September 21-27, 2020. This is the first week that I didn’t have to rush every morning to get to Alliance Française for my daily four-hour language classes. I had intentionally not enrolled in the last week of the B1-level program because I wanted at least a week for some rest before my LL.M. (Master of Laws) international arbitration program commenced.
To make most of the free time, I had previously decided to take a leisure trip. The original destination I had in mind was Hamburg, to visit a good friend. But a month or so ago, Germany introduced stricter measures for all persons entering from France, which meant it was too cumbersome to make a visit. I would have had to isolate myself for two weeks upon arriving and that would have been too much trouble. Also, of course, if I only had a week to spare, there wouldn’t have been enough time to complete the two-week quarantine.
Thus, I decided to go somewhere within France instead, where there were no travel restrictions. Some weeks ago, the French domestic train network went on promotion to sell tickets at a bargain. Tickets were selling for as low as 10 euros one-way to select destinations. I was able to book roundtrip train tickets to Marseille and Rennes.
But before I get to that, let me tell you about my trip to the prefecture (administrative / police office) at the beginning of the week to submit my foreign resident visa requirements and finally being granted a “récépissé” or preliminary resident permit.
Finally getting my récépissé. I have probably recounted before that getting a rendez-vous (appointment) with the prefecture, which is the office that handles the renewal of resident visas for foreigners in France, was such a pain. Well, first you have to know that because of the pandemic, you can’t just show up at the prefecture without booking an appointment. Next, you have to know that booking an appointment at the prefecture’s website is such a game of luck. The slots only open on Mondays at around 9AM. I say “around” because it’s not precise. You just have to keep refreshing the webpage starting at 9AM until the slots appear and then fill up the forms as fast as you can, before the very few slots available run out. To cut the long story short, I was able to book a rendez-vous two weeks ago, scheduled for this Monday, September 21. By this date, my existing resident visa had already expired. But I was told I need not worry because holders of recently expired resident visas are given consideration because of the pandemic.
The prefecture in charge of handling applications from my place of residence is located in Antony, a suburb around 12 kilometers from the center of Paris, or around an hour by train from my place in Boulogne.
I had previously encountered an irritable female officer to handle my request the last time I had an appointment three weeks ago who quite literally just told me to go away and book another appointment because my documents were not in order. I had hoped I would not encounter her again but behold me, there she was.
I faced the challenge head on. As usual, she was in an unpleasant disposition and refused to show any sign of consideration even if I was clearly struggling with communicating. She spoke fast French all throughout but thanks to weeks of French classes, I knew better (but not perfectly) how to respond to her questions and demands. I wonder how non-French speakers have to deal with this unpleasant French bureaucracy! Anyway, after a few minutes of checking my documents, she finally provided me a récépissé or a temporary resident visa that would allow me to stay in France while they prepare my carte de séjour or foreign resident identification card.
I was so relieved upon receiving the resident visa. Because it was a very pleasant day, I took a walk inside the vast Parc Sceaux which was just nearby. I didn’t realize how beautiful the park was. I spent a little more than an hour just sitting under the shade of a tree reading a book (in French, as a means of practicing my reading comprehension). I also took a stroll around the quaint town center of Sceaux until later in the afternoon. I did some groceries, too, because I had thought of trying to make fried rice and other meals for the next few days.
August 3-9, 2020. This week I started my intensive French classes at Alliance Française Paris. One of the reasons I came back to Paris two months ahead of the start of my LL.M. classes, aside from the primary reason being that I needed to re-enter France before my visa expired and apply for an extension from within continental France, was that I wanted to study French intensively get past my current level of proficiency. The intensive classes are held for four hours every day (except weekends) for two months. Hopefully, I will be able to advance in my proficiency. It would be a shame not to be able to speak, read and write French proficiently after more than a year living in Paris. It took me a while to get used to the first few sessions, it really was intensive, and the primary rule was that we couldn’t communicate in English–at all, so at first I was having a hard time communicating what I didn’t know how to express in French. It felt a lot like drowning, trying to grasp and express words I didn’t know in French like gasping for air. It quickly got better.
This week was also marked by the canicule or heat wave. Day time temperatures have been breaching past 35 degrees celcius daily since Tuesday. The evenings do not bring any relief either, aside from the fact that the sun sets way past 9 in the evening, the heat stays above 30, and worse–there is no wind whatsoever to stimulate the cooling effect of sweat. I often woke up in the middle of the night dripping in perspiration and end up having a bed sheet damp with sweat by morning.
I had been told to buy an electric fan, but the scrimping person that I am, I refused to spend on something that I would only be using for two weeks, maximum–because temperatures are seen to cool down towards the end of the month as autumn comes around the corner.
I met up with my Filipino friends this week. On Tuesday, I met up with Yael, the only other fraternity brother I have in France. We went at the 10e arrondissement at the Canal Saint-Martin area. The summer afternoon atmosphere was amazing, it was like everything was back to normal. People were out enjoying the nice warm weather, hanging out with friends along the canal, lying on the grass in the parks, dancing at the Place de la République, all having a good time like the pandemic was over. We then had dinner at Thai place.
