One more year.

So what should I say about 2015? The year has definitely be full of surprises. It started in Austria and ended in China. I've been to England and France, I've met an awesome load of new friends whom I learnt to appreciate and to love. I've seen friendships grow and shared incredible moments with them. I learnt to let go and to be myself. I learnt to be persistent and not to let go.
I got my first Master Degree with distinction. I left my first job, knowing what I want to do and having a clearer idea of who I want to be. I grew as a person, as an independent and strong woman.
I fell in Love and learnt that sometimes one has to let go and just enjoy life.
I read many books and wrote one of my own.
I had nightmares and learnt how to live with my personal demons.
It's been a hard year. But an important one. One where I got to fly far away to be who I want to be. I faced problems and hardship and I made the best I could out of it.
I cannot say what 2016 will be made of, but it starts in a nightclub with lots of vodka, loud music and cool girls. It will be a year of troubles and dreams and projects, of art and of successes. Maybe of failure too, but that's how we learn.
Tonight is the first night of a new year. May it be a new year for us all.
May we succeed, may we love, may  we be more open minded, rich and loved.
Happy New Year Everyone.

A la force des bras.

"Of course it's hard.
It's supposed to be hard.
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Hard is what makes it great."

And merry Christmas to you.

So, let's be clear about it.
I don't have any days off for Christmas or for the new year.
I actually worked on December 24, 25 and will work on January 1.

But we sort of had a small Christmas at the flat none the less.
The girls were nice enough to wait for me to come back from work so we could have diner together and open our presents and eat the foie gras and drink some white wine my dad had sent us from France.
I got a new owl mug, a nice notebook from the girls and another notebook and the complete volume one of Death Vigil (PM, you're just too perfect)

I also look forward to a late Christmas with the Crazies, back in France.
So Merry Christmas to yall.

"The empty space where I wish you were"

By Chiara Bautista

Moving out. Moving in. Not necessarily in this order.

It's a story about how LEAAA, Baby Panda and Granny Beli decided to move out of their flat.

So, last week, our landlady announced us that in fact she had forgotten to tell us about some obscure fees we were supposed to pay and raised our monthly rent from 4000Yuan to 4300.
As those who talk with me on a regular basis know, we having some troubles with the said flat. 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms and an gigantic living room.
For someone who lives in France, the rent seems ridiculously cheap, but it's actually quite expensive for China. Not unreasonable but still.
When Lea sign the renting contract in September it felt perfect. Brand new, close to the university, nice bedrooms and a big living room to stay together, no neighbours, and cool in the summer.
Months passed and we slowly realised that it was not such a nice place after a while. We had no neighbours because the residence is still in construction, and our flat was one of the first to be finished so we actually lived in the middle of a construction site. and being waken up by a drill in the flat next door is quite unpleasant, and it grows nerves wrecking when you have to live with it on a daily basis.
Another problem, was that if the flat was cool in summer it was also damn cold in winder. There was no heater except in our bedrooms. and since we had no neighbours, we couldn't really count on that to get a warmer flat. The summer in Wuhan is one of the most intense in China, it lasts from May to early October. But from October to late march, it's crazily cold here. We got to a point where we only lived in our bedrooms because it was impossible to stay in the living room. (I'm not kidding. My hands were turning blue and I couldn't write.)

So when our landlady asked for more money, Lea started to swear in Russian and decided we were to move out of this place.
I literally did not care about it. As long as I have somewhere to put my stuff and some Wi-Fi, it's not hard to convince me, As long as no one asked me to take care of it, I was in. Carine agreed and the two of them started to look at flats in the internet.
The next day they visited 3 flats, chose one that matched our criterions (cheap, close to university, at least two bedrooms and WARM) and made an appointment on the next day for me to visit it. I visited it and agreed with the girls. It's not a palace but it would do. We are actually closer to my university, I have a bedroom and it's definitely warmer here than in our former flat.
We agreed with the agent to sign the papers on Monday.
We met with our soon to be former landlady to tell here we were leaving and asked to be refunded for the 2 months of rent we had paid in advance. She agreed (she's keeping the deposit anyway) and we agreed on giving the keys back on Wednesday.

Here comes Monday and I sign for my first flat. (We put my name in the contract because I will be staying here longer than the girls.) And we started to move our stuff in our new flat.
We were not even moving a kilometre away from our flat so we decided not to rent a truck to move our stuff.
I didn't move all of my stuff, because, very obviously there was no heater on my bedroom. (the flat is warmer because our downstairs neighbours heat their place) So I stayed one more night in our former flat.
So on Tuesday, after my classes, I went out with Lea to by a heater for my bedroom and then I moved the rest of the stuff we had left in the former flat while the girls went on an epic quest to find the right internet company to get the Wi-Fi installed.
After 7 go and back from a flat to the other, 7 huge suitcase weighting between 15 and 25 kilos, and approximately 18 bags, I moved all of my stuff and the common possessions of the flat.
And here I am in MY new flat.

The technician came the next morning to install the Wi-Fi and we were finally home.
But it couldn't have been so easy, so our landlady decided to break her word and not to give us back our money back because she wouldn't be able to rent the flat before several months since we are between two semesters. We had a couple of friends to look at our contract and basically we told her that it was not our problem and that she had the deposit and her eyes to cry. (My Chinese might not be good but I'm a tough negotiator and I was in no mood to let a small and angry little Chinese woman dictate me how things were going to go.) So we got our money back and went home in our new flat.

I can't believe the whole story only took five days. It was messy and we more than one wished we could punch some faces but hey, at the end it was pretty efficient.
That's quite a good sum up of China I guess. "It's messy." But if you have the nerves to fight and argue and to kick a couple of asses once in a while you get the shit done pretty quickly.

Three women with three woolves

 

Three Women with Three Wolves, Eugene Grasset 1900

Finals are coming

As most of you know, I am working on too many things at the same time. How surprising, right?
And it's this time of the year when I suddenly realise that the finals are in fact pretty close and that If I want to study it would be about time to do it.
I usually don't.

Usually I rely on the fact that despite not listening in class and mostly not studying, I am able to hear the course and to remember it and understand it without much of an effort. That's very probably what I am going to do for the Chinese finals. Since I am going to class every day, I hear Chinese, I read the texts, write the new vocabulary, and even if I'm far from being a model student, my brain picks up most of the necessary information.

