the very start, it's a mix of many emotions. I was sad to leave Singapore, to leave my friends, but I know that it was time. There were a whole bunch of uncertainty, and questions that I guess I just left everything with the universe to unfold. Until now, I still don't have answers to everything, but who has anyway? 

But on top of all these, I still love it. France is not as clean and proper as Singapore. It is not as convenient, nor safe and easy. You would find weird people everywhere, even a man smoking weed in the streets or a random guy breaking weed in the metro. 

People at the stores greet you a good day, your neighbors greets you when they see you at the lift.
It is a beautiful country, with a diverse history and an endless list of things to do. Needless to mention, french cuisine is simply amazing. You can find good wines and cheese everywhere. Just a two-hour drive or a 40-minute flight can get you to the beautiful landscapes of the Alps. 

Just trying to enjoy everything while I can!

NOTE: I wrote this post last February, and in true Lorraine fashion, I forgot to publish it. So here I am, 6 months after. It was originally entitled "life lately". But yeah, here are my thoughts after one month of living in France.

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