Podcast

2020 & 2021 Recap

We are now one week into 2022. Hélas, the Covid-19 pandemic is still here. As for my personal life, the biggest change is that I have upgraded my humble abode—from an apartment to a house. To catch you are with what happened since my last podcast (October 2020!!!), I have decided to do a 2020 …

France Lockdown, Season II

Guess what? Last night, the French President officially announced a national Covid-19 lockdown for the second time, starting from Friday, 30 October. French Lockdown, Season II. In the past five months since the gradual lifting of first national lockdown, the French government has reiterated that the country cannot afford another national lockdown as the first …

Moving From Traditional to Digital Classrooms

France’s economy, like those of many countries, almost came to a complete standstill during the Covid-19 lockdown. For France, it was for two months from 17th March to 11th May.  In these two months, only establishments such as pharmacies, hospitals, supermarkets, bakeries and weirdly enough, tobacco stores (“bureau de tabac”) that were deemed indispensable to …

Reading-In-Progress (RIP) Books

Next to my reading lamp on my bedside table lies a stack of books. The make-up of the stack of books may vary every few weeks, but the stack is a permanent fixture in my bedroom. 8-Inch Tall Stack Of Books The current stack stands 8-inch tall, put together by 7 books. It is propped …

Quest For French Residence Permit

In one of the previous posts, I talked about how I became an English teacher in France. In this post, I will talk about the biggest obstacle I or any other foreign national has to face before being able to live and work in France — Residence Permit (Titre de Séjour). The application of a …

Haircut After Lockdown

Last Tuesday, 15 days after déconfinement, I finally got my hair cut. Post haircut. Hair clippings can still be seen on my face. Messy-Hair Couple Silviu and I are different in many ways, but we are similar in that we do not take as much care as we should of our crowning glory. Silviu is worse …

How I Became An English Teacher

In June this year, I will have taught English in France for four full years. These four years have been as much a learning experience as a teaching one. How did I end up being an English teacher in France? Numbers, Numbers, Numbers Generating sales figures, gathering data, analysing numbers, producing statistics, justifying valuation, verifying …

Confessions Of A Consumerist

I am super hyped. I am testing my new microphone in this episode. For the past eight episodes, I have been using Silviu’s old Sennheiser headset. It’s gaming headset with memory foam ear pads and a short boom arm for the microphone. I am using it as he has bought a fancier one. A Bose, noise-cancelling headset …

Musings Of Déconfinement

Today is the first day of the déconfinement. Déconfinement  is the French word used to describe the period after Corvid-19 lockdown. Do you know the English word equivalent for Déconfinement? Please drop me a text if you do. I was stumbled by my students when they asked me for the English word. After poring through …

Our Neighbours Upstairs

Passerelle du Bassin du Commerce. Le Harve, France. December 2019.

What types of relationships do you have with your neighbours? In this episode, I am going to talk about my neighbours. Our upstairs neighbours, have been a source of noise nuisance since last October, and the situation has gotten worse during the lockdown. How would you deal with this kind of neighbours?   Quels types de …