Only in Mauritius...

This weekend I had several experiences that left me shaking my head and smiling. After all, what else can you do?

First, I joined my wonderful husband on a night out with his work colleagues. We went to a restaurant in the town of Flacq called, "Chez Manuel". Judging by the name, you would perhaps guess that this would be European cuisine... more specifically French, right? Not a chance. Only in Mauritius will you find a restaurant called Chez Manuel, where the cuisine is actually Chinese... Now, not only is this a Chinese restaurant with an odd name, it is also not completely traditional. It's kind of a Creole/Chinese. I must say it is quite tasty... Especially the house specialty, curried octopus. Yum!

My next experience was on Saturday at the town center. My husband and I were out looking for a much needed umbrella for myself as well as a water purifier to have in our home. While we were shopping we heard really loud popping sounds... My husband didn't react at all. I, however, was ready to take cover. Turns out, Chinese New Year celebrations were in continuation... Now, I am not naive enough to believe this is only in Mauritius, so I'll exclude this one, but there in the middle of city center, there was a group of young people performing with a Chinese Dragon. They were going from one Chinese business to the next doing the dragon dance along with the drums and cymbals. But don't forget the fireworks. They were lighting live fireworks both inside and outside the business to blow away the devils and bring prosperity and blessings for the new year. I wish I had my camera for this. It was really intriguing for me to watch. My husband wasn't as enthralled as I was, but this wasn't his first Chinese Dragon spotting. :-)

The next, and possibly most head shaking event took place on Sunday. Now, the following is downright Mauritian to it's core and it still brings a chuckle to me... My husband and I were invited to an engagement party to take place in Sunday afternoon. The invitation said the party would be from 1630-2100. (4:30 pm - 9:00 pm) The location was a beach house in the town of Flic and Flacq, not to be confused with just Flacq. They are on opposite coasts. Anyway... My husband called and asked about the dress code for this occasion. Being that the event was at a beach house, I would think, casual attire is okay. You maybe went down to the beach and had a swim before coming, etc. Not so. This was a "smart" party. Ladies in dresses, men in button up shirts and trousers. Okay, fair enough. So we get to this party at 5:00 and we are feeling a little bad for being late. But what were we thinking? This is Mauritius right? When we arrived we were told to stay in the cars with the air conditioners on because we were still waiting for the girls family to arrive. (And it was HOT) We obligingly stayed in the car until it became clear that nearly everyone had arrived. Everyone except the pastor and uncle of the young man to be engaged. Because he was performing the engagement, we had to wait for him... Finally, he arrived and the party was ready to start. We all went into the house (which was about 150 degrees) and witnessed the engagement of this young couple, and then quickly made our way outside to wait for dinner. We all took our places at our tables of choice and they began serving appetizers. So far, things were looking good. That is, until the rain. That's right. In the middle of the party, it started to rain. So, we all scrambled back to the house for cover. Never the less, the party must go on. So, the quick thinking caterer had his people carry the tables into the house and he left the chairs to sit in the rain. About 15 minutes later, the chair throwing began. I wish I had my camera for this too, it was quite entertaining. The waiters on the ground began throwing chairs up to the second floor balcony so that we could be seated upstairs and wait for dinner. The chair throwing was done with great skill and nobody got hurt. Excellent. Time passed by and so did trays of appetizers. Everything from little chicken bites to fish bites to hunks of beef cut up and served on a platter. There we sat, hot, wet and waiting. Now, don't get me wrong, we weren't really in bad spirits about this. It's Mauritius and this sort of thing is to be expected... Eventually, it stopped raining and my husband and I decided to take a walk to the car just to get some fresh air. When we came back the chair throwing began in reverse. This time, they were dropping chairs from upstairs back downstairs to reset the tables. I have to give it to the caterers and staff. They kept the ball rolling and everything went well considering the circumstances. In the end, we all did eat a nice dinner and I think everyone had a reasonably good time. But I couldn't help thinking to myself... Only in Mauritius. :-)

It seems that the longer I live here the more I become familiar with the quirky things that take place. I recognize that comfort isn't always at the top of the list. Sometimes this means sweating your butt off while wearing a dress and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Sometimes this means walking in the rain all the way too and from the grocery store so that you can have bacon for your Valentine's breakfast. Sometimes this means getting to said grocery store only to find out that they are completely out of the ingredients you were hoping to buy. But all of these things just make you smile and shake your head... Feels like home.

A holiday weekend

This weekend two holidays were observed in Mauritius... Friday was a Hindu holiday honoring another one of their gods. Interstingly with this holiday, the Hindu people make a pilgrimage to Grand Bassin here in Mauritius. It is believed that this body of water is holy, like the water in the Ghanges river. So, they all make their pilgrimage to this place and collect water that they will pour out on their god when they return from their pilgrimage. Many of them travel in groups and some carry floats with representations of their gods. Some crash symbols or play music. Some they chant as they go. Many of them travel by foot and if you live here you will notice more police on the roads monitoring traffic, etc in order to keep people safe. Living where I do, I got to hear and see many of these pilgrims as they passed by.

