{"id":33101,"date":"2024-03-04T11:20:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T11:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/?p=33101"},"modified":"2024-03-04T11:24:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T11:24:34","slug":"what-happened-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/what-happened-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened so far?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And we are in March! Gone are Chinese New Year and Valentine\u2019s Day. Soon it will be Easter and summer. But for now, let\u2019s take a look at the last two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Et voil\u00e0, nous sommes en mars ! Fini le Nouvel An chinois et la Saint-Valentin. Bient\u00f4t, ce sera P\u00e2ques et l’\u00e9t\u00e9. Mais pour l\u2019instant, voyons ce qui s\u2019est pass\u00e9 les deux derniers mois.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kids went back to school early January, then they were on holiday again for Chinese New Year and they are now back at school until the end of the month (Easter holidays).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les enfants ont repris l’\u00e9cole d\u00e9but janvier, puis ils ont \u00e9t\u00e9 de nouveau en vacances pour le Nouvel An chinois et ils sont \u00e0 nouveau \u00e0 l’\u00e9cole jusqu’\u00e0 la fin du mois (vacances de P\u00e2ques).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex had his mock exams at the end of January, beginning of February. It was a difficult time for him, he lost his motivation to work and was very stressed by his difficulty to focus on any work. It is now back to normal and I breath more easily. We are still waiting for 3 out of his 5 choices of universities. This is also nerve wracking. I can\u2019t wait for all this uncertainty to be over! Now Alex is focused on preparing his IB. His first real exam is mid-March (Spanish oral exam) and the rest is between the 25th April and the 16th May. Not long before all is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex a pass\u00e9 ses examens blancs fin janvier, d\u00e9but f\u00e9vrier. Ce fut une p\u00e9riode difficile pour lui, il n\u2019avait plus de motivation pour travailler et il \u00e9tait tr\u00e8s stress\u00e9 par sa difficult\u00e9 \u00e0 se concentrer sur son travail. Tout est maintenant rentr\u00e9 dans l\u2019ordre et je suis soulag\u00e9e. Nous attendons toujours 3 r\u00e9ponses sur les 5 universit\u00e9s qu\u2019il a choisi. C\u2019est assez angoissant. J\u2019ai h\u00e2te que toute cette incertitude disparaisse ! Alex se concentre d\u00e9sormais sur la pr\u00e9paration de son IB (International Baccalaureate). Sa premi\u00e8re \u00e9preuve est mi-mars (oral d’espagnol) et le reste se d\u00e9roule entre le 25 avril et le 16 mai. C\u2019est la derni\u00e8re ligne droite.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh! And he also sprained his ankle quite badly playing volleyball. He is still recovering after nearly 2 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Et aussi, il s’est \u00e9galement gravement foul\u00e9 la cheville en jouant au volley-ball. Il est toujours en convalescence apr\u00e8s 2 mois.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another view of Singapore, not always sparkling beautiful<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emilie has been plagued with an ingrown toenail since before Christmas. As a consequence, she had to stop her tennis lessons and goes to school wearing flip flops. Academically speaking, she took entrance exams for 3 UK schools and has been accepted at 2 of them. We are waiting for the result of the third one, which is our favourite choice (the school she was in before we left for Hong Kong). In parallel, I found a state school in Whitechapel that doesn\u2019t look too bad and is easily reachable from our home and I applied as well. Another uncertainty I will be happy to get rid of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emilie souffre d’un ongle incarn\u00e9 depuis avant No\u00ebl. Du coup, elle a d\u00fb arr\u00eater ses cours de tennis et va \u00e0 l’\u00e9cole en claquettes. Sur le plan acad\u00e9mique, elle a pass\u00e9 les examens d’entr\u00e9e dans 3 \u00e9coles de Londres et a \u00e9t\u00e9 accept\u00e9e dans 2 d’entre elles. Nous attendons le r\u00e9sultat de la troisi\u00e8me, notre pr\u00e9f\u00e9rence (l’\u00e9cole qu’elle fr\u00e9quentait avant notre d\u00e9part pour Hong Kong). En parall\u00e8le, j\u2019ai trouv\u00e9 une \u00e9cole publique \u00e0 Whitechapel qui n\u2019a pas l\u2019air trop mal et qui est facilement accessible depuis chez nous et j\u2019ai \u00e9galement postul\u00e9. Une autre incertitude dont je serai heureuse de me d\u00e9barrasser.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e9bastien is still working a lot and travelling a bit for work. He worries a lot about our life after September, about finding a job in Europe and mostly about moving back to London. But apart from that, he still loves it here is Singapore!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e9bastien travaille toujours beaucoup et voyage un peu pour le travail. Il s’inqui\u00e8te beaucoup de notre vie apr\u00e8s septembre, de la recherche d’un poste en Europe et surtout du retour \u00e0 Londres. Mais \u00e0 part \u00e7a, il adore toujours Singapour !<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e9bastien and I have resumed going on walks on Sunday afternoons (see pictures there<\/a> and there<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00e9bastien et moi avons repris nos promenades du dimanche apr\u00e8s-midi (voir photos ici<\/a> et l\u00e0<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
