New Life Skills

Today I found myself learning the art of jewel shopping with a Frenchman. I met him at the hostel that I moved into that morning, after a successful evacuation from Crazy Hotel Panget. Apparently, he is an artist, as well as an employee of the French government.

We wandered together to the Bugis market where I discovered that there is indeed a place to buy things cheaply in Singapore. Unfortunately, you have to really sort through stuff to make it worth your while. It’s like one of those garage sales where someone dumps all the junk from their dresser drawers onto a blanket on the sidewalk, and the customer has to sort their way through everything. The Frenchman, who has a typically French name, like Michel, was searching for “cat’s eye” which can be differentiated from quartz by its changing color when viewed from different angles. I, in turn, bought a snakelike steel belt, in order to practice my newly acquired bargaining skills in French. Oo la la, C’est chère! Tsssssssss… Bargaining in French is so much fun; I’d say it’s one of those things worth moving to Paris for.