The next day, I met up with my former housemate, Patricia, who along with her boyfriend, hosted dinner at their apartment. I would meet up with her again two days later when we met up with owner of the apartment we used to rent out in Montmartre. I needed to retrieve the rest of my luggage which I had left in the apartment at the beginning of the pandemic. We never got to meet her during our lease because she lived overseas.
On Saturday, I met up with my other set of former housemates and our friends, the ones I lived with in Suresnes when I first arrived in Paris last year. We came together to have a surprise party for Thomas who was celebrating his birthday. We had makeshift samgyupsal using a raclette table grill.
Tonight, I had dinner with my LLM classmates Keishi and Dmitry at Relais de l’Entrecôte near Montparnasse.
July 27 – August 2, 2020. Most days of the past week was spent reconnecting with classmates from the LL.M. program and Filipino friends who had stayed in Paris during the period of confinement.
I had written and posted about the trip to Compiègne and Amiens I took last Tuesday with my Japanese and Russian friends in blog entries here and here, if you want to check it out.
The Monday prior was spent just doing some errands, like returning the keys of my old apartment to the real estate agent near Champs Elysée, and doing some bank errands at La Défense. It was too hot to do anything else outdoors, damn. But being indoors is no relief either as there is no electric fan in the house I am staying in, nor is air-conditioning a normal thing anywhere in the city! I never realized how summer temperatures and conditions can be worse in Paris than if I were in my room in Metro Manila.
On Thursday, I decided to go for a walk around Bois de Boulogne, which is the woods at the western part of Paris, and is just two blocks from where I now live. Parisiens know what this place is known for, but I guess there is room for everyone from the hookers to families with children wishing to enjoy the outdoors. That afternoon, I met up with my friend and ex-flatmate Patricia for lunch near her place in the 17th arrondissement.
That weekend, I met up again with my LLM friends Keishi and Dmitry, this time with Judith, one of our German classmates, flying over for a visit from Dusseldorf! On Saturday, we had apéro drinks along the Seine near Pont Neuf, then walked towards Île de la Cite for dinner at a restaurant in Place Dauphine. We continued walking up until our old stomping grounds near school around Saint Germain, where we ended up at a bar where the beer cost 9 euros a pint!
We met up again on Sunday and had apéro again along the Seine (this time near Pont Alexandre) then walked towards Champ de Mars for pizza at an Italian restaurant.
July 28, 2020. In less than an hour from Compiègne by train, we arrive in Amiens, an affluent mid-size city north of Paris. Upon arriving at the train station, we wasted no time and immediately walked to Musée de Picardie, which was quite a distance from the terminal. We passed through the pedestrian promenades in the center of the city along the way. At that hour, which was around 4 in the afternoon, the sun was still scorching hot so there were few people walking the streets. Many were under the shades of trees in the parks or in the shaded terraces of cafes.
July 28, 2020. Two of my LL.M. classmates who had remained in Paris over the coronavirus confinement invited me to a day trip to Compiègne and Amiens, just short train rides away north of Paris. It served as our first reunion, months after our abrupt separation as a class last March when most of the class (including myself) hurriedly flew out of Paris to seek refuge in our respective countries of origin.
So I met my Japanese and Russian classmates at the Gare du Nord in the morning and we all took an almost-empty summer weekday train, first, to the town of Compiègne, which only took less than an hour.
[07 Oct 19] Normal class day. Things are becoming more routine. I don’t like to lose that feeling of awe every time I walk the streets of this city. I hope the magical feeling of waking to a dream come true stays longer. When I walk the streets of the city I still can’t believe I’m here.
[08 Oct 19] I wish my eyes were a camera, so I could easily take snapshots of everything (and everyone) that I see–without the discomfort of having to raise my phone or camera in front of people. I wish I could store everything I see in a photo or in a video, and keep all these memories forever.
This experience still feels like a dream come true. The things I see now had only been matters of my imagination, as I’ve seen them in countless films, photos, videos. Now I’m right in it.
[09 Oct 19] First exam of the LL.M. program done! Took a snapshot of my desk before starting. We were allowed to refer to our ‘codal’–European Union treaties. Some of my classmates probably had an easier time since half of them are EU citizens. Night out with some of them after the exam!
[10 Oct 19] Our French language professor forbids any English word in class as a policy and discusses everything in French. I feel like drowning, really, like being thrown in the ocean, me gasping for air (words) and catching my breath, with no choice but to (learn to) swim. And swim I will! French class was my only class for the day. The rest of the day stayed at the apartment.
[11 Oct 19] I met up with my frat brod Yael to hang out and explore some parts of the city. I will write another entry on this day!
[12 Oct 19] It was a slow weekend. Stayed most of the time at the apartment, heading out to La Défense for a while. In this photo I took, a young boy looks out to the Grande Arche de La Défense as the metro approaches France’s main financial district. The Grande Arche stands directly opposite the Arc de Triomphe. A giant graffiti that proclaims “We support Hong Kong!” greets commuters at the tunnel.
[13 Oct 19] Almost half of the Sunday parishioners of this Catholic chuch in central Paris are Filipinos. After mass, many would swarm around ambulant vendors selling Filipino food items from chicharon to turon, sometimes even some ulam. This Sunday we went to the Filipino store to have lunch. After lunch I walked across the Seine to the gym.