What's easy might not always be what's right
When I just arrived in France last year, a senior told me this "All the stupid white men have either migrated to The US or to Australia. All that's left in Europe are the smart ones ". How true is this? Was he brain washed by a french who tried to instill the idea of "we french may not know how to speak English, but we're not stupid".
Today I went to Belgium (again) with Syazwan. This time we took the bus instead of the metro, and we arrived in a town, which is not that bad (the size of Selestat maybe?), Mouscron in French or Moeskroen in Flamish. Really, we didn't plan this trip actually, we had the idea just before going to the mosque for friday prayers. And my hypothesis that time passes very-very-very extremely slowly in Belgium was proven yesterday. We arrived at around 1545 and we walked very slowly around the town , and got to the town center. We thought we must've been there for like at least an hour, but no, it was just 1615. And so we walked and walked, and we've finished the whole town by 1645. So we headed to the nearest bus stop and saw that the next bus to Lille is at 1718, from that bus stop. Syazwan suggested that we walk back to the bus station where we got off (Mouscron Gare). I said no, it's a long walk back to that station, i wouldn't want to risk it, since the next bus would be at 1815. I would't want to spend an hour doing nothing in Belgium... especially in Belgium. But I gave in finally, and we walked back to the station. We must've walked for like 30 minutes, but no, when i checked my watch, it was only 1700. And when we got to the station it was only 1705. We still had time. So we took pictures at the train station which was just next to the bus station, and when the bus came, we headed back to Lille.
Today is actually a public holiday in France. It's the Armistice, the day where the First World War ended. To commemorate the day, we decided to watch a movie called Joyeux Noel. It's a movie about three sides (Scottish, French and German) fighting a battle during the WW I around christmas. They were fighting each other everyday. Like most war movies, soldiers miss home, miss wife, soldiers cry, soldiers fight, soldiers run, soldiers eat, soldiers fight, and soldiers cry again. But at Christmas Eve, the Scottish played their bagpipes, and the Germans sang opera, in their own trenches (and the french? well, they ate their christmas meal quietly). Then, the german opera singer came out of the trench, the scotts got excited, and both sides got out of their trenches (and the french? they were still eating their meal quietly). The lieutenants of both sides met, and shook hands (by this time the french were eavesdropping the two sides from their trench). The french lieutenant was called out and the three sides decided on a cease fire. Soldiers from the three sides met each other for the first time and exchanged photos of their wives. On Christmas day, they played football and buried their dead. Higher officials on all three sides knew about this, and disbaned their units. Story ends.
Two points that i would like to point out from this movie. Firstly, the uniforms. The germans were wearing gray-green and the scottish were wearing dark-green, both are good for camouflage. And as for the french, they were wearing dark blue (not navy blue) and red. They still had time to put a touch of glamour to their uniforms even when they go to war. Secondly, in the movie, the German lieutenant could speak german, french and english, the French lieutenant could speak french and english (because of which i would say that this movie is fictionous), while the Scottish could only speak english, with a scottish accent. It shows that even when you're fighting against the English, you still need to be able to speak it, whereas when you're english, you need not to bother learning your enemy's language, since they'll be able to communicate in yours.
I learnt a lesson today; We need to choose what is right and what is easy. I chose what was easy, and really regret that I've made that decision. I will not elaborate that point any further. Thank you.
Today I went to Belgium (again) with Syazwan. This time we took the bus instead of the metro, and we arrived in a town, which is not that bad (the size of Selestat maybe?), Mouscron in French or Moeskroen in Flamish. Really, we didn't plan this trip actually, we had the idea just before going to the mosque for friday prayers. And my hypothesis that time passes very-very-very extremely slowly in Belgium was proven yesterday. We arrived at around 1545 and we walked very slowly around the town , and got to the town center. We thought we must've been there for like at least an hour, but no, it was just 1615. And so we walked and walked, and we've finished the whole town by 1645. So we headed to the nearest bus stop and saw that the next bus to Lille is at 1718, from that bus stop. Syazwan suggested that we walk back to the bus station where we got off (Mouscron Gare). I said no, it's a long walk back to that station, i wouldn't want to risk it, since the next bus would be at 1815. I would't want to spend an hour doing nothing in Belgium... especially in Belgium. But I gave in finally, and we walked back to the station. We must've walked for like 30 minutes, but no, when i checked my watch, it was only 1700. And when we got to the station it was only 1705. We still had time. So we took pictures at the train station which was just next to the bus station, and when the bus came, we headed back to Lille.
Today is actually a public holiday in France. It's the Armistice, the day where the First World War ended. To commemorate the day, we decided to watch a movie called Joyeux Noel. It's a movie about three sides (Scottish, French and German) fighting a battle during the WW I around christmas. They were fighting each other everyday. Like most war movies, soldiers miss home, miss wife, soldiers cry, soldiers fight, soldiers run, soldiers eat, soldiers fight, and soldiers cry again. But at Christmas Eve, the Scottish played their bagpipes, and the Germans sang opera, in their own trenches (and the french? well, they ate their christmas meal quietly). Then, the german opera singer came out of the trench, the scotts got excited, and both sides got out of their trenches (and the french? they were still eating their meal quietly). The lieutenants of both sides met, and shook hands (by this time the french were eavesdropping the two sides from their trench). The french lieutenant was called out and the three sides decided on a cease fire. Soldiers from the three sides met each other for the first time and exchanged photos of their wives. On Christmas day, they played football and buried their dead. Higher officials on all three sides knew about this, and disbaned their units. Story ends.
Two points that i would like to point out from this movie. Firstly, the uniforms. The germans were wearing gray-green and the scottish were wearing dark-green, both are good for camouflage. And as for the french, they were wearing dark blue (not navy blue) and red. They still had time to put a touch of glamour to their uniforms even when they go to war. Secondly, in the movie, the German lieutenant could speak german, french and english, the French lieutenant could speak french and english (because of which i would say that this movie is fictionous), while the Scottish could only speak english, with a scottish accent. It shows that even when you're fighting against the English, you still need to be able to speak it, whereas when you're english, you need not to bother learning your enemy's language, since they'll be able to communicate in yours.
I learnt a lesson today; We need to choose what is right and what is easy. I chose what was easy, and really regret that I've made that decision. I will not elaborate that point any further. Thank you.
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