Well today is the last humpday here in Mauritius. I keep forgetting that christmas is next week because I keep thinking about the fact that I have to hit the ground running as soon as I get home.
My flight leaves at midnight on Saturday night and I will get in to Dubai at 5:30 am on Sunday morning. I then fly from Dubai to New York and arrive in the country (in theory) at 1:50. My flight from NYC to Pittsburgh was originally supposed to leave at 8:15 on Sunday night and get in around 10 or so. Jet Blue changed it so now the flight is leaving at 3:20 and will arrive in Pittsburgh at 5:15. I hope that I can get through customs in time to catch it - I might scream if I miss that flight and have to be stuck at JFK and not home in time for family dinner.
I left the office yesterday afternoon at around 5 or so and got home at around 6. Audrey and I sat around trying to figure out a jumbo crossword puzzle when Rosaline came over to hang out and have dinner.
Audrey got a sad phone call that her dad was not doing well. He suffers from Alzheimer's disease and at press time he is passing his last moments here on earth. It is painful to see Audrey so upset as she has always been particularly close to her dad. They are in the middle of trying to locate a priest do the last rites. So it is a difficult time - especially before christmas.
Rosaline stayed and ate dinner with Emmanuel, Benjamin, and I. Audrey came home a bit later and ate, chatted for awhile, and went to bed.
I woke up this morning and realized yet again that I am one day closer to leaving - the time passes incredibly fast here. But I have receive several messages from people using various forms of technology saying that they can't wait for me to come home! One chapter is about to close and another one is about to start.
Alex and I had lunch today and it is sad that it is one of our last together. Neither of us have packed but both of us have plane tickets saying that we are supposed to leave at a specific time. It will get done eventually we decided.
I expect this afternoon to be somewhat busy as I wrap things up here at work and I think of all that I have to do before I leave....
Some little things:
-I was telling the story at dinner last night about how Mom and Steve asked what my favorite part of my first trip to Europe was - I was 9 - I said that the moving sidewalks in the airport (no one understood when i said "sidewalk" as I said it with my american accent instead of the british way)
-I keep getting asked to stay here through christmas and the new year - somehow I don't think that the family would like that a whole lot
More later...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Last Tuesday in Mauritius
If you have been keeping up then you may gather that the titles of this week's post will all be somewhat similar - i.e. they will follow the same theme.
My Tuesdays normally aren't anything special as you might remember. I usually have nothing exciting to report and my life's happenings since Monday are normally mundane and uninteresting.
Today is really no exception - I just am feeling reflective and I find that when I have a lot of thoughts running through my head that it is best that I document them somehow.
I felt awful yesterday so I went home an hour early - I could not get any work done and my stomach and head hurt like crazy. So I left at around 4 and made my daily stop at the grocery store. I arrived home and lied down to read and relax. Before I knew it, I had dosed off.
I awoke to my phone ringing - Mom wanting to say hello and catch up. I find that I am spending less time on the phone as it is expensive to call and I often forget to buy calling cards - I text message like a crazy person however. Steve called a few minutes later wanting to go over a few things related to my departure and what my plans were as starting school was concerned. After reading again, I soon dozed off for about 45 min to an hour.
I am one of those people that can't stand when things intangible things in my life are in disorder as they seem to be right now. I always fear that I will not accomplish what I need to accomplish but I find comfort when I give myself a pep talk (ok now I sound psychotic) that I will surely get things done. Lists have always helped a lot too - I have so many floating around my desk and in my purse. It is way of turning things from intangible to tangible - thus further enabling my control freak ways as one of the things that I hate most is to ask for help - even though I shouldn't I view it as some sort of weakness. I guess I still have to grow up a little...
Emmanuel came back from his weekend in Reunion yesterday and the 4 of us (Audrey, Emmanual, Benjamin, and I) had a quiet dinner of lamb and vegetables - very tasty. Benjamin is an avid football (soccer) fan and there seems to be a game every day - so he excuses himself from the table. The rest of us sat around for awhile as we normally do.
I eventually climbed into bed at around 11. Again, thoughts of everything were running through my head - in english and in french - what I have to do, what souvenirs I still have to get, sadness that I am leaving, moving to a new apt, etc.
I eventually fell asleep and sure enough the morning came and it was time for me to get up, shower, and head to the office. I spent the morning working on my final project and answering emails.
Alex was occupied for lunch today so I went in search of a sandwich. I ran into my friend Kannen en route who was also going in search of something to eat. He asked me if I had ever been to the central market in Port Louis. When I said no he offered to show me.
We took the short walk and found ourselves among a plethora of different types of fruits and vegetables and various venders trying to get our attention. He suggested we get a juice from a juice bar that he knew about. I have never seen so many kinds of juices available in my life - over 20.
We both decided on "tropical" which I'm guessing is a mix of orange juice, pineapple, passion fruit, and banana. It is completely fresh and the only ingredients are the various blended fruits.
We left the market, grabbed a quick sandwich, and braved the heat on the walk back to the office.
Some little things:
-Some vender called me "Princess" to get my attention
-Kannen ran into some friends with his and they all asked him who the girl he was with was - this has never once happened in the thousand times that I have eaten lunch with Alex
-over the weekend I was talking to a south african at the BBQ at Alex's - my friend Jean - Francois on hearing this said he just wanted to speak english with me the rest of the day - when I started in my rapid fire english (in my american accent) he gave up and switched back to french
-Alex's friend Toby said on Friday that he used to date a Latina but he forgot what country her family was from - the only thing he could remember was that she was from New Jersey - to which I responded "gross"
More later....
My Tuesdays normally aren't anything special as you might remember. I usually have nothing exciting to report and my life's happenings since Monday are normally mundane and uninteresting.
Today is really no exception - I just am feeling reflective and I find that when I have a lot of thoughts running through my head that it is best that I document them somehow.
I felt awful yesterday so I went home an hour early - I could not get any work done and my stomach and head hurt like crazy. So I left at around 4 and made my daily stop at the grocery store. I arrived home and lied down to read and relax. Before I knew it, I had dosed off.
I awoke to my phone ringing - Mom wanting to say hello and catch up. I find that I am spending less time on the phone as it is expensive to call and I often forget to buy calling cards - I text message like a crazy person however. Steve called a few minutes later wanting to go over a few things related to my departure and what my plans were as starting school was concerned. After reading again, I soon dozed off for about 45 min to an hour.
I am one of those people that can't stand when things intangible things in my life are in disorder as they seem to be right now. I always fear that I will not accomplish what I need to accomplish but I find comfort when I give myself a pep talk (ok now I sound psychotic) that I will surely get things done. Lists have always helped a lot too - I have so many floating around my desk and in my purse. It is way of turning things from intangible to tangible - thus further enabling my control freak ways as one of the things that I hate most is to ask for help - even though I shouldn't I view it as some sort of weakness. I guess I still have to grow up a little...
Emmanuel came back from his weekend in Reunion yesterday and the 4 of us (Audrey, Emmanual, Benjamin, and I) had a quiet dinner of lamb and vegetables - very tasty. Benjamin is an avid football (soccer) fan and there seems to be a game every day - so he excuses himself from the table. The rest of us sat around for awhile as we normally do.
I eventually climbed into bed at around 11. Again, thoughts of everything were running through my head - in english and in french - what I have to do, what souvenirs I still have to get, sadness that I am leaving, moving to a new apt, etc.
I eventually fell asleep and sure enough the morning came and it was time for me to get up, shower, and head to the office. I spent the morning working on my final project and answering emails.
Alex was occupied for lunch today so I went in search of a sandwich. I ran into my friend Kannen en route who was also going in search of something to eat. He asked me if I had ever been to the central market in Port Louis. When I said no he offered to show me.