But my French degree is completely different. I don't have classes, I don't have a teacher I can vaguely listen to. No, I just have my books. And to me, that's a real Challenge.
That's the first time I have to study that way. When I used to take extra classes or distance courses, I always had someone to read the material with me and discuss it with me. At this time, I used to live with people far more brilliant than me and they did all they could to make sure I got the best out of education. They read material to me when I could not focus enough to read it myself, they'd literally do the class if I needed, and I'll be forever grateful for that.
But I don't have this anymore. Now I live on the other side of the world, like an adult. and I have to act like one and force myself to study. Because I might have a good brain, but if I don't give it anything to process, it won't be able to produce anything.

So, Right now, I should really start to study. I have a year worth of material to read and I... haven't started yet

Yup, so much homework.

Yeah, I know... My finals are in three weeks and I feel helpless to face the coming catastrophe.
My ability to focus has been on a roller coaster for weeks (okay, months) and I seem unable to do anything to make it any better. I just watch the days as they go, thinking "I should really be studying right now."
But no matter how seriously I try, I can't.

 

And that brings me to another subject (me failing my finals aren't exactly my favourite topic): The ability to focus.

I've been talking about it quite a lot and yet I still get some remarks like "but can't you just read the materials and try to takes a few notes, you know, just an hour a day. it's not that hard."
And that Ladies and Gentlemen gives me murderous ideas.
 

 

As it happens, No, I just cannot do that, no matter how hard I try. Sitting at my desk, no computer on, no music to distract me, phone on silent mode on the bed, and yet, I can't read. The letters, the words make no sense. No matter how many times my eyes pass over them, they don't register, they don't mean anything. It's like reading a language I don't speak. The simple action of reading no matter what I am trying to read takes me minutes, hours. On a really bad day, reading texts on my phone becomes difficult, let alone typing an answer.
My brains works just too fast, the thought pass so fast, jumping to the next one even before finishing the first one. the world feels like it's moving in slow motion and I don't register anything of it anymore.
Nothing catches my attention for more than an instant.
I can't watch a movie or an episode without needing to make several pauses and do something else. I can't listen to music because my brain tries to register the lyrics while I can't hear them and any known rhythm bores me to death. I have trouble keeping ideas for more than minutes, finishing a task is excruciating.
People who don't know me well might overlook the impact such a situation has on me.
It hurts.
A lot.
On those days the only thing I feel I can do is lay in my bed, hug my dinosaurs and sleep. unfortunately sleep isn't really an option for me. So I just lay on my bed, restless, hoping I'll find the strength to do something. hoping something will catch my attention, hoping it will get better. My head buzz with activity and I feel like I don't work on the same level as the world.
It's painful and crippling.
I live ten thousand kilometres away from my loved ones. Our communications are all written. And on those bad days, I can only follow conversations that go as fast as my attention dwindle. Short text messages with people who can follow my train of thought.
Luckily enough, those really bad days are rare, and I just have trouble focusing on reading and writing. I can still function pretty normally. But it severely impairs my ability to study.
And fore someone who values time and knowledge as much as I do, It's extremely frustrating.

I don't really have a conclusion to this article. I'm sort of surprised I managed to write it. It took me the evening, but I wrote it.
This is what it means when I say I have a low attention span and an attention disorder.
It doesn't help me with my finals, but at least it might give you some clues on what I am going through when I tell you that "it's a bad day", "I'm bored" or "I can't focus on anything".
It's not for fun, I'm not looking for excuses. I'm being serious. And sometimes just sometimes, it's also a way to call for help.



Introverts after alone time to regain their energy:

From: Sail Your Seas
Suggested by The Amazing Justine.

Well, to be honest this is terribly true. Granny Mary went out last night and I definitely am still exhausted by social interactions. The level of alcohol having no impact whatsoever on me, I didn't even have that to help. But I had a very nice evening, first at the French Students in Wuhan meeting, and then as an honorary member of the "Night Out Bitches Gang"
I was happy to come back to the safety and peace of my bedroom.
Well, I am still alive and going out for the sales today.
I will rest when I'll be dead.

Art

 

From Protobacillus

Went to Happy Valley

I went to Happy Valley with Hei Hei today. It's a roller coaster park in Wuhan. It's pretty cool. Since it's freezing cold outside There wasn't much people and we managed to try a maximum of roller coasters without having to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes.
And I bought a Captain America back pack, which is awesomely cool!

This bag is just too awesome

Slytherin are your friends

Life hack: Be best friends with a Slytherin. They will steal cupcakes for you from work and tell you to drop toxic people from your life with no reservations. They will be the ones ordering you to stop and breathe and call in sick, to screw your commitments if they see you’re sacrificing your mental health. They’re the ones to say “don’t you dare settle” and “you deserve better” in a ruthless, matter-of-fact tone. They’ll be the ones saying it’s okay to put yourself first, the voice you need to hear after a long day or week or month. trust me, be best friends with a Slytherin.

From: Luckylouise
Suggested by The Amazing Justine

"Letters to who I was 5 years ago"

 

 

"Catharsis" by Iguanamouth

I hate being sick.

Generally, I guess it is reasonable to say that I have a high tolerance to pain. Broken bones and torn muscles I ignored, symptoms of illness I overlooked for the sake of my time table, for the sake of myself. I don't like to admit that sometimes my body just betrayed me once again.
So I'd just go on, not saying a word. and feeling guilty for not being as efficient, not as quick. It's stupid, but that's how it is. I'd sneeze, I'd cough, I'd shiver and probably be running a fever, but I wouldn't say a word about it. I felt like if there was no obvious sign, their was no reason for me to complain and bother people with me being sick.
Then I realised that this was slowly killing me. I'd just go on with my life and be exhausted. I was putting on an act that no one asked for. I was forcing myself into silence, because I felt like I didn't deserve the right to complain about something as trivial as being sick.

 I took the habit of complaining when I'm sick. I guess it's more an habit than anything. I used to do as if there was nothing and just go on with my day. And now I complain. I guess I do it more for myself than anything else. By admitting that I am sick and actually easing a part of the frustration in a complain makes the situation real. By saying that I am sick, I actually allow myself to show signs of weakness and not carry on as if everything was alright.

So my flatmates have been hearing me complain about being sick for days now. I caught a cold. Nothing to be worried about. But with my stupid immune system, I just feel drained.
I'm sorry girls. For complaining so much. Thank you for putting up with me.

 

 

Try me!

