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AsiaOne talks to Singaporeans abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic and sees how they are doing. Know someone with an interesting story to share? Let us know!
Just a week before her big move to France to be with her boyfriend in May 2020, Singaporean Lee Sihan felt the proverbial door slam shut on her face and her future.
With a growing number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the French government declared a closure and closed its borders, imposing a travel ban on non-European Union (EU) visitors.
The decision unleashed an outpouring of emotions between French citizens in love and their foreign partners, leading to trending hashtags. #LoveIsNotTourism and #LoveIsEssential.
Sihan also shared his predicament and frustrations on social media.
“I had to stay in Singapore hoping the borders would reopen. After three months, hope was waning, so we had to work out an alternative plan for us to meet up,” the 34-year-old shared with AsiaOne.
She met Mathieu Musnier, 37, in her line of work as a food writer and he was the then manager of a whiskey bar in Singapore.
Putting your plan into action
The couple had been looking to take over a hotel in Mathieu’s hometown of Preuilly-sur-claise in the Loire Valley, and the impasse prompted them to change their business plan at full speed.
They rushed to register their company and go through the necessary legal formalities to obtain a work visa so Sihan could hopefully fly.
[[nid:513969]]However, another month passed and Sihan received negative responses about the status of his visa.
Finally, after many months of separation from her boyfriend, the approval came.
“When I got the visa, I cried tears of joy in front of everyone in the office,” said Sihan, who shared that the emotional release came as a shock to his colleagues.
With the logistics of the move settled months earlier, Sihan simply had to book his flight and tie up loose ends at home. Even then, her last week in Singapore was a blur of packing at the last minute and saying goodbye to her close family and friends.
Passage to France
His family, Sihan said, supports his decision to move, even with the increasing number of cases in France at the time.
“I’ve always been a bit of a nomad,” said the former pastry chef, who has had a dream of having her own bed and breakfast since she was 12 years old.
“I have lived part of my life in Dubai and Sydney, as well as a substantial part of it traveling for work and my food diaries. So uprooting was kind of second nature to me.”
“My family was very supportive of me primarily because they could see how happy Mathieu made me and how motivated I was to achieve those lifelong dreams,” said Sihan, whose first abusive marriage in 2016 ended in annulment.
When she arrived in France in September, Sihan spent the next 21 days in quarantine along with Mathieu and her young son from a previous relationship, who had traveled with her from Singapore.
Their quarantine was extended because the 10-year-old boy’s Covid-19 test came back a (false) positive and they took four Covid-19 tests in that time, just to make sure they were safe.
Despite the troubles, Sihan found the respite he needed in the picturesque surroundings of the remote cabin where they stayed.
“[The place] Atop a hill it was quiet, with vines full of plump tomatoes in late summer and shady woods to the rear that you could walk through for hours on end. It was perfect.”
These days, Sihan’s base of operations is in Preuilly-sur-claise, where she and Mathieu are staying with their parents. It is also the city where they intend to install their hotel.
With his professional and personal interest in food and drink, Sihan has, of course, been making the most of his time sampling the French countryside.
That includes drinking the best cuvees the Champagne region has to offer. At the same time, he told us that he is also working with the EU to promote French dairy and wine in Singapore.
[[nid:512786]]A Singaporean in Preuilly-sur-claise
Food is certainly a big part of your fond memories of Singapore, and “having coffee peng and prata in the cafeteria “is something strange.
It’s no wonder the skilled home cook has also been busy trying to recreate these experiences in her French cuisine, including making rendang, chicken curry, and making ondeh ondeh, “much to the delight of my host family.”
Her long-term goal is not just to run her hotel, but to settle down, have kids, and “all the shenanigans.” The home is, for now, comfortably in France.
“In short, I moved out of love and for my future. It’s as simple as that,” he shared.
But with the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating, Sihan is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
She is hoping to have her hotel ready in time for the traditional peak travel season from June to August this year. That is, if everything returns to normal levels prior to Covid.
“Getting the business up and running is our priority, and we must muster all of our courage and willpower to raise the money once the heyday of summer hits.”
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