We took the short walk and found ourselves among a plethora of different types of fruits and vegetables and various venders trying to get our attention. He suggested we get a juice from a juice bar that he knew about. I have never seen so many kinds of juices available in my life - over 20.
We both decided on "tropical" which I'm guessing is a mix of orange juice, pineapple, passion fruit, and banana. It is completely fresh and the only ingredients are the various blended fruits.
We left the market, grabbed a quick sandwich, and braved the heat on the walk back to the office.
Some little things:
-Some vender called me "Princess" to get my attention
-Kannen ran into some friends with his and they all asked him who the girl he was with was - this has never once happened in the thousand times that I have eaten lunch with Alex
-over the weekend I was talking to a south african at the BBQ at Alex's - my friend Jean - Francois on hearing this said he just wanted to speak english with me the rest of the day - when I started in my rapid fire english (in my american accent) he gave up and switched back to french
-Alex's friend Toby said on Friday that he used to date a Latina but he forgot what country her family was from - the only thing he could remember was that she was from New Jersey - to which I responded "gross"
More later....
Monday, December 15, 2008
Last Monday in Mauritius
Well I am exhausted today - sickenly so. I had a wonderful last weekend here in Mauritius so it is no surprise to me that I want to keel over right here at my desk. This post may be a bit lengthy...
Friday afternoon was the same as it is every Friday - everybody was itching to get out and go in search of after work cocktails (hey its always 5 o'clock somewhere). It was a particular special happy hour as it was Alex's last as an employee for ATS. He and I arrived first and ran into his friend Toby. We sat with him for awhile and caught up while waiting for the others (hey its island time). Toby had a particularly interesting story to tell as he has only been going out with his girlfriend for two months and is already moving in with her. So we of course gave him a hard time.
The rest of our friends from work arrived about an hour or so later. We had a great time together and Alex actually seemed emotional for once in his life - like he couldn't believe that we all cared about him that much. A bunch of people got together and got a pen engraved for him so that he would remember (fondly) his time with the company. He didn't cry or anything but I imagine he was close..who knows. We all went home around 9:15 as we were all tired and I was home by ten. I heated my dinner in the microwave and went to bed.
I have gotten quite used to waking up at around 7:30 or 8:00 even on weekends. I woke up around 10 on Saturday to a missed call from Carol as we had plans to go shopping in Rose Hill and Quatre Bornes to do our christmas shopping. I groggily answered the phone and told her that I would get up and get dressed and head out.
So I drove out to Pointe Aux Sables where she lives and couldn't quite remember where her house was exactly because there are tons and tons of tiny streets. She eventually found me and we went back so she could get her purse.
We went to Rose Hill and I am a person who has no patience for crowds when it comes to shopping, rapidly found most of everything I needed. She was on a mission to find a dress for a christmas party that she was going to. Nothing at all seemed to work...on top of it all she kept get annoying text messages from her little sister to buy her something.
We ended up leaving Rose Hill to go in search of lunch and more shopping. Neither of us could decide what to eat so we settled on sandwiches. While in Quatre Bornes we ran into Greta who was shopping for her business trip to Madagascar (ATS has offices/factories there). After failing to find THE dress, we gave up and made our way back to Pointe Aux Sables. We stopped at the grocery on the way and ran onto Elizabeth, another coworker. After all this, I did not feel like driving the 25 minutes back to Tamarin so Carol let me hang out at her house for awhile and chat with her family. We went for a short walk where she showed me where her grandmother, various aunts, uncles, and cousins lived.
I left around 7 so I could stop at the grocery store (again) for Audrey. I got home around 8 ish and did not feel like doing anything - I just wanted to enjoy the feeling of getting christmas shopping out of the way as it is one of my least favorite activities. After dinner, Audrey's nephew of sorts (shes good friends with his aunt) Vincent and his girlfriend came over to chat - they are both still in high school. I was too tired to stay up and chat late so I decided to go to bed.
I woke up at around 9:30 on Sunday morning and remembered that I need to go BACK to the store to pick up chicken that Alex had requested for the BBQ at his place that afternoon. It was hell on earth trying to find parking as the parking lot is small - even witnessed a fender bender (no I was not involved).
My only dilemma was trying to decide exactly how much chicken was necessary. I ended up overbuying as it is always good to have more than one needs. I went home and killed time for awhile before taking a shower and getting ready to head to Alex's.
As I was leaving Katheryn and Yannick were coming so I of course stopped to chat for a few minutes as my friend Yannick (Kathryn's son) never goes out and is one of my only friends that I have to make a concerted effort to see here. We chatted for awhile and then headed to Alex's. It was funny because I had never actually been to his house but Hugo had pointed in the vicinity several times - so I took the second right and stopped when I saw Alex's car.
Since I was one of the only ones who was local I was first. Of course I still have yet to learn that everything here actually starts an hour later than the time stated. So everyone else arrived at around 1.
I luckily knew or knew of most everyone there and we spent a great but tiring afternoon of eating, drinking, and swimming. Alex and Hugo were great hosts as they made sure that everyone was having a great time and were comfortable.
We didn't leave until around 8 pm. I was completely exhausted when I got home but forced myself to eat dinner even though all I really wanted to do was go to sleep. I went to bed around 11 or so only to wake up 3 hours later.
I had a very restless night last night as I kept having random thoughts going through my head - my life in Mauritius was flashing before my eyes. It seemed like I had literally thousands of dreams in 3 different languages - english, french, and creole (this was particularly strange as I have great difficulties in understanding creole but I find myself knowing a few words now).
I finally fell back asleep (I think) around 4 or 5 am. I was late coming into the office this morning and later discovered that everyone else was too. Since Greta is in Madagascar, I helped Alex and some others finish wrapping presents and I think (I hope) that we are finished now.
I am feeling just awful right now and want to go home to my bed right now...
Some little things:
-Toby mentioned in conversation that "he was no spring chicken" anymore (hes only 31). I never knew the story before but from what I gathered the term originated in the the UK because at one time there were always lots of hens born in the spring - Alex thought it was funny
-It was fun to have Carol with me at the Suffren on Friday as she was somone to explore with
-I noticed that Carol was wearing 7 jeans on Saturday and asked how much she paid for them - only 800 rupees! That is about $25 for $150-$200 jeans!
-Carol knows everybody - everyone she introduced me to was some sort of cousin - they are everywhere
-I ran into facebook guy on Saturday as well (the guy who was upset that I didn't add him on facebook)
-someone else said "hi kallay" and I of course didn't remember him until Carol told me that I probably met him through Rajnish - I swear I have the hardest time keeping up with everyone's names here
-Carol bought me a present when I wasn't looking even though I told her not too - its a cute little mounted friendship poem
-When we got back to Carol's her sister said that everything was ugly because she was mad that she didn't get anything
-my friends at work continue to think that I will forget them when I go home
-on Sunday I pointed out a house on the side of the mountain in Tamarin where I wanted to live when I was rich one day - Rajnish said that I was already rich because my Dad is good friends with Paris Hilton
-Audrey's sister Pascal, her husband Bruno, and their two kids came over for dinner on Saturday - the most riveting topic of discussion was Britney Spears and her comeback
-someone commented on Sunday that the mauritians were on one side and the europeans were on the other - I said well I am neither so what am I? turns out I am a just a jerk
-the definition of insanity (so I've heard) is the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - I should have know better when trying to get on a float in the pool from the stairs
More later...
Friday afternoon was the same as it is every Friday - everybody was itching to get out and go in search of after work cocktails (hey its always 5 o'clock somewhere). It was a particular special happy hour as it was Alex's last as an employee for ATS. He and I arrived first and ran into his friend Toby. We sat with him for awhile and caught up while waiting for the others (hey its island time). Toby had a particularly interesting story to tell as he has only been going out with his girlfriend for two months and is already moving in with her. So we of course gave him a hard time.
