There is no place like home. I will be the first one to agree with this saying. I have been back in Canada for over a month now and it feels extremely good to be reunited with my people, eating mom’s food, driving my car, speaking French 24/7 and the list goes on! However, I will admit I am already missing some little things about China. As much as I had a culture shock when I first moved to Dongguan, the complexity of the everyday life in China became somewhat easy and enjoyable. Once I have learned to embrace the culture, found a way to communicate and developed friendships with locals, life in China is actually pretty awesome! So, before embarking very soon on my next adventure (more details to come 😉), I thought about dedicating one last post to my dear adoptive country over the past two years. Here are 12 things I will miss about China:

• The “superstar status”: Yes it is weird at the beginning, but there’s something kind of cool about walking in the streets and being stared at like you’re Beyoncé or Angelina Jolie or being asked to take selfies with locals (sometimes even without any notice)! Talk about an ego booster! 😎

• Being able to wear your PJ to the cinema, sing your heart out in the middle of the street, slurp your soup in a fancy restaurant, have a beer in a Didi (Chinese version of Uber)… you can pretty much do any (legal) thing you want in public. With the massive amount of people everywhere, all the time, Chinese don’t seem to bother much about what others think. 👯

• That my Mandarin was always “Hen Hao” (“very good”), although it was very limited to my own standard! Chinese will always appreciate and acknowledge any foreigner trying to speak their language (even if the only thing you say is “Ni Hao” or “Xiè xiè”!). ✌🏻

• Cheap food! I am already missing getting yummy dim sum, steaming hot pot or fresh seasonal fruits at every corner of the streets for basically nothing! 😋

• Buying alcohol anywhere, at any time of the day! I surely miss those 7-Eleven pre-drinks and afterparties! 🍻

Typical Chinese dinner 😋

7-Eleven parties in Hong Kong!

Trying some cupping therapy! 🔥

• One hour massage for 10$, yes please! A-N-Y-T-I-M-E! And let’s not forget to mention those massage parlours where you can book a private room with your girlfriends and get your back and feet pampered while watching a movie, munching on fruits and sipping milk tea! Alleluia! 🙌🏻

• Taobao, China’s version of Amazon, where you can order anything online (and I mean anything….a plane, a live alpaca, breast milk soap, a collar that allows your dog to speak, a cow brain… and I’m keeping it PG-13 here!) and have it the next day or so. 💁

• WeChat, China’s ultimate cellphone application used by everyone, to do everything: messaging, social media, banking, book your cinema ticket, order a taxi… and the list goes on. Chinese are definitely a step ahead on technology! 📱

• Having an “Ayi” (housekeeper) that can basically do everything for you (cleaning, cooking, shopping) for about 6$ an hour. It’s so easy to become lazy in China… 🙄 (The translation of the word “Ayi” is literary “Aunt” but it is also commonly used to say a “housekeeper”)

• Having students named Apple, Sunny, Candy, Coco, Bobo… always put a smile on my face. Scolding a student named Angel is quite funny I must say! 🙃 (For those who didn’t know, Chinese usually choose their ‘English name’ when they are still a kid…. hence the colorful, exotic names!)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gan Bei! 🍻

Couchsurfing friends in Beijing

• The beautiful friendships I have developed. China is probably the easiest place on earth to make new friends (all Chinese want to have a Laowai* bestie!) and it’s the best way to get immersed in the culture as well! You get invited to family gatherings, weddings, Chinese New Year dinners, KTV (karaoke) sessions, hiking trips and they will spoil you all the time with presents (on absolutely any occasion!). Guys, if you don’t have a Chinese friend yet, better look for one! 👭 *Laowai stands for « foreigner »

• And finally, I will surely miss the joy of living of Chinese. Either if it’s with family, friends or colleagues, they do love to gather, eat, drink, laugh and enjoy life. When in China, you’re off for a good time! Friendly tip: Never refuse an invitation to “Gan Bei!” 🍻 (« Cheers! » literary « Bottoms up! »)

