Hump Day + More

<-- Gare de Lyon
Wednesday felt like a century ago. C, Bonz and I stayed at ACCENT for a good 4+ hours researching where in Europe to go, when to go, and in the cheapest way possible. After much deliberation, we FINALLY locked down one place -- Amsterdam, Netherlands on Wed 4 Mars to Sun 8 Mars! But I'll be coming back a day earlier to watch JOHN LEGEND IN CONCERT au Zénith! I am so excited because firstly, I rarely go to music concerts other than classical ones and secondly, I'll get to see one of the sexiest (voice) singer-songwriters LIVE and where better than the city of love, Paris. (Please refer to John Legend's PDA (We Just Don't Care).)

<-- With my Amsterdam tix outside

Bonz and I went to the Gare de Lyon (flashback circa 2004 trip with French class) to buy our Thalys train tickets, and after, we walked around, exploring yet another part of Paris.

In the night, I had an awesome dinner with Paul & Brigitte. It was the first time I felt completely comfortable, and the conversation (and my French, surprisingly) flowed. They shared stories of their childhood, their childrens' childhood, and I got to ask questions about the culture and family. *Oh btw, Brigitte's brother's name is Guy (not Henri-Pierre like I guessed), but still very French though haha!*

Spaghetti/Lasagna mix?; Glace au chocolat

I later met up with the girls and went to Ralph's birthday party in the middle of nowhere (Metro Anatole, the very NW of Paris, bordering the boonies). It was just a bunch of his coworkers having a few drinks, playing club music in the background, and making fun of each other like school boys, but when mixed altogether, very entertaining! I got to learn some new words like "gauche" (clumsy, maladroit), "cul sec!" (bottom's up!), "renverser" (to spill, like a 'party foul'), "A la votre!" (cheers! Good health!), and some cuss word I was warned to never say ("Va te faire foutre") :| Around 12:30, all of us sprinted to the metro cuz it was closing at 1am.

We got to Club Queen (Metro Champs Elysees -Clemenceau), waited in line, but when we got to the entrance (and before the 2am cut off), WE.WERE.DENIED. And for what reason? For being girls! The bouncer said there were too many girls inside already. Wtf. Since when did clubs start favoring males? But ah-hah, guys -straight and gay alike- had to pay cover, so of course they didn't want any more free-loading girls getting in. Sad. We then went around the corner to Six-Seven Club (where we went last week) and used these special passes, but it wasn't poppin' so we just left early.

Thursday Dinner:

Chicken breast with carrots; chocolate pudding/ice cream with canned pears ?

Thursday, a bunch of USC kids were going to Le Mix (the one we also went to last week) for Erasmus night (int'l students), so on a whim, Catherine and I decided to go. She had to catch a 6am train anyway at Gare Montparnasse, and I live 15 min walking distance, so everything was convenient. The two of us got there by 11:30, but the line was ri-dic-u-lous, so we were sure we weren't going to make it. The only way was to...schmooze, so I busted out the Asian card, and coincidentally saw a group of Asian guys in front of us. I asked them in Mandarin if they spoke Mandarin, and whoohoo they did! I explained our scenario and they empathized and let us stand with them. Strangely, they turned out to be really nice guys and I ended up hanging out with them for the second half of the night. And what was more amazing was that they were French Chinese (born and raised in Paris). How cool is that! ;)


Our new French Asian friends haha! :D

Meeting them really made me curious... What is it like growing up in France? I feel like it is so different from being an Asian American...or is it?

Some dumb questions, but I'm curious:

  • How is racism over here? I always feel that the natives here will first identify me as a Chinese/Korean/Asian girl (fob) despite English being my first language.
  • Are there a lot of Asians? Other than the two Chinatowns, where are they mostly?
  • Is it hard to meet other Asians? Dating-wise, marrying-wise? Or do most end up in interracial marriages?
  • Do Asians here eat bread and cheese? Well this Q stems from a) Asians eat rice/noodles primarily and b) the idea that most Asians don't even eat cheese normally.... but is there an exception because they've been in France?
  • Are they tagged with the same stereotypes?
  • What are the professions of Asians who immigrated here? (In the U.S., many family breadwinners are engineers. Here, I think they are mostly businessmen from SE Asia or Mainland.)
I don't know... got me thinking. Hopefully I'll keep in contact with my new friends, and ask them in the near future.

Like always, for all photos click 02-18-09 and 02-19-09.

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