Day 1 Report

So school was closed today.

I did wake up at 7.30 a.m. and reluctantly left the nice fluffy bed to wash up.

At breakfast I found out that a brioche is the nice cake-like bread that I ate last year. I had two slices and would have had more if I didn't also have a GIANT apple to eat. It took forever to finish but I managed it along with a cup of green tea and a glass of mixed juice before we left.

It definitely takes more than 5 min to get to CIEL by car. The route doesn't even look walkable. Plus there are so many turns to make that I'll never remember the route!

We did, however, get a very nice view of the sea below, and a white suspension bridge in the distance. I shall take photos soon. Anyway despite the nice sunny weather it was quite misty in the distance.

The school was a large pink, double-storey building with dark green window frames. The front doors were locked but it was quite obvious anyway since the carpark was empty.

So we drove off to buy some bread instead. But being a public holiday and not being Singapore, everywhere was closed - including the big supermarket. We did eventually find an open bakery (evidenced by the queue outside), bought some long bread (not baguettes) and returned to the house. During the trip B explained that he would be going to the airport to fetch his parents and their friends at 10.30. It took quite some time to realise he meant 10.30 a.m. and not 10.30 p.m., because the latter would be called 22.30.

LATER...

Wow, they eat fruits after every meal - cherries after dinner yesterday, apples for breakfast this morning, and bananas (all the way from New Delhi) and strawberries after lunch just now.

Oh, and the Stephans finally arrived before noon. Before he left for the airport B gave me the key so I could go out, but I decided to stay in and play Animal Crossing instead. I would've liked to go out, but I wasn't sure how far the sea was and the alternative would've been to possibly trample on some flowers in the garden.

Lunch was rice and some chicken in tomato sauce. Interestingly, they don't use spoons to eat rice here. Conversing was reasonably okay; at its worst I could at least understand that they were saying "something about travelling in Asia" or "something about flies". A very noisy fly did indeed turn up after lunch (when we had moved on to the fruits, macarons and coffee) and annoyed the Stephans, which is quite funny considering how insanely noisy their parrots are.

And speaking of the parrots, after B left I visited them in the kitchen and realised there are actually four of them - I somehow missed the large green one. I could've sworn they said "hello" to me. Anyway, everyone keeps speaking to them, which is quite disturbing because the kitchen is near my room and I keep thinking they're talking to me instead.

After lunch Mdm Stephan kindly told me that I could do anything I liked in the afternoon, be it going to the seaside (apparently it's a short path away from here) or napping.

Since this is such a nice day and I already have sunblock on from this morning, I shall go visit the sea after all. I have over 5 hours till dinner so that should be more than enough. Hopefully it really is very near and I don't end up lost in someone's garden. :P

EVEN LATER...

So. Tired.

The path was reasonably short and Mr Stephan led me to a ledge overlooking the sea and mentioned something about crossing the bridge before returning to his gardening.

I stared out at the sea for a little while before continuing on. The path was very rocky and mostly uphill, and I knew I should have worn my other shoes. But it was too troublesome to go back to the house so I just made my way up the narrow overgrown path and along the cliff towards the bridge.

There were occasional pairs of people taking a walk, some accompanied by a happy dog, and down below on the rocks there were people suntanning. Others were out in the water swimming or sailing. All very idyllic. :P

Before long I felt increasingly ridiculous in my wool sweater and hoodie (well it was quite cold this morning outside the bakery!) as I passed countless sunbathers and people in shorts. But still I continued on.

There seemed to be hundreds of side paths at every turn, and everyting was so forest-y that there was no way to tell just by looking from afar where each path led. I avoided going down to the sea whilst heading in the direction of the bridge.

It took an eternity but eventually I was under the bridge, staring up at the cars speeding high above me. While I had no intention of actually crossing the bridge, I was curious about what lay on the other side. Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear view and where continuing on (without crossing the bridge) was concerned, I was at a dead end. So I finally turned around.

The walk back was equally tiring and I got confused when I reached a big crossroads. The "correct-looking" path led down to the rocks, which I did not remember crossing, and the other two paths were too overgrown for their own good. It was a dilemma right out of the Famous Five. :P

Eventually I took one of the two paths, which turned out to be correct as I saw houses and signs that I had remembered passing earlier. From then on I had no difficulty getting back to the ledge and, subsequently, the house. Altogether a very nice if extremely tiring walk. And look, I still have 3 hours till dinner.

I wonder where the town centre is. I suppose I'll find out tomorrow; they'll probably give us a city tour after class. Perhaps it's on the other side of the bridge, since I didn't see the white suspension bridge just now.