(Warning: Long post ahead.)

Today, I turn 28. It’s not that big of a deal, I know. Afterall, it’s not the big 30. But now that I am at the point of no-return into my late 20s, I’d noticed that my lessons and priorities are much different of those from my younger carefree days, and worth penning down for reflection.

27 was a year of rediscovering myself. Of taking a long hard look in the mirror the past self, after 27 years of just floating through the noise.

As a middle child, I had always been a follower. I never gave much thought to who I was, or what my purpose is in this world. Because I didn’t need to. I only had to walk straight on the path already paved ahead for me and 99% of the time, life turned out pretty much fine.

I spent the entirety of my life absorbing the prescribed Singaporean ideals, beliefs and mindset on what it means to be wife, daughter, sister, employee. And then all of a sudden, I found myself thrown into a different world, where at every possible social event, they ask, without fail: “So, who are you?”. “Why are you here?”, “Tell me more about yourself”. “What do you do in life?”

What makes me, me? I didn’t have an answer to that. Because all this while, I’d only knew what I ought to be in this world, not who to be.

In a way, our move to Switzerland was a necessary part of my growth. Because by removing ourselves away from our past social circle of influence and living life independently, it allowed me the space I needed to re-examine every single part of myself—the good, the ugly, the hidden and the unconscious. It was frustrating having to undo all the past black and white lessons taught in my life. But I needed to come to the realisation on my own, that all that I once used to hold as absolute without questioning, were only illusions of another person’s subjective ideas and beliefs.

27 was the year I started listening to myself and learn to form my own judgement. Based on my opinion, not others.

So, this is my list of the 27 important lessons I’ve learned at 27. I’m openly sharing these lessons, with the hopes that they would bring you comfort and remind you of the light. I know too that I will be reading this list over and over again when life feels heavy and I need the reminder myself. 

Today’s post will be a dedicated guide on how to prepare for the French B1 DELF Exams!

If you know by the back of your hand the best places for coffee in your city, that’s a sure sign that you are well-integrated as an expat! After 1.5 years in Lausanne. I feel like I’m finally acquainted well enough with my neighbourhood, so much so that I now have my frequent haunts for coffee. Mainly for the days when I’m bored of drinking coffee from my old capsules, or when I’m just looking for a place to catch up with friends.

Unlike other majors cities, Lausanne is refreshingly devoid of an overkill of major coffee chains. What you will find instead are some independent roasters and small cafes. 

So get ready for a super caffeinated blogpost! From neighbourhood hotspots helmed by the most passionate of people, to bright and beautiful roasteries to chillax, here’s my personal guide to the 5 best places for coffee in Lausanne to hit up for your morning brew.

August is a special month, as it is National Day in both Singapore (Aug 9) and Switzerland (Aug 1). Both countries share similarities: Small, safe, extremely rich, with the same knack of having bizarre rules…(No chewing gum in Singapore, no washing of clothes on Sunday in Switzerland!) We even have the same red and white for our national flag colours! Yet living in these two different parts of the world has also attuned me to the various little differences in terms of the living habits, culture, and administration.

In this National Day post: I’ve outlined 14 most interesting differences between Singapore and Switzerland that represented significant changes in our way of living, and also to celebrate the beauty of diversity between our two homes.

It’s no secret that Vince and I miss Singaporean food, and we are always trying to re-create them ourselves in the kitchen. Much as we remain nostalgic for SG snacks and tzechar dishes, there are some incredibly delicious Swiss food that we’ve acquired taste for, and loved ever since!

Right, your usual Swiss food like chocolate and cheeses are part of the list. But wait…THERE’S MORE!

I’m mindful that this list of top 10 Swiss food is not fully representative of the country’s cuisine or food preferences, since my food experience is largely limited to within the Swiss-Romande region. Definitely, there are tons of other cultural Swiss food delights in the German and Italian regions. This is just a first humble attempt to pick out and share some of my personal favourites after 1.5 years of living in Lausanne, and hopefully in time I get to taste more local food from other Swiss regions!

So here they are, and in no particular order: The top 10 Swiss food that I LOVE and would (absolutely recommend)!

I was just talking to Vince the other day about 2020 really started on the wrong footing…that we really never got down to doing anything before this whole lockdown all began. And GUESS WHAT? We are now already a QUARTER through the year! Before we know it, it’s gonna be Christmas already. T.T

Lately I’m also finding it harder to read the news. Almost every piece of information seems to revolves around the coronavirus, rising death rates, or depressing reports about the global economy…There’s just so much toxic negativity spreading around doom and gloom.

So I decided that it’d do me some good to just shut out all these news apps. And instead pen down things that made me happy last week. Things that took my mind off worries and anxious thoughts. I hope that sharing this post would help you feel the same way too 🙂

So 2020 took a massive turn with the coronavirus outbreak. When I sit down by myself and really think of the situation, all that is going on right now feels more like a scary sequel to Train to Busan than actual reality. COVID-19 has not only spread across the world at record levels, it has severely disrupted and changed our daily realities. Schools are now closed. Weddings and graduations are canceled. Businesses are suffering financially and winding up. Major cities are under lockdown, and one-third of the world’s people are now in quarantine or confined to their homes.

Many of us might have dreamt, invested and made many plans. To celebrate important life events. To travel overseas for a vacation. Or maybe to roll out a new business idea. Having to forcibly postpone or cancel them causes a huge sense of loss and disappointment. Personally, there were so much that I’d planned to see and travel in Switzerland and Europe this year. Our parents were to come over during the summer, and tickets to Portugal were all booked. It’s sad having to put all these plans on hold now, knowing that we won’t be seeing our family probably till next year or longer.

But the optimist in me is still looking for that silver lining. While life right now may feel like a hard slam on the brakes, God’s goodness has not been cancelled. Learning and growing and maturing has not been cancelled. Instead of grumbling about boredom and all the inconveniences during this period of isolation, we can choose to reframe our thoughts by spendimg our time meaningfully. Knowing that a heart can be filled with joy every day, not just the easy days. 

With that in mind, here’s 10 #stayhome activities that I’ve been up to lately, to share and spread some positivity 🙂

It’s been 1 year in Switzerland. We are already into the end of February 2020, and the freshness of the new year is starting to wear off. Belated as it is, I wanted to write this reflection post to look back on 2019.

The beautiful thing about recounting the year is the ability to see what you were blind to in the midst of it. The lessons learned, the perspective gathered, and the realisation of how God faithfully carried us through from one season to the next.

2019 was the most significant year in my life, in that it was our first year living abroad in Switzerland! Name any emotion…and I’ve probably experienced it last year. This expat journey brought so much crazy ups and downs, but I’m thankful for every single second of it. Here’s looking back on 12 months of full adventures, growth and milestones, and the reflections along the way.