Recently I read in a forum about how some people were being treated differently in France due to their skin color (mainly yellow). I just have to say that I'm blessed because I have never quite experienced racial discrimination here. Most of the situations I faced were rather due to poor customer service. Examples:
- A pharmacist was telling me that "vous m'avez dit n'importe quoi" (you told me non sense), I guess he didn't understand my French or asking a pharmacist to give me pill to delay my period due to wedding is a no no in France?
- A shopkeeper blocked my way to continue visiting the remaining of the shop. I can see in her face that she did it on purpose. I just passed cross her and bumped into her. She got what she asked for. She did that maybe I was wearing a pyjamas and someone wearing pyjamas is not welcome?
- I entered a boutique and the salegirl looked at me without saying anything. A second later a French woman entered and she put on smile and greeted with a big bonjour (hi). This could happen to anyone no?
- Being humiliated in SNCF, full story here.
Here are situations shared by forum members and they think these are real discrimination cases:
- being called chink or "bridé" which means "slit-eyes". Well I have never heard people calling me this. Forum members who had this were mostly lived in Paris or South of France
- being thrown firecracker which burnt the hair while being called chink by a bunch of North African kids. Oh no I can't imagine this! That girl was really unlucky but there is more chance to have these if you live in certain areas of Paris.
- was queuing to pay and at her turn, the cashier put on "closed" sign. Once she walked away, the cashier reopened the register and put on smile for the next white customer.
- being jumped queue. At the fifth time this happend to her, she asked herself if people chose her because she looked small and yellow and people have impression that Asian is easier to bully?
- went to an upscale butcher that are usually visited by white community. Once entered, the French white woman in front of her was looking at her from top to bottom. Same thing happened when another French woman entered the shop. She was starred at because she was yellow.
- ok this one is an experience from a good friend here. She said sometimes when she was with her French husband, some French women who was walking by would stop, look at her husband then at her, from top to bottom with an insulting look, as if how dare she dated a white man. Thank God this has never happened to me.
- She was sitting in front of a shop waiting for a friend. A boy around 5 years old came out from the shop with the parents. When he saw her, he kicked her. The parents just took him away without saying sorry. Well, kid sometimes behave inappropriately and this is up to the parents to educate them. I had met kid who told her friend while starring at me that "elle est moche" (she is ugly); on the other hand a kid was telling me that "tu es très belle" (you are beautiful). Once I was in a toilet and a kid yelled "Maman, une Japonaise!" (mum, a Japanese!) and I just smiled at her. At this point, I do not care how strangers think about me.
The main issue that most of us encountered is that how should we react when being treated unfairly. Most of us could converse in French but to quarrel and to curse in French, it is a whole different story. After being humiliated / confronted, most of us couldn't find the right words to express ourselves. Some choose to curse in their mother tongue, some just hold their tears and walk away. But, there are times we should not walk away. For example, if someone calls me bridé, I would just ignore it but if they try to bully Aelig, I would not rest the case. A useful phase I learnt to fight back is "mais ça va pas non!!!" (hey we are not good here), but what should I say next?
For the first time in my life, I reckon that it could be useful to learn some curse words.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
19 months - blessed
We celebrated Aelig's 19th month with my in laws.
Aelig is blessed with grand-parents who love her dearly. Whenever they see her, their face shine up with smile.
When we are in my in-laws place, Aelig becomes their center of attention. When dining, she is placed between them, not us. We are allowed to sleep in as late as we want as in laws will pick her up at her first cry in the morning.
My father in law is someone who loves crafting. He made this for Aelig. Instead of toys from shops, I foresee Aelig to have special handmade toys throughout her children.
We are very blessed indeed.
Aelig is blessed with grand-parents who love her dearly. Whenever they see her, their face shine up with smile.
When we are in my in-laws place, Aelig becomes their center of attention. When dining, she is placed between them, not us. We are allowed to sleep in as late as we want as in laws will pick her up at her first cry in the morning.
My father in law is someone who loves crafting. He made this for Aelig. Instead of toys from shops, I foresee Aelig to have special handmade toys throughout her children.
We are very blessed indeed.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Salary increment anyone?
One day, my boss invited me to his office. He said he was satisfied with my performance so he would like to offer me an increment. Later, I told hubby about this and he went:"You do not sound too excited about it?"
Yes, I'm not excited at all. You would not too if you see the comparison:
First job in Malaysia: 13% increment after 3 months probation
First job in France: 4% increment in total after close to 3 years
What about bonus? Before I left my company in Malaysia in 2000, they announced 2 months bonus for the employees. As for my current company, I have not heard of anything about bonuses.
Since it is quite a taboo to talk about salary, I do not know if the low increment rate applies to many people in general or it just happens in my company. My coworker said they used to get 10% increment in the 90s. Situations differ from industry to industry. As for the civil servant, their increment depends on their rank and academic credentials.
Anyway, my spirit was not as bad as several months ago when I realize that I would not get much increment. I was very discouraged, but by talking to people, I slowly overcame it and have since able to appreciate advantages to work in this company:
1. Good working environments
Being minority in the company, I do not feel being discriminated. In contrast, coworkers respect me, tolerate my French, sometimes show interest in my culture. Not once I was yelled at, being humiliated openly or pressed to a non-manageable situation. My friends in Malaysia told me that sometimes they cry in their companies due to difficult customers, high maintenance bosses or stressful assignments. I'm lucky to say that I have not experienced these in my working life. As with coworkers, they might keep their distance, but in general they are friendly. Mind you, they actually made effort to call me with my Chinese name with Malaysian pronunciation.
2. Family friendly
There is an implicit understanding that everyone lives a family life. I seldom work overtimes and in general people do not appreciate working late. Managers do not make a fuss if you need to stay home to take care of your sick child. During my pregnancy, my manager kept telling me that I should put my health / baby first, if there is any sign of discomfort I should not come to work or I should go home earlier. When my maternity leave ended, I asked to work several days a week in my town instead of driving 200km round trip everyday to R town, it was approved pretty quickly. Conclusion: it was my coworkers / friends / company environment that teaches me to put more priorities in my family. I don't think I could stand working until 10pm everyday or being sent outstations frequently like some friends do in Malaysia. Ops, did I mention the 7 weeks annual leaves?
3. Other benefits
- Private insurance and life insurance with good coverages
- Subsidized restaurant tickets make eating out more affordable
- CE (Committee Enterprise) who offers discounted tickets / rates to movies, activities, vacation rental, sports...
All these make me feel that, even though I might not been paid as much as I like, I'm well treated overall and have more time to spend with my family. This style suits me well. Of course, if you find a company / industry that pays well with big increment and bonuses + all the 3 non salary related points mentioned here, do let me know!