Shower thoughts:

"Pain is nature’s way of saying “don’t do that”. Painkillers are Man’s way of saying “Watch me”"

How many times did I ignore the pain? how many times did I just go one with my day, pushing the pain away. How many times did I keep on running, despite my bones cracking and my muscles snapping. How often did I see Pain as a reward for my own discipline.
If it doesn't hurt, it means that you are not working enough.
How many times did I kept on jumping and bending and running, while injured.
How many times did I ignore that headache? For days sometimes. The fever? The feeling that this body was going to fall apart? How many times did I say "Watch me" when my body requested some rest?

How many times did I keep on working despite the lack of sleep, keeping busy and never slowing down? How many times did I went on for days, catching two hours here and a nap? How many times did I just shrug when I realise that I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon?

How many times did I push away the hunger? Hands shaking, taking a deep breath and pushing away the feeling that clawed its way in my stomach. Just focusing on the next thing I had to do, never slowing.

Pain is Nature's way to set limites? Watch me.

Headcanon accepted

mudblcods:

I have this really important Headcanon where Remus gets to Hogwarts and has no idea how being around people works, since he’s been isolated from people outside his parents practically his whole life. So you can imagine this scrawny little boy with brown curls and skin pale as paper, with this massive red cardigan over his robes and muddy boots with a pink and green bandaid over the bridge of his nose, of course he has no idea how to tie a tie, so he wears it in a bow instead.
So this goofball walks into his very first potions class and his hand shoots up at the very first question, and he stands up and rambles on for about ten minutes about the pros and cons of using mandrake leaves. (having already read through all of the text books,) and you can be sure he isn’t shy with swear words because by age 11 Remus has read every book in the house and has a pretty large vocabulary, and when he’s done he sits down and Sirius black and James potter stand up and applaud him because goddamn, this nerd just said “fucking rare as shit” to a teacher, who is this. All while Slughorn has never looked more constipated in his life.

Tomfoolery:

And with this headcanon in mind, now remember when Sirius said: “You should hear how Remus speaks about Umbridge.“

We had forgotten

We had forgotten that the world is at war. We lived in our bubble, thinking that it couldn't happen to us. And we were wrong.
We were protected by our luck, to be born in the right country, where we could go to bed at night without being afraid or being killed by a bomb during the night.
We were safe because people are keeping us safe. doing their job, doing their best, so we could stay safe. We were so lucky some of us didn't understood what it meant to be at war. to flee your country because you fear for your life.
But we are not so lucky anymore.
I used to live in Paris. To take the metro everyday. And I remember wondering "how long before our peaceful existence ends?"
Last night, terrorist killed some people. That's it. People who only believe in violence to gain power over their fellow humans. They are not Muslims, they are not of any nationality. They are children of a sick sad world and they only believe in Power and Violence.
I am sad. Oh I am so sad. Sad because no one deserved that. Sad because people died, because families are grieving, because it hurt to be forced to accept reality. the world is at war and it has been for years.
And I am afraid. Oh so afraid. I am afraid that it will never stop, that other people will die, that innocent lives will be wasted. I am afraid of people idiocy and lack of judgement. I am afraid that people will ask for blood to clean blood. I am afraid of those who call for revenge and for more violence. I am afraid for those who will be wronged because assimilated to those who hurt us, when they are just as afraid, just as sad and just as innocent as the rest of you.
I don't live in Paris anymore, but my family and friends still live there. At 6 this morning, My flatmate Lea came to wake me up, telling me to check on my folk. We listened to the radio, looked for more information, waiting for our friends and family to give us a sign, to tell us they were okay. And the French student sent each other messages, to check on each other. None of us lost anyone.
Does it feel reassuring? Yes. We are not grieving. But people died last night. People I didn't know and will never know. People who should have lived. People who had a name, a live, a situation, who were sons and daughters, maybe fathers and mothers. People died.
I am afraid for the future.
And yet, I am hopeful.
Because I know there are good people out there. Who will answer to those atrocities with kindness and patience. People who will teach kids that violence is born from hatred and ignorance and that we should be able to talk to each other instead of killing each other. People who will help the helpless and who will give their blood and sweat and to make this world a better place.
I wish people would be more tolerant and think twice before calling for blood. I wish people would be decent enough to let the dead rest in peace and the living grieve. I wish we would stop being so mean.
Be safe, people. Be tolerant and patient and take care of yourself and of those you love.

PM - Look what I found!

PM!
LOOK!
I FOUND IT AGAIN!
THIS IS SO US!
I MISS YOU SO MUCH!
YES, I AM SHOUTING, IS IT A PROBLEM?
I LOVE YOU.
YOU'LL NEVER GET RID OF ME.

To take a break

It's been a while since I wrote anything.
Life goes on and I am as usual extremely busy. That, and I slowly learn to let go.
Today, I gave myself a break. I haven't started to write for the nanowrimo yet today. I was working Friday and Saturday, so I didn't write anything either. meaning that I am 5000 words late. and for the moment, I don't rush. I slept very little those last two nights, because I was working, so when I came back early this afternoon, I decided to give myself a break. To take a nap, and to just let myself waste some hours, to check pinterest, and chat on facebook. to do nothing very productive. Just to let my brain breath. I work well under pressure, and I enjoy a good challenge. but today, I wasn't in the mood. I wanted a quiet afternoon. A moment between the rush of my long day as a model yesterday, and the rush of my mid term exams week.
I learn to let go, to breath and to see how it feels, to enjoy the moment.
I guess leaving the comfort of France changed me, little by little. I was shaken but so many things and changes. I always knew how to wing things up, to make things work despite not having control on them. Now I learn to roll with it and stop trying to make things work perfectly.
So today I didn't write. I let my brain rest. I skyped my family back in France, chatted with friends, but did not write. And it's fine. I'll take my time, write a little more everyday and I'll make it to the 50000 words.
[I also happen to have some awesome test reader who help me with the lack of motivation. It helps a lot, thank you Girls!]

Cave of the forgotten books - Racoonart

 

Cave of the Forgotten books by Racoonart

Missing my books

I left France with only 3 books. So I obviously have nothing to read anymore. Which is a pain. I have my kobo with me. Would someone have any recommendation about what I could read? Titles? or even PDF or DOC they could send me?
Please, I need to read a book!

Time zone, Time change and long distance frienships

France really is a weird country.
Twice a year the whole country agrees on collectively change its time zone of one hour, moving watches and clocks and every possible object that gives time.

