It's great to have everything so nearby to where we live. I would say the bank is about 15 minutes of brisk walk away. Sheh and i accidentally walked into a next-door door; we were trying to avoid the rain quickly that we overlooked this. The man at the counter looked up as Shah informed, "I have a 10 o'clock appointment?"
Now let me just let you all know early on, Shah and my knowledge of French is, oooh, i don't know, about 0.05%? No, Shah's is 0.09% and mine is 0.05%. So this man replied in French quizzically (well, it sounded quizzical), and Shah tried again by repeating the same thing. The man then asked, "Do you speak French?", and Shah said, "No" and then the man looked at me in slight frustration (don't they encounter this everyday? "Idiots" not knowing French?) and asked me the same question. "Um, no, sorry." Suddenly i realized we were not in the right place, and i said to Shah, "Shah, i rasa kita bukan dalam bank...". He looked around and inquired "Is this not the bank?" to the man. And i have to give the guy credit; he actually politely got out of his seat and opened the door for us, pointing to where the bank entrance is. We said "Thank you" (me in English, Shah in French. Merci. i knew that, i just wasn't ready to suddenly start speaking French).
Shah had an appointment with a "personal banker". Thankfully everyone at the bank seemed to know how to speak English. We were sitting, waiting for the lady to come. Suddenly this jovial-looking lady appeared and went "Bonjour! Hello!" to us. We said hello back and were ready to get up and follow her when she got distracted by another customer. Shah and i just looked at each other, almost not sure of what is happening, when suddenly a non-smiling, slim blond woman came out of nowhere and said, "Mr Shahrizal?". Turns out this was our "personal banker".
I raised my eyebrows at Shah behind her back as she led us to her room. Night and day, i tell you, these two women. One chirpy, one moody. As we sat down in her room, she started talking to Shah, without a hint of smile. I liked her English, though, it's quite lovely to hear a French speaking in English. At one point, she asked him while looking at me, "Is this your...friend? Your wife?" I gave her a winning smile (or so i'd hoped) and said, "Yes, i'm his wife."
So they continued doing business (still without a smile; hopefully it's because Shah forgot to bring the important documents to the meeting. and also because he was late). She gave Sheh her card with her email and numbers on it, which he passed on to me, for me to stuff in my huge bag.
She was typing away on her computer when she said, "Sorry, can i have the card back please?" and i handed it to her. The lady took it fro my hand and swivelled back to her computer, but after a beat, she turned to me and then suddenly this brilliant smile came out of nowhere. "Thank you!" she said to me. Then on to more typing.
I was nearly giggling when i looked at Shah. For some reason the lady seemed to like me a whole lot more than Shah, which i found totes weird. EVERYONE loves Shah OK? But not this lady. She seemed to respond to me a lot better. So i took the opportunity to ask her about Paris Fashion Week, which is supposedly happening this very week.
She gave me a most interesting insight. Basically, nobody here who is not in the industry directly gives a damn about fashion week, OK? She went on and on about how fashion is what it is only because of "marketing" and then she moved on to her speech on how crap Louis Vuitton is for its price. Turned out she's hilarious. Some French people also have a kind of lingo and hand movements when they speak, which i find mesmerizing. They have sound effects and stuff, it makes me want to copy them.
Shah and i were laughing by the time we were about to leave. I also got to ask her on where should i go if i want a really nice handbag that's not too expensive. Basically her advice is "Stay AWAY from LV, get Hermes if you can afford it (no way in the world can we afford it), have a look in the small boutiques and check out young Paris designers". LOVES it. Hopefully Shah will take me to the places she named this very weekend.
I have to mention though, as much as i like her and her views (i'm not LV's biggest fan either), Shah had to ruin it by saying, "Come on lah Liyana, you dengan dia tak sama OK. Dia kata dia ada SATU handbag je. You ada berapa?" SO not the point, Shah. True-ish, though, fineee. And i also don't like leather (the smell! yelch), whereas funny-non-smiling lady loves a good leather. But still.
Then we headed home as Shah needed to go back to his office. By then, the rain had pretty much stopped, nasib baik. The bank, by the way, overlook a hugeee mall, which i can't wait to check out with Shah soon!
Before Shah headed back out, we had a quick lunch. I WISH i had taken photos of my lunch, as it was grand! Shah's uncle, whom he met for the very first time in his life when he first came to Paris, is a personal head chef working for a VIP, and he gives Shah food every weekend. Saying "food" doesn't justify it, really. It's like gourmet meals with superb desserts. Shah is CRAZY LUCKY. I'll try to remember to write about the food next week (with photos!), as i'm seeing him this weekend. Sadly Shah said his uncle is leaving soon, so we definitely need to appreciate his food and cooking while he's still here.
OK, more soon! xoxox