The rest of our friends from work arrived about an hour or so later. We had a great time together and Alex actually seemed emotional for once in his life - like he couldn't believe that we all cared about him that much. A bunch of people got together and got a pen engraved for him so that he would remember (fondly) his time with the company. He didn't cry or anything but I imagine he was close..who knows. We all went home around 9:15 as we were all tired and I was home by ten. I heated my dinner in the microwave and went to bed.
I have gotten quite used to waking up at around 7:30 or 8:00 even on weekends. I woke up around 10 on Saturday to a missed call from Carol as we had plans to go shopping in Rose Hill and Quatre Bornes to do our christmas shopping. I groggily answered the phone and told her that I would get up and get dressed and head out.
So I drove out to Pointe Aux Sables where she lives and couldn't quite remember where her house was exactly because there are tons and tons of tiny streets. She eventually found me and we went back so she could get her purse.
We went to Rose Hill and I am a person who has no patience for crowds when it comes to shopping, rapidly found most of everything I needed. She was on a mission to find a dress for a christmas party that she was going to. Nothing at all seemed to work...on top of it all she kept get annoying text messages from her little sister to buy her something.
We ended up leaving Rose Hill to go in search of lunch and more shopping. Neither of us could decide what to eat so we settled on sandwiches. While in Quatre Bornes we ran into Greta who was shopping for her business trip to Madagascar (ATS has offices/factories there). After failing to find THE dress, we gave up and made our way back to Pointe Aux Sables. We stopped at the grocery on the way and ran onto Elizabeth, another coworker. After all this, I did not feel like driving the 25 minutes back to Tamarin so Carol let me hang out at her house for awhile and chat with her family. We went for a short walk where she showed me where her grandmother, various aunts, uncles, and cousins lived.
I left around 7 so I could stop at the grocery store (again) for Audrey. I got home around 8 ish and did not feel like doing anything - I just wanted to enjoy the feeling of getting christmas shopping out of the way as it is one of my least favorite activities. After dinner, Audrey's nephew of sorts (shes good friends with his aunt) Vincent and his girlfriend came over to chat - they are both still in high school. I was too tired to stay up and chat late so I decided to go to bed.
I woke up at around 9:30 on Sunday morning and remembered that I need to go BACK to the store to pick up chicken that Alex had requested for the BBQ at his place that afternoon. It was hell on earth trying to find parking as the parking lot is small - even witnessed a fender bender (no I was not involved).
My only dilemma was trying to decide exactly how much chicken was necessary. I ended up overbuying as it is always good to have more than one needs. I went home and killed time for awhile before taking a shower and getting ready to head to Alex's.
As I was leaving Katheryn and Yannick were coming so I of course stopped to chat for a few minutes as my friend Yannick (Kathryn's son) never goes out and is one of my only friends that I have to make a concerted effort to see here. We chatted for awhile and then headed to Alex's. It was funny because I had never actually been to his house but Hugo had pointed in the vicinity several times - so I took the second right and stopped when I saw Alex's car.
Since I was one of the only ones who was local I was first. Of course I still have yet to learn that everything here actually starts an hour later than the time stated. So everyone else arrived at around 1.
I luckily knew or knew of most everyone there and we spent a great but tiring afternoon of eating, drinking, and swimming. Alex and Hugo were great hosts as they made sure that everyone was having a great time and were comfortable.
We didn't leave until around 8 pm. I was completely exhausted when I got home but forced myself to eat dinner even though all I really wanted to do was go to sleep. I went to bed around 11 or so only to wake up 3 hours later.
I had a very restless night last night as I kept having random thoughts going through my head - my life in Mauritius was flashing before my eyes. It seemed like I had literally thousands of dreams in 3 different languages - english, french, and creole (this was particularly strange as I have great difficulties in understanding creole but I find myself knowing a few words now).
I finally fell back asleep (I think) around 4 or 5 am. I was late coming into the office this morning and later discovered that everyone else was too. Since Greta is in Madagascar, I helped Alex and some others finish wrapping presents and I think (I hope) that we are finished now.
I am feeling just awful right now and want to go home to my bed right now...
Some little things:
-Toby mentioned in conversation that "he was no spring chicken" anymore (hes only 31). I never knew the story before but from what I gathered the term originated in the the UK because at one time there were always lots of hens born in the spring - Alex thought it was funny
-It was fun to have Carol with me at the Suffren on Friday as she was somone to explore with
-I noticed that Carol was wearing 7 jeans on Saturday and asked how much she paid for them - only 800 rupees! That is about $25 for $150-$200 jeans!
-Carol knows everybody - everyone she introduced me to was some sort of cousin - they are everywhere
-I ran into facebook guy on Saturday as well (the guy who was upset that I didn't add him on facebook)
-someone else said "hi kallay" and I of course didn't remember him until Carol told me that I probably met him through Rajnish - I swear I have the hardest time keeping up with everyone's names here
-Carol bought me a present when I wasn't looking even though I told her not too - its a cute little mounted friendship poem
-When we got back to Carol's her sister said that everything was ugly because she was mad that she didn't get anything
-my friends at work continue to think that I will forget them when I go home
-on Sunday I pointed out a house on the side of the mountain in Tamarin where I wanted to live when I was rich one day - Rajnish said that I was already rich because my Dad is good friends with Paris Hilton
-Audrey's sister Pascal, her husband Bruno, and their two kids came over for dinner on Saturday - the most riveting topic of discussion was Britney Spears and her comeback
-someone commented on Sunday that the mauritians were on one side and the europeans were on the other - I said well I am neither so what am I? turns out I am a just a jerk
-the definition of insanity (so I've heard) is the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - I should have know better when trying to get on a float in the pool from the stairs
More later...
Friday, December 12, 2008
Starting to feel weird
So today is my second to last Friday here in Mauritius. I am starting to feel a bit weird about leaving. On the one hand I can't wait to get home and see everyone but I am really going to miss all of the wonderful people that I have met here. While Mauritius is a beautiful place by itself it is the people that I have met that will make my experience here unforgettable.
Yesterday afternoon was pretty uneventful - it wasn't as hot as it normally so I didn't feel like I was going to die of heat exhaustion. I made considerable progress on my final project of preparing my survey which I am happy about and I am hoping that this afternoon I can do the same thing.
Before I left yesterday I stopped to chat with Jordana for awhile. Her ride was impossibly late so I offered to give her a ride home since she lives just on the way. I love to have people in the car with me from time to time as I it makes the traffic and the driving seem to go by faster (as I have said over and over again, the island is full of the craziest drivers that I have ever seen in my life). I dropped her off and then headed home.
Audrey needed to go to the grocery store because she had to pick up a few things for dinner. We came back and shortly after Rosaline came over for dinner. We just had pasta for dinner last night which was fine by me. We all stayed up chatting for quite awhile.
When Rosaline left Audrey and I were the only ones left up so we decided to treat ourselves to an extra glass of wine (we drink Cape Leaf here which is a south african red - never seen it at home).
I woke up this morning and leisurely got ready - I had to take a few extra things with me to the office as it is Friday and I am probably going out tonight so I needed my makeup and such. It was a quiet morning here at the office as Greta, Cindy, and I worked wrapping presents for our VIP clients - they get leather covered planners with their names engraved on them.
I had a big lunch today with Alex, Greta, Navin, Jean-Francois, and Kannen. We went and had Curry Roti - a crepe/pancake with curried meat and vegetables inside. I had it for the first time at the end of my first week here and was excited to go back as it tastes delicious! It took absolutely forever to drive back as there was an enormous traffic jam for no particular reason - what normally takes 10 minutes took 45!