To save power by sticking to the daylight as much as possible.

While I lived in France it seemed like a weird thing to do, but I didn’t really question the potential impact of such a change for our contacts with the rest of the world. I have friends sort of all over the world so of course, it changed a bit the way we talked, but we are not very close, meaning that apart from leaving each other messages once in a while, we don’t often talk.

Last year, Lea mainly lived at night, meaning that she was usually available to talk at the same hours as I was. But now that I live in China and that I mainly live on a diurnal rhythm, it makes it way more complicated for me to communicate with France, and the time change didn’t help.

In summer, China has a 6 hour forward gap with France. In winter, it changes to a 7 hours forward gap. Meaning that when my friends back in France wake up at 7am, it’s already 2pm for me. I know you can all do the math, but it’s hard to realise what a difference it makes. When my friends start their day, I’m already half way through mine. And when I go to bed, around midnight (okay, more like 2am, but let’s keep midnight for the sake of the example) it’s only 5pm back in France.

It might seem nothing but in fact, people mainly talk in the evening, after classes or work. And the time gap makes it impossible (or at least very unreasonable) since it implies I skip sleeping.

I didn’t realise, before leaving how much I was going to miss people. I made so many new friends last year, I hadn’t realised how much I used to socialise. It felt good to be understood and to share good and simple moments with people. But here, I have troubles finding a crowd that shares my love for small assemblies, good wine and peaceful conversations. I miss those quiet and genuine good moments. But with the time gap it makes it even harder to talk to people back in France, and I realise how easy it is to lose someone.

I should be used to it, my friends usually don’t stick around for long. I change, my opinions and aspirations change and we grow apart. And it’s fine. But it’s the first time I feel so isolated. I used to think that I can live alone and be perfectly happy, which is true, but I realise that there is still a part of me who longs for social interactions. I got used to be surrounded with people with whom I shared a lot. And I don't want to lose them. And I don't want to feel alone here.

I guess either I’ll find a new crowd here or I’ll learn to live a tad differently. Some might say that I already live way enough in my head, but never mind.

Speaking about tatoos again.

I love my tattoos. the one I have on the wrists. My moto, my reminder not to give up.
But it was always obvious to me that it would not be the only one.
I had decided to force myself to wait two years between each tattoo. I wanted to enjoy each of them, to remember how it felt to have only a small tattoo, then to slowly add meaning to each of them. My skin is a canvas on which I always knew I wanted to draw.
It started with something simple, discreet, but utterly obvious to me.

There is also a poem I literally want to engrave on my ribs so it will never leave my side.
There are other words I want to ink on my skin as reminders of choices and ideals.
There is a pattern I want to engrave in my arms, to celebrate my love for music.
There are symbols of what I hold dear and what I believe in.

I've been talking about those for years. I wasn't always sure of where I wanted them, or the precise design. But I knew I wanted them.

The next ones will be on the other side of my wrists. opposite to my moto and yet perfectly complementary. "Never let anyone tell you that you'll never succeed in something. Be stubborn, be strong and prove them wrong" "Do what you love, no matter what" That's what it means for me.

I'm so very excited about it. In February. It's both so far and so close.

Knitting, social link since forever.

Today I went to Hankou, the district on the other side of town from where I live. It is 1h30 away, with both a trip through Wuhan metro and bus. Going there was easy, thank to Lea, who put the right address on my phone so I could find my way.
I went there alone, my headphone on and my knitting work in my hand back. The best way not to be bothered by anyone in the public space I noticed is, as Jim Butcher says in the Dresden files, to look confident. or bored. Act as if you belong there and no one will question your presence no matter how eccentric you are (like a green haired ginger girl knitting in the bus). That works every time!
Almost every time.
When I was waiting for the bus to get back home, after running from an office to the other for an hour and managing to fill all the forms in order to get my resident permit, I started knitting again.
Two women, around 60, starting talking to each other about me (no, I'm not getting any more paranoid, they were pointing me.)
Another girl arrived at the bus station, something around 20 years old. The two ladies called her and together they came to talk to me. They had asked the younger girl (Penny) to come so she could translate, as she spoke a little English (way more than I speak Chinese)
They were curious about what I was knitting, where did I come from, How long had I been in Wuhan, did I like living here, what did I do as a living, everything. They wear all extremely kind and warmhearted. Since we were going on the same direction, they said they'd check on our itinerary, that I needn't worry about not missing my bus stop.
It's funny to think how it was easy to talk, even if only some minutes ago, none of us knew each other. It came as totally natural and obvious. Penny and I had to regularly browse through or dictionaries, looking for one word or the other, laughing about the misunderstanding.
The two Ayi (aunt in Chinese) were very curious about my knitting and sometimes took it from my hands to show me how they held the needles or how to pass the thread.
I took her wechat, offering her to keep on texting so she could practice her English and me my Chinese. It felt good to meet new people and to practice my Chinese outside a classroom.
I hope I'll be able to get to know Penny.

Sociolising

I was invited by one of my classmate to a barbecue today.
The girls went out yesterday, with their usual combo of Helen's bar, then nightclub. Not exactly my program so I passed and stayed home, making pancakes. I made 42 of them, but actually only 38 went on the pile, since I ate some as I made them.
It felt good to have the flat all for myself, to have some peace.
I thought I'd write something but inspiration has been quite scarce lately, but not as much as my attention span and focus ability which have been plainly absent.
So today was my turn to go out.
My classmate Max comes from Colorado, has been living in Wuhan for two years, and despite speaking chines quite fluently, never learnt to write or read Chinese. We talked once or twice between classes. A nice dude. he was quite surprised to learn that I was actually from Paris, as most people here from the moment I start to speak English. Even Robin, who comes from Manchester thought I was a Londonian. That's quite a huge compliment for my English!
So Max, shares a flat with his friend Chris, from Canada, on the last floor of a building in a cool residence. And he organised the barbecue in the rooftop of his building. Rooftops are actually accessible to every resident, to hang their laundry or to hang around.
It was good to meet some of my classmates outside the classroom. Not many came, but who cares? those who did were cool. We also met Dan, Max's girl friend, and I talked quite a lot with Chris, since ie is the closest thing to a weirdo I found until now. He loves sci-fi and fantasy books and teaches English. We'll probably meet up to lend each other books and TV series.