PS: Hubby said if you want increment in France (I think it applies to other countries too), you need to ask. The rule of thumb: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Yes, I'm not excited at all. You would not too if you see the comparison:
First job in Malaysia: 13% increment after 3 months probation
First job in France: 4% increment in total after close to 3 years
What about bonus? Before I left my company in Malaysia in 2000, they announced 2 months bonus for the employees. As for my current company, I have not heard of anything about bonuses.
Since it is quite a taboo to talk about salary, I do not know if the low increment rate applies to many people in general or it just happens in my company. My coworker said they used to get 10% increment in the 90s. Situations differ from industry to industry. As for the civil servant, their increment depends on their rank and academic credentials.
Anyway, my spirit was not as bad as several months ago when I realize that I would not get much increment. I was very discouraged, but by talking to people, I slowly overcame it and have since able to appreciate advantages to work in this company:
1. Good working environments
Being minority in the company, I do not feel being discriminated. In contrast, coworkers respect me, tolerate my French, sometimes show interest in my culture. Not once I was yelled at, being humiliated openly or pressed to a non-manageable situation. My friends in Malaysia told me that sometimes they cry in their companies due to difficult customers, high maintenance bosses or stressful assignments. I'm lucky to say that I have not experienced these in my working life. As with coworkers, they might keep their distance, but in general they are friendly. Mind you, they actually made effort to call me with my Chinese name with Malaysian pronunciation.
2. Family friendly
There is an implicit understanding that everyone lives a family life. I seldom work overtimes and in general people do not appreciate working late. Managers do not make a fuss if you need to stay home to take care of your sick child. During my pregnancy, my manager kept telling me that I should put my health / baby first, if there is any sign of discomfort I should not come to work or I should go home earlier. When my maternity leave ended, I asked to work several days a week in my town instead of driving 200km round trip everyday to R town, it was approved pretty quickly. Conclusion: it was my coworkers / friends / company environment that teaches me to put more priorities in my family. I don't think I could stand working until 10pm everyday or being sent outstations frequently like some friends do in Malaysia. Ops, did I mention the 7 weeks annual leaves?
3. Other benefits
- Private insurance and life insurance with good coverages
- Subsidized restaurant tickets make eating out more affordable
- CE (Committee Enterprise) who offers discounted tickets / rates to movies, activities, vacation rental, sports...
All these make me feel that, even though I might not been paid as much as I like, I'm well treated overall and have more time to spend with my family. This style suits me well. Of course, if you find a company / industry that pays well with big increment and bonuses + all the 3 non salary related points mentioned here, do let me know!
PS: Hubby said if you want increment in France (I think it applies to other countries too), you need to ask. The rule of thumb: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Sources to get Chinese children books from France
There are Chinese bookstores in Paris so I guess people living there should be able to get some children's books there. For people living outside of Paris and do not go there regularly, internet becomes handy in terms of buying / getting Chinese children's books from France.
See what I got? All these are FREE! Thanks to internet, I discovered and then joined a Taiwanese-French forum. Members here are mainly mixed couples who have experiences teaching Mandarin to their children in foreign countries. One member was giving away Mandarin children's books in Paris and through helps from various people, I managed to get some for Aelig.
These books were from Taiwan so there were printed in Traditional Chinese. Aelig is still young to have the level to read them but hopefully one day, she will fall in love with them.
Some of the books here are about animals so she was happy to find cats, mouse and ducks inside.
I also bought some books from Odonato Publishing in Malaysia. Thanks CL for recommending it.
Now I have plenty of books to show / read to Aelig. Hopefully she could appreciate them.
See what I got? All these are FREE! Thanks to internet, I discovered and then joined a Taiwanese-French forum. Members here are mainly mixed couples who have experiences teaching Mandarin to their children in foreign countries. One member was giving away Mandarin children's books in Paris and through helps from various people, I managed to get some for Aelig.
These books were from Taiwan so there were printed in Traditional Chinese. Aelig is still young to have the level to read them but hopefully one day, she will fall in love with them.
Some of the books here are about animals so she was happy to find cats, mouse and ducks inside.
I also bought some books from Odonato Publishing in Malaysia. Thanks CL for recommending it.
Now I have plenty of books to show / read to Aelig. Hopefully she could appreciate them.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Saturday morning bread hunt 5
A: Ladies and gentlemen, it is Saturday bread hunt time again.
A: This time, I'm very unlucky, I fell down on the way and hurt half side of my face! :-( The good news is, the bakery has upgraded me to their VIP list, this is the second time I got a chouquette from them and NO, I will not share this with daddy!
Got home.
A: Let's check what is inside the bag. Oh, two pain au chocolat, nice!
A: Daddy, I'm home with your bread, I will charge your 10 kisses for this.
Daddy: Ok ok, now hand me the bread.
A: Can I use your computer?
Daddy: NO!
A: Ok I have my bread. Now let's runnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!
Daddy: No Aelig you are not allowed to touch my computer!!!!
A: The first one who sits on the chair in front of the computer will have the right to use the computer for the whole day.
Daddy: NOOOOO!!!
Daddy: Aelig, get away from my computer.
A: NOOOO!! Now play me my favorite Youtube videos.
A: hmmmm, eating pain au chocolat + watching videos + annoying daddy = life is good, une vie en rose.
A: This time, I'm very unlucky, I fell down on the way and hurt half side of my face! :-( The good news is, the bakery has upgraded me to their VIP list, this is the second time I got a chouquette from them and NO, I will not share this with daddy!
Got home.
A: Let's check what is inside the bag. Oh, two pain au chocolat, nice!
A: Daddy, I'm home with your bread, I will charge your 10 kisses for this.
Daddy: Ok ok, now hand me the bread.
A: Can I use your computer?
Daddy: NO!
A: Ok I have my bread. Now let's runnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!
Daddy: No Aelig you are not allowed to touch my computer!!!!
A: The first one who sits on the chair in front of the computer will have the right to use the computer for the whole day.
Daddy: NOOOOO!!!
Daddy: Aelig, get away from my computer.
A: NOOOO!! Now play me my favorite Youtube videos.
A: hmmmm, eating pain au chocolat + watching videos + annoying daddy = life is good, une vie en rose.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tricky prices
Summer sales has started earlier this year. I was going to check out good deals during lunch time but was too annoyed by the crowd. I quickly grabbed some groceries and discover this:
A bar of 100g soap is priced at 90 cent each or 9€ per kilo.
A package of 4x100g soap costs 2.65€ or 6.63 per kg, less expensive than buying one soap. It applies the rule of the more you buy, the less per unit you pay.
Now, a package of 6x100g soap is displayed at 5.49€ or 9.15 per kg. What the hell? Buying 6 bar of soaps is more expensive than buying one?
Yes, this is the trick uses in most of the grocery store. Whenever they package items together, we thought we will pay a cheaper price per unit but it is not always a the case. After being tricked for many times, now I slowly build the habit to compare prices when they come into different packaging. In this case of buying soap, it was the cheapest to buy 4 at one time (6.63 per kg) than to buy 6 (9.15 per kg). It was actually cheaper to buy one soap (9€ per kg) than buying 6.