Tonight a bunch of us are going to happy hour because Alex's last day at ATS is next Thursday. I have plans to go shopping with Carol tomorrow and on Sunday Alex is having a BBQ at his place. So my last weekend here is action packed - I hope to have lots of stories to tell on Monday!
Some little things:
-I saw a chicken cross the road - and lo and behold it needed to get to the other side
-on the drive back from lunch today Alex, Greta, Kannen, and I had a philosophical discussion about meat vs. beef.
-Jean-Francois told me that he was going to miss our friendly banter that we engage in all day long when I leave (Bonjoooouuuurrrrr, ca vaaaaaa????)
More later...
Yesterday afternoon was pretty uneventful - it wasn't as hot as it normally so I didn't feel like I was going to die of heat exhaustion. I made considerable progress on my final project of preparing my survey which I am happy about and I am hoping that this afternoon I can do the same thing.
Before I left yesterday I stopped to chat with Jordana for awhile. Her ride was impossibly late so I offered to give her a ride home since she lives just on the way. I love to have people in the car with me from time to time as I it makes the traffic and the driving seem to go by faster (as I have said over and over again, the island is full of the craziest drivers that I have ever seen in my life). I dropped her off and then headed home.
Audrey needed to go to the grocery store because she had to pick up a few things for dinner. We came back and shortly after Rosaline came over for dinner. We just had pasta for dinner last night which was fine by me. We all stayed up chatting for quite awhile.
When Rosaline left Audrey and I were the only ones left up so we decided to treat ourselves to an extra glass of wine (we drink Cape Leaf here which is a south african red - never seen it at home).
I woke up this morning and leisurely got ready - I had to take a few extra things with me to the office as it is Friday and I am probably going out tonight so I needed my makeup and such. It was a quiet morning here at the office as Greta, Cindy, and I worked wrapping presents for our VIP clients - they get leather covered planners with their names engraved on them.
I had a big lunch today with Alex, Greta, Navin, Jean-Francois, and Kannen. We went and had Curry Roti - a crepe/pancake with curried meat and vegetables inside. I had it for the first time at the end of my first week here and was excited to go back as it tastes delicious! It took absolutely forever to drive back as there was an enormous traffic jam for no particular reason - what normally takes 10 minutes took 45!
Tonight a bunch of us are going to happy hour because Alex's last day at ATS is next Thursday. I have plans to go shopping with Carol tomorrow and on Sunday Alex is having a BBQ at his place. So my last weekend here is action packed - I hope to have lots of stories to tell on Monday!
Some little things:
-I saw a chicken cross the road - and lo and behold it needed to get to the other side
-on the drive back from lunch today Alex, Greta, Kannen, and I had a philosophical discussion about meat vs. beef.
-Jean-Francois told me that he was going to miss our friendly banter that we engage in all day long when I leave (Bonjoooouuuurrrrr, ca vaaaaaa????)
More later...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
HI CAROL!
Oh the weather outside is frightftul....but the fire is soooo delightful.....
And most of you know how the song ends. Except, there is absolutely warming oneself by a fire would not serve a purpose - if you need to be warm all you have to do is step outside. It has been raining off and on all day...
So yesterday was the first day in awhile that I had a car. It is a turbo hondo civic and has excellent pick-up - much better than the Nissan March. On the drive home yesterday I put the AC on full blast and it felt great.
I went directly to the grocery store and bought the essentials: wine, diet coke, and granola bars. I then went home and relaxed while Audrey and I chatted about nothing in particular while we waited for Emmanuel and Benjamin to get home (I have no idea how they can be at the office every day from 7 am until 8 pm - I would kill myself).
For dinner we had bacon wrapped chicken - absolutely fabulous. After everyone else went to bed, Audrey and I decided to take a dip in the pool to cool off. The water was the perfect room temperature - fantastic.
I was a bit late waking up this morning - around 7. Luckily I still got the office at a relatively normal hour. The morning was relatively uneventful.
I had lunch today with Greta, Carol, Cindy, Pamela and some of the other girls from work. I have never been around so many chicks at once since coming here - a new experience! My coworker Daniella's last day is on Monday. She is moving to Germany (where she does not speak the language) to be with her boyfriend (or as she says "mon amour").
After lunch, none of us felt like going directly back to the office so we stopped and bought lechis (a delicious fruit that I have never seen in the states). Being female, we decided to window shop and of course had to stop and look at shoes. We couldn't linger for long as we had to get back to the office.
I am feeling weary this afternoon and I hear my bed calling me all the way from Tamarin. I will be there soon enough!
Some little things:
-Carol and I were walking along today and we heard a cop telling a bum to move along (I can't be sure because the exchange took place in creole). The bum screamed at him and said "You don't know me!"
-Daniella was nice enough to say her goodbye to all of us in french today so that I could understand
-today is Bruno's birthday - I felt awful that I had forgotten but he didn't seem to mind
More later...
And most of you know how the song ends. Except, there is absolutely warming oneself by a fire would not serve a purpose - if you need to be warm all you have to do is step outside. It has been raining off and on all day...
So yesterday was the first day in awhile that I had a car. It is a turbo hondo civic and has excellent pick-up - much better than the Nissan March. On the drive home yesterday I put the AC on full blast and it felt great.
I went directly to the grocery store and bought the essentials: wine, diet coke, and granola bars. I then went home and relaxed while Audrey and I chatted about nothing in particular while we waited for Emmanuel and Benjamin to get home (I have no idea how they can be at the office every day from 7 am until 8 pm - I would kill myself).
For dinner we had bacon wrapped chicken - absolutely fabulous. After everyone else went to bed, Audrey and I decided to take a dip in the pool to cool off. The water was the perfect room temperature - fantastic.
I was a bit late waking up this morning - around 7. Luckily I still got the office at a relatively normal hour. The morning was relatively uneventful.
I had lunch today with Greta, Carol, Cindy, Pamela and some of the other girls from work. I have never been around so many chicks at once since coming here - a new experience! My coworker Daniella's last day is on Monday. She is moving to Germany (where she does not speak the language) to be with her boyfriend (or as she says "mon amour").
After lunch, none of us felt like going directly back to the office so we stopped and bought lechis (a delicious fruit that I have never seen in the states). Being female, we decided to window shop and of course had to stop and look at shoes. We couldn't linger for long as we had to get back to the office.
I am feeling weary this afternoon and I hear my bed calling me all the way from Tamarin. I will be there soon enough!
Some little things:
-Carol and I were walking along today and we heard a cop telling a bum to move along (I can't be sure because the exchange took place in creole). The bum screamed at him and said "You don't know me!"
-Daniella was nice enough to say her goodbye to all of us in french today so that I could understand
-today is Bruno's birthday - I felt awful that I had forgotten but he didn't seem to mind
More later...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
W-E-D-N-E-S-D-A-Y (thats how "wednesday" is spelled)
Well it is officially the middle of the week again and it is both a good and a bad thing. It is excellent because Friday is just a few short days away but it is terrible because I am one day closer to having to pack my life away that I have established on this island in the middle of the Indian ocean.
It has been business as usual over the past day or so. It continues to be miserably hot and humid. On the work front, I am starting to figure out how I am going to organize everything in preparation for turning in my final product next Friday.
I got home from work yesterday to find Rosaline hanging out. I chatted with her as Audrey was visiting her parents (her Dad is very sick). We had a leisurely afternoon of hanging out by the pool.
Emmanuel came back from a long weekend in Reunion Island yesterday so we are once again a full house. We had a great dinner and went to bed at a semi - reasonable hour.