Making pancakes

Saturday night. I've got the whole flat for myself.
The girls went out and I enjoy the calm of being alone at home.
I thought I'd use my quiet evening to write, but I have been utterly unable to write a single line for days. Apart from a small recounting of a nightmare I had recently, nothing. Inspiration is gone, and except for a four hands project, I have no idea. My brain is dry. which is extremely frustrating.
My attention span, is at its lower, so is my ability to focus. It's nothing to be worried about really, but it is both painful for me and extremely frustrating.
I know I must not force myself, and that it will comeback by itself. But creating stories, living thousands of adventures in my head is my thing! It's how I define myself, how I protect myself, how I see myself. Without my imagination and the ability to make visible what is in my head by writing it, I feel crippled. I am missing something. I am not whole.
So I keep busy instead. I make pancakes. Tens of them.

According to the stars:

If only I had:

A Brain: Aries, Pisces, Libra, Leo

A Heart: Capricorn, Aquarius, Virgo, Sagittarius, Gemini

Courage: Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio

From here

First impression

"At first, when I saw you, I thought you were an haughty smartass."
I've heard that sentence so often, can someone explain?
I know I can look very distant, since when I meet people, especially in a crowed environment, I'm shy and this often passes for arrogance (How the heck is that possible?! I'm not ignoring people when I don't know them, I'm afraid of them and hope they'll ignore me. I start to ignore them when I know them and know that I don't like them, which is quite different, trust me!)
I apparently look like I don't care about people around me (true enough) and because of my attitude (my governess knew her job) people tend to have quite a negative first impression of me, if they don't meet me in an environment I'm comfortable in.
I don't understand.

Mc Gonagall rules

Being flirted with

As I said before, We had some friends at the flat last night. And among them is Poon. And all by herself, she deserves an article.
Poon is one of Lea's Thai friend. She's cute, and like her country mates, she likes to party, she likes to drink, she likes to have fun.
And She likes girls.
Last year she had her heart broken by another French girl who repeatedly made fun of her. From what I heard, it was pretty bad and I am sort of sorry for her.
Lea had told her a while ago that her best Friend (me) was coming to Wuhan soon, and that she happened to be a lesbian too, and a single one! [ Yes, Lea played the matchmaker]
I fortunately knew it before coming to Wuhan. When we first met, she made no comment about it, so I thought she had forgotten, and that was fine with me. Then apparently she connected the dots yesterday, and suddenly came to ask me "Why are you a Lesbian?"
To that question, I explained shortly that I couldn't be anything else. That's something my closest friends already know about me. She seemed to accept my answer, but not really care about it. She asked me something I'm not sure I understood. She asked me whether I was a king or a queen. And to be honest, I don't have the slightest idea what she meant. did she meant to ask if I am more girlish or boyish? Well, to me that's irrelevant, being slightly gender fluid and not caring the slightest about those definitions. Or If I have a type of girls, which is irrelevant too, since my answer would be, "yes, those for whom I fall."
And then I guess that must have been the least discreet flirt ever since even I noticed it. She used any and every pretext to come and talk to me, while not really having anything to say, and offering me drinks so often I should have write "no thanks" on my hand. She has apparently decided that I was interesting and made it clear that she wanted to have some time with me. Which I am not against, but she was heavily drunk so I'll wait until she's sober to see what she really meant.
I am not against the idea to get to know her, but I am not exactly looking for someone right now (when have I been anyway?). I just arrived and I have so many projects and things to do I don't see I could find some time for someone.
I don't know, this all situation is weird. I feel like she is only interested because I'm another French lesbian and that it didn't go well withe the previous one.
I might be old fashion, but that's not exactly the way I could ever imagine starting to see someone.
When she left for the nightclub with every one, she almost dragged me out of my flat despite me clearly stating that I had no intention on going anywhere. Ah, drunk people are stubborn people. But I am even more stubborn and she left.
I don't really know what to think about it. I'll probably wing things up, and try to avoid awkward situations as much as I can.

Jason Chan

Jason Chan

Social interactions

So yesterday evening, Lea invited her friends to celebrate her birthday, and my arrival and our new flat. We planned for 25 people and cooked all day.
I was a bit nervous about that: I am, after all quite an introvert and the idea to have 25 people in what I came to consider my new home was scary. I had already met most of Lea's friends, Some nice thai girls and their friends.
We invited people for 20:30. The first one arrived a bit before 22:00 and some arrived past midnight. only 15 people came, which doesn't reward Lea for cooking for so many people.
As I said, I already knew Lea's Thai friends. They are fun folk. Extraverts, always laughing, loud and full of life. They like to drink and dance and have fun.
The girls were having a tequila/lemon/salt challenge. They love drinking games. That's their way to get drunk and be happy and have a good time. I have been slightly sick for a couple of days, must have caught a cold, and I don't like drinking for the sake of it, since I can't enjoy the effects of alcohol. So I just kept on drinking Earlgrey. What's the point of being at your own place if you can't drink what you want? I prefer a good mug of hot earlgrey that a glass of poor gin. And apparently, that made quite a fuss. The girls pushed and kept on offering me some drinks, no matter how I told them that I didn't see the point. To them, the only way to have fun is to get drunk. And apparently, they took it as a personal challenge to make me drink and get drunk. I had to refuse at least a hundred times, and each time, they asked why, and my answers were never good enough for them. Refusing to get drunk because you don't see the point is not enough. Because you're sick is not enough. They let go for a moment and then come back ten minutes later with another glass. Saying no is easy, but it get tiring after a while. They'll be wasting their time and energy. I'm patient and stubborn. I don't drink much if I don't feel comfortable with people. And I was definitely not at ease.
Some of the guests were friends of friends, and didn't even bother to come and say hi to their host, they came and sat, and talked to their friends. According to Lea, it's common from Thai boys. It's a bit frustrating to be in your own space and yet feeling utterly out of place.
Social interactions and noise tire me extremely fast, and that's not something they really understand.
They like to be drunk to dance in nightclubs and to laugh loudly. I like quiet evening, talking about the world out there, drinking good wine with some friends. We have nothing in common. They are nice and polite and kind, but we don't like the same things.
At 02:00 am they decided to leave, to continue their evening in a nightclub. Lea stayed at the flat because she had to wake up at 06:00 am to go to work. And I didn't go because I don't like nightclubs. it was late and I was exhausted. The noise, the agitation, the social interactions, plus me being sick meant that I had no intention on going anywhere. I've been called a granny and a spoil sport.
It sort of hurt. I usually laugh about it, but is it that weird to rather enjoy a peaceful evening alone or in a small comity than having some wild fun with twenty people I barely know. I need to get to know people. To understand them, to have something to talk about with them.
I knew where I was going when I left France for Wuhan, and I don't regret it even a second. I just look forward finding my own crowd here, the local weirdos, those who love books and writing and studying and knitting. I'll find them.

