Beli Ya Al's World
mercredi 30 septembre 2015
lundi 28 septembre 2015
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.
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...
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...
samedi 26 septembre 2015
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!
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!
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!
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!
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| dark red nails! |
jeudi 24 septembre 2015
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!
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!
mercredi 23 septembre 2015
Registration and Administration paperwork #1
(I wrote #1, because there might be more, it's China, they love paperwork)
As you know, I arrived Monday at 23h30 and since, it's mostly have been paperwork and running from an office to the other.
There are several things to take in account: the University registration, and the Chinese administration registration. which makes a lot of paperwork.
First, I had to register to University. Fortunately, Lea was here to help me (let's be honest, it it was not for her, I might have punched someone, ditch the whole thing and came back to France. Paperwork is really not my strong suit). She showed me from an office to the other and translated when necessary (we're in China, people generally don't speak English).
It was mostly a question of having the right number of photocopies of all my documents. because you have to give the same documents to the administration, then to the accountant, then go to the scholarity service to give the exact same papers, and then go to the public registration administration, and again hand those papers. It was a good thing I had brought everything with me. So except for a thing or two (I was missing official pictures) I made my registration to university in one day!
and Today, after bringing back the missing picture and waiting for the right person to arrive with the right stamp, I finally got my Student Card!
But it's FAR from being over! I still have loads to do before getting my Resident Permit! And for this, I need, to go to the medical examination, then find the right police station to get registered, then finally go to the Resident Permit service to get mine!
So there will definitely be a #2
As you know, I arrived Monday at 23h30 and since, it's mostly have been paperwork and running from an office to the other.
There are several things to take in account: the University registration, and the Chinese administration registration. which makes a lot of paperwork.
First, I had to register to University. Fortunately, Lea was here to help me (let's be honest, it it was not for her, I might have punched someone, ditch the whole thing and came back to France. Paperwork is really not my strong suit). She showed me from an office to the other and translated when necessary (we're in China, people generally don't speak English).
It was mostly a question of having the right number of photocopies of all my documents. because you have to give the same documents to the administration, then to the accountant, then go to the scholarity service to give the exact same papers, and then go to the public registration administration, and again hand those papers. It was a good thing I had brought everything with me. So except for a thing or two (I was missing official pictures) I made my registration to university in one day!
and Today, after bringing back the missing picture and waiting for the right person to arrive with the right stamp, I finally got my Student Card!
 |
| Me learning the art of selfies. |
So there will definitely be a #2
China - Two days after arrival
Oh good lord! I can't believe only arrived two days ago. It feels like a week already. (Because of the way brain register more information on something that is new to it and it's way to process everything give the impression that time is passing slowly.)
My registration at Wuhan University is almost done, thank to Lea, who helped me throughout the process. China is a bureaucracy and you've no idea the amount of paper involved in my registration.
That was yesterday's program: my registration, and then going to the supermarket so I can buy the basic necessities that I couldn't put in my luggage (a mug, some pillows, etc etc)
And today I went to my first class!
Lea had negotiated for me to be in an intermediary class, saying that I'd die of boredom in the beginners' class. It was a nice idea... but definitely not a good one!
I haven't practiced my Chinese in two years, after I passed my first year of Chinese under-graduation. with my marketing master degree and all the rest I hadn't time to keep on working on it, so... I sort of lost most of my Chinese.
So this was a complete failure! I tried, and the result is crystal clear. I don't have the level.
I took 10% of the class, maybe slightly more. I couldn't read most of the characters of the text we studied and felt utterly stupid. which was not pleasant. At all.
I don't often lose faith in what I can do, but in there, I understood that if I stayed in that class, there was no way I could make real progress. I'd just get drowned while the rest of the class goes on.
So the smart move is to change class, go for a lower level, to strengthen the basis, put all the odds on my side, work as hell to make sure I'll go back in the intermediary class next semester feeling like I own the place.
So it will be a studious semester! I finally have a nice challenge to feed my brain with and you've no idea how I missed it!
My registration at Wuhan University is almost done, thank to Lea, who helped me throughout the process. China is a bureaucracy and you've no idea the amount of paper involved in my registration.
That was yesterday's program: my registration, and then going to the supermarket so I can buy the basic necessities that I couldn't put in my luggage (a mug, some pillows, etc etc)
And today I went to my first class!
Lea had negotiated for me to be in an intermediary class, saying that I'd die of boredom in the beginners' class. It was a nice idea... but definitely not a good one!
I haven't practiced my Chinese in two years, after I passed my first year of Chinese under-graduation. with my marketing master degree and all the rest I hadn't time to keep on working on it, so... I sort of lost most of my Chinese.
So this was a complete failure! I tried, and the result is crystal clear. I don't have the level.
I took 10% of the class, maybe slightly more. I couldn't read most of the characters of the text we studied and felt utterly stupid. which was not pleasant. At all.
I don't often lose faith in what I can do, but in there, I understood that if I stayed in that class, there was no way I could make real progress. I'd just get drowned while the rest of the class goes on.
So the smart move is to change class, go for a lower level, to strengthen the basis, put all the odds on my side, work as hell to make sure I'll go back in the intermediary class next semester feeling like I own the place.
So it will be a studious semester! I finally have a nice challenge to feed my brain with and you've no idea how I missed it!
 |
| my life for the next weeks |
dimanche 20 septembre 2015
A new story begins #2
After crying myself to dehydration and making it through the the border control, I can officially say: I left France!
I still don't register I'm leaving the country, like not for some holidays. I can't get my head around the fact that I will be living there, not just visiting!
I cried more or lest helplessly, called everyone, but it's too late to turn back now!
I still don't register I'm leaving the country, like not for some holidays. I can't get my head around the fact that I will be living there, not just visiting!
I cried more or lest helplessly, called everyone, but it's too late to turn back now!
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