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 …
On our first full day in Feissons-sur-Salins, we decided to do a warm-up hike before our two-day-one-night trekking trip in two days’ time. The plan was to explore the mountains just behind our chalet which would save us from driving to trailheads. We planned to do a shortish easy hike which would lead us towards …
The second part* of our summer starts today, 31 July 2020. We have booked a chalet at Feissons-sur-Salin, a tiny village located at an altitude of 1260m in the Savoie department in the Alps mountains for 2 weeks. Our plans were in limbo until about two weeks ago. We were initially thinking of taking a …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:13 — )
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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 …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:04 — 21.7MB)
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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 …
Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:41 — 20.2MB)
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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 …
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 …