What were the odds?

Lea has a theory about people who come live in Wuhan: According to her, there are two sorts of foreigners, those who will leave in a year without an idea of what China is really, and those who will fit in. Carine and her are definitely part of the second category. According to her, it mostly depends on what folk you talk to. If you stick with your country mates, and fellow students, the odds are that you'll never really see China from inside. I guess I don't know in which category I am yet: I live with two french girls and I started to talk with my classmates,
Or more precisely, I talked to two of them. Two Frenchies. A boy and a girl. I needed to borrow their books, to make some copies. I won't be able to buy mine before Wednesday, and I can't exactly keep on not preparing the class.
They're nice. Some cool muggles, by the sound of it. But anyway.
The boy is taking double major University Degree: Law school and English/Chinese (yes, this is a double major)
The girl is taking a University Degree of Law by correspondence and following the same Chinese Language course as I am.
She's 24, and as we talked, we realised that we come from the same town. Not Paris, no, the small town I grew up in, in the Parisian suburb. She did some Rhythmic Gymnastics in the same club as I did, she graduated from the same high school a year after me. She studied in Paris, in English and Art History. But she wasn't in the same university. and as we talked we found out so many common points! She is living two streets away from my flat, and is looking for a gym and a ballet class too. She suffers from insomnia and is a freaking multi-tasker, the same way I am, taking a degree, having a job, building her own company and trying to pursue some other personal projects. Family pressure and fear of failure.
We had never met before.
And yet we definitely have some common point. She fled the pressure of the French system and her family. She was drawning in France and needed a fresh start. That's something I understand quite well!
She's droped everything and came to live in China, with a man she fell in love with in only a week. That's quite cool, as a story. Maybe I'll a bit more about it in another post.
She is a muggle but a cool one and we agreeded to meet up Sunday. I'll probably be a bit exhausted because Lea, Carine and I are having friends at home saturday evening, but that will be cool to meet her anyway.
What were the odds of finding someone with such a similar background? I know, I'm not exceptional, but still, we have some similarities. Not in our way to think or in our own imaginary universe, but in our back ground and personal experience. It will be interesting to get to know her.

Aurora - Runaway

Thank you Justine for sending this to me!
I like everything. Her voice, the lyrics, her clip.

I know I really like a song when I feel my shoulders roll and sway, when I feel something inside move and echo with it. In my head my whole body moves. I feel the rhythm. There is something about letting go and move along with the music. Giving up thinking, and just be.

Back to class

So, today, I finally went back to class.
I went to the administration this morning with Lea. And as it happens, my teacher made the change just before the holidays, so I could go to my new class this very afternoon.
Oh my god, I was so happy!
The teacher had picked a class for me, not the beginner one, so I wouldn't even be bored.

I had 2 classes this afternoon, a grammar one and an oral one. I didn't have the books, so I had to follow with one of my classmate. A Turkish girl. She doesn't speak a word of English, so We had to understand eachother with our basic Chinese.
We are more or less 15 in the class, with 5 Frenchies, including me. I haven't talked to them yet.

It feels good to be back to studying.
I was a bit lost, because I didn't prepare the course, and I still lack some vocabulary, but I should be able to make it up in the next week or so.
It feels good to study. To have a rhythm, to be able to plan. to know what I have to do. It feels good to have a goal: some homework to do, some things to prepare from a day to the other.

The girls really didn't like their classes, but I really missed study something I like. The challenge feels good. It makes waking up in the morning worth it. I have a goal. It feels like I'm unstoppable. I could study all my life.

I really want to progress.

I couldn't resist.

I saw him two days ago and couldn't stop thinking about him, since.
I wanted to hold him in my arms.
I couldn't Resist.

People, Meet Siegfried.

The signs falling in love

• The "Deny, deny, deny!" squad: Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, Virgo
• The "Wow. I'm in love. Okay cool." squad: Libra, Capricorn, Gemini, Sagittarius
• The "THIS FEELS SO GOOD BUT I'M SO SCARED" squad: Aquarius, Leo, Pisces, Cancer

from: http://luckylouise.tumblr.com/

Level up

I have my Master degree. 

I have my Master degree.

I don't really realize. It's weird. I have been "working" to get it for two years, and I finally made it. Those two years of hoping I'd survive, that I wouldn't have a nervous break down, of dragging myself out of bed every morning, feeling empty and feeling like an impostor, wondering why I still bothered. My job wasn't exactly fun, but my colleagues made it more bearable, but the classes were really a pain. Seating in a room for hours, waiting for time to pass. Things we were taught were so obvious, it broke my heart. I was wasting my time, which takes quite a new meaning when you know don't have so much of it. I could have been anywhere else, learning useful things, but I was stuck there and felt utterly alone despite being in a room full of people.

But I made it. 

I got my Master degree, with good marks and a distinction. I held on and it paid. It was not all for nothing. I have a degree, "in case of". I hope, just another one in the long list of degree I wish to get. But the first master degree.
It's such a relieve, to know that it's finally done and over. I won't have to think about it anymore.
And it feels like a revenge: I made it with good marks, while not even trying to work on it. I know how some of my classmate had a hard time to make it through the classes. They worked for the finals, and worked for assignments, and weirdly enough they also made fun of me being always doing something else, studying things they saw as useless, you know, like literature and History... For once, you know what? I'm proud of being a small genius. I got my Master degree and didn't even need to use my brain, and also got some pretty awesome diplomas with my online classes.

