Storytime

  • Storytime,  TDM

    [Story time] How I almost slept outside in Sweden in 2009

    In 2009, while I am just starting my professional career, Anh is in a gap year in Norway in Oslo. I went there the previous summer and this March we decide to meet fora weekend in Stockholm, Sweden. At that time I was not yet the globetrotter I had become. My travels abroad can be counted on the fingers of one hand and this is barely the third time I have taken a plane. The trip from Paris to Stockholm goes without a hitch. At the airport, I have to take a shuttle to the central station. I call Anh who has just arrived at the station with my French…

  • Storytime,  TDM

    [Story time] How I almost slept outside in England in 2003

    The title is slightly exaggerated but it allows me to make a wink at this other story time in Sweden. Here is a short review of an anecdote fromone of my very first trips abroad in 2003. For the little story within the little story: two years later I told this anecdote in my French baccalaureate dissertation and I got 17/20 🙂 A bit of background: it’s July 2003, my parents offer me a 3-week language stay in Folkestone in the south of England. I am 15 years old and this is one of my very first trips abroad. So far I have proudly crossed the Belgian border for a…

  • Asia,  Storytime,  TDM,  Vietnam

    [story time] My family home in Hanoi in the 90’s

    I never met my maternal great-grandfather, but I was told his story last year. He was born into a poor family in the country. At that time, every village had a teacher, called Ông đồ. Only wealthy families could send their children to the village teacher. My great-grandfather worked for this teacher and while tending the garden, he was able to listen to some classes. He was very intelligent and was able to assimilate the lessons himself and learn to write. When the teacher noticed, he gave him some private lessons for free. His resourcefulness was such that years later he was able to buy his first piece of land…

  • Europe,  France,  Paris,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    [story time] Becoming a Host Family for a Cat Association, my return from experience

    Christmas is approaching and this is the period when associations receive the most requests for adoption… to give a cat or a dog as a gift. Every day, I see on my Facebook “such and such an association no longer accepts adoption requests before Christmas. Animals aren’t objects. Do not offer animals for Christmas etc.” Having been part of a cat rescue association for more than 3 years, I totally agree with this speech. You don’t give away an animal. We adopt it! I will reveal to you behind the scenes and tell you about my own experience as a foster family for a cat protection association. Well, if you…

  • Asia,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal,  Vietnam

    [story time] My Experience as an Apprentice Seamstress in Vietnam

    Today, we continue the series [story time]. In the previous episode, I was on an exchange semester in Australia, in Sydney in 2009. At the end of this semester, I could no longer stay in Australia, not having found a job, nor could I return to France (no longer having a visa). So I went back to Vietnam in 2010, at my parents’ home in Hà Nội. Completely confused, not knowing what to do with my life. A Vietnamese girlfriend was in the same case as me, she who dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. And for that, she wanted to take sewing classes first and suggested that I go…

  • Storytime

    [story time] I broke a front tooth – and the consequences 20 years later (devitalization, crown…)

    Today, I will share with you my story, from the time I chipped my front tooth until now (20 years later). I was very hesitant to write this article, in addition to illustrating it with my own photos. Honestly, it doesn’t please anyone to show pictures of their teeth, especially if you have a complex about it. But it’s an article that I so, so would have liked to find 20 years ago – so if I could help someone avoid the same mistakes I made, this article is made just for that. Sorry for the quality of the photos, I put them in very small and some in black…

  • Africa,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal,  Tunisia

    [story time] How did I get scammed in the souk of Tunis (Tunisia)?

    It was March 2015, a little more than a year before our departure on our round-the-world trip, and I was still far from being the experienced traveler I have become since then. For the first time I was setting foot in the Maghreb and I was going to suffer (like so many tourists) a small scam, more vexing than truly detrimental. Souvenirs… It didn’t happen to me very often, but it was in the course of my work that I traveled. I was invited to speak at a conference in Tunis in my field of activity. I was very excited: first time I was going to set foot in Africa,…

  • Australia,  Oceania,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    [story time] My exchange semester in Australia: Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne & Adelaide (Travel Diaries) 2/2

    I told you that life was not so good for me as an Asian student in Sydney, but I still took advantage of my 4 months exchange in Australia in 2009 to travel a little bit. Part 2: My travel diary in Australia My habits in Sydney I often went to the Sydney Fish Market where sashimi was sold by the kilogram. I was so greedy (I often bought 500g of salmon to eat on my own) that I was often photographed to illustrate travel blogs I read a lot of women’s magazines. They contained fewer ads than the French version and were more expensive (8$AU). One of my tweets…

  • Australia,  Oceania,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    [story time] My semester exchange in Sydney (Australia): Between expectation and reality (1/2)

    This month, you will be entitled to the old journeys made before the round-the-world trip. Today, I am going to tell you about my stay in Australia in 2009 as an exchange student. Part 1: Between expectation and reality Part 2: But it wasn’t all bad: my travel diary in Australia Part 1: Between expectation and reality At that time, I was developing a passion for Australia. I enrolled in the “Australian Cinema” course at my business school, the course consisted of watching every Monday afternoon Australian cult films and dreaming of an exchange in Sydney. One year later, after a year off in Norway, I was at the top:…

  • Europe,  Norway,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal

    [story time] My One Year Internship in Oslo (Norway)

    Today, we are going to take a trip back in time to 2008. I’m going to tell you about my gap year / one year internship in a great company in Oslo, Norway Why a gap year in Norway? For those of you who went to high school, you must have been familiar with the notion of a gap year. Between the 2nd and 3rd year of school, any student can choose between: continuing immediately with the 3rd year, or taking a gap year, to do what they want to do: travel, do an internship, or create their own business In addition, in order to graduate, we all had to…