So for one last time, thank you China for the beautiful memories and the countless selfies I was forced to take… You are one pretty unique place to live and I will surely never forget you! ❤️

One of my life philosophies is to constantly challenge myself while striving to be the best person I can be. To be able to grow as human being, we must learn to reflect on the past in order to plan for the future. I have learned over the last few years the importance of setting goals as well as reflecting on myself. Discovering and accepting our weaknesses and strengths lead us to become a better person while guiding us in the right direction. I constantly have a personal objective to work for or an event to look forward to, whether it is to train for a race or to plan my next trip. It is my way of keeping me happy, passionate and driven.

This year, I decided to teach my students the importance of reflecting on themselves as well as the value of setting goals. I did this reflecting activity with my classes at the beginning of January: Everyone wrote a list of their achievements and important events of 2017. Then, we envisaged our 2018 year by completing a list of writing prompts. We wrote everything on bits of paper that we posted on the classroom walls; acting as a reminder for the rest of the school year.

I thought about sharing with you my own personal reflections of this activity.

My year 2017 in a nutshell…

1. I ran my first ultra-marathon
2. I got my Advanced scuba diving course
3. I became a vegetarian at home (and I’ve been improving a lot my cooking skills!)
4. I have been meditating on a regular basis (and have introduced this practice in a few of my classes)
5. I learned over 150 Chinese Characters (I am aiming to complete my ‘300 course’ by the end of the year)
6. I attended the Category 2 of the IB Language B workshop in Jakarta
7. I commuted to work by bike (almost) every single day (rain or shine, frost or flood!)
8. I learned how to play rugby and played my first contact game
9. I experienced simplicity, openness and mindfulness at Buddhafield Festival
10. I changed decade!

2017 was… Mind-opening.

A quote that best represents my 2017 year: Surrender to what is, let go of what was, have faith in what will be. -Buddha

Lantau 50 ultramarathon

Finally Advanced Certified!

Buddhafield Festival

In 2018…

• I want to go… on a silent retreat for the first time.
• I want to do more…ultramarathons! Yes, I am hooked.
• I want to do less… shopping. I want to reduce my consumption habits and move towards a minimalist lifestyle.
• I want to read… The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Beach by Alex Garland and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• I want to get… a tattoo!
• I want to improve… my endurance. Yup, i want to be able to run for longer.
• I want to change… my eating habits. I’m aiming to become a complete vegetarian by the end of the year! (Thank you to my inspiring sister!)
• I want to learn… how to shuffle (dance) properly!
• I want to be… more present and attentively listen to others. “The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention.”
• I want to imagine… falling in love.

A quote that will represent my 2018 year: Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself. -Oprah Winfrey

2018 will be …. Enriching.

It has been 3 years since I crossed the finish line of my last triathlon, the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. I used to be a pretty serious long distance triathlete/runner; getting up at 6am every morning, training 7 days a week, racing every month. It was my passion, my life. I put that lifestyle on standby when I decided to live abroad. However, my inner competitive athlete recently surfaced, eager to face a new challenge, to cross a new finish line. This is when the idea of running my first ultra-marathon came up. Without thinking too much, I signed up for the Lantau 50, a 54km trail run on the beautiful Lantau island in Hong Kong. I had 2 months to prepare for a running course that is renowned to be one of the most difficult in Asia (something I was thankfully not aware of before the race!). Go big or go home..

Dongguan is unfortunately not the best city to train for an ultra-marathon. It’s a “normal” Chinese size city of 8 millions, where the pollution, the traffic and mostly the lack of trails made it difficult to prepare properly for this kind of race. I did the best I could with what I got: a few 40km+ runs (mostly on roads), one 24km trail running race in HK and lots of stairs repeat (living on the 25th floor of my building helped!). I still felt good leading up to the race.

Lantau Peak

One step at a time!