Some little things:
-I GOT A CAR TODAY!!!!! YESSSS!!!!!!! I am now mobile and free
-I lunched with Alex today and tried to explain the BCS system to him - of course he understand nothing and just concluded that Americans are complicated - I don't think he really grasped the concept that there is not an actual playoff system
-there are a flock of birds that fly over the house every night around 7:30 (Yes I realize that it would have been cooler had I said "Flock of Seaguls" but I must stick to some semblance of the truth)
-I love sega music - Audrey says I should buy a skirt before I leave and wear it for halloween next year - I told her I'd take a picture and send it to her
-Two songs that I have stuck in my head are "C'Est ma terre" by Christophe Mae and "Rayon de Soleil" by William Balde - they are quite catchy and the music videos are probably on youtube
More later...
It has been business as usual over the past day or so. It continues to be miserably hot and humid. On the work front, I am starting to figure out how I am going to organize everything in preparation for turning in my final product next Friday.
I got home from work yesterday to find Rosaline hanging out. I chatted with her as Audrey was visiting her parents (her Dad is very sick). We had a leisurely afternoon of hanging out by the pool.
Emmanuel came back from a long weekend in Reunion Island yesterday so we are once again a full house. We had a great dinner and went to bed at a semi - reasonable hour.
Some little things:
-I GOT A CAR TODAY!!!!! YESSSS!!!!!!! I am now mobile and free
-I lunched with Alex today and tried to explain the BCS system to him - of course he understand nothing and just concluded that Americans are complicated - I don't think he really grasped the concept that there is not an actual playoff system
-there are a flock of birds that fly over the house every night around 7:30 (Yes I realize that it would have been cooler had I said "Flock of Seaguls" but I must stick to some semblance of the truth)
-I love sega music - Audrey says I should buy a skirt before I leave and wear it for halloween next year - I told her I'd take a picture and send it to her
-Two songs that I have stuck in my head are "C'Est ma terre" by Christophe Mae and "Rayon de Soleil" by William Balde - they are quite catchy and the music videos are probably on youtube
More later...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
What day is it?
It's Tuesday. It has been so unbearably hot and humid that sometimes I momentarily forget what day it is. An interesting note - I am 24 and a quarter years old today in case anyone wanted to know....
Anyway - yesterday at the office was mostly spent recounting the crazy weekend that we all had and sharing pictures with one another. Alex has been busy these past few days so I have just grabbed quick lunches by myself - no big deal.
I took the smelly bus home yesterday. I ran out of books to read so I asked Audrey's friend Rosaline to take me to the bookstore - it was closed - so disappointing.
We had a delicious dinner of lamb last night. They looked absolutely enormous but it turned out that each piece just had a lot of bone - the dogs were happy!
Hugo came for dinner as well last night as he plays Badminton on Monday nights and doesn't feel like making himself anything to eat.
We all went to bed late last night - around midnight - Let's just say that it was somewhat difficult to wake up this morning.
I went with Stephanie this morning to get her car serviced so we were slightly late coming into the office. Other than that, it has been a quiet day here and nothing groundbreaking to report.
Some little things:
-Hugo likes to throw his sweaty shirt at me because he finds it funny that it disgusts me
-I tried something called a "gateau moutaie" for dessert last night - it looked like a funnel cake but tastes absolutely disgusting - it tasted like drinking syrup straight from the maple tree (yes I know that sounds delicious to some of you)
Anyway - yesterday at the office was mostly spent recounting the crazy weekend that we all had and sharing pictures with one another. Alex has been busy these past few days so I have just grabbed quick lunches by myself - no big deal.
I took the smelly bus home yesterday. I ran out of books to read so I asked Audrey's friend Rosaline to take me to the bookstore - it was closed - so disappointing.
We had a delicious dinner of lamb last night. They looked absolutely enormous but it turned out that each piece just had a lot of bone - the dogs were happy!
Hugo came for dinner as well last night as he plays Badminton on Monday nights and doesn't feel like making himself anything to eat.
We all went to bed late last night - around midnight - Let's just say that it was somewhat difficult to wake up this morning.
I went with Stephanie this morning to get her car serviced so we were slightly late coming into the office. Other than that, it has been a quiet day here and nothing groundbreaking to report.
Some little things:
-Hugo likes to throw his sweaty shirt at me because he finds it funny that it disgusts me
-I tried something called a "gateau moutaie" for dessert last night - it looked like a funnel cake but tastes absolutely disgusting - it tasted like drinking syrup straight from the maple tree (yes I know that sounds delicious to some of you)
Monday, December 8, 2008
2nd to last Monday...
THE GATORS ARE GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!
Well today is my second to last Monday here in Mauritius (yes I am aware that you can read but just wanted to reiterate) and what a ride it has been! I have had a few questions about my blog from my coworkers so I went ahead and forwarded the address to them.
On Friday I was feeling particularly antsy for the weekend to start as it was unbearably hot outside and the last place that I wanted to be was at the office. Alex and I went for lunch at the waterfront like we normally do on Fridays. I went directly home after work as everyone was getting up early on Saturday morning to go catamaraning (yes I know that this is not a verb). I got a ride from Jordana and Stevie and we were the first ones to arrive at 8:30 am. We were all a little bit worried as we hadn't seen anyone else and we didn't want to miss the boat (not in the cliche sense).
Luckily we found everybody and boarded. All of us were anxious to get started with the festivities but we were told that since we were on a boat we were each only allowed one drink per hour (we were not happy). All of that aside, we arrived at the beach at Ile au Gabriel (??) and swam and hung out for awhile. I did in fact take some pictures but was too scared to bring my camera with me when we were dropped off at the beach.
We all swam back to the boat which was anchored. When we arrived, we were all famished and had an enormous lunch on the boat. Afterwards, we danced and drank for the rest of the day.
I arrived home at around 6:15 and promptly went to lie down on my bed. Audrey woke me up at around 9 pm to eat dinner. After dinner, we relaxed in the pool for while before going to bed.
I woke up early sunday morning (around 7:30) and lazed around all day. I finished my very last book that I had with me (Angels and Demons) and took a long nap. We were supposed to go and see the sunset but it was cloudy and rainy.
It is now Monday and I am at work - I should have more stories soon!
Some little things:
-Stephanie was telling me that alot of the young guys here give themselves nicknames - the father of a friend of hers recently told everybody to call him "The Sphynx"
-Paul wants Stephanie to do a "gang chart" this weekend - I am still not clear on its exact meaning but I think it involves crunching numbers - we just had fun comparing our accents
-I felt all warm and fuzzy inside when I was told how much I was going to be missed :)
-my friend Pascal, after telling me that he and his girlfriend broke up, promptly decided to scream "I am single!!" to anyone who would listen
-I must figure out how to upload the pictures from my camera...
-when going onto the beach, we were asked "Are you all mauritian?" Being me I said "No I am not Mauritian." The guy then told me I had to pay - I said "no" absently and kept walking
-a young french girl (around 16) arrived yesterday - she is part of an exchange program and is going to school with Audrey's niece
More later...
Well today is my second to last Monday here in Mauritius (yes I am aware that you can read but just wanted to reiterate) and what a ride it has been! I have had a few questions about my blog from my coworkers so I went ahead and forwarded the address to them.
On Friday I was feeling particularly antsy for the weekend to start as it was unbearably hot outside and the last place that I wanted to be was at the office. Alex and I went for lunch at the waterfront like we normally do on Fridays. I went directly home after work as everyone was getting up early on Saturday morning to go catamaraning (yes I know that this is not a verb). I got a ride from Jordana and Stevie and we were the first ones to arrive at 8:30 am. We were all a little bit worried as we hadn't seen anyone else and we didn't want to miss the boat (not in the cliche sense).
Luckily we found everybody and boarded. All of us were anxious to get started with the festivities but we were told that since we were on a boat we were each only allowed one drink per hour (we were not happy). All of that aside, we arrived at the beach at Ile au Gabriel (??) and swam and hung out for awhile. I did in fact take some pictures but was too scared to bring my camera with me when we were dropped off at the beach.
