Last Updated on January 15, 2026 by myriamoblogger
Welcome to 2026! On Travelling Notes, let us start the year with a small recap of my fun cultural discoveries of 2025.
Buckle up, here we go!
- I watched La Boum
The 1980 French movie ‘La Boum’, known internationally as ‘The Party’, is somewhat akin to France’s Titanic. Upon its release, it was an instant hit and was widely acclaimed. Even today, people still talk about it. I can use my age as an excuse and say that the movie came out before I was born, so it makes sense that I didn’t jump into it straight away. But growing up in France, I felt a strong sense of FOMO, missing out on this iconic pop culture reference.
So what did I do? I watched it mid-2025, and I was pleasantly surprised! Even though it’s an ’80s rom-com, the acting wasn’t cringy, the screenplay felt modern, and it was entertaining.
“Dreams are my realityyyyyy.”
2. “New Life Begins” with my first Chinese drama
I watched my first Chinese drama, “New Life Begins”!
I’m an OG when it comes to Korean dramas, and I’ve watched many of them, but Chinese shows are new to me. This period drama is about a bubbly and ordinary girl who gets sent to the royal palace to live among princes, or should I say…her prince? (ahhh let me stop haha)
I stopped the drama mid-way, but not because it wasn’t good. It’s a bit of a slow-burn so I will probably get back to it on days when I have nothing to do, and I just want to binge-watch something.
3. Birthday in Margate
I’m really becoming an expert at going away on my birthdays, lol. To be fair, Margate isn’t Hanoi, where I travelled to for my 30th birthday, but what’s fantastic is that I didn’t have to travel far this time: Margate is less than two hours away from where I live!
Margate is a seaside town located in the District of Kent, England’s South East. It is known for its famous beach, Margate Main Sands (it’s free!), its cool streets (Margate Old Town, I see you!) and its holiday vibes, most especially on hot summer days.
There is also plenty of good food to eat in Margate. If you’re visiting, I recommend Buoy and Oyster, a 4.5 restaurant known for its fresh seafood, fish and chips, and beautiful beachfront views. For the food, of course, I couldn’t resist the fish and chips. The chips were deliciously chunky, and the fish was so fresh it literally melted in my mouth. It’s sad I couldn’t finish my plate as the portions were too generous, but how I wish I could go back and finish that food now.
4. Made a video on my experience being a third culture kid
The other day, I learnt that I could call myself a “Third Culture Kid”. The internet describes the term as “someone who has spent a significant part of their developmental years in a culture different from their parents’ culture or passport country. They develop a ‘third culture’, a unique identity that blends their parents’ culture with the culture(s) in which they grew up.“
My parents are from Ghana, I was born in France, and I moved to the UK as a 13-year-old. To say the least, I did not grow up in a single culture.
So, I made a video talking about this.
Now, what are your recent cultural discoveries? And, what are you looking forward to in 2026?
Cheers to more fun discoveries in 2026!
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