Subliminal message

Lea gave me a book to read, and I think there was a subliminal message. It's called " La femme parfaite est une connasse". The whole book is a succession of small texts about how no one is "the perfect woman", the one we see in films and magazine or on pinterest. The book describes this legendary creature of the woman who is polite, kind, stylish, cooks her meals from locally grown vegetables she bought from a solidarity market, the one who's nails and hair are always perfect, but it looks effortless, etc.
And Lea said "sometimes, you remind me of her". Apparently, I am sort of a Connasse. which sounds quite true, since, indeed, I try my best to get closer to an ideal I gave myself as a goal. So yeah, sure, I try to eat sort of healthy (well, to eat, which is a good start, somewhat regularly, which is something and sort of healthy, which is quite a challenge when living in China.) And It's true, I know how to do many things. I am not an expert, but I can somewhat sew, or knit, or write, things like that. I just try to learn as many things as possible. It was after all part of my education: those who raised me wanted me to be an independent woman, with many skills and talents. Some are more unexpected than other. I learnt more than what my initial lady-like education foresaw for me. I watched and learn as many things as possible and tried to give myself as many tools to succeed in life and give myself as many opportunities as possible. And apparently, as I learn more, I remind Lea of the Connasse, the one that can do anything and everything. Is it such a bad thing?
It seems to surprise quite a lot of people how many skills you can accumulate in 24 years. I tried as many things as possible, and it made me grow and helped me built myself.
I met a friend of Lea and Carine and she seemed properly astonished of what I had done in 24 years, and I felt quite self  conscious, being the weird kid again. She teased me about it, asking what I couldn't do, as if my abilities were somewhat fake or not to be taken seriously. She didn't intend to be mean or anything, but it sort of hurt anyway. Being the know-it-all, the weirdo that one don't really take seriously. "you can't really do all these things, right". I didn't feel legitimate, whatever I was doing. It felt like I was cheating, since people seemed to consider that it should be hard of require work and effort and time. To me it felt natural, and somewhat evident. I learn practical things by watching people, without really thinking about it. I study because it's easy and because it helps me keep busy. I don't see it as a special gift or talent. I just learn. It's me. the compulsive learner. So since I never had to put a real effort on it, it felt fake.

Then I realized that I can't do anything about it. I did learn all these things. I didn't have to work a lot, maybe, but I had the curiosity and the right mindset. I couldn't prevent me from doing it, for the life of me! Then why should I me the one feeling inadequate and and fake? why should I be self conscious about learning skills by just watching people.
My awesome twin has been saying it for quite a while, but I guess it needed some time to sink in.
Yeah, I can speak several language, and I can sew, and cook, and knit, and make furniture, and cut hair, and write books, and run 10 kilometers in less than an hour, and I can dance, and I can sing, and I play the violin, and the cello, and so many other things. I'm no expert, sure, but I can do all these things.
doesn't make me less legit than people who took years to learn it. It doesn't make me a weirdo, just a somewhat skilled girl.I guess it will take some time to sink in, but I don't intend on stopping learning things, and I will definitely not blush about it.

Talking about hair, Again!

Okay, as you already know, I love talking about hair. usually about mine, because it's the one I got to tame the more often.

And as hair goes, I'm quite a weird creature, being the only ginger with green hair I know.
Earlier today, Lea found a picture of a hair cut she liked and said she wanted to go to the hair dresser. Since the prices here are incredibly low (I got my nails done for 5,5€) I guessed I could go with her. I've been thinking about doing something to my hair for a while but I didn't know what. After a brief conversation with the rest of my brain I decided to go back to my usual long bob. (coming from the girl who complains she wants to have long hair, it shouldn't even surprise you)
So I went to the hair dresser with Lea. we got our hair washed and then, time for a new cut.I had uploaded a picture of what I wanted on my phone. The guy cut a small length of hair at a time, to be sure it was exactly what I wanted. Which is cool, since according to many people finding a hair dresser that does exactly what you want is quite exceptional!
So I am back to my usual long bob. Long enough to make a ponytail, a bun and some nice hairstyle, short enough not to bother me if I don't tie it. And if I'm lazy and the get back to their usual messy / wavy it will still look good. I'm pretty happy with it!

Lea was not that lucky. she asked for a long fringe and a layered cut, and she ended up with a fringe way shorter than she wanted. It looks really good on her, but she'll need time to get used to it. And next time she wants to a new hair cut, I'll probably be the one cutting her hair.

Autumn in China

I love autumn. To me it always had a special atmosphere. being back to school always feel like a fresh start, an opportunity to learn more, to work differently. The weather, being colder makes it easier for me to wear long sleeves and nice outfits. A skirt, a pair of boots and a light jackets. it feels more comfy and I'm less self conscious about what people see of me. Autumn has this special atmosphere, of being both an end and a beginning. I love the colours. The leaves dark brown to bright yellow, through all the shades of red and oranges. The whisper of the wind, in the branches, forming new carpets of leaves. I could walk in the woods for hours. The taste of pumpkin and warm food. The rain, that washes everything, while I sit on the other side of the window, with a cup of hot tea, listening to the drops crashing against the glass. There is that feeling of warmth and of safety that I associate with Autumn. Autumn is the season of artistic creation for me. Writing and creating worlds and story. There is the Nanowrimo, of course, but It's more general than that. 

But here every thing is different. We are in October and I can't find any of this.
I live in China. I don't really realize it. I still feel like I'll only be here for some weeks, a couple of month, but no: I live here. I've got a flat, an address, everything. I live in Chine. And here, October tastes different. It feels like I get the summer I hadn't back in France, wearing shorts and t-shirt. since I still haven't been assigned to a class, I don't even have a real rhythm of life.

I have many ideas and projects to write about, but the mood is not the same. I am torn between my need to settle here, and make myself a life in China and my wish to stay home and write all day long. It feels good to finally feel that call again. I have so many ideas, so many stories that only wait to be developed and written about.
I'll try to make the two work together. Make some time for my projects, without turning into my usual hermit.

I miss the sea already

Flash news:

Just watched Mathilda for the first time!
It's awesome! I loved it! (And that's one thing less missing in my education)

And we also watched the book of life, by Guillermo Del Toro. It's amazing. you should all see it.

We've been listening to covers of Post Modern Jukebox for an hour or so, thank to The other Devil Twin, and it works well, while working.

