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First of all, let me apologize for this tardy post, but it has been for the least overwhelming. I arrived in Singapore on the 18th of August, at 8:30 am after to close to 23 hours of flying. I can't say I was exhausted because I had splurged on business class tickets and was able to lay down and sleep (I usually do not sleep in planes as I can't lay down). So I get out of the plane and follow everybody to the immigration area. Which is really just an area with type of turnstiles., well 2 to be exact. So you go through the first one and someone on the other side of the second one tells you to scan your passport, while he scans your face. And once that's done, that's it! You go through! The whole things take 1 or 2 minutes. Wow, so efficient! You barely wait for your luggage maybe 10 minutes, and the things is that there is an agent that takes the luggage off once it gets to a certain sport on the belt and no one has picket it up. Again highly efficient. Now you have to picture me with 6 pieces of checked luggage and my hand luggage and handbag trying to navigate to the exit. Of course once customs saw me they stopped me and scanned all my suitcases and that was that. I was officially in Singapore. Pinch me! I found the taxi stand and had to ask for a bigger cab and left for my hotel. Knowing that I was arriving early, I had asked for early check-in. Now Changi airport is at the extreme east of the Island. A little geography and history for you Singapore is at the extreme end of the Malasian peninsula and is an island in fact. It claimed its independance from Malaysia in 1965. The drive to the hotel was uneventful other that I almost felt home. The vegetation was almost the same as in Martinique. The only thing that really got to getting used to was the driving on the left side of the road. Now for those of us who go to St Lucia regularly we see it, but here it's on another scale when you see an 8 lane highway! My hotel was in the middle of the muslim neighborhood. Matter of fact it was located on Arab street. So by eleven-ish I'm settled in and unpack a little, I am here for 6 nights. I contact my perspective roommates and meet with one for coffee and then go visit the apartment. Everything is as expected and I agree to moving in at the end of my hotel stay. I forgot to mention the area is bussling with people and restaurants, mosty halal, turkish and arab menus. I wasn't too sure about the menus as all the names were in malaysian so I stopped at the Domino's pizza in front of the hotel and went back to my room. I conked out and woke up around 2:00 am which was 2:00pm Martinique time, switched on the TV and just stayed there. Around 5:30am I here this melodious sound, this languid melody. So I go to my window to try and figure out what it was. My room was facing the Masjid Sultan, and the sound was the call to prayer. It was so beautiful. I had never heard that in my life. The next few days I ran some errands, going to school, Ikea and books stores. But to be honest I did do much visiting as the jetlag was kicking my but. That next monday I had a meeting at my new school. But that's another story...

Another end to the school year... The last results of the second group baccalauréat were posted yesterday. Last goodbyes to colleagues, management and the entire school community. A bitter-sweet goodbye in view of the adventures that await me. But a huge well done and thank you to a team that opened its arms to me, made room for me and above all made me feel at home. I'm going to miss my little 'boutique' school. I'm going to miss my students: so endearing, but always trying to pull the wool over your eyes so they can slip through the net of the work to be done. The Dream Team There are some people missing but they are not forgotten. I've been teaching for 10 years now (2 years as a contract teacher, and 8 years as a permanent teacher), I'm in my 6th school and had it not been for this detachment I don't think I would have ever left. My own air-conditioned room! (and that's no luxury some days). A brilliant coordinator (well, I'm biased, because she's my buddy from my first year as a teacher, and the memories of the evenings we spent writing our memoirs are still vivid), a management team that listens, is responsive, has an open-door policy, and colleagues who are always looking to improve what we can do for the students. A crazy "Prom Night" Our students worked like hell to ensure that their graduating class had a fitting end-of-year ball. This, along with the end-of-year reception held by the school management, was the finishing touch to my 2 years at Lycée Acajou 1. A small school that fights for the success and well-being of both its students and THE ENTIRE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. In short, 2 years of pure professional happiness, well I don't blame you Didier for my hiatus (private joke). So it's with a heavy heart that I leave them and a light heart that I turn to another hemisphere of the globe. But first of all : VACATION! Next week I'm in New York and I'll be sharing it with you! ;)

It's been over a month since I posted anything, and for simple reasons: apart from administrative procedures that are taking ages, there's nothing new to report about my departure. However, in my head, it's a mess! Let me explain: I'm really looking forward to this new adventure. Prospects of visiting other countries, even professionally, of living a new experience. My future students will welcome my discipline in a very different way from those I teach here. But I still have this thought in the back of my mind: is this the right choice? I'm leaving my home, which has taken me a long time to tame and love, my friends, my family, including my aging parents, and above all my children, who are in New York and will be even further away from me. Leaving a relationship in its infancy, what if he was the one? Don't dream, at 18,000 km it's no longer a long-distance relationship... All these questions are on my mind. What if I hate living there? At my age, is that really reasonable? Going off on adventures alone, on the other side of the planet? Regret or remorse? The dictionary defines regret as: dissatisfaction or sorrow (for having done, for not having done, in the past) and remorse as: painful feeling, accompanied by shame, caused by the awareness of having done wrong. Which would you be most comfortable living with? I don't think I'll opt for either one all things considered. I'm going to go for it and unfortunately for whoever feels wronged by it, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to live this adventure to the full, trying not to think too much. I'm going to live in the moment at every stage of this adventure, not trying to control the future but embracing every step, every obstacle, every disappointment, every joy, every discovery, every milestone.