We all swam back to the boat which was anchored. When we arrived, we were all famished and had an enormous lunch on the boat. Afterwards, we danced and drank for the rest of the day.
I arrived home at around 6:15 and promptly went to lie down on my bed. Audrey woke me up at around 9 pm to eat dinner. After dinner, we relaxed in the pool for while before going to bed.
I woke up early sunday morning (around 7:30) and lazed around all day. I finished my very last book that I had with me (Angels and Demons) and took a long nap. We were supposed to go and see the sunset but it was cloudy and rainy.
It is now Monday and I am at work - I should have more stories soon!
Some little things:
-Stephanie was telling me that alot of the young guys here give themselves nicknames - the father of a friend of hers recently told everybody to call him "The Sphynx"
-Paul wants Stephanie to do a "gang chart" this weekend - I am still not clear on its exact meaning but I think it involves crunching numbers - we just had fun comparing our accents
-I felt all warm and fuzzy inside when I was told how much I was going to be missed :)
-my friend Pascal, after telling me that he and his girlfriend broke up, promptly decided to scream "I am single!!" to anyone who would listen
-I must figure out how to upload the pictures from my camera...
-when going onto the beach, we were asked "Are you all mauritian?" Being me I said "No I am not Mauritian." The guy then told me I had to pay - I said "no" absently and kept walking
-a young french girl (around 16) arrived yesterday - she is part of an exchange program and is going to school with Audrey's niece
More later...
Friday, December 5, 2008
One of my last fridays...
As of today - I officially have two weeks left until my last day. It feels strange to say the least..
It has started to get hot again - almost to the point of unbearable. It is the afternoon and I am so ready to go home and start my weekend!
The past day or so has been uneventful - nothing particularly groundbreaking to report. It was a quiet evening at home last night as it was just Audrey and I for dinner - Benjamin didn't come home until 11 pm!
I've been at work since about 8:30 this morning and had a severe stomach ache this morning. I located some aspirin and I feel much better. Alex and I continued our tradition of going to the Caudan (waterfront) for lunch (we go just about every friday). I like going there because it is fun to eat outside and watch the world go by.
There are more presents to organize this afternoon and I hope it goes by quickly! There is no happy hour excursion this evening as we all are getting up early tomorrow to spend the day on a catamaran in the north. I'm sure that I will have a plethora of stories to report on Monday. Till then!!
It has started to get hot again - almost to the point of unbearable. It is the afternoon and I am so ready to go home and start my weekend!
The past day or so has been uneventful - nothing particularly groundbreaking to report. It was a quiet evening at home last night as it was just Audrey and I for dinner - Benjamin didn't come home until 11 pm!
I've been at work since about 8:30 this morning and had a severe stomach ache this morning. I located some aspirin and I feel much better. Alex and I continued our tradition of going to the Caudan (waterfront) for lunch (we go just about every friday). I like going there because it is fun to eat outside and watch the world go by.
There are more presents to organize this afternoon and I hope it goes by quickly! There is no happy hour excursion this evening as we all are getting up early tomorrow to spend the day on a catamaran in the north. I'm sure that I will have a plethora of stories to report on Monday. Till then!!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
This 'n' That
Hello all-
Today is another day- I actually forgot what day it in fact was until I checked the date on my computer - THURSDAY! The weekend is almost here. Although I am excited as I have big plans that involve spending the day on a catamaran with my crazy coworkers but my 32 hour trip home is vastly approaching.
Unfortunately for those of you who enjoy reading what I have to say about living the life here in Mauritius, the stories will soon be coming to an end as I make my way back to the USA. However - I am excited that you will get to see me in the flesh (or at least speak to me on the telephone). And I am excited to see all of you as well - don't worry.
I know that my last post has to be unique - I want to go out like Jerry Seinfeld - on top and leaving you, my faithful readers, wanting more! Hopefully I can live up to my own expectations.
Anyway - the day was spent yesterday finishing wrapping and organizing presents by region. In the more than 3 months that I have been here in Mauritius, I have come to know the geography decently well. I still mess up when it comes to pronunciation which repeatedly gives Alex, Greta, and Cindy a few laughs that make the day go by faster.
I hitched a ride home with Alex yesterday and I guess that he forgot that I was in the car because he drove right past my street. Luckily, he realized when I vocalized my desire to leave the car that he had indeed made a small error.
Rosaline came over and had dinner with Audrey, Emmanuel, and I. Benjamin worked late and did not get home until around 10 pm - so he had to reheat his dinner in the microwave. I went to bed around 11 and have been at work since around 8:30. Hopefully I will have more exciting news to report in the near future....
Some little things:
-Audrey's nephew who lives next door decided to pop in for a visit - when we asked what possessed him to climb over the wall as opposed to walking through the front gate he replied that it was "more fun this way" - he is 11 afterall
-whenever i something funny (as in email) - i try to laugh as quietly as I can at my computer but I never fail to incite glances from my coworkers (they then ask me about it on friday nights after wondering all week as to what I was laughing at)
-the past few nights have been decently pleasant - there has been a nice breeze which vaguely reminds me of air conditioning
-fan + mosquito killer capsule = decent nights sleep in Mauritius
Today is another day- I actually forgot what day it in fact was until I checked the date on my computer - THURSDAY! The weekend is almost here. Although I am excited as I have big plans that involve spending the day on a catamaran with my crazy coworkers but my 32 hour trip home is vastly approaching.
Unfortunately for those of you who enjoy reading what I have to say about living the life here in Mauritius, the stories will soon be coming to an end as I make my way back to the USA. However - I am excited that you will get to see me in the flesh (or at least speak to me on the telephone). And I am excited to see all of you as well - don't worry.
I know that my last post has to be unique - I want to go out like Jerry Seinfeld - on top and leaving you, my faithful readers, wanting more! Hopefully I can live up to my own expectations.
Anyway - the day was spent yesterday finishing wrapping and organizing presents by region. In the more than 3 months that I have been here in Mauritius, I have come to know the geography decently well. I still mess up when it comes to pronunciation which repeatedly gives Alex, Greta, and Cindy a few laughs that make the day go by faster.
I hitched a ride home with Alex yesterday and I guess that he forgot that I was in the car because he drove right past my street. Luckily, he realized when I vocalized my desire to leave the car that he had indeed made a small error.
Rosaline came over and had dinner with Audrey, Emmanuel, and I. Benjamin worked late and did not get home until around 10 pm - so he had to reheat his dinner in the microwave. I went to bed around 11 and have been at work since around 8:30. Hopefully I will have more exciting news to report in the near future....
Some little things:
-Audrey's nephew who lives next door decided to pop in for a visit - when we asked what possessed him to climb over the wall as opposed to walking through the front gate he replied that it was "more fun this way" - he is 11 afterall
-whenever i something funny (as in email) - i try to laugh as quietly as I can at my computer but I never fail to incite glances from my coworkers (they then ask me about it on friday nights after wondering all week as to what I was laughing at)
-the past few nights have been decently pleasant - there has been a nice breeze which vaguely reminds me of air conditioning
-fan + mosquito killer capsule = decent nights sleep in Mauritius
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
First Hump Day of December
Well its Wednesday and it seems like Sunday night was just yesterday. Although I detest Mondays and Tuesdays, everything seems to be going by very fast here.
Alex left early yesterday (around noon) because he had another doctors appointment for his back. Since I had had so many issues the day before of trying to catch the bus, I took a walk down to the bus terminal on my lunch break to see if there was a sign that I perhaps missed. I didn't miss anything - like everything else in Mauritius, the bus system is not very well marked.