Grocery stories nowadays are full of tricks...
And I wonder if the sales started earlier because some consumers have their half 13 months salary at the end of June?
A bar of 100g soap is priced at 90 cent each or 9€ per kilo.
A package of 4x100g soap costs 2.65€ or 6.63 per kg, less expensive than buying one soap. It applies the rule of the more you buy, the less per unit you pay.
Now, a package of 6x100g soap is displayed at 5.49€ or 9.15 per kg. What the hell? Buying 6 bar of soaps is more expensive than buying one?
Yes, this is the trick uses in most of the grocery store. Whenever they package items together, we thought we will pay a cheaper price per unit but it is not always a the case. After being tricked for many times, now I slowly build the habit to compare prices when they come into different packaging. In this case of buying soap, it was the cheapest to buy 4 at one time (6.63 per kg) than to buy 6 (9.15 per kg). It was actually cheaper to buy one soap (9€ per kg) than buying 6.
Grocery stories nowadays are full of tricks...
And I wonder if the sales started earlier because some consumers have their half 13 months salary at the end of June?
Friday, June 24, 2011
18 months
I was too lazy to post when Aelig turned 17 months that's why I'm combining these two months developments / achievements.
According to our babysitter, 18th month is a milestone for kids, Aelig is now considered a little girl, she is no longer a baby.
Language development:
This is how she looks like when she says "NO"
She could now pronounce several words that are understandable:
In French: Chat (cat), kaka (poo poo), papa, maman, NON, doudou (toy), merci (thank you), la tête (head), main (hand), dodo (sleep), papounet (she pronounces papoutête)
In Mandarin: Mama, cat, dog, shoes, bao bao (hold), hot, thank you
In English: Bye bye, baby
In Malaysian Chinese baby language: nen nen (milk), mam mam (eat)
She is a chatty box but most of the time still converse in baby language. She would run towards me pointing at stuffs and babbling with an emergency tone. Sometimes it was because her milk leaked on the pillow, her toy was under the sofa, she wanted a cookie on the counter-top, she wanted to play with the computer...
Messing up with papa's computer. You go GIRL!
In terms of comprehension, she could understand some simple instructions:
Bring your shoes here
Put the dirty cloth in the laundry bin
Drink water
Give this to papa
Let's go to sleep
Let's go take a shower
Say bye bye
She loves looking at books and pointing at pictures. Since I have only one Mandarin book, I started to show her Mandarin nursery rhythms in Youtube. Hubby taught her to press the Space key to pause so sometimes she plays with it. Anyway, the first song she sang was in French, it hit me hard that her first mother tongue is going to be French instead of Mandarin as she spends more time with the babysitter and I'm the only one speaking Mandarin to her.
An animal lover
We brought her to the zoo and she showed interest in most of he animals. The sheep came towards her as she has a brochure on her hand.
Ended up she was being chased by a bunch of sheep who wanted to eat the brochure, she got so annoyed that she screamed and asked hubby for rescue.
The babysitter has a cat so she is familiar with cat. Whenever she sees one she would follow and try to touch it. She has no sense of danger so I have to always keep an eye on her.
Achievements:
Finally gained enough weight to have the car seat set facing the same direction as other adult passengers.
Manage to drink water from a glass (we still prefer her to drink from a plastic cup)
Know how to use her legs to move the little car
Blow her stuffy nose
First step towards becoming cordon bleu (world class chef)? I do not dream high, just hope she could be a little helper in the kitchen (instead of messing around).
Parenting milestones:
1. Sleeping pattern
I finally admitted that my method to put her to sleep was not working. I decided to outsource the task to hubby. He was firmed and after a week, her bad behavior was corrected. Sometimes I put her to bed and was amazed at how well she cooperates. She plays and talks to her toys then dozes off. Sometimes she cries and hubby goes to reassure her, sometimes we let her stay a bit longer with us, but we no longer take as much time as before. As for me, I'm no longer the mother who picks her up at her first cry.
2. Discipline
Hubby disciplines her most of the time, telling her to not drop food on the floor else she will have to stay in her room. His methods work fine, but I could not do it. No matter how annoying she is, I have hard time yelling or letting her cry.
A big thank you to hubby who manage to work things out when I'm vulnerable.
According to our babysitter, 18th month is a milestone for kids, Aelig is now considered a little girl, she is no longer a baby.
Language development:
This is how she looks like when she says "NO"
She could now pronounce several words that are understandable:
In French: Chat (cat), kaka (poo poo), papa, maman, NON, doudou (toy), merci (thank you), la tête (head), main (hand), dodo (sleep), papounet (she pronounces papoutête)
In Mandarin: Mama, cat, dog, shoes, bao bao (hold), hot, thank you
In English: Bye bye, baby
In Malaysian Chinese baby language: nen nen (milk), mam mam (eat)
She is a chatty box but most of the time still converse in baby language. She would run towards me pointing at stuffs and babbling with an emergency tone. Sometimes it was because her milk leaked on the pillow, her toy was under the sofa, she wanted a cookie on the counter-top, she wanted to play with the computer...
Messing up with papa's computer. You go GIRL!
In terms of comprehension, she could understand some simple instructions:
Bring your shoes here
Put the dirty cloth in the laundry bin
Drink water
Give this to papa
Let's go to sleep
Let's go take a shower
Say bye bye
She loves looking at books and pointing at pictures. Since I have only one Mandarin book, I started to show her Mandarin nursery rhythms in Youtube. Hubby taught her to press the Space key to pause so sometimes she plays with it. Anyway, the first song she sang was in French, it hit me hard that her first mother tongue is going to be French instead of Mandarin as she spends more time with the babysitter and I'm the only one speaking Mandarin to her.
An animal lover
We brought her to the zoo and she showed interest in most of he animals. The sheep came towards her as she has a brochure on her hand.
Ended up she was being chased by a bunch of sheep who wanted to eat the brochure, she got so annoyed that she screamed and asked hubby for rescue.
The babysitter has a cat so she is familiar with cat. Whenever she sees one she would follow and try to touch it. She has no sense of danger so I have to always keep an eye on her.
Achievements:
Finally gained enough weight to have the car seat set facing the same direction as other adult passengers.
Manage to drink water from a glass (we still prefer her to drink from a plastic cup)
Know how to use her legs to move the little car
Blow her stuffy nose
First step towards becoming cordon bleu (world class chef)? I do not dream high, just hope she could be a little helper in the kitchen (instead of messing around).
Parenting milestones:
1. Sleeping pattern
I finally admitted that my method to put her to sleep was not working. I decided to outsource the task to hubby. He was firmed and after a week, her bad behavior was corrected. Sometimes I put her to bed and was amazed at how well she cooperates. She plays and talks to her toys then dozes off. Sometimes she cries and hubby goes to reassure her, sometimes we let her stay a bit longer with us, but we no longer take as much time as before. As for me, I'm no longer the mother who picks her up at her first cry.
