A Ray of Light

- Travel Journal: September 5, 2007 -

I am still traumatic from the incident with the station patrol yesterday. Every time I entered a bus, I am so afraid that the driver will ask for the card that goes with my monthly pass. Luckily, nothing happened during my 5-minute bus trip to campus this morning. Very anti-climatic, huh?

After class, I called a girl who tried to contact me last night but I did not answer due to exhaustion. She is a member of Indonesian Student Association in Paris, and boy, she gave me a ray of light. She is now staying with a very nice French lady (she calls her “Madam”) and said that I can stay with them for a month while I’m looking for a place to live. The cost fits my budget very well and I just need to bring my luggage.

The problem is, her schedule is quite packed today and she could not meet me today. She would call me back tomorrow. I was quite disappointed but remained hopeful, to say the least. That afternoon, I also met an ex-Pepperdine exchange program student who is now working at Cergy. She sensed my stress and paid for my lunch (I guess I looked that pathetic), and we had a brief chat at one of Cergy’s cafes. When she left, she told me that I am always welcomed to call her anytime for help. That was very nice of her, and I sincerely appreciated that she spared her busy time to meet me today. I went back to ESSEC’s International Student Office after that, seeing that it would be a waste of time to go to Paris since I would not be able to meet this girl who offers me a place to stay for a month. But this time, I am presented with another housing option.

A landlord in Cergy (thanks to my Pepperdine colleague for finding his contact information) has a room available for me. However, since I am not able to show him sufficient financial guarantee (after all, I cannot open a bank account in France without a contract showing my name and a permanent France address), I would have to pay the rent costs for the whole 4 months plus a security deposit of 3-month rent. I was dumbstruck. This is very financially demanding, and I think it is doubtful that I can withdraw that amount of money in a short amount of time. My American bank would shut me down! I told the international office that I would need some time to think about it. After I was outside of ESSEC building, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check out the Cergy landlord’s apartment area (it is very close to campus, only 5-minute walk). After locating the street and see the area (I could not locate the apartment, unfortunately), I went back to the hotel.

I was exhausted, fed up, and very stressed out. I was so sick of staying in a hotel, and I really need to move on. I had to study for a quiz tomorrow and I just could not concentrate. I multitasked among watching “Witch Hunter Robin”, studying, and playing solitaire on my computer. After not being successful with any of those, I decided to go to sleep early. However, I won during my last solitaire game. I believe this is a good sign for tomorrow…

- to be continued... -