winter summer winter

mostly eating, hibernating, traveling, and savoring sunlight

Jan 30, 2026

Hi friends,

Some of my close friends asked me when my next Substack post is coming out…which shocked me because…my writing is… in demand? I did not know you all actually look forward to my rambles and all the stuff I get up to. Thank you!!!

As the title of this letter alludes to, the past 6-8 weeks have been hectic. My busy schedule revolves around the typical events of the winter season: spending the holidays with family, returning to Singapore, sleeping in planes, trains, and cars, and always looking ahead. If anyone cares to psycho-analyze me, I probably don’t know how to take a proper break, but I can still manage to sleep for 12 hours straight.

I’m not really sure how to organize this post thematically, so here’s a long collection of disjointed photos and thoughts ~ a true ramble ~ that acts more like a briefing rather than something substantive. Write something in the comment section or reply to this post if you have any thoughts, as always. I love reading them!

christmas in france

Alright. First item on the agenda: my parents and brother came all the way from Singapore to spend the holidays in France. It was our first time spending Christmas here, and we decided for the occasion to head down south from Paris to Samoëns, a mountain range in the French Alps. We stayed in an all-inclusive ski lodge at 1600 meters up in the mountain, meaning we could ski in and out for an entire week. The past semester of school caught up to me then, and I spent a day in bed sick. Don’t worry, though, I managed to rally and pull myself together to eat at the buffet every. single. day. (very proud of myself). My brother and I spent the week attending ski lessons ~ he hiked up to the tip top of the mountain and skied down off-piste! The weather was perfect for a one-layered ensemble each day at 0 degrees Celsius, but that meant the snow conditions were slightly icy. The fam and I spent a blissful Christmas reconnecting over what we all love best: skiing. Unfortunately, we were all put to the test on Christmas Eve when we brought my mom up to the top of the mountain on a particularly foggy afternoon. It was then that we realized her fear of heights and skiing down steep slopes was indeed quite serious. She didn’t talk to us for the rest of the day…but she’s ok!!

all the good food i’ve been eating

Next up…I am not going to be humble about this at all. After trying to keep myself alive with my mediocre cooking skills since September, I could not have been happier to eat my heart out. The 5-storey stairs I’ve been climbing every day to my Parisian flat have now gifted me with the lack of guilt for gorging on some incredible meals over the holidays. Here are some highlights:

Singapore: Matcha Kaya Toast, Mango Sago with Shaved Ice (my bestie took me to a local dessert joint), Japanese night at my aunt’s house, Funky cold brew coffee, and not pictured but thoroughly enjoyed ~ Penang food at my mom’s godmother’s restaurant. I’ll take a photo when I’m back there next for you all to see!

Paris: Steak and Chocolate Mousse at Le Bon Georges, Steak at Le Paris 16 (with my friend Helise’s family), and an incredible charcuterie spread at my great aunt’s place ~ that’s a story for another time…

Australia: Crocodile tikka masala! My first time trying croc meat!

friends, family, and summer time in australia + singapore

My friend Eleanor visited me in Singapore on her grand post-grad Asia tour, and I had to show her all the stops. Here’s us reading on the MRT (the train), and walking around Marina Bay. Also pictured is my brother treating me to fro-yo on his army salary. I spent a weekend in the scorching outback heat of 40 degrees Celsius in Dunsborough, Australia, with S’s family, and we had a great time reconnecting despite S catching a nasty cold, which I then caught. I discovered what DayQuil was at the Perth Airport, and damn, American medicine is a whole other ballpark.

back to paris = back to school

And that brings us to the past two weeks. School in Paris has resumed, beginning with a high-profile talk with Denmark and Greenland’s Prime Ministers, who are here to shore up support from Macron. This could not have come at a more opportune time, right after the World Economic Forum was dominated by the Trump delegation arguing for Americans to have the territorial claim of Greenland. Here’s my take in a nutshell on what they said at the talk:

I found it striking that the whole room had such strong support for the PMs of Denmark and Greenland (which is not unwarranted), especially when they asserted that the only way to move on from this is to pursue deeper European integration and bolster its defenses. It’s interesting to be in such a pro-EU environment, and maybe it's my realist perspective, but the talk of developing European defense capabilities runs counter to Europe’s military dependence on the US, leading me to doubt its feasibility. A few quotes I heard from PM Frederikson, found interesting, and then jotted in my notebook are as follows:
“If Europeans can’t protect ourselves, then what are we?” - on Europe's defense capabilities and identity
“Maybe the world is coming back to where it should be.” - on how European liberalism prevailed after Trump backed down from Greenland
“We cannot look at China with the same eyes as before” - on how China is aiding Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian war
“This has proved…that we have the same red lines” - on Denmark and France’s shared beliefs on when push comes to shove, the two countries share similar boundaries of what is tolerable or not

The other highlight of the past week: One of my dearest Parisian friends celebrated her birthday and hosted a fun flat party, where I got to make more local friends who attend other universities in the city. We made Rice Krispies in her apartment to celebrate!

As for the rest of this January/February season, I’m finding some joy in winter hibernation, putting my head down to do schoolwork, and enjoying solo living in my apartment. It’s back to my routines, such as frequenting my local boulangerie.

other random things!

I’ve been listening to: Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide, Noah Rinkler’s After Dark
I’ve been reading: Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, Lion City: Singapore and the Invention of Modern Asia by Jeevan Vasagar.
I’ve been watching: Bridgerton S4 Part 1. I’ve also been deep diving into former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s interviews on antitrust regulation with comedians like Hasan Minhaj and Jon Stewart on YouTube. As always, I’m tuning into Stephen Colbert’s show before it ends in May.

Let me know if you have any recs!

renee's rambles

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