2. Discipline
Hubby disciplines her most of the time, telling her to not drop food on the floor else she will have to stay in her room. His methods work fine, but I could not do it. No matter how annoying she is, I have hard time yelling or letting her cry.
A big thank you to hubby who manage to work things out when I'm vulnerable.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Laser refractive eye surgery: First appointment with Dr Jean-Max Mégroz
I have thought of doing the laser surgery since a while back. The idea was put on hold, mainly due to lack of courage. I have finally gotten the gut to take the first step. I asked around and people told me that La Clinique Sourdille in Nantes has good reputation in this field.
Someone recommended Dr Jean-Max Mégroz, a very experienced doctor in laser refractive eye surgery. I called for an appointment and it was scheduled for three months later.
Yesterday, I went for the first appointment. The main goal was to have an assessment to determine if I'm a suitable candidate for this surgery.
Dr Mégroz's clinic is well situated, right in front of the tramway stop Félix Faure. Once arrived, I was immediately called for several exams. Around 6 to 7 staffs were handling all the examinations with different kind of medical machines. The waiting room was full of patients (above 10 people at one time) from different age range, the staffs had good coordination between one exam to another and between one patient to another. They explained well the procedures and indicated clearly when I can wink my eyes (really appreciated this!). I had three exams before meeting Dr Mégroz.
He started with my name. He guessed I was not a Korean nor Thai, but he has no clue what nationality I could be. When the guessing game ended, he confirmed that I was his first Malaysian patient. He then read the exam results, checked my eyes, explained me the procedures, answered my questions, and I was sent to have an exam which is called "Topographie Cornéenne".
In the waiting room, one of his staffs came to give me eye drops, 3 times with 5 minutes interval. After a few minutes, my near-sighted vision changed, I couldn't even see what time it was on my cellphone. My vision came back to normal only in the evening. When all exams finally ended, it didn't take me long to see Dr Megroz again. He concluded that I could perform the laser surgery. The operation will be on a Thursday, it will last for 30 minutes for both eyes, I could go home in the afternoon accompanied, rest on Friday and weekend, good to go to work on Monday. The technology he uses is LASIK Femto Second.
The whole assessment took around 2 hours. It costed me 110€, 55€ not reimbursable by the national insurance but could be covered by my company insurance. He gave me a quotation for the surgery, 1300€ per eye. If everything goes well my insurance will cover part of it, and hubby already approved the expenses on the remaining cost.
Now, rest to decide GO or NO GO for this adventure. If you don't hear from me again about this topic in September, consider that I chicken out.
Someone recommended Dr Jean-Max Mégroz, a very experienced doctor in laser refractive eye surgery. I called for an appointment and it was scheduled for three months later.
Yesterday, I went for the first appointment. The main goal was to have an assessment to determine if I'm a suitable candidate for this surgery.
Dr Mégroz's clinic is well situated, right in front of the tramway stop Félix Faure. Once arrived, I was immediately called for several exams. Around 6 to 7 staffs were handling all the examinations with different kind of medical machines. The waiting room was full of patients (above 10 people at one time) from different age range, the staffs had good coordination between one exam to another and between one patient to another. They explained well the procedures and indicated clearly when I can wink my eyes (really appreciated this!). I had three exams before meeting Dr Mégroz.
He started with my name. He guessed I was not a Korean nor Thai, but he has no clue what nationality I could be. When the guessing game ended, he confirmed that I was his first Malaysian patient. He then read the exam results, checked my eyes, explained me the procedures, answered my questions, and I was sent to have an exam which is called "Topographie Cornéenne".
In the waiting room, one of his staffs came to give me eye drops, 3 times with 5 minutes interval. After a few minutes, my near-sighted vision changed, I couldn't even see what time it was on my cellphone. My vision came back to normal only in the evening. When all exams finally ended, it didn't take me long to see Dr Megroz again. He concluded that I could perform the laser surgery. The operation will be on a Thursday, it will last for 30 minutes for both eyes, I could go home in the afternoon accompanied, rest on Friday and weekend, good to go to work on Monday. The technology he uses is LASIK Femto Second.
The whole assessment took around 2 hours. It costed me 110€, 55€ not reimbursable by the national insurance but could be covered by my company insurance. He gave me a quotation for the surgery, 1300€ per eye. If everything goes well my insurance will cover part of it, and hubby already approved the expenses on the remaining cost.
Now, rest to decide GO or NO GO for this adventure. If you don't hear from me again about this topic in September, consider that I chicken out.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Miss Météo (Weather) at Canal +
The French TV channel Canal + has a program calls Le Grand Journal (The Big News) everyday from 7pm to 8.50pm. They have a Miss Météo, Charlotte Le Bon, who presents the weather forecast.
Every Friday, she arrives with Beehive hairstyle in the 1960s and the news is presented in black and white.
She has a very unique way to present the weather: She talks about anything but the weather. When she finishes, the TV shows a picture of the weather, in silent.
Yesterday she was talking about using a chain as a way of contraception.
I think that's a very unique and different way to present news and she is surely a charming lady. And she is only 25 years old!
Every Friday, she arrives with Beehive hairstyle in the 1960s and the news is presented in black and white.
She has a very unique way to present the weather: She talks about anything but the weather. When she finishes, the TV shows a picture of the weather, in silent.
Yesterday she was talking about using a chain as a way of contraception.
I think that's a very unique and different way to present news and she is surely a charming lady. And she is only 25 years old!
Gifts from the USA!
CAT CAT, a Malaysian living in the USA organized a blog contest to guess how much she weighted and I won. Well, no one successfully gave the exact number so she decided to award the first three contestants. I was the first one to guess so she chummily sent gifts all the way from the USA to France.
The gifts consisted of a recycling bag, a kitchen tower and a set of corn pick.
Love all of them especially the recycling bag, I already made a trip to the recycle bin with it.
Thanks a lot CAT CAT aka Rambutan! Here's a photo of rambutans we recently bought from a shop here.
The gifts consisted of a recycling bag, a kitchen tower and a set of corn pick.
Love all of them especially the recycling bag, I already made a trip to the recycle bin with it.
Thanks a lot CAT CAT aka Rambutan! Here's a photo of rambutans we recently bought from a shop here.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Lundi de Pentecote (Pentecost Monday ) - it is complicated
Monday 13 Jun was a public holiday so the week starts on Tuesday. At work, I was chatting with an overseas coworker:
Coworker: Hey, you were on leave yesterday?
Me: No, yesterday was public holiday here.
Coworker: Oh really? How come B came to work? I was with him on the phone.
Me: Errr, for some people it was holiday and for some it was not.
Coworker: ???
Me: It is complicated. I don't know how to explain.
