During the holidays, we usually drive to another part of the country and rent a holiday house or what’s called a gîte. If the holidays last more than a week, we prefer to stay in the mountains, either in the east in Vosges or the southeast in the Alpes. If the holiday is shorter, we …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 9:50 — 15.8MB)
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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 …
Holidays have almost begun! Today is the first day when I don’t have to teach at the university. The university classes restart on 3 Jan. Well, I say ‘almost’ because I am still technically teaching until early next week, but only the few private students that I have and through video conference. Moreover, I still …
I am declaring that the winter is officially here. It started snowing this morning, albeit for only a couple of hours. Through the double-glazed panes of the bedroom window, I could see that the snow was falling rapidly, but it looked more like wet snow which would not accumulate. True enough, most of the snow …
I woke up to a wet, wet autumn Sunday. Through the window of my makeshift study cum bedroom window, I could see that it rained again in the night. Rain water droplets glistening on the leaves of the different types of flora in the garden, dressed in the finest autumn colours of red, orange, yellow, …
If you are new to France, you might have mistaken today, 19 May 2021, to be a public holiday in France. You might have thought everyone in France is celebrating a national day, perhaps a day named ‘Terrace Day’ or ‘Fête des Terrasses’. You are not far out. 19 May 2021 is the first day …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 7:38 — 12.2MB)
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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 …
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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 …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:34 — 14.0MB)
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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 …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 15:58 — 16.4MB)
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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 …