10 things about me
Hello there!
It's been a while and to start this blog properly, I have decided to introduce myself, the only way I know how, with a mix of illustrations, photos and infographics. This is something I was dreading to do for a long while but luckily, I was challenged on instagram to tell 10 things about me and what better way to share it with you here too?
1. I'm French. My Dad is from Normandy and my Mum from Laos. I love having this dual identity although it has not been easy, always feeling like the odd one out. I'm very proud of both heritage. And I'm embracing this double culture as much as I can. This is probably why I feel at ease in a cosmopolitan city such as London. 'Where' I come from and how I feel about this definitely calls for another blog post!
2. I lived my childhood in Normandy, studied Architecture in Rennes, lived and worked in Basel for a while and have great memories from that time in Switzerland. I've been living in London for the past 12 years something. I love the buzz of the city, even though I grew up in the countryside.
3. My go-to foods are :
• my Mum's food. She cooks amazingly and I wish I could do half of what she does. Thanks Mum for all the yummy dishes you prepare for us! #kuamee #tomkhem • a close second would be any cheese-potatoes combo. #raclette • it would be hard for me to live without #chocolate • if you ask me which restaurant I want to dine in, I would always say Vietnamese or Thai first. #phosoup
4. I'm terrified of butterflies and moths (the worst) (and please let me know if you feel the same way so I feel less alone! Am I the only one on Earth? 😂), pigeons, as they tend to come very close and don't care whether I'm scary or not 🙈 and literally anything alive, flying and feathery... (Although I'm getting better with the small garden birds!)
5. Foods and drinks no-nos:
• I don't like wine... (But I compensate with cheese 🧀😜) For those who went out with me in the past : yes, I'm definetely happy with my soft drink! 😅
• I'm half-south-east-asian but can't eat spicy hot food 🌶 oh well...
I guess that's what make us different, wherever we are from or how we are raised or just our own tastebuds!
• I don't enjoy coffee much either (except coffee flavoured ice cream and tiramisu...) and younger, I was hoping that by drinking coffee, I could skip a few hours sleep to study but it never had any effect 😭 I guess I just had to sleep! • organ meats. On this one I think I'm not the only one!
6. Books I like to read (when I take the time)
• 🔎 I absolute love detective novels, the intrigue, the process of looking for something and the twists! My childhood favourite ones are the Arsène Lupin books by Maurice Leblanc. I’ve read many since and I’m a big fan of Fred Vargas’ novels and her characters.
Do you have any good detective novel to suggest?
• 🏝 I also like adventure novels too, and I have a fond memory of Alexandre Dumas’ work, Les trois Mousquetaires (and sequels) or Le Compte de Monte-Cristo. Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe) is one of the first books I’ve read when I was little (it might have been a child’s version 😅) and I really enjoyed it. Should I add to the mix The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)? I like books that transport me somewhere else, where honour and friendship are valued. And about that, I recommend the last series I’ve read with my son, How to train your Dragon (Cressida Cowell), where you can find so many parallels with our world today that make these books a very enjoyable series to read for adults too.
• 🐥 I also love reading (beautifully) illustrated books and children’s books. I find really interesting how authors/illustrators express themselves and communicate a story or knowledge to kids.
• ✨ last, I read non-fiction books, art books, cooking books, self-help books, travel books… I love browsing books in a bookshop or at the library and can spend ages there 🙈
7. When I was younger, my Mum took us to a Lao Saturday class organised by our community. It was a little daunting at first. We were taught reading and writing the first hour (needless to say, I forgot most of it 😩), and after a break, we had the dance lessons. And boy was I bad when I started. It was hard work!
🎶 Natasinh is the classical dance style of Laos. Songs are like stories. It is very poetic and the costumes are beautiful. After a few years, I really started to enjoy it, I love the complexity of the dances and what they represented really got through to me. I wish I could do more and I try sometimes to remember even if my bad knee doesn’t like it! • This is me in 1995 dancing ‘Dok Champa’ with (fake) frangipani flowers in my hand.
8. Protect our planet is something I feel I have always done all my life although I realise now that we could do so much more. We have started to implement new things/ways in our household about 4 years ago to reduce our waste. There is still a long way to go and we are far from being perfect. I encourage you all to try and do little bits and follow #zerowaste tips, I’d like to think it can make a difference. 🌏
9. How I like to spend my evenings:
• for an evening out (or in 😅), I’d like to share a meal with my friends or family in a restaurant or at home ‘à la bonne franquette’ 🍝🥗🍜🍣🥟 • if I have the possibility, I love to go to the theatre where I enjoy looking at how things work, how they imagined the set and how they represented and build the decor, the costumes and the show! 🎭
• and I really enjoy playing games : board games, card games #belote #tarot and escape games! ♣️♥️♠️♦️
• a quiet evening with Netflix can work too!
All that said, I prefer small groups of people where I can talk to everybody rather than big gatherings.
10. This last one is some kind of ‘summary’ of how I see myself. I leave this one with you 🥰
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