At this point, I remembered my superior once said:"Yeah, France is expert in making things complicated.
The Lundi de Pentecost (Pentecost Monday or Whit Monday) is a religious celebration 50 days after Easter. It was one of the 11 French public holidays but In 2004, the French government has named it as "Solidarity day", where employees were asked to come work for free on a public holiday and the employers would then pump money to fund supports for old people and the disabled. This came as a solution proposed by the government after the 2003 heat wave which resulted in high rate of dying among old people. Each year, this Solidarity day raises around 2.4 billion euros. In 2008, the government amended the law and decided to let employers decide on which day and which way they want to impose the Solidarity day. Employers can ask employees to work on any public holiday (except 1 May), work extra 7 hours during the year or deduct a day off from their leaves.
In my company, each year we receive a mail from the HR stating whether Pentecost Monday is a public holiday. If not mistaken, last two years everyone got the day off without cost. This year, it depends on the payment schemes. Employees who are with the scheme A (like me) didn't need to come to work, but people who are with scheme B (like B) needed to work or else they had to deduct one day from their leaves. Whereas for hubby, the company was closed and everyone was asked to take a mandatory day off.
This Solidarity Day has made me think about the "Pay it forward" model in the Western countries versus "Pay back" model in most of the Asian countries. As per my understanding, children in Eastern countries grow up learning that it is their responsibility to take care of their aging parents as a way to pay back the love given by their parents, whereas children in the Western world believe that their main responsible is to continue the good upbringing of their own children. As a result, there are less old folk's homes in Asian countries as old people living away from children are considered "being abandoned" by their children. Whereas in France, it is rare that children parents live under the same roof. A lot of old folks prefer to live independently and government agencies are well established to cater need to senior citizens.
I once asked hubby's grandma what would bring her pleasure. She told me whenever we visit her, she feels very happy. The other grandmother kept telling me how our trip together to Jura Mountain had given her an unforgeable moment, as due to her health issue she would not be able to do it anymore. Once I asked my coworker why in France it is rare to see 3 or 4 generations traveling together. She said that traveling with old people would mean limiting themselves to certain type of activities, it is simply not in the mentality to bring a grandma to ski for example. I feel sad to see old people left alone during summer vacation as they no longer capable of driving long distance. I'm petrified to think that one day, I will just die alone in my home and be discovered days after.
Coworker: Hey, you were on leave yesterday?
Me: No, yesterday was public holiday here.
Coworker: Oh really? How come B came to work? I was with him on the phone.
Me: Errr, for some people it was holiday and for some it was not.
Coworker: ???
Me: It is complicated. I don't know how to explain.
At this point, I remembered my superior once said:"Yeah, France is expert in making things complicated.
The Lundi de Pentecost (Pentecost Monday or Whit Monday) is a religious celebration 50 days after Easter. It was one of the 11 French public holidays but In 2004, the French government has named it as "Solidarity day", where employees were asked to come work for free on a public holiday and the employers would then pump money to fund supports for old people and the disabled. This came as a solution proposed by the government after the 2003 heat wave which resulted in high rate of dying among old people. Each year, this Solidarity day raises around 2.4 billion euros. In 2008, the government amended the law and decided to let employers decide on which day and which way they want to impose the Solidarity day. Employers can ask employees to work on any public holiday (except 1 May), work extra 7 hours during the year or deduct a day off from their leaves.
In my company, each year we receive a mail from the HR stating whether Pentecost Monday is a public holiday. If not mistaken, last two years everyone got the day off without cost. This year, it depends on the payment schemes. Employees who are with the scheme A (like me) didn't need to come to work, but people who are with scheme B (like B) needed to work or else they had to deduct one day from their leaves. Whereas for hubby, the company was closed and everyone was asked to take a mandatory day off.
This Solidarity Day has made me think about the "Pay it forward" model in the Western countries versus "Pay back" model in most of the Asian countries. As per my understanding, children in Eastern countries grow up learning that it is their responsibility to take care of their aging parents as a way to pay back the love given by their parents, whereas children in the Western world believe that their main responsible is to continue the good upbringing of their own children. As a result, there are less old folk's homes in Asian countries as old people living away from children are considered "being abandoned" by their children. Whereas in France, it is rare that children parents live under the same roof. A lot of old folks prefer to live independently and government agencies are well established to cater need to senior citizens.
I once asked hubby's grandma what would bring her pleasure. She told me whenever we visit her, she feels very happy. The other grandmother kept telling me how our trip together to Jura Mountain had given her an unforgeable moment, as due to her health issue she would not be able to do it anymore. Once I asked my coworker why in France it is rare to see 3 or 4 generations traveling together. She said that traveling with old people would mean limiting themselves to certain type of activities, it is simply not in the mentality to bring a grandma to ski for example. I feel sad to see old people left alone during summer vacation as they no longer capable of driving long distance. I'm petrified to think that one day, I will just die alone in my home and be discovered days after.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday morning bread hunt 4
I didn't plan to go bread hunt this morning. Aelig dragged me out from the bed since 7.30am and showing her kid songs on Youtube didn't quite consume her energy. She was very happy when I told her to bring her shoes. Shoes = going out that's something she learnt quickly.
However, there was no point putting her shoes on as she wanted me to hold her ALL the journey to the bakery and back to home. Everytime I say "walk yourself" she would shake her head. When I put her down she sat on the floor and screamed. Once I walked away and she reciprocated by walking off the other way and was trying to cross the road, scared the hell out of me. So she won. I need to tell her that if she doesn't want to walk she will end up in her stroller next time.
Got home, she walked straight towards our bedroom. Papa was up already but he quickly ran back to the room. This time I bought two pain au chocolat so she happily handed one to papa. Everyone is happy, she finished most of her bread and was trying to get some from papa but of course he refused.
A side note: Hubby told me that kids like to go to the bakery as usually they will get a special treat. Most of the time, Aelig got something when she went with hubby, but NEVER with me. Today, out of the blue, the seller gave Aelig a chouquette, and that was when she was touching the checkout machine, she probably wanted to keep her busy with something else. The seller knows me and hubby are husband and wife (once hubby went to buy bread and was told that his wife just got the last baguette), but she played favorite with hubby. Now she finally upgraded me to her favorite customer list, or was this just a one time treat?
However, there was no point putting her shoes on as she wanted me to hold her ALL the journey to the bakery and back to home. Everytime I say "walk yourself" she would shake her head. When I put her down she sat on the floor and screamed. Once I walked away and she reciprocated by walking off the other way and was trying to cross the road, scared the hell out of me. So she won. I need to tell her that if she doesn't want to walk she will end up in her stroller next time.
Got home, she walked straight towards our bedroom. Papa was up already but he quickly ran back to the room. This time I bought two pain au chocolat so she happily handed one to papa. Everyone is happy, she finished most of her bread and was trying to get some from papa but of course he refused.
