Week One in Mauritius

My first week in Mauritius has been such a whirl wind! It was filled with a lot of introducing and familiarizing myself with the city I'm living in, Curepipe (pronounced cure-peep), as well as a ton of quality beach time. The beaches here are amazing: soft, white sand and water clearer than from the tap. Because it's technically winter the air isn't super hot, but when the sun is out it's still pleasant and warm enough to swim. All of this fun was also accompanied by a few days spent working with my first NGO, Paws. With this organization I will be going into local schools and teaching children the importance of spaying and neutering your pets, which I am looking forward to! We got to tour the animal shelter where Paws preforms their sterilizations and also where they house the stray dogs that they prepare for adoption. Aka, I got to play with puppies on my first day of work! My project for the summer is focused around flora, fauna, and marine life protection, so this is the first of many NGOs that I will get the chance to interact with.

Mauritius is truly a beautiful place because of it's lush, green countryside and colorful cities. Unfortunately though, a lot of non-tourist cities (like Curepipe) are pretty run down. I feel like Mauritius is kind of a mix of tropical Hawaii and downtown LA; making the city, culture and people different than anything I've ever experienced. Unlike the stereotypical French people, Mauritians are incredibly kind and affectionate. Everywhere you go girls are holding hands or linking arms, and when you greet someone in person you give them a kiss on each cheek. Additionally, cashiers and passerby give me huge smiles and kind responses when I try to speak to them in my EXTREMELY rudimentary French. It's such a blend of cultures here, with the combination of French and Creole in the language, and mixture of Indian and African races in people's physical appearance. There are a lot of Indian influences here, like in Mauritians' psycho driving and open air markets, but also some traces of French culture like how they socialize and go out at night. The one aspect of their culture that I find most unsettling is their slow paced life style. People walk slowly, talk slowly, plan things slowly... every aspect of their culture is about 15 minutes behind what it would take to do in the US. With that, their sense of punctuality is essentially non-existent. Mauritians are never on time to anything, and usually run a half hour to an hour late for all arranged meetings (except work). This is a culture difference I definitely struggle with, but hopefully over time I will adjust. 

This week of exploring has me extremely excited for the coming seven weeks. It is going to be quite an adventure, but I love that I learn something new every day. Until next time, au revoir!