“Why the highway in Paris looks the same?” Me.
“……..” Indira.
After I left the airport, the only difference this time is no driver to pick me up to take me a city that they believe is a big city, for me, Suburb.
I still remember the second time when I visited United States, I was thinking about why this felt so familiar? Everything was new, but not very current.
I was showing Indira of me nearby the swim pool.
I was showing Indira the $ 50 pizza I ordered from the Hilton hotel.
I was showing Indira that…
“Are you seriously coming to the U.S. to study or for vacation?” Indira.
“Uh, I don’t know too much money in my packet”, Me.
After I left the airport, I took a bus to the center of Paris. I found a room through Airbnb.
The room with two beds and in a building with multiple rooms. Vapul and I were living on the same floor, and another person whose name is Dash too.
There was a community center near the room where I could attend adult French classes.
Watching my balance became lower and lower can be scary, so I found a secretary job, for an Indian.
Indeed, some people need the others to book a fight even in French and my English helped me to get along.
What also made me be able to get along?
“Need a room? I have one,” Jose.
Jose is from Europe and I was wondering why his name is Colombian.
“Hi my best roomie, can you take me to the market? I don’t know any good ones here,” Me.
“Hi, thanks for the coffee and breakfast. You are the best,” Me.
“Hi, I don’t want to stay alone tonight,” Me.
“You just like my bed (only),” Jose.
“(Duh~)” Me.
“Hi, you are home. This is my masseur who is Thai,” Jose.
“Well, I think my body shape is better than you,” Jose.
“A little bit,” Me.
“Hi, this is my new boyfriend,” Jose.
“Uh, I got to move. Bye,” Me.
Living with Jose one benefit besides his car, it improved my French.
Sometimes it can come out as automatic, reminded me when I first learnt about Hindi.
But one part of me always reminds myself, word cannot just come out that way.
In class, there were people from China. I remember I always was sitting with one Chinese lady. She is about mom’s age and did a lot of plastic surgery.
We spoke English most of the time as I do not speak Mandarin.
She told me she has a new boyfriend in France but she does not like him.
“What’s your name? My name is Dash. Should I say something like Juje t’aime ma belle Dash and I happy to speak French with you something like that,” Me.
Feii answered.
We laughed a lot in class and out of the class. We sometimes went to the bar together to just randomly pass time.
She sometimes relied on my French since I got a little tiny bit better reserve than her.
Only thing that I do not do, is to critisize her French speaking, the accent.
At the same time, when I was looking at her, I just knew she cannot make it.
Time passes very fast when you are in school, to a point that there was no free class no more. With my business degree, I had to enroll in another school in France.
“Hi sis, guess what, this day happened,” Me.
“I got admitted, now you are looking at, the future Master in Law of French University,” Indira.
“…….” Me.
Yep, she knew how to steal my words. But I did not know she got it earlier, but I have two more years to come. She got 1 year and she completed it already.