The QuaranTEENS

It’s the end of May, and it’s time to find out if we’re going back to school! Indeed, it seems to me that tomorrow a minister is going to speak (maybe Édouard Philippe or Jean-Michel Blanquer) to announce how the next steps are going to be taken. So we’re going to know about the classes, if we’re going to go back, and if so, how will it go? Half day by half day? Full days? By whole class or by group?

There’s a lot of uncertainty and we’ll know more tomorrow.
Personally I find it’s pretty hard to predict if we’re going to go back to class or not. I think it’s possible, but that it won’t be beneficial: we’ll learn a little bit, and do a lot of exams I think. We’ll have to do the classes with masks… I think it’s going to be hard to stay focused, or at least it’s going to be very constraining.I want to go back, but more to see my classmates and the teachers, than to do tests.

This week I don’t have much to say, I’m running out of ideas, but I’m still posting! See you next week!

Yes, we’re already done with quarantine, for now. However, many measures remain the same, and do not intend to change at this time. Until when will the mask be mandatory? What about borders? And the classes?
For the moment, and in the month until the start of the school year, nothing will return to “normality”, and perhaps it never will return.
In fact, several of these measures settle for certain people or companies. For example, stores that sell the masks at an exorbitant price, or more expensive telephone plans but which allow to make fluid video calls. Many are trying to take advantage of the situation.

And the list goes on, some markets selling antibacterial gels per liter, expensive tests, disinfectants that sell much more expensive because they “eradicate” the virus, etc.

But it’s not just the stores that are taking advantage of the situation. I have come across many more police officers than usual, who watch every action of people. I don’t want to attack the government, but I find it scandalous that the police jump on people, at the slightest error, like raptors, in order to steal their 135 euros.

in the busier streets, I met a ton of police at each street crossing, who fined cyclists, drivers, and others who did not respect the law. I mean, that’s their role, but especially I see too many people taking fines for things that, before the forties, we did without fear.

In short, today, the problem is no longer based on the virus, but on the actions that the government, businesses, and the rest of the world are taking in response to this situation, and it is not surprising that people are trying to take advantage of the situation.

Dear future Beatriz,  

We are currently Wednesday, May 27^th, in the midst of a covid-19 pandemic. I am going to tell you what I miss the most. 

Our life changed and we are learning to live differently. I miss my old life, the life where I was more free.  
I miss the time we could go out without worrying about our health, the time we were physically more free.  

May be the coronavirus is still there, or maybe not. I don’t know how is your life but I want to tell you that you must enjoy all the moments with your family or with your friends.  

Ohhh, I almost forgot … never give up on your dreams! 

Kisses 😘 

This week, I bike in Paris. It was really pleasant because since the confinement there are much less cars in Paris. I did Vélib because I do not have a bike at home and it turns out that it is quite practical.

During my ride, I saw that there were a lot of bikes compared to before this coronavirus crisis. However, I could see that people are now using their own bikes and are not using the Vélibs much. I can imagine that it is because of the fear they have around the virus, and the fear of being infected. It is true that people have become quite paranoid. I respect the safety rules and suddenly, I do not think I run a big risk. But people are afraid, which is quite paradoxical knowing that they are not afraid to go queuing for hours to go to buy clothes at Zara for example.

In any case, the fact that there are more bikes and less cars does a lot of good for the environment and that is already a very good point. To go further, there are measures that have been taken for the environment that sound good to me. For example, rue de Rivoli is closed to cars for the moment, except for buses and taxis. This makes that in addition to being pleasant for the people who wander, it is important for the planet.

For me, confinement is not a hard and complicated ordeal and I have put in place a certain routine and tips to make the most of this situation which allows us to have time for ourselves, to reflect and enjoy our family.
I wake up at 8:30 a.m. all week except weekends to keep up with the pace while focusing on weekends to differentiate each week.
I recommend to do some sport. Regularly, like once a day that you can do at home like fitness. Today, there are many You Tube videos with tutorials from different sports that you can practice at home. Practicing sport allows you to clear your mind and keep a certain muscle tone. It’s really important when you’re locked up for days.
And every week, you can establish a to-do list for the week which allows you to have goals to achieve regularly. For example, you can program to store the things stored for years in the attic, the cellar or the bottom of your cupboards.

After 2 months of confinement I see on networks how people are fed up with that situation.

But personally, I live well this confinement, this new way of living even if there are negative points.

Among other things, it allows you to have time for yourself, and especially not to be rushed all day long.

