Where are they now? Sébastien Papineau

Sébastien Papineau worked behind the bar at Verdicchio Rostorante | Enoteca for a year and a half but these days he’s own the other side of the world!

 

1. What time period did you work at Verdicchio and what capacity.

I worked at Verdicchio’s for about a year and half. I worked behind the bar in the restaurant as well as in the event hall and served during the banquets! I practiced and learnt mixology from the master himself, Justin Victor and developped this skill over time and with practice. 

 

2. What lured you to China?

For starters, I have a love for languages and cultures around the world, I’ve had the chance to travel a lot already with my family and look to add more countries under my belt. China became a fascination when I took a Chinese Philosophy class and had the chance to learn aout philosophers like Lao Tseu, Confucius, Sun Tzi, etc. I find that the comparison between the western philosophers and the chinese and eastern philosophers to be almost night and day. In the west we have an obsession with always wanting to explain things that have little to no relevance to the natural order of things or our lives and doing so simply for the purpose of thinking about a concept that is too great for many to understand. Western philosophers tend to offer knowledge that is only accessible to the enlightened few who are able to even fathom such a concept, if that even means anything. Whereas in China, the philosophy which is reflected in daily life, is very naturalistic and is very easy to understand. It also makes a lot of sense since it is applicable to everyday life! Anyways, I met a family through a tutoring agency I work for who travels a good part of the year. they asked me to join them in their travels to assist with security of the kids in a foreign country and to ensure that the operation runs smoothly. By operation I mean getting to their mandarin classes on time and making sure that they get the excercise they need, etc. At the same time I got to take some mandarin classes as well and to experience what it is like to live in China. 

 

3. What are you doing now?

Now, I still work for Tutor Doctor, but I was also able to start my own tutoring company Internation Education Connection. The goal of my business is to bring affordable quality education across the world. Especially when it comes to english as a second language, english being the language of business around the world and all. However in many countries, learning this language is no easy task as the education system is built for one language specifically, China is a prime example of this as it is in other countries.

 

4. How did your experience at Verdicchio shape your skills and career direction? 

Verdicchio’s has taught me many things in regards to culture, communication and education as well. Firstly Willie Gregorini, being a retired teacher, has taught me alot on leadership which is an essential role when you put yourself in front of a class. Mark Gregorini has taught us that food is at the center of most cultures and that it is a great way to communicate, entertain and set the pace for any type of gathering.

 

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I’d like to have added a few stamps into my passport to continue travelling the world for leisure and for pleasure taking in as much culture as I can. I’d also like to be at the front of a classroom passing on the lessons I picked up along the way to the generation of tomorrow.

 

6. If you could do anything in the world, where would you go and what would you do?

That one is hard. I have an old book from National Geographic of all the wonders of the world, man made and natural. I would take a year or two off and go see all of them. In doing so I would want to learn aspects of the culture, more specifically the language or the food!