I grabbed a quick sandwich afterwards and headed back to the office. I helped Greta and Cindy wrap more presents to the point where the tips of my fingers were sore. I left the office yesterday at around 4:15 as to try and find the direct bus home. Luckily I was there at 4:40 when it arrived. I wouldn't use the word "pleasant" to describe my second bus experience but I would describe it as slightly more bearable. The seats were slightly more comfortable and I had a row to myself. I tried to read my book but had to put it down as the driver kept making abrupt stops which caused me to feel queasy.
On the walk home, Audrey and Christiane drove by and I hopped in the car with them to go to the grocery store. Once I got home later, I had to take a quick nap because the heat wore me out (yes it has been that unbearable).
Benjamin (yes he goes by his full name) came yesterday. He is from the Ivory Coast and works for Colas (he is also an engineer) and will be staying until around the 23rd of December. No stories yet - we are all just getting to know him!
Work today has consisted of wrapping presents and organizing into boxes by region of the country - it makes it easier for whoever will make the deliveries. There were 4 of us involved in the process so it went by relatively fast.
I'm not sure what else is in store for today but I will let you know soon enough (as I always do)!
Some little things:
-Stuart, an avid surfer, calls the small group of locals who surf regularly the "white short brigade" - Audrey says everyone calls them that - they get mad at the tourists who want to surf on their waves
-saw a street yesterday called "Kung Fu Lane"
-the main drag in Grand Baie is called "Sunset Boulevard" - I get the impression that the Mauritians have a fascination with california (reference to Bel Air, Melrose, etc in previous posts)
-if you have been reading off and on and have skipped a few posts, chances are something that is not explained well in one post is better explained in another - just type what you are looking for in the upper left hand corner and click "search blog"
-Emmanuel greets me with "Bonsoir jeune fille" every evening (hello young girl)
-Kathryn and Luc commented to Audrey the other day - "wow it must be so nice to have a young girl around to help you" - Mom you would be so proud....
More later...
Alex left early yesterday (around noon) because he had another doctors appointment for his back. Since I had had so many issues the day before of trying to catch the bus, I took a walk down to the bus terminal on my lunch break to see if there was a sign that I perhaps missed. I didn't miss anything - like everything else in Mauritius, the bus system is not very well marked.
I grabbed a quick sandwich afterwards and headed back to the office. I helped Greta and Cindy wrap more presents to the point where the tips of my fingers were sore. I left the office yesterday at around 4:15 as to try and find the direct bus home. Luckily I was there at 4:40 when it arrived. I wouldn't use the word "pleasant" to describe my second bus experience but I would describe it as slightly more bearable. The seats were slightly more comfortable and I had a row to myself. I tried to read my book but had to put it down as the driver kept making abrupt stops which caused me to feel queasy.
On the walk home, Audrey and Christiane drove by and I hopped in the car with them to go to the grocery store. Once I got home later, I had to take a quick nap because the heat wore me out (yes it has been that unbearable).
Benjamin (yes he goes by his full name) came yesterday. He is from the Ivory Coast and works for Colas (he is also an engineer) and will be staying until around the 23rd of December. No stories yet - we are all just getting to know him!
Work today has consisted of wrapping presents and organizing into boxes by region of the country - it makes it easier for whoever will make the deliveries. There were 4 of us involved in the process so it went by relatively fast.
I'm not sure what else is in store for today but I will let you know soon enough (as I always do)!
Some little things:
-Stuart, an avid surfer, calls the small group of locals who surf regularly the "white short brigade" - Audrey says everyone calls them that - they get mad at the tourists who want to surf on their waves
-saw a street yesterday called "Kung Fu Lane"
-the main drag in Grand Baie is called "Sunset Boulevard" - I get the impression that the Mauritians have a fascination with california (reference to Bel Air, Melrose, etc in previous posts)
-if you have been reading off and on and have skipped a few posts, chances are something that is not explained well in one post is better explained in another - just type what you are looking for in the upper left hand corner and click "search blog"
-Emmanuel greets me with "Bonsoir jeune fille" every evening (hello young girl)
-Kathryn and Luc commented to Audrey the other day - "wow it must be so nice to have a young girl around to help you" - Mom you would be so proud....
More later...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A Living Nightmare
It continues to be miserably hot here - it is horrible at home where there is no AC but it is OK and work since all of the window units got fixed last week.
Yesterday was an interesting day. Alex and I had lunch (ok so far not that interesting) and since my car is out of service for the moment, I had no idea how I was going to get home for the better part of the afternoon. Alex was unavailable (doctor's apt), Stephanie and Bruno were also unavailable. So my only option (I didn't feel like spending a fortune on the cab fare) was the go to transportation method of the majority of Mauritians - THE BUS.
Now - I have never ever been a fan of the bus. I remember how excited I was to get my license back in high school so that I could drive myself. There is something about a bus that disgusts me - people everywhere, you never know what exactly they have touched before touching the metal handrails, etc. Not to mention, there is often no AC and the regular patrons of the bus do not exactly smell like roses if you know what I mean.
My adventure began yesterday at around 4:30 as I wasn't sure exactly where the bus station was located (had only seen it on a map) and the last bus that I knew of was due to leave at 5 pm. So I wanted to give myself plenty of time. To go the bus terminal (Victoria Square) was about a ten minute walk from my office. I have never been in a more confusing place in my life. I started wandering around and looking for my bus # that I had researched on the internet on one of the signs - it was nowhere to be found. I asked two people - one bus employee and one police officer - where I should wait. I ended up having to cross the street.
I came across a bus that was headed to Flic en Flac (near where I live) - the conductor said that the bus I was looking for had already left! I looked at the clock on my cell and the time read 4:45 - my bus was not supposed to leave for another 15 minutes!!! I of course started to panic a little but until the conductor said just to get on and get off in Bambous which is just before Flic en Flac.
I felt about 14 again as most of the seats were taken and it didn't look like anyone wanted me to sit next to them. Luckily, I squeezed myself next to an older couple. 40 or so long and smelly minutes later (no AC + plus people that dont wear deoderant = UNPLEASANT ODOR) I got off the bus in Bambous and promptly gasped for fresh air.
I was afraid that the next bus that I needed to take would never show up and I would be stuck in Bambous. Luckily - 10 minutes later it showed up. So I hopped on and got off again in Tamarin about 20 minutes later - at the wrong stop of course, I should have waited for the next one.
We had a good dinner last night as the Kathryn and Luc left to go back to Paris this morning. Emmanuel, having spent the weekend with his family in Reunion, was back as well. Rosaline and Hugo also joined us (even though Hugo now lives with Alex, something tells me that we will continue to see a lot of him).
I was exhausted and fell right asleep after reading a few pages of "Angels and Demons."
I have been at work all morning and will let you know how the day shapes up....
-Emmanuel got a speeding ticket yesterday for 100 rupees - equal to about $3.50 - the fines for talking on the cell phone while driving and illegal parking are more expensive - go figure
Yesterday was an interesting day. Alex and I had lunch (ok so far not that interesting) and since my car is out of service for the moment, I had no idea how I was going to get home for the better part of the afternoon. Alex was unavailable (doctor's apt), Stephanie and Bruno were also unavailable. So my only option (I didn't feel like spending a fortune on the cab fare) was the go to transportation method of the majority of Mauritians - THE BUS.
Now - I have never ever been a fan of the bus. I remember how excited I was to get my license back in high school so that I could drive myself. There is something about a bus that disgusts me - people everywhere, you never know what exactly they have touched before touching the metal handrails, etc. Not to mention, there is often no AC and the regular patrons of the bus do not exactly smell like roses if you know what I mean.