It is an opportunity to be able to take advantage of the present moment and to be able to find yourself with yourself, to take stock of our desires and what we want for the future, but also to take care of ourselves, to be able to play sports. Of course, I am lucky to have a garden that allows me to get some fresh air, to play sports at all hours while continuing to protect myself.

Obviously the biggest negative point of this confinement is of course the lack of direct social contact: meeting friends, laughing in a group, but also family reunions…

Last week nothing really changed for me.

I continued to visit castles in Ile de France. On Sunday, I visited the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte. What a beautiful castle ! When I arrived in front of it, my first impression was to see a masterpiece.  As you need tickets (that you have to reserve by internet), few people have them and therefore there are not many people in the castle. Therefore, we had room and time to visit.

Otherwise I tried to go and see some friends, but it was not so easy because some of them were still afraid of coronavirus. When I was with friends, it was good because it has been a long time since we did not spend time together and we had a lot of things to share but we missed time to talk about everything.

Since a few days now, temperatures have significantly risen and it is really nice to go out except for doing sports because the heat becomes quickly painful. Moreover with the rise in temperatures the virus could disappear faster and normal life could be back soon! According to an article that I read, there is 75% chance that 2020 should be the warmest year during the last 140 years.

I have also met some of my family members and it was really nice because we could eat, talk and share nice moments all together. As many people, we talked a lot about series! I effectively think that everybody spent watching movies and series. I go out more and more but I am always careful and keep a safe distance. When I walk around, I stay far enough away from people and try to keep my hands clean as long as possible.

This week was full of stress, with the last homework before the last class council, the results of the courseup that will decide our future and other personal stresses. For several days, all my wishes were on the waiting list, but I was not so badly ranked with the number of people who had applied for the same studies. I’m writing this post a little ahead of time, so I don’t know when I’ll have applications.

During the week the weather was great, I took the opportunity to sunbathe, I could already see myself in summer on the beach, only it’s not the case, I still have to wait more than a month. #Sad

To get some fresh air, with my parents we went to my aunt’s house who lives outside the city, she has a big garden, a swimming pool and paths not far away to go for a walk. It’s a change from my building in Paris, even though I’m very attached to it.

Good afternoon. Today I just wanted to ask you what were your plans for the future: studies, professional life, personal things you think you could and maybe will improve. Concerning studies, I am 99.9% sure I’m going to do a CPGE (Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Écoles or 2-3 relatively hard years before going to an engineering school) and then an engineering school where I would like to study electronics, mainly. Then, I guess apply for an electronician’s or electronic engineer’s job and a few years later create my own startup that I have been thinking about for years, which will be about R&D, innovation and many projects. I hope, like anyone else I guess, to succeed as much as I can.

For now, Parcoursup is very stressful. Not only for the students, but apparently for mothers (if I’m living it, anyone might as well be living with it too), brothers, sisters, fathers etc. I actually know exactly that I wanted to do a CPGE, and initially my mother said “ok”, at least she agreed. But 3 days before I clicked on the “confirm” button for the admission proposition for I wanted, she started going MENTAL (which is common, but she never gets as angry as she was this time) because I had 2 choices: CPGE, or a course a school proposed that clearly had hundreds of advantages over CPGE. No one understood why I wanted CPGE more than the other choice, it wasn’t totally clear to me either. But I chose want I wanted to do anyway, and my mother’s reaction to that was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Anyway, how about leaving a comment about what you want to do for studies, in your professional life, when you think you’re going to buy in your own place, how it would look like, etc. I mean just tell your life plans and projects!

See you soon!

Brahms

Since the beginning of deconfinement my life hasn’t changed that much. We can go out, etc… but I’ve still kept my old habits. Having spent a lot of time on Netflix, I have the impression that there is nothing to see anymore, whereas it’s the opposite: it’s the same impression when you open a full fridge but you don’t take anything…

My sister came to Paris (she was with my father, my stepmother and my brother in a village) to see my mother just for a weekend. So I was able to see her and my father too, but they left Paris really quickly. Even though they left, I can call them on FaceTime.

Like Netflix, I listened to a lot of French and American music and so now I listen to Italian rap too, because I have an Italian friend who gives me new music. And even if I don’t understand anything, it’s excellent.

Since Tuesday we received our results on Parcoursup, and for real it shocked me: I didn’t think it was that severe. I have good choices, but I’ve been denied a lot of things too, and I have a lot of expectations too. I’m just waiting to move up the list.

See you next week !