mon amie
my first sight of france was very unwelcoming. it was dark, wet and cold. i came in the month of november and it was very stupid to wear just two layers of clothing (a shirt and a jacket).
the filipino couple who fetched us from the airport dropped us off in the theater. it occupies the first storey of a building which resembles those 18th century buildings in intramuros. actually, all the surrounding buildings looked like "teenth" century structures. only l'avitarelle (which in the future i've learned is actually a shelter) looked modern.
we went inside the theater and was greeted by the director whose conversation with this hot woman was interrupted. that director was marc and that hot woman was suan, a french-vietnamese fashion designer who did the costumes for the production that we eventually became part of (as sound technicians).
marc toured as around the theater which is composed of an office, a "lobby", a theater where they hold their classes and their dressing room. we were last taken to the toilette which had pink and scented toilet paper.
after the tour, he looked at our suitcases, looked at his watch, became silent and said in his french english, "You will be taken to your appartement. If you can just wait a little."
we waited. and waited. and waited. it is important to note that during that time, we were cold, jetlagged and anxious.
after what seemed like eternity (which was more of imposed rather than felt since i was thinking of so many things during that time such as impending homesickness and some uncertainties), a figure who was wearing a black ski jacket, black bonnet, black pants and blacked shoes entered the theater and apologized to us for being late.
the figure took us to our apartment by foot. we had to carry our suitcases from the theater to the center which during that time, we found to be far (c'mon, it was our first time to set foot in montpellier).
upon arriving at the apartment, the figure said, "oh shit, i forgot the keys!" then the figure suddenly dropped all of its stuff.
now, that period of clumsiness/ whatever exposed the key. it was found lying on the cold floor. anyway, we went inside, was awed by the charm of the flat, fixed our things and just before leaving, the figure showed us what it bought for us --- a 5-minute no-cook rice in plastic. to become the rice that we know, you just have to place the plastic of rice in hot water and voila, instant rice! the figure was so proud of itself. we were weirded out but nevertheless thankful to the figure.
*that figure was france nicolas. after several months, she admitted that she was late because she was drinking before we arrived. that was also the reason why we we walked all the way from the theater to our apartment - she couldn't drive. and yeah, that figure was one of the closest friends i ever had in that foreign land. she welcomed us to her apartment and introduced me to "heroes" when i was too homesick and emo.
i miss her and i hope that she visits pinas someday (because she's french-pinoy). meanwhile, i have to continue chatting with her on ym now.