Who are we ? (Lyon)

Hello,

Well I have been thinking about a way to know each others better. Indeed We all joined here, (that's nice !) we've a wonderful way to communicate in both online and now offline mode, BUT...(there often is a "but" :-P ) BUT do we actually know each others ? I'm afraid not (or is it only my impression ?)

So, here we are, I suggest that every of us just introduces him/herself but not in separate threads ; let's do it into one so that it's easier to find out about every of us.
Just write anything (it can be 2 lines as it can be dozens of it if you feel like being a passioned writer !) you want about yourself, your life, your hobbies or whatever which you think can make others know you better, anything that you think can make you closer to us or others closer to you. Anything which can make others understand who you are and what you are.
Just remember that every of us "hiden" behind the screen is just as human as you :-) and who knows, may share the same interests as you. (connections between people require a minimum of common interests, to be willing to go to the same direction and so on, that's just my personal opinion) Of course no one should feel obliged to write or to write "everything", just share what you want.
I think it can be a good idea too to mention why you joined Internations and what you actually are expecting from it. (then Internations can work out to bring you a more customizable world :-)
The heads of Internations are welcomed too if they want :-)

I make the start !
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I was born in Protected content Paris and I was adopted by Lyons and the Beaujolais at the age of 6 so that I got used to this region and especially the city of what it was anciently named as Lugdunum that I like pretty much. However, I'm used to go back and forth to Paris few times a year as a major part of my family lives in there and spending Christmas in the Capital is a kind of "family ritual" or huge reunion where we all can see at least once a year.

I love sports and the first one I played was lawn tennis which I practiced for a couple of years with a club when being a child but my main passion which I embraced a bit later, being 10/11 years old is table tennis. (as a competition sports, not as a leisure) The best sport ever ! I was on summer vacation and it was my first "contact" with the small white celluloid ball, and my first tournament as well. A love at first sight which changed my life :-) A year later I joined a club (around Protected content and 15 teams from department level to pre-national level) and started competition right away. Among the years it became "my life", the kind of "everything about", i was "eating" table tennis, I was sleeping "table tennis", I was thinking "table tennis" lol...
I then improved my level among the years as a player to reach regional level and became the captain of the number 2 team. Later I became as well an active member of the club association by joining the board member as the coach and the responsible of the technical branch as well as the member of the Rhône Protected content Tennis coaches association. I also passed the exams of referee and judge-referee. Worked a couple of years with the Regional Table tennis Association (69, 42, Protected content participated twice at the organization of the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) Pro Tour of Lyons.
That was my "first part of life" and what I somehow consider as my "first career" which I retired from, after 8 years of loyal service. I've always considered this wonderful sport as a human who have brought me a lot, humanly speaking.

My "second part of life" is more about international and intercultural. Although I used to travel a bit abroad when being at school (mostly to Spain actually, 10 times about...lol) I then went to Wales for several weeks as "au pair" (yes it also exists for male even though it's less common) Where I first experienced what actually was living abroad and facing cultural shocks, spending time among the local expats community and also a part-time student of the University of Lampeter.
Then I joined an international workcamp in Japan (more precisely in Hiroshima) to promote International peace Protected content around including 2 persons by country about) A richful experience !
Eventually my major expat experience was in China where I spent over 4 years (1 year as a student to study chinese in Beijing and Tianjin and 3 years to work there, Tianjin and Shanghai) first as a teacher teaching french as a foreign language and then pedagogical manager of a language school.
I came back to France in Protected content setting up an import-export company with an associate based in Shanghai selling chinese products all over the world. Eventually I quitted last december as import-export didn't really fit me. After having re-thought my career path I'm now on my way to be a freelance international consultant (operational from Jan Protected content my main activity althought I already have some small businesses besides. That's it for the Bio :-)

Moreover I also practiced Kung-fu, tai chi chuan and archery. I love nature ("my" great Beaujolais !) I'm fond of Asia. I love travelling of course, movies (mostly sci-fi and fantastic. I've always been a "dreamer" lol !), reading (thrillers and sci-fi ; fav authors : Bernard Werber, David Lodge, Maxime Chattam, Paulo Coelho, Elisabeth George, Kazuo Ishiguro etc.), cooking, IT, psychology, writing (dreaming of publishing a thriller novel someday !) and well....nearly anything else, as I'm very curious about everything so that I enjoy learning new things :-)

At last, why I joined Internations ? Because I love everything related to international and intercultural. Besides I'm a social networkgoer so that I enjoy meeting new people both offline and online and learning from them :-) hoping that I can give too of course ! So that it sounded just obvious to join this network and I'm definitely happy that Malte made me discover it :-)

Who's next ? At your keyboards ! :-) Will you ? ;-)