Tag Archives: Mauritius

There’s something about Mauritius

3 Apr

Mauritius: Not done just yet.

The most common question I get asked after “Do you get lonely?” is “Of all the places you’ve been, where would you go back to live?”

I never know how to answer that question.

I always answer that I feel like I could live anywhere.

Anywhere that is, except Mauritius.

There were many, many things I loved about Mauritius. But two months was enough. It was way too small for a start – I drove around the entire country in a WEEKEND. It wasn’t challenging enough workwise. There wasn’t enough decent surfing. The traffic is awful. I got leered at in the street all the time. Bla bla bla.

Even the man that drove me to the airport said: “I don’t think we’ll be seeing you back here”.

“Yep,” I remember thinking, “I’m so done with this place.”

Except, that a year on, I don’t think Mauritius is quite done with me.

It was in Mauritius that I started this blog. I started meditating. I started yoga. I landed two dream jobs.

It was in Mauritius that I almost died – and thought that maybe I was spared because I still have work to do.

It was in Mauritius that I sat in a tiny anchored rowboat, bobbing in the ocean, and decided to chase love.

It was in Mauritius that I met two wonderful people who took me in and showed me what community really means. People who taught me things I still think about now. Lessons which have taken me a year to fully appreciate.

I once had a mentor that I hadn’t seen in six months. When I was asked why I hadn’t seen her in so long, all I could say was that I wasn’t ready yet.

I was still working on advice from the last visit.

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Image: Some rights reserved by Marianone

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Transitions (or, exhaustion + devastation + airports = remarkable thinking)

10 Sep

There is something about leaving a country which you have lived and worked in, and straight away moving to another one.

This year I have done this so many times I am starting to lose count. Already I am at 7, and I think that I will have 3 more before the year is out.

(For the travel hackers amongst you, I think my year is going to look something like this: SYD-MAU-ACC-ATH-ACC-SYD-ILO-KTM-SFO-PNH-CGK)

At the beginning of the year I kept asking people who moved around a lot what the hardest thing about travelling was. I thought maybe I would get tired of living out of a bag, or that I would miss my family, or my close friends, or you know, zucchinis.

I didn’t think it would be the transitions.

I am not upset to be without roots this year, in a way I feel like I have been without roots my whole life.

But somewhere in the transition of picking up everything to put it back down into a new place, my body seems to go into a state of shock.

I usually cry on the plane. When I went back toSydneyfor 3 weeks I felt bizarrely numb for a few days, in a way I could not explain to people. It was just plain weird. And then everything came crashing down and I cancelled all my plans, instead spending a weekend inside with my brother, staring at a wall.

(Don’t worry, insane amounts of partying still happened, just later on).

I think part of the reason for this is the last week before I leave anywhere is totally packed – catching up with friends, finishing off projects, getting through all the “lasts”. I am usually utterly exhausted by the time I leave. And the first week in my new country is always relatively quiet.

So it goes from super intense to super quiet, and the realisation of what I am doing hits me. Where exactly am I? What exactly is it that I think I am doing? Am I crazy?

Not to mention the the thought of all the amazing experiences that I have left behind. The people I will probably never see again.The fragments of language and expressions that I have learnt. And the weird nuances of culture that you only get from being in a place.

(In Mauritius– being in a meeting where three languages are spoken at once. In thePhilippines– the flamboyant culture. In Ghana–the MASSIVE religious billboards. And in Nepal– the relaxed attitude to privacy).

The flip side is that this outpouring of emotion has brought on some of the best ideas that I have had this year. I have written beautiful poetry. Come up with business ideas. Followed up on hard things which I really needed to do. And formulated all of the things which are most exciting about this year. Including achieving all my goals for this year in 7 months – and they were not small.

Call me crazy, but I can only conclude that there is something remarkable about the combination of exhaustion, devastation and airports. Alone, they are just irritants – but with their powers combined…?

My brother reminds me of often of my own words:

“I don’t mind being upset, because I often do my best thinking when I am upset”.

As I prepare myself for the shock that will be leaving Nepal for San Francisco, I am going to do my best to take solace in these words.

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Communicating in Mauritius (or, the value of patience)

14 Mar

Getting my point across has been exceptionally difficult – even though everyone speaks very good English.

Firstly, there is the issue of the three national languages. Which are all used. All the time.

In a business setting people speak English. In a formal setting, and on the radio and news, people speak French. To each other they speak Kreole.

I went to a meeting with government officials. During the meeting they spoke in English. Half-way through the meeting, the man next to me leaned over and asked me a question. In French. (Speaking to women in French is considered polite). At the end of the meeting, one of the officials was trying to understand a technical concept. Explanations erupted in Kreole.

Which all means I go from mostly understanding, to understanding a little, to understanding nothing.

So while struggling through the accents, I also have needed to struggle through the thought process of whether I actually can understand what is going on.

Secondly, the Australian accents strikes again. Whenever I say ‘two’ people think I am saying ‘three’. No one understands “Monique”, until I say “French for Monica”

(Oh, Monique! They proclaim. Saying it exactly how I said it).

And when I was trying to get the third installment of my rabies vaccination I had to keep explaining that it was for me, not for my baby.

(Why do you want to get a babies vaccination if you are not pregnant? As a precaution?).

Finally, methods of explaining things and providing directions have a different flavour to that in Australia. Learning this method is like learning a new language – often I feel like a 5 year old. I think part of the reason for this might be that they are using the logic of a different language while speaking English.

I remember this from when I was speaking Spanish full time – my English changed to words and phrases that I could say in Spanish. It didn’t make my English wrong, it just made it - different.

I haven’t even come close to getting the hang of this yet, but here are a few examples of what are coming to be very standard conversations:

Me: “Would it be possible for you to do X?”

“I don’t know”

Me: “Would it be possible for you to check?”

“I don’t know if it is possible”

Me: “Please check for me”

“OK I will check for you and get back to you”

 

Me: “I would like to speak to Y”

“You cannot speak to Y.” Silence.

“Can I call back at another time?”

“You can call back in 10 minutes”

*10 mins later* Repeat of this conversation, followed by previous “X” conversation.

 

Me: “I need to do Z”

“You cannot do Z”

Me: “OK. Well, what would you do if you needed to do Z? Should I get someone else to do Z?”

“OK, you can do Z. You go straight through the main counter, before turning straight to the otherside.”

It might seem here that people are being unnecessarily unhelpful, but I do not think that this is the case. People are trying to help, and when they do finally understand what I am trying to say they are more than happy to help.

I have actually had people take me by the hand and show me what “turning straight to the other side” means.

So I am starting to think – with some patience, and a bit of luck – I might actually get there!

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<3 Internet Connectivity in my Mauritian home

11 Feb

Three-reasons-to-love Internet Connectivity in my Mauritian home:

1. I have to sit on my balcony to use the internet. I have discovered I can see the sunset from my balcony. And the moon rise. And the ocean.
2. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. And then I get to blame deep sea cable issues for not being connected.
3. But, most of the time, it does work.

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