By Teng Jingwei / Citizen Journalist

LYON, FRANCE – MY TWO WEEKS in France so far has been nothing short of rewarding – history lessons, cultural lessons, French lessons, life experience all rolled into one. What a deal!

The first three days in Paris were typical tourist fare: all hustle-bustle, zipping away on open top red double-decker buses (not as unique to London as people like to think huh?) to visit museum after museum. Everywhere we went, Parisians and other tourists alike stared; a group of Chinese teenagers bickering in English as our teacher tried to restore order in French must have been quite a sight!

The good thing was we were not brought to as many shopping destinations as a normal tour would; the bad thing is we were not brought to as many destinations places as a normal tour would (the ratio of girls to boys in the group is 6 to 1!) We did get the mandatory, and often tacky, souvenirs at Montmartre – my favourite place in Paris. It’s winding cobbled streets, café terraces, painters, and quaint little restaurants are so over the top French that it’s like a scene out of a movie, but charming nonetheless.

Lyon is France’s third largest city, 500km from Paris. It’s technically smaller than Singapore but everything seems so much grander. Take for example the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, a cathedral on top of a hill and Lyon’s highest vantage point. We were bathed in a soft yellow glow when we entered – almost the entire ceiling was painted in gold. It’s impossible not to be struck dumb by the opulence of a gold and turquoise decorated ceiling 15m above you.

That’s the thing with travelling abroad – you realise how precious space is in Singapore. Everywhere else (Europe, North America, Australia) they have car parks the size of IMM. The main path at the gardens of Versailles Palace is probably the length of Bukit Timah Road (yes King Louis XVI had a forest in his backyard, albeit a temperate one) Imagine literally getting lost in your backyard.

Personally, I believe a change of environment every now and then is always good. It forces you to adapt. Sometimes, you also learn to take (calculated) risks e.g. should I make a right turn here or there? I got lost on my first day in Lyon and had to walk in circles, or rather squares, for 5 minutes before I mustered up enough courage to ask an old lady for directions. All those stories of crime and discrimination in France scared me, so I wasn’t about to ask the young thug-lookalikes hanging around smoking cigarettes by the sidewalk.

France has its jaw-dropping magnificent side and its seedy side. The glamorous side consists of elaborate ancient cathedrals, castles and houses that resemble palaces. The architecture is arcane but screams hard work: every effigy is unique. Painstakingly added details do not betray the dedication sculptors poured into their art – gilded foliage, cherubs in relief and gods crowning the ceilings.

Of course what people don’t extol are grey sidewalks flowered with white gum, rude words scribbled along walls and beggars in the cold. I constantly wonder how these homeless people survive. The minute I step outdoors I lose all sensation of my extremities; walking becomes a problem because I can’t feel my toes!

Here are some quirky observations of the French in general:

1) They take their wine seriously. Every café or restaurant has a wine list. There were posters in plain sight all over Lyon announcing the arrival of the first batch of their popular wine from neighbouring wine region Beaujolais.

2) They take their bread seriously. March in any random direction and you’ll find a bakery or pastry shop in 10 minutes. These shops are tried and tested in residential areas as well as the business district. During his one month sojourn in Singapore, my French correspondent refused to believe the soft white loaf we had for breakfast is bread.

3) They take their cheese seriously. There’s a special compartment reserved for cheese, and cheese only, in their fridge. When I asked my French correspondent if that’s the way it is with every family he gave me a weird look that said yes, quite clearly, as if I just asked him, “Do French people shampoo their hair?”

4) They take their illness seriously? There is practically a pharmacy at every corner and it’s not unusual to see three or four flashing green crosses (the obligatory sign board for pharmacies) on the same street. I found out it’s because supermarkets are not allowed to sell even Paracetamol.

Other observations that I find incredible:

1) There are nuclear reactors within 50km of the city, with people living right next to it (the chimneys of the houses and the reactors were blowing out smoke synchronously). I know their nuclear reactor plants are very well maintained but…

2) A national system of “rentable” public bicycles. You know the system we have in Singapore? Where you swipe a card to rent bicycles from one MRT station to another? They have it in France too, and the system is popular (i.e. you can actually see people using the bicycles in Paris and in Lyon!).

3) Recycling bins especially for used glass at every crossroad. My host family recycles whenever they take out the trash.

4) My French correspondent can stomach blue cheese and think soybean curd is disgusting?

Teng Jingwei is a 17-year-old student at Hwa Chong Institution who is currently on student exchange in Lyon, France. She has interests ranging from dance, drama, literature to current affairs.

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