'I moved to France during the Covid-19 pandemic for love and for my future'

AsiaOne speaks to Singaporeans who are overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic and see how they are coping. Know someone with an interesting story to share? Let us know!

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Just a week before she was due to make her big move to France to be with her boyfriend in May 2020, Singaporean Lee Sihan felt the proverbial door slam shut in her face and on her future.

With an escalating number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the French government declared a lockdown and closed its borders, imposing a travel ban on non-European Union (EU) visitors.

The decision triggered an outpouring of emotions from lovelorn French nationals and their foreign partners, leading to the trending hashtags #LoveIsNotTourism and #LoveIsEssential.

Sihan, too, shared her predicament and frustrations on social media.

"I had to stay put in Singapore with the hope that the borders would re-open. After three months, hope was diminishing so we had to work on an alternative plan for us to be reunited," 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 whisky bar in Singapore.

Putting their 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 spurred them to shift their business plan into high gear. 

They hurried to register their company and perform the required legalities to get hold of a working visa so that Sihan could, hopefully, fly over.

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However, another month passed and Sihan was met with negative replies regarding the status of her visa.

Finally, after many months of separation from her beau, the approval came through. 

"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 her colleagues.

With the logistics of the move already settled months before, Sihan simply had to book her flight and tie up loose ends at home. Even then, her final week in Singapore was a blur of last-minute packing and bidding her close family and friends goodbye.

Passage to France 

Her family, Sihan said, is supportive of her decision to relocate, even with the surging number of cases in France at the time. 

"I've always been somewhat of a nomad," said the former pastry chef, who has harboured dreams of owning her own bed and breakfast since she was 12.  

"I've lived portions of my life in Dubai and Sydney, as well as a substantial part of it travelling for work and my food journals. Hence, the uprooting was sort of second nature to me."

"My family was very supportive mainly because they could see how happy Mathieu made me and how motivated I was towards achieving those lifelong dreams," said Sihan, whose abusive first 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 his young son from a previous relationship, who'd travelled together with her from Singapore.

Their quarantine was extended because the 10-year-old's Covid-19 test returned a (false) positive and they took four Covid-19 tests in that time, just to be sure they were in the clear.

Despite the blips, Sihan found the respite she needed in the picturesque surroundings of the remote cottage where they stayed in.

"[The place] up on a hill was tranquil, with vines heavy with plump tomatoes in the late summer and shady woods in the back that you could wander in for hours on end. It was perfect."

These days, Sihan's home base is in Preuilly-sur-claise, where she and Mathieu are staying with his parents. It's also the town where they intend to set up their hotel.

With her professional and personal interest in food and drink, Sihan has, of course, been making the most of her time tasting the French countryside.

That includes imbibing the best cuvees that the region of Champagne has to offer. At the same time, she told us that she is also working with the EU to promote French dairy products and wine in Singapore.

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A Singaporean in Preuilly-sur-claise

Food is undoubtedly a big part of her fond memories of Singapore, and "having kopi peng and prata at the coffee shop" is one thing that she misses.

It is no wonder the capable home cook has also been busy trying to recreate these experiences in her French kitchen, including cooking rendang, chicken curry, and making ondeh ondeh, "much to the delight of my host family".

Her long-term goal is not just to manage their hotel, but to settle down, have kids and "all the shenanigans". Home is, for now, comfortably in France.

"In short, I moved for love and my future. It's as simple as that," she shared.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating, Sihan is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

She is holding out hope of having their hotel ready in time for the traditional peak travel season of June to August this year. That is, if everything returns to pre-Covid levels of normality.

"Our priority is in getting the business up and running, and we must summon all our courage and willpower to rake in the money once the height of summer hits."

candicecai@asiaone.com