A side note: Hubby told me that kids like to go to the bakery as usually they will get a special treat. Most of the time, Aelig got something when she went with hubby, but NEVER with me. Today, out of the blue, the seller gave Aelig a chouquette, and that was when she was touching the checkout machine, she probably wanted to keep her busy with something else. The seller knows me and hubby are husband and wife (once hubby went to buy bread and was told that his wife just got the last baguette), but she played favorite with hubby. Now she finally upgraded me to her favorite customer list, or was this just a one time treat?
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Do I tell her I love her?
"Do you tell Aelig you love her?", hubby asked me one day.
"Ah, no, you?".
"Of course." He replied firmly.
"But I have never heard it."
"During our precious daughter-father time." He said it with an affectious smile.
Culturally it is hard for me to say "I love you" especially in Chinese. It is just not something I usually do and mind you, I have never said it to my parents and I didn't hear these three words growing up. But I do make a conscious reply when hubby says it (he trained me else I won't hear the end of it). I do however, kiss Aelig goodnight before she goes to bed. It is something from hubby's family and it is considered rude if I do not kiss everyone goodnight before going to bed. But, but, I do not kiss Aelig EVERY FIVE MINUTES like what I have seen doing by some French parents.
Like grandma said:"Malaysians are nice people but just that you guys are so cold, you do not kiss each other!" Yes I'm cold, I'm conservative, I'm not expressive, but it is the way I was raised. I feel awkward that I need to tell someone I love you, can't one just feel or see the love through my actions?
Here is a song written by a father to his son, he never mentioned love, but you can feel it from the lyrics, from all the things he wanted to do for his son:
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要越过高山
I want to cross over mountain
寻找那已失踪的太阳
Searching for the missing sun
寻找那已失踪的月亮
Searching for the missing moon
亲亲的我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要越过海洋
I want to cross over ocean
寻找那已失踪的彩虹
Searching for the missing rainbow
抓住瞬间失踪的流星
Catching the short life shooting stars
我要飞到无尽的夜空
I want to fly to the inexhaustible nighttime sky
摘颗星星作你的玩具
Pick a star and make it your toy
我要亲手触摸那月亮
I want to touch the moon with my hand
还在上面写你的名字
And write your name on it
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
还在上面写你的名字
And write your name on it
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
最后还要平安回来
I will finally make home safely
回来告诉你那一切
So that I can tell you everything
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要走的世界的尽头
I want to walk towards the end of the world
寻找传说已久的雪人
Looking for the snowman long existed in the legend
还要用尽我一切办法
I will use every means
让他学会念你的名字
So that he could pronounce your name
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
让他学会念你的名字
So that he could pronounce your name
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
最后还要平安回来
I will finally make home safely
回来告诉你那一切
So that I can tell you everything
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
Pick a star as his toy, write his name on the moon, teach a snowman to pronounce his name, all these are mission impossible but he is willing to do for his son. If this is not love, what is it then?
"Ah, no, you?".
"Of course." He replied firmly.
"But I have never heard it."
"During our precious daughter-father time." He said it with an affectious smile.
Culturally it is hard for me to say "I love you" especially in Chinese. It is just not something I usually do and mind you, I have never said it to my parents and I didn't hear these three words growing up. But I do make a conscious reply when hubby says it (he trained me else I won't hear the end of it). I do however, kiss Aelig goodnight before she goes to bed. It is something from hubby's family and it is considered rude if I do not kiss everyone goodnight before going to bed. But, but, I do not kiss Aelig EVERY FIVE MINUTES like what I have seen doing by some French parents.
Like grandma said:"Malaysians are nice people but just that you guys are so cold, you do not kiss each other!" Yes I'm cold, I'm conservative, I'm not expressive, but it is the way I was raised. I feel awkward that I need to tell someone I love you, can't one just feel or see the love through my actions?
Here is a song written by a father to his son, he never mentioned love, but you can feel it from the lyrics, from all the things he wanted to do for his son:
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要越过高山
I want to cross over mountain
寻找那已失踪的太阳
Searching for the missing sun
寻找那已失踪的月亮
Searching for the missing moon
亲亲的我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要越过海洋
I want to cross over ocean
寻找那已失踪的彩虹
Searching for the missing rainbow
抓住瞬间失踪的流星
Catching the short life shooting stars
我要飞到无尽的夜空
I want to fly to the inexhaustible nighttime sky
摘颗星星作你的玩具
Pick a star and make it your toy
我要亲手触摸那月亮
I want to touch the moon with my hand
还在上面写你的名字
And write your name on it
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
还在上面写你的名字
And write your name on it
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
最后还要平安回来
I will finally make home safely
回来告诉你那一切
So that I can tell you everything
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
我要走的世界的尽头
I want to walk towards the end of the world
寻找传说已久的雪人
Looking for the snowman long existed in the legend
还要用尽我一切办法
I will use every means
让他学会念你的名字
So that he could pronounce your name
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
让他学会念你的名字
So that he could pronounce your name
啦啦呼啦啦啦呼啦啦
Lalahulalalahulala
最后还要平安回来
I will finally make home safely
回来告诉你那一切
So that I can tell you everything
亲亲我的宝贝
Kissing my baby
Pick a star as his toy, write his name on the moon, teach a snowman to pronounce his name, all these are mission impossible but he is willing to do for his son. If this is not love, what is it then?
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Giants invaded Nantes
During the weekend the Royal de luxe, a French mechanical marionette street performing art company was having a performance in Nantes. Two giants plus a dog were wandering around downtown Nantes and attracted thousands of audiences.
This wall picture shows the giant little Indian girl and her dog in Mexico.
It was so crowded that I couldn't get a close snap of them. They traveled from Mexico to Nantes in a huge container and arrived by boat. We didn't know where the show would start and everyone was guessing where should be the good spot to watch them. I snapped some photos and my battery run out before the Mexican giant showed up.
This afternoon I brought Aelig to the playground and it was empty! While walking back I saw a group of kids so I asked them why there was nobody in the playground. They told me: "They all went to see the giants!"
This wall picture shows the giant little Indian girl and her dog in Mexico.
It was so crowded that I couldn't get a close snap of them. They traveled from Mexico to Nantes in a huge container and arrived by boat. We didn't know where the show would start and everyone was guessing where should be the good spot to watch them. I snapped some photos and my battery run out before the Mexican giant showed up.
This afternoon I brought Aelig to the playground and it was empty! While walking back I saw a group of kids so I asked them why there was nobody in the playground. They told me: "They all went to see the giants!"
French income tax return
I'm not the one dealing with income tax return so whenever I receive something about taxes, I just hand it to hubby.
This year, I had a glance and something just caught my attention:
My taxable income is higher than my gross income.
As far as I know:
Taxable income = Gross income - social contributions
So what went wrong? The more we investigate the more headache we have, there are FIVE different amounts we were given to declare ONE source of income.