There is another Merlion on land. It’s on Mount Faber!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And me? (I saved the best for last!) Well, I keep myself busy. I\u2019m like the puppeteer holding all the strings and making everything goes smoothly. In addition, I completed the \u2018Project Management\u2019 and \u2018Introduction to ChatGPT\u2019 training courses and started two new ones (\u2018HR Analytics using MS Excel for Human Resource Management\u2019 and \u2018Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM Technical R13 (HDL Data Migration)\u2019). They are much more technical and a different type of challenge. I\u2019m also making progress in making the 2012 DVD and its associated album. For those who don\u2019t know, I collate all the pictures and videos of each year in a DVD and a photo album. I\u2019ve been doing that since Alex was born and I still have quite a lot of backlogs. I was so hoping that I would catch up during the last 6 years. But it\u2019s such a huge work to sort out all these pictures and videos. But at least, I am going in the right direction!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Et moi? (J’ai gard\u00e9 le meilleur pour la fin !) Eh bien, je m’occupe. Je suis comme le marionnettiste qui tient toutes les ficelles et fait en sorte que tout se passe bien. De plus, j’ai fini les formations \u00ab Gestion de projet \u00bb et \u00ab Introduction \u00e0 ChatGPT \u00bb et j\u2019en ai commenc\u00e9 deux nouvelles (\u00ab HR Analytics using MS Excel for Human Resource Management \u00bb et \u00ab Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM Technical R13 (HDL Data Migration) \u00bb). C\u2019est beaucoup plus technique et elles repr\u00e9sentent un d\u00e9fi diff\u00e9rent. Je progresse \u00e9galement dans la r\u00e9alisation du DVD 2012 et de l’album associ\u00e9. Pour ceux qui ne le savent pas, je rassemble toutes les photos et vid\u00e9os de chaque ann\u00e9e dans un DVD et un album photo. Je fais \u00e7a depuis la naissance d\u2019Alex et j\u2019ai encore beaucoup de retard. J’esp\u00e9rais tellement pouvoir rattraper mon retard au cours des 6 derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es. Mais c\u2019est un \u00e9norme travail de trier toutes ces photos et vid\u00e9os. Mais au moins, je vais dans la bonne direction !<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the fun side, I\u2019ve been seeing friends and exploring Singapore. I am also taking salsa classes and that\u2019s really cool! The good thing about Singapore is that there are always more men than women in the classes. So, I always have a dance partner. S\u00e9bastien tried the first level course with me but it was really not something he enjoyed. And so, I persevered on my own. He knows there is no chance I will be swept away by a dashing dance partner; they are all so nice and shy and young that there is no threat! Besides, I am not going there for seduction, just to dance and I love it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Je continue \u00e0 voir des amis et \u00e0 explorer Singapour. Je prends aussi des cours de salsa et c’est vraiment cool ! Ce qui est bien \u00e0 Singapour, c’est qu’il y a toujours plus d’hommes que de femmes dans les cours. Donc, j’ai toujours un partenaire de danse. S\u00e9bastien a essay\u00e9 le premier niveau avec moi mais ce n’\u00e9tait vraiment pas son truc. Alors j\u2019ai continu\u00e9 toute seule. Il sait qu’il n’y a pas de risque que je me fasse draguer ; ils sont tous gentils, timides et si jeunes qu’il n’y a aucune menace ! D\u2019ailleurs je n\u2019y vais pas pour s\u00e9duire, mais pour danser et j\u2019adore \u00e7a !<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Check out the latest tour I took around Tiong Bahru here<\/a>! Check out the latest photo gallery about rooftop bars and restaurants in Singapore (here<\/a>). It will be a work in progress for the next few months as I aim to test as many as I can!<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
D\u00e9couvrez la derni\u00e8re visite que j\u2019ai faite autour de Tiong Bahru ici<\/a> ! D\u00e9couvrez les photos des bars et restaurants sur les toits de Singapour (ici<\/a>). J\u2019ai l\u2019intention d\u2019en essayer le plus possible avant de partir alors n\u2019h\u00e9sitez pas \u00e0 revenir sur la page !<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The photo at the top is the courtyard of the Shangri-la Hotel where I went for a massage (offered by my super-extra-lovely husband for Christmas).<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n
La photo en haut est la cour de l’h\u00f4tel Shangri-la o\u00f9 je suis all\u00e9e me faire masser (cadeau offert par mon mari <\/mark><\/em>super-extra-adorable pour No\u00ebl).<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And we are in March! Gone are Chinese New Year and Valentine\u2019s Day. Soon it will be Easter and summer.[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-fullwidth.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33101"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33163,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33101\/revisions\/33163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sebetanne.co.uk\/hkblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}