My adventure began yesterday at around 4:30 as I wasn't sure exactly where the bus station was located (had only seen it on a map) and the last bus that I knew of was due to leave at 5 pm. So I wanted to give myself plenty of time. To go the bus terminal (Victoria Square) was about a ten minute walk from my office. I have never been in a more confusing place in my life. I started wandering around and looking for my bus # that I had researched on the internet on one of the signs - it was nowhere to be found. I asked two people - one bus employee and one police officer - where I should wait. I ended up having to cross the street.
I came across a bus that was headed to Flic en Flac (near where I live) - the conductor said that the bus I was looking for had already left! I looked at the clock on my cell and the time read 4:45 - my bus was not supposed to leave for another 15 minutes!!! I of course started to panic a little but until the conductor said just to get on and get off in Bambous which is just before Flic en Flac.
I felt about 14 again as most of the seats were taken and it didn't look like anyone wanted me to sit next to them. Luckily, I squeezed myself next to an older couple. 40 or so long and smelly minutes later (no AC + plus people that dont wear deoderant = UNPLEASANT ODOR) I got off the bus in Bambous and promptly gasped for fresh air.
I was afraid that the next bus that I needed to take would never show up and I would be stuck in Bambous. Luckily - 10 minutes later it showed up. So I hopped on and got off again in Tamarin about 20 minutes later - at the wrong stop of course, I should have waited for the next one.
We had a good dinner last night as the Kathryn and Luc left to go back to Paris this morning. Emmanuel, having spent the weekend with his family in Reunion, was back as well. Rosaline and Hugo also joined us (even though Hugo now lives with Alex, something tells me that we will continue to see a lot of him).
I was exhausted and fell right asleep after reading a few pages of "Angels and Demons."
I have been at work all morning and will let you know how the day shapes up....
-Emmanuel got a speeding ticket yesterday for 100 rupees - equal to about $3.50 - the fines for talking on the cell phone while driving and illegal parking are more expensive - go figure
Monday, December 1, 2008
3 Months!
Gators 45 Criminoles 15 - watch out Bama!
Well, today is December 1st and I have been living and working in Mauritius for exactly 3 months! Time has gone by EXTREMELY fast but I definitely feel differently than I did when I first arrived. I cannot believe how much that I have learned and the amount of great people that I have met. I am so happy that this blog has been such a success and thank you to all with whom I regularly communicate. I will be home soon enough!
On Friday, I went to happy hour like usual with my coworkers. It was Shri the intern's (see cast of characters) last day so there were more of us out than usual. I was too tired to do anything afterwards so I went just went home. I was starving and luckily Audrey had some leftovers for me to heat up in the microwave.
I randomly woke up at about 7:30 on Saturday morning and about an hour later, it became unbearably hot and humid (stayed this way throughout the weekend). Even though I have been a floridian for almost 9 years - I have never not lived in florida without AC - I have no AC where I live here. I did nothing but laze around all day long. Audrey and I went out for lunch after going to the grocery store and each took naps when we got home as Audrey, Hugo, Rosaline and I went out for dinner as it was Hugo's last night (he is now Alex's roommate). Afterwards we all went to the new bar up the road for a quick drink after deciding we were all tired from the heat and headed home.
On Sunday morning I woke up at around 8:30 to find that Hugo had gone to work - he worked 7 days last week! I went with Audrey to see a local outdoor market but I was def not in the mood to shop as I was so hot. Luckily Audrey felt the same and we went home. Hugo came home in time for lunch so the three of us ate and then we played a game called Trionominos (sp?). It is played with triangles that are numbered and you have to match them. I was the only one that hadn't played before but I won the first game! The second game was a draw.
Hugo and I later decided to go to a town called Chamarel to see the "7 colored earth." Originally, Mauritius was volcanic and somehow the lava flow created a ridged earth that is comprised of seven colors and absolutely no vegetation. Unfortunately, it was raining so we could not see all of the colors. We also saw the waterfall at Chamarel which was quite impressive as well.
Later on in the afternoon we went and swam laps for about an hour and got some good exercise in.
A bunch of us were at dinner last night - a french couple named Kathryn and Luc who are here until tomorrow, Audrey, Hugo, Stuart (he left this morning), and I. We had fried noodles and fish and it all tasted great!
I had a hard time sleeping as I kept coughing and waking myself up and not to mention the strange dreams that I was having. Paul is back in the office today and I suspect this afternoon I will kept Greta with more present wrapping. Hope you all have a great week!
Some little things:
-Alex is the latest person to find out that I am adopted-people always think I am offended by questions but I never am
-I was telling the guys on friday night that I would miss them and Rajnish countered with"you will forget all about us when are with your friends back home" - I certainly hope not!
-each floor of offices is assigned one stall in the women's bathroom - the key is supposed to be kept downstairs but somehow it is never in the right place and one always has to go in search of it
-the international calling card that i purchased does not only have instructions in english and friench but in creole as well
-Alex says im not like other girls because I like beer - my response: I went to a very large american university where life revolved around the football team
More later...
Well, today is December 1st and I have been living and working in Mauritius for exactly 3 months! Time has gone by EXTREMELY fast but I definitely feel differently than I did when I first arrived. I cannot believe how much that I have learned and the amount of great people that I have met. I am so happy that this blog has been such a success and thank you to all with whom I regularly communicate. I will be home soon enough!
On Friday, I went to happy hour like usual with my coworkers. It was Shri the intern's (see cast of characters) last day so there were more of us out than usual. I was too tired to do anything afterwards so I went just went home. I was starving and luckily Audrey had some leftovers for me to heat up in the microwave.
I randomly woke up at about 7:30 on Saturday morning and about an hour later, it became unbearably hot and humid (stayed this way throughout the weekend). Even though I have been a floridian for almost 9 years - I have never not lived in florida without AC - I have no AC where I live here. I did nothing but laze around all day long. Audrey and I went out for lunch after going to the grocery store and each took naps when we got home as Audrey, Hugo, Rosaline and I went out for dinner as it was Hugo's last night (he is now Alex's roommate). Afterwards we all went to the new bar up the road for a quick drink after deciding we were all tired from the heat and headed home.
On Sunday morning I woke up at around 8:30 to find that Hugo had gone to work - he worked 7 days last week! I went with Audrey to see a local outdoor market but I was def not in the mood to shop as I was so hot. Luckily Audrey felt the same and we went home. Hugo came home in time for lunch so the three of us ate and then we played a game called Trionominos (sp?). It is played with triangles that are numbered and you have to match them. I was the only one that hadn't played before but I won the first game! The second game was a draw.
Hugo and I later decided to go to a town called Chamarel to see the "7 colored earth." Originally, Mauritius was volcanic and somehow the lava flow created a ridged earth that is comprised of seven colors and absolutely no vegetation. Unfortunately, it was raining so we could not see all of the colors. We also saw the waterfall at Chamarel which was quite impressive as well.
Later on in the afternoon we went and swam laps for about an hour and got some good exercise in.
A bunch of us were at dinner last night - a french couple named Kathryn and Luc who are here until tomorrow, Audrey, Hugo, Stuart (he left this morning), and I. We had fried noodles and fish and it all tasted great!
I had a hard time sleeping as I kept coughing and waking myself up and not to mention the strange dreams that I was having. Paul is back in the office today and I suspect this afternoon I will kept Greta with more present wrapping. Hope you all have a great week!
Some little things:
-Alex is the latest person to find out that I am adopted-people always think I am offended by questions but I never am
-I was telling the guys on friday night that I would miss them and Rajnish countered with"you will forget all about us when are with your friends back home" - I certainly hope not!
-each floor of offices is assigned one stall in the women's bathroom - the key is supposed to be kept downstairs but somehow it is never in the right place and one always has to go in search of it
-the international calling card that i purchased does not only have instructions in english and friench but in creole as well
-Alex says im not like other girls because I like beer - my response: I went to a very large american university where life revolved around the football team
More later...
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