The tax form (Déclaration préremplie revenue 2010) indicated two sources of income: one from my employer and one from CPAM. CPAM is a government agency who handles expenses on health-care, it was the one paying my maternity leaves in 2009 - 2010. It makes sense that I got income from it but not as much as it declared (they should have sent us a statement that they declared that amount to the tax office but we never received it). Let's call this amount A.
Confused, I checked the CPAM website and looked at my account, which lists all the reimbursements paid to me (In France we pay the doctor first then get reimbursed later). It is a very well done tool and I managed to find that maternity leaves statement which is meant for income tax purpose. From the website, I requested payment details for my 4 months maternity leaves. 2 days later I received a statement with amount B, which is around 6k less than amount A!.
I still couldn't figure out how they came out with the number so I sent another email to CPAM, asking them to explain why my taxable income is higher than my gross income. Two days later I got a mail, saying that they have forwarded my request to the department in charge, apparently this time my case was too complicated for them to reply within two days. A week later, without any notice, I received a letter from CPAM, with a corrective tax statement giving me another amount, which is around 500 less than amount B. Let's call it amount C.
This is not the end of the story. 2 days later I received an email reply from CPAM telling me that they made a mistake on my tax statement, the correct amount should be D, around 200€ more than amount C. They sent me later a tax statement in mail.
Now, I have amount A, B, C, D to choose from to file for my income tax. The problem, all these amounts do not match what was stated in my payslips during the months I was on maternity leaves. A payslip expert explained to hubby which line in the payslips I should sum up and we ended up with amount E. The expert explained it is not unusual for CPAM to mess up when the maternity leaves touch two income tax years.
I think the best solution is to go in person to the nearby CPAM office. I'm not keen on doing this and I'm afraid they are going to give me another amount. The case is closed for me and I'm happily passing the whole mess to my belove hubby. :-)
This year, I had a glance and something just caught my attention:
My taxable income is higher than my gross income.
As far as I know:
Taxable income = Gross income - social contributions
So what went wrong? The more we investigate the more headache we have, there are FIVE different amounts we were given to declare ONE source of income.
The tax form (Déclaration préremplie revenue 2010) indicated two sources of income: one from my employer and one from CPAM. CPAM is a government agency who handles expenses on health-care, it was the one paying my maternity leaves in 2009 - 2010. It makes sense that I got income from it but not as much as it declared (they should have sent us a statement that they declared that amount to the tax office but we never received it). Let's call this amount A.
Confused, I checked the CPAM website and looked at my account, which lists all the reimbursements paid to me (In France we pay the doctor first then get reimbursed later). It is a very well done tool and I managed to find that maternity leaves statement which is meant for income tax purpose. From the website, I requested payment details for my 4 months maternity leaves. 2 days later I received a statement with amount B, which is around 6k less than amount A!.
I still couldn't figure out how they came out with the number so I sent another email to CPAM, asking them to explain why my taxable income is higher than my gross income. Two days later I got a mail, saying that they have forwarded my request to the department in charge, apparently this time my case was too complicated for them to reply within two days. A week later, without any notice, I received a letter from CPAM, with a corrective tax statement giving me another amount, which is around 500 less than amount B. Let's call it amount C.
This is not the end of the story. 2 days later I received an email reply from CPAM telling me that they made a mistake on my tax statement, the correct amount should be D, around 200€ more than amount C. They sent me later a tax statement in mail.
Now, I have amount A, B, C, D to choose from to file for my income tax. The problem, all these amounts do not match what was stated in my payslips during the months I was on maternity leaves. A payslip expert explained to hubby which line in the payslips I should sum up and we ended up with amount E. The expert explained it is not unusual for CPAM to mess up when the maternity leaves touch two income tax years.
I think the best solution is to go in person to the nearby CPAM office. I'm not keen on doing this and I'm afraid they are going to give me another amount. The case is closed for me and I'm happily passing the whole mess to my belove hubby. :-)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
An incident in a grocery shop
I was shopping for my grocery and I saw this woman selling roasted pork and potatoes. She repeats her line every minute or so to promote her products but no one actually stopping. Since I haven't had lunch, I decided to just buy something from her.
She showed me a piece of pork, I asked her to cut it into smaller piece and she was kind of unhappy about it. She cut it anyway and proceeded to weight it. But then, she mumbled something to herself, quickly added the piece that was cut of, re-weight, packed and handed it to me.
I was surprised and not happy with her attitude. She didn't ask my permission and just decided to add the portion that I didn't want. It costed nothing much but still, shouldn't she just sell me what I was asking for?
I didn't say anything (I was speechless), and just decided that I won't buy from her anymore. Now I'm stuck with pork that would need 4 meals to finish. :-( Hubby said he would just refuse it, I think I need to get tougher with these kind of merchants.
She showed me a piece of pork, I asked her to cut it into smaller piece and she was kind of unhappy about it. She cut it anyway and proceeded to weight it. But then, she mumbled something to herself, quickly added the piece that was cut of, re-weight, packed and handed it to me.
I was surprised and not happy with her attitude. She didn't ask my permission and just decided to add the portion that I didn't want. It costed nothing much but still, shouldn't she just sell me what I was asking for?
I didn't say anything (I was speechless), and just decided that I won't buy from her anymore. Now I'm stuck with pork that would need 4 meals to finish. :-( Hubby said he would just refuse it, I think I need to get tougher with these kind of merchants.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Embarrased by Dujardin
At work.
A project was at its final stage so I sent a closure email to the team members involved.
I got a reply from someone:
"Donc ils ont décidé de garder Dujardin?" (So they have decided to keep Dujardin?)
What the hell, I was scratching my head so hard trying to figure out what he meant, there was no Dujardin in our team.
Since my superior was just next to me, I told him we got a question but I don't know what it meant.
He looked at the mail, telling me that he had no idea, then he pointed to the email title: OS117 (the project name).
"Oh it is a joke!" He giggled. "He is talking about OSS117". Noticing my blank look, he explained: "Dujardin was playing in the film OSS117".
Such a coincidence, the film OSS117 has almost the same name as our project OS117. As a foreigner, I couldn't get the joke because I have not seen that film and didn't know who is Dujardin.
"You do know him, he played in "Un gar et une fille", hubby told me later.
Oh that guy, I like his act in "Un gar et une fille", and he just won the Best Actor award in the Cannes Festival.
Ok, Dujardin, I know you now, you happy? :-)
A project was at its final stage so I sent a closure email to the team members involved.
I got a reply from someone:
"Donc ils ont décidé de garder Dujardin?" (So they have decided to keep Dujardin?)
What the hell, I was scratching my head so hard trying to figure out what he meant, there was no Dujardin in our team.
Since my superior was just next to me, I told him we got a question but I don't know what it meant.
He looked at the mail, telling me that he had no idea, then he pointed to the email title: OS117 (the project name).