The course consists of a 54km run along the very scenic Lantau trail, combining a variety of terrains (uphill, downhill, natural trails, stone steps, wooden stairs, roads) and going over the island’s highest peaks, Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak, for a total elevation gain of 3,500m. To put it briefly, Lantau 50 was NOT what I expected! It was much hillier, much longer and much harder than what I have imagined! Regardless, I crossed the finish line in 9h06, completely exhausted, but extremely proud of myself. Since it was my first ultra, I didn’t have much expectations except to finish. I learned a lot from that race, and one thing I surely know: it definitely won’t be the last one!

What I nailed:

-Pacing: This is one of my strength in training and races. I knew it would be a long day so I hold back for the first half of the race, I took it easy on the uphill, ran the downhills and still managed to ‘sprint’ the last km’s of the race!

-Nutrition: I ate and drank constantly, making sure I was well hydrated and that I kept that sugar level up! And I saved my favourite treat (a Snickers bar) for that last endless hour!

-Positive attitude: Just like an Ironman, an ultra-marathon requires as much physical than mental strength. I knew I would go through a rollercoaster of emotions. In those moments of doubts and weakness, my plan was to slow down if needed (but never dare to stop!), find a positive distraction (listen to music, chat with another runner, enjoy the scenery), look ahead and keep on running and running until that finish line.

What I could have done better:

-Train by time and not by distance (my longest training run of 4h didn’t help much for my 9h race!)

-There is no such thing as doing too much hill or stair repeats! (Especially for races in Hong Kong!)

-Get proper trail running shoes! (I not only destroyed my poor little running shoes but my feet were blistered and sore for over a week!)

-Duct tape does not fix everything! (I had to get a new camelback after mine fell apart…)

So, what’s next? A 100km 3 day ultra-marathon in Lijiang (Yunnan province in China) in April! Time to hit the trails!

Breaking news: Juliane Lacroix has officially resigned from her teaching position in Ottawa.

It’s official, I left my job. Yes, I left my work security. Yes, I left my pension. Yes, I’m almost 30. And yes, it feels great! 🙂

Earlier this year, I had to make the important decision of renewing my contract in Dongguan or finally coming back to my teaching position in Canada. One more time, I took the leap of faith.

Why?

It’s quite simple, I found the perfect job! I get to live in a new country every two year, I have the chance to work with incredible teachers and students from all around the world, I have way too many holidays (= travel, travel, travel!), AND I get paid to do so! 😀 To be honest, the decision wasn’t that difficult, but I’ll admit I was a little nervous announcing the news to my parents.

First thing my mom asked me:

-“Are you happy with your decision?”

-“Yes, of course!”

-“Then, we are happy for you! Congratulations on this new life path!”

My dad’s answer:

-“Under one condition, next time please pick a country we haven’t visited yet!”

God, I love them. Thank you mom and dad for being the most supportive parents a daughter can ask for. You are the reason I’m here now. You are the reason I became this independent, fulfilled woman. Merci! xo

Yes, I did resign from my job in Ottawa but for me it’s no big deal. I’m not saying goodbye to my country, my family, my friends. I’m just moving abroad for a few years, doing what I love, doing what makes me happy. Maybe I’ll be back after two years and I’ll have to start over, and it’s ok. Or maybe I will love this lifestyle too much that I will keep teaching and traveling abroad for the next 15 years! Who knows? Who cares? I’m living one year at a time for the first time in my life and it feels great. No stress, no pressure, no expectation, just focusing on enjoying life as much as I can.

It’s never to late to make life changing decisions, trust me. If you want to change something in your life, you can do it. It’s ok to take risk. It’s ok to listen to your heart. It’s ok to change path. This is what life is all about. This is how we grow as human beings. There will always be some excuses, so do yourself a favor, please don’t wait. There’s no time for this. We have only one life to live, make sure to live it well. #yolo #cheesypost

Great things never came from comfort zones.