He is not acting out of kindness

Wednesday, when Lea and Carine brought me to their favorite nightclub (yeah, me in a night club...) I met some of their friends. three of their Thai friends, and a boy from Morocco. He's been kind and polite to me the whole evening. Since I am deaf, a night club isn't the best place to socialise. It was more or less impossible for me to have a proper conversation since I was unable to read on lips and my ears had shut down when the elevator's doors had opened. So he made an effort, talked slowly, facing me, and when I couldn't understand what he said, it typed on his phone. We laughed a bit.
Since, he has added me on wechat and invited me to group conversations, to help me book some jobs as a model. He literally booked me for a job with his own agent and when he realised I was short of pictures to send to agents, he said he'd find a photographer so I can take some new one.
From here, sounded like a nice boy, being polite, acting on kindness and with whom I might be friend. We don't seem to share much, but the circumstances.
But (there's always a but) according to Carine and Lea, the boy's not exactly looking for a new friend. From their point of view, he's flirting with me.
To me, he was just being kind! No innuendo, no signs I could notice. I mean, it's just me. There were some pretty girls out there. I don't understand. I just thought he was being friendly to the newly arrived ginger monster.
But apparently, according to the girls, men here, are all looking for the same thing: girls to have fun with to mess with and to put in their bed. And they're urging me to tell him that I'm a lesbian, so he won't lose his time with me and not feel used, since he doesn't even have a chance with me.
How crazy is that?! I mean, I never asked for anything. why do I have to tell him about my personal life so he won't get upset for being friendly? I'm a bit off, here. According to the girls, I can start being a friend to him after warning him of my sexual orientation.
It tires me, just to think about it. I left France to take a new start, and I'm stuck with the same problem. Anyway, I'll have to find a nice way to make him understand that nothing's ever going to happen between us.
I don't know where he got the idea that there might be. Erg...

Mine

Mine, by Chiara Bautista
https://www.facebook.com/chiarabautistaartwork/

Learning the art of taking selfies

Here, everyone takes a lot of pictures, and so many selfies they could probably fill an album in less than a week. That might be the biggest change you'll see in the blog: I posted for the first time pictures of myself, and might start to put some more pictures. So in addition to the usual gifsets, you'll also be able to follow my adventures through pictures, now that I have a phone that takes decent pictures!

Speaking of taking decent pictures, I must say I was quite taken aback by my phone's judgement!
So, I was trying to take a selfy, which is not exactly my strong suit, and apparently my phone's camera has an add on that recognizes people's face to focus on it. And it gives an approximation of the sex and age of the person.
And apparently, I am a 35 year old man.
I already knew I'm not the most feminine person ever, but still! 35-year-old male is a bit harsh!

seriously?!

Registration and Administration paperwork #3

Episode 2 - Registration to the Police station

Okay, so Carine was sort of in a hurry to go get registered since her visa is almost over. Last year she didn't need to go to the police station because she was living on the campus, but this year, since we all share a flat outside, we need to register to the local police station.
On the paper it seems easy: You collect all required paper and you go to the police station to which your housing is linked. That's the tricky part.
First we had to get all the papers. Some included information from our Landlord. That was the first fun part. we called her and after some epic moments to make her understand what we needed, she finally sent us all we needed by text.
Then the worst part: Finding our police station.
We walked a bit because two of our country-mates who live nearby told us that they registered at the local police station. The one literally on the other side of our street!
Aha! we were so naive!
We went to the local office and found out that Nope! since we lived down the street from our country-mates, we had to register somewhere else. We had two addresses. the closest was 20 minutes away. The lady at the desk wasn't on her shift yet and as the exceptional human being she is, she said "No problem, I'll walk you there!" and she did, even if her shift started in 30 mins!
So we went to the second police station. our guide explained our situation and the policeman told her that nope, since we lived down the street, we had to go to the other police station! on the other side of the district!
He gave us an address and back to the street. We took the bus, with our guide, who had decided not to let us down, even if she was now late for her shift.
15 minutes of bus later, we arrive to the third police station. And the guy at the desk smiles and explains that this particular service as been moved to the other station, at the other end of the street. Chinese streets are quite long.
So we started walking again! Our guide had called her office and took a leave to make sure we'd make it to the right place (That woman is absolutely perfect)
We walked for 10 minutes and finally arrived to the fourth police station. And it was there! Oh my god I thought I was going to punch someone: there was a queue before us, and the local bureaucracy was managed by an intern. A nice one, sure, but not the quickest person I've met and she didn't speak a word of English (nobody does anyway.) it took 45 minutes to fill all the documents and get the right paper for our resident permit!
it was now 16:30 and we rushed back to the university to give the papers back and make sure Carine had all the right document to ask for her permit!
We made it! Thank to our awesome guide (I'm going to buy her a fruit basket to thank her!) and she didn't even gave us her name or anything! She literally did it out of kindness.
Faith in humankind +1

After all this, we deserved a good break and went to the manicure (first manicure ever!) and I'm happy of the result. should last 3 or 4 weeks and cost me 38 kuai (5,5€). I love China!
One fainting fit and a shawerma later, we were back home, exhausted but happy!

dark red nails!

Monday, I get the medical exam result back and Tuesday, I'll have to literally go to the other side of the city to make my request for a resident permit. All in all, I will have taken me a week to get all the paper work done. I'll be glad when it will be over!

Registration and Administration paperwork #2

Episode 1 - The Medical Examination

Okay, so in order to get my Resident Permit, I had to pass a medical examination.
Lea being outside the city for the week-end, I had to go there by myself. Huge stress. So instead, I have been a monster and asked Carine to come with me. (yes, I needed moral support)
getting there was surprisingly easy, and to my biggest pleasure, people spoke English at the hospital! (so I felt bad for bringing Carine with me. she could have used her morning for something else...)
I got all the papers and started to follow the list of exams I had to pass.
First one: Blood Test!
Yeah, before anything else, they take a blood sample. I was not prepared for that. I had slept 3 hours, and my last meal had been some 24 hours earlier or so, and on a more general scale, I have anemia.
So... I almost fainted (how not surprising!) and I didn't feel guilty for bringing Carine anymore. we sat for a moment, while I ate a cookie and drank some tea to get myself together. I was shaky and sweaty and earth was slowly moving under my feet, but I didn't lose consciousness and I made it through the rest of the medical exam.
Second one: Measuring my tension.
Right after a blood sample?! You serious? How dumb is that?!
Third one: Height, weight and body mass index.
The nurse looked bored, then stared at me when she got the result. Yes, I'm tall, and skinny, I can hear you judging me, m'am.
Fourth: Sight test
- should I pass the test with or without my glasses?
- without.
after the test:
- you need glasses
- No shit Sherlock!

and some other tests, like an x-ray (the machine worked, but I hope they thought about changing the parameters, because I really have thin bones. If you want a clear picture, you really need to check), an electro-cardiogram, and I was out.
They were surprisingly efficient and direct. some really cool, some barely polite, but at the end they handed me a paper telling me to come back monday afternoon to get my results and the certificate for the resident permit!

Youhou! One thing done!
Next step, the Police station registration!