What spurs a mid-career woman to abandon her job, friends and life, for the siren call of France? Wine, food, perhaps charming French men…
In the Asian society, three things are paramount: i) Excel in your studies; ii) Get a good job and career, preferably in a staid professional field (medicine, law, accountancy…); iii) Get married and procreate.
I have met my filial expectations with respect to Paramount items i and, arguably, item ii. The series of jobs I have held are with respectable companies, in utterly respectable roles, and, in placing myself in Singapore, I am masochistically playing the role of worker ant. On Paramount item iii, well, my parents have not been pleased. But I'll save that for another story.
And then, one day, I fall under the spell of France.
Ah, it must be the French glamour and luxury, you say! But no, I am a veritable man in my shopping habits.
Might it be the French culture and language? But no, I find it difficult enough to keep up with the languages on my plate (English, Malay, a sprinkling of Chinese), and certainly have little inkling of French culture apart from Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther.
Then it must be the food and the wine!
In the Asian society, three things are paramount: i) Excel in your studies; ii) Get a good job and career, preferably in a staid professional field (medicine, law, accountancy…); iii) Get married and procreate.
I have met my filial expectations with respect to Paramount items i and, arguably, item ii. The series of jobs I have held are with respectable companies, in utterly respectable roles, and, in placing myself in Singapore, I am masochistically playing the role of worker ant. On Paramount item iii, well, my parents have not been pleased. But I'll save that for another story.
And then, one day, I fall under the spell of France.
Ah, it must be the French glamour and luxury, you say! But no, I am a veritable man in my shopping habits.
Might it be the French culture and language? But no, I find it difficult enough to keep up with the languages on my plate (English, Malay, a sprinkling of Chinese), and certainly have little inkling of French culture apart from Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther.
Then it must be the food and the wine!