Wow, that's it! When I opened my e-mail this morning, it was there in duplicate. One from the AEFE's human resources department and the other from IFS, both announcing my transfer agreement. Holy cow!!!! I'm going, it's tangible. It's no longer a dream. I'M OFF TO SINGAPORE!!!! How to explain the state I'm in. My heart is pounding and I've got a giddy feeling that won't go away. I'm off to Singapore! I know I'm repeating myself, but it's huge! Who'd have thought it would happen... And now there's almost no turning back. I'm going to teach in one of the best schools in the network, with students whose level is such that the textbooks are below their level! I'm proud of what I'm achieving. I went back to school at the age of 40, I'm a mother of two, I passed my CAPES at 53! I don't care if I'm doing too much, I AM PROUD OF MYSELF. On the other hand, in the IFS email came a little packet of documents to fill in, as well as medical documents to provide. Now I'm going to have fun getting the medical appointments... A small price to pay. And then I asked for a simulation of the Indemnité de Changement de Résidence (ICR) and it's not bad. So I won't have too much trouble paying the various installation costs. Well, even if the paperwork isn't finished, I've got my feet on the way out/in...

Hello !!!! Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Who am I and why a blog? Well I'm not one of those people who keeps a diary. I've started many times but have never managed to make it last. However, I'm at the beginning of the ADVENTURE of a lifetime and I thought it would be nice to chronicle it, for those who know me, for those who might be going through the same thing (and here I'm addressing women) and then for me, who when I'm old and no longer able to have such adventures, will be able to relive this story. So I'm warning you right now that this first post is going to be a long one, because I need to set the scene. So I'm Nathalie, delighted to meet you. Born in Paris, of Martinican parents but raised in New York. How come New York? We'll get back to that someday, but not today. However I've often traveled between these two countries and shared my life there. I'm a mom. My beauties are my soul: Victoria and Alexane came into my life in that order. So to cut a long story short (I promise I will go back in time) I returned to Martinique in December 2009 with my youngest daughter, the eldest having stayed in NYC. Professional setback! I couldn't find a job. I had a few odd jobs, but nothing that could sustain me and my daughter. So I decided to enter the French education system through the back door: I became a contract teacher in 2014. I wanted to teach English, but as I had a degree in biology and chemistry (Bachelor's Degree obtained in NYC), I was refused this subject. So I teach SVT (biology). I discover a job that I like. So I say to myself: well, I've come this far, I had gone back to school at the age of 45, so what the heck, I'll take the CAPES (French teaching qualification) in the subject English, and I succeed on the first try. However, to become a tenured teacher, I need a Master II. So back to the classroom. I write my first and only dissertation, which I have to defend at the age of 52. At last, I've got my title: I've got tenure with the French Ministry of Education! I'm sure you're thinking: this is your big adventure! No, not at all, but don't forget, I'm setting the scene. So here I am stationed in Martinique, yeah I was lucky, I didn't have to leave. Remember, I told you I was raised in NYC and went to the Lycée Français of New York. So I'm thinking there must be a way to teach in these French schools abroad... hummmm.... Starts my research. Aha!!! AEFE !!!! What the heck? The Agency for French Education Abroad. So I visit the site, learning all I can about the possibilities of teaching abroad. And then life happens, I meet someone and this desire fades but doesn't disappear. Life happens again and I'm single again and childless! My youngest took off to meet her big sister in NYC. I finally meet the requirements (because you need a minimum of three years' active service to apply). So in January 2023, I applied for 2 positions in Vietnam, 1 in Kuala Lumpur and 1 in Manila. Do you see a pattern emerging? Yes, I only want to go to Southeast Asia. I love everything Asian. And then there's a much deeper reason. I became a mom when I was 24. I raised my children alone, without financial support from anyone. This isn't a pity party, that's a fact, and as a result, I've never been able to travel or take vacations abroad. Travelling is my dream. Anyway, I digress. I wait... and in March 2023 I receive an e-mail telling me that I was in 1st position for Manilla (therefore eligible) but the colleague in post has re-signed, so tough luck... January 2024 comes around and I look at the list of positions, and there's only one destination that interests me, so I apply. On March 12, I receive an email telling me that I'm 5th on the list. Okay, well, I'll give it a try next year. But in the email it says: reply if you're no longer interested in the job. I say to myself: what's the point, I'm 5th on the list, it won't make any difference, so I do not respond. On March 19, 2024, I receive another email telling me that I'm in 1st position! The job is mine if I want it, and I say yes !!!!! I'M OFF TO TEACH IN SINGAPORE IN SEPTEMBER 2024!!!