Slice Of Life

Tell us a bit about yourself!
I’m Jean, and I’m currently working in the education industry. I’ve travelled the world quite a bit, and have previously lived in Japan and Germany, though I’ve since moved back to Singapore to be closer to my parents.

Have you always been working in education?
I’m coming up to my fourth consecutive year in the industry, though I’ve been in education on and off for quite a while. Before I decided to move overseas, I was working in NUS. Now that I’m back, I’m teaching in an international school, which I love as I’m able to use all the languages I picked up in my time abroad. I currently speak four languages—English, Chinese, Japanese, and German.

Wow, that’s really impressive! Do you find that your personality or tone of voice changes when you’re speaking in different languages?
Yes, especially when I’m speaking Japanese. Because I stayed there for a while, I know the culture pretty deep, so when I speak Japanese, it’ll be like more zen and chill, just like Japanese life. I’ve also heard that when I speak English, I sound fiercer than when I speak Japanese or Chinese.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I do a lot of sports because I like to challenge myself. Some of my favourites are pole dancing, body blast workouts, running, walking, and swimming. I also used to teach yoga.

I also like drinking alcohol whenever I can. My go-to drink is beer, if not then wine. I started drinking in Germany, where having a beer in the afternoon in completely normal.

I’ve done so many things throughout my life, which explains why I feel so old now (laughs).

We love how you’ve done it all! What’s one thing people might not know about you?
I’m an open book so a lot of people know a lot about me. That’s a fun fact—there’re no secrets about me.