"Oh it is a joke!" He giggled. "He is talking about OSS117". Noticing my blank look, he explained: "Dujardin was playing in the film OSS117".
Such a coincidence, the film OSS117 has almost the same name as our project OS117. As a foreigner, I couldn't get the joke because I have not seen that film and didn't know who is Dujardin.
"You do know him, he played in "Un gar et une fille", hubby told me later.
Oh that guy, I like his act in "Un gar et une fille", and he just won the Best Actor award in the Cannes Festival.
Ok, Dujardin, I know you now, you happy? :-)
Saturday morning bread hunt 3
A: Ladies and gentlemen, do you see the red painting on the wall over there? This is the bakery we go every Saturday morning for the bread hunt episodes.
A: Daddy, we are home with the bread. I propose a trip to the zoo this afternoon to reward my hardwork.
F: Ok dear. Now hand me my share of the chocolate bread.
A: Here you go.
F: But why is my part so tiny?
A: Because I'm a big girl now and I need to eat more in order to grow strong.
F: But that's unfair! Your mother brought you to the bakery to buy bread for ME!
A: Stop complaining and eat your bread. One two three, times up, there are mine now.
A: Tiny one for papa, big one for myself.
The winner of the day: Aelig who ate 99% of the bread and earned a trip to the zoo.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Is Google Translate reliable?
On 28 of April, the Chinese premier Wen JiaBao visited Malaysia. During the welcoming ceremony in Putrajaya, there was a banner written in Malay and Chinese, which horrified almost everyone who knows the Chinese language.
Source
On the banner, it was written:
In Malay: "Istiadat Sambutan Rasmi Sempena Lawatan Rasmi TYT Wen Jiabao Ke Malaysia"
Translation in English would be: "Official welcoming ceremony in conjunction with official visit of His Excellency Wen Jiabao to Malaysia."
In Chinese: "正式欢迎仪式，与他一起温家宝阁下的正式访问马来西亚."
Translation in English: "Official welcoming ceremony, together with him His Excellency Wen Jabao's offical visit Malaysia."
The translation in Chinese contains huge grammatical and syntax errors. If I was only given the Chinese sentence without the Malay original text, I won't have known what it actually means.
Source
After the incident, the Prime Minister of Malaysia apologized to the Premier of such an embarrassing mistake. The Premier smiled a said: "It is just a small matter, don't worry about it, it won't jeopardize the relationship within the two countries."
While facing the press about this mistake, the Prime Minister said he would find out the source of mistake and another minister who was accompanying the Premier suggested a ban on using Google Translate on important official ceremonies within the government agencies. Despite all these aftermath talks, for me, the damages were done. The mistake was captured into photos which has circulated within the blogspere. Malaysia always tries to portrait itself as a country that consists of multi-ethnics with people speaking in different languages including Chinese. Now, those Chinese delegates who came with the premier, had their very first impression of Malaysia's Chinese level, that they would later share with their counterparts in China. Surely the photos of the premier's visit were published in the Chinese's medias with this banner as background.
For me, Google Translate is a good tool if you want to find a translation for certain words, but not with a long sentence. If you want to translate sentence, it is better that you have some knowledges on both languages involved. The mistake in the banner would be easily detected by anyone who has basic Chinese knowledge. However, I don't think everyone is capable of coming up with the right translation. For a machine, what do you expect?
Source
On the banner, it was written:
In Malay: "Istiadat Sambutan Rasmi Sempena Lawatan Rasmi TYT Wen Jiabao Ke Malaysia"
Translation in English would be: "Official welcoming ceremony in conjunction with official visit of His Excellency Wen Jiabao to Malaysia."
In Chinese: "正式欢迎仪式，与他一起温家宝阁下的正式访问马来西亚."
Translation in English: "Official welcoming ceremony, together with him His Excellency Wen Jabao's offical visit Malaysia."
The translation in Chinese contains huge grammatical and syntax errors. If I was only given the Chinese sentence without the Malay original text, I won't have known what it actually means.
Source
After the incident, the Prime Minister of Malaysia apologized to the Premier of such an embarrassing mistake. The Premier smiled a said: "It is just a small matter, don't worry about it, it won't jeopardize the relationship within the two countries."
While facing the press about this mistake, the Prime Minister said he would find out the source of mistake and another minister who was accompanying the Premier suggested a ban on using Google Translate on important official ceremonies within the government agencies. Despite all these aftermath talks, for me, the damages were done. The mistake was captured into photos which has circulated within the blogspere. Malaysia always tries to portrait itself as a country that consists of multi-ethnics with people speaking in different languages including Chinese. Now, those Chinese delegates who came with the premier, had their very first impression of Malaysia's Chinese level, that they would later share with their counterparts in China. Surely the photos of the premier's visit were published in the Chinese's medias with this banner as background.
For me, Google Translate is a good tool if you want to find a translation for certain words, but not with a long sentence. If you want to translate sentence, it is better that you have some knowledges on both languages involved. The mistake in the banner would be easily detected by anyone who has basic Chinese knowledge. However, I don't think everyone is capable of coming up with the right translation. For a machine, what do you expect?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Found a replacement babysitter
Aelig's babysitter will go for training for a total of 10 days, sometimes between May and Sept. She told us about it when we signed the contract and she reminded us two months ago.
We finally received a letter from the Town Hall stating the dates and several options we have while she is gone on training. We called the person in charge to help us find a replacement but she was either too busy or was away on vacation. We left several messages but she never called back. We were desperate as we have no other solution. I was already planning on taking 4 days off in May to take care of Aelig as hubby has no more leave left until end of May.
Miraculously, the person in charge contacted us the Friday before the sitter would be on training (the Monday after). She found us a replacement, someone living just two blocks away from our apartment. While picking up Aelig on that Friday evening, we learnt that we got call from the person in charge because our sitter was nagging her continuously. Our sitter just couldn't stand leaving us in a desperate situation so she took action instead. What a nice person!
We visited the replacement sitter and Aelig was playing happily in her apartment with another kid. The first two days with her went very well, Aelig had no problem adapting to a new environment, thanks Buddha!
We finally received a letter from the Town Hall stating the dates and several options we have while she is gone on training. We called the person in charge to help us find a replacement but she was either too busy or was away on vacation. We left several messages but she never called back. We were desperate as we have no other solution. I was already planning on taking 4 days off in May to take care of Aelig as hubby has no more leave left until end of May.
Miraculously, the person in charge contacted us the Friday before the sitter would be on training (the Monday after). She found us a replacement, someone living just two blocks away from our apartment. While picking up Aelig on that Friday evening, we learnt that we got call from the person in charge because our sitter was nagging her continuously. Our sitter just couldn't stand leaving us in a desperate situation so she took action instead. What a nice person!
We visited the replacement sitter and Aelig was playing happily in her apartment with another kid. The first two days with her went very well, Aelig had no problem adapting to a new environment, thanks Buddha!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)