Sunday marked the Chinese New Year, another official holiday here in Mauritius. I heard several neighbors shoot off their fireworks at midnight with hopes to rid their homes of evil spirits and bring them prosperity in the year.

I don't really have any great stories or experiences to share regarding these things, they are just more observations that I am making as I go along.

Tomatoes, Lettuce, Taco Seasoning and My Fellow Americans

Sorry I have been a little slack on the blogging. Life this past week was even busier than usual... If that's possible. Work has been really busy as we close in on a deadline and that means longer hours etc.

So... this weekend I made my menu as usual on Friday and then headed to the store to get my ingredients. Much to my dismay, they were out of two key things. Lettuce and tomatoes. Stink. How am I going to make my salad for lunch on Saturday? Well, I decided that when my hubby got home from work, I would ask him to take me to another grocery store to find these key ingredients. Two stores later, and still no lettuce or tomatoes to be found. What's up with that? Luckily it all worked out because on Saturday we had to stop at the store for something else. I decided to take my chances and look again for lettuce and tomato. Hurray! Lettuce was in stock. The tomatoes on the other hand had returned, but they were not yet ripe, so I decided to go without. At any rate, these are the things you run into living on a small island. Who knew?

On Sunday, I had to run into "Shoprite" to get some bread and strawberry jam for breakfast. It is a South African grocery store. While I was there, I was walking down the aisle toward the jam. That's when it happened. On my left, I saw boxes of macaroni and cheese. This is NOT something you could find in the normal, local grocery stores, and it made me smile. It wasn't Kraft, but it was mac and cheese. Then next to it was a gift from God. A strange box caught my eye. On the front of the box was a beautiful picture of nachos. Can you believe that? Nachos! You don't have to be a geographical genius to realize that Mexico isn't exactly close to Mauritius. Up until now, all of my hopes for Mexican food had been pinned on boxes from loved ones in America. I took a closer look at the box to realize that these were tortilla chips. Well, needless to say, they had to come home with me. I absolutely adore Mexican food and will willingly take anything I can get. Then as an added blessing from the Lord I looked a little further and found... TACO SEASONING!!! And what's better? It's imported from the U.S. Made in Texas. Let me explain the significance of that real quick. When I was in England, I found taco seasoning. It was produced in England. England and Mexico are not close together. English people don't know how Mexican food is meant to taste. This taco seasoning was not good. End of. So, I am really anxious to try my Texan taco seasoning. It might save me from my cravings and leave me free from my Mexican rationing system that is currently in place. I'll keep you up to date on all of that...

Also on Sunday, I had the opportunity of going to a meeting for YWAM. Youth With a Mission. They were commissioning a new discipleship training group. It was cool to be a part of this, but in addition, I met some new people. First I met a lady from Australia. I am always happy to meet fellow English speakers, so we had a nice chat. She invited me to a ladies bible study on Thursday mornings, but unfortunately work will keep me from going. Perhaps sometime if I take a day off work, I can go and meet more English speakers. In addition, I met fellow Americans. What is cooler is that these a people I have been meaning to look up. Essentially, they are from Springfield, MO as well. They are friends of friends of mine. Can you believe that? What a small world.

All in all, it was a really good weekend. I am looking forward to getting to know some of these people better, but am really blessed that God's got all of the people.

Now... with that said, I want those of you in America who are reading this to know that you WILL NOT and CAN NOT be replaced. I don't believe I will ever have relationships as deep and full as the ones I share with you. You are so very precious to me and even though our contact is much more limited, I still love you with all my heart.

Guess that's all for now... so until my next rambling, I'm off

Oh the grocery store

So, as I have written before, I generally walk to the store each day to get groceries. We have a small refrigerator, so it doesn't do to buy in bulk, not to mention it gets me out of the house and gives me something to do on my lunch break...

What is interesting to me about the grocery store is that the stock changes rapidly and randomly. The worst part was coming at Christmas time and beginning my shopping then. I have since discovered that at Christmas time a lot of stores sell items that they don't sell the rest of the year. So, I have learned that just because you saw it there once, doesn't mean that they actually "carry" that item.

Sometimes I go to the store and they are simply out of the item that I am looking for. Again, holidays are the worst. Like I have written before, there are lots of religions here, and as a result, there are lots of holidays and religious festivals. This means that you need to get your shopping done early. (This is something I have learned) If you don't, you might find that the store is completely out of bread, or tomatoes or onions or dare I say it, Diet Coke! And I don't mean that they don't have the brand you prefer, I mean completely out. Not one in sight. Not even a dented, dingy, icky looking thing to be scrapped over. (Not even a Diet Pepsi)

When you find yourself in this situation there are three options... 1. You choose to do without the item you went searching for. 2. You come up with a clever substitution of something similar that will do the trick. 3. You call your husband and ask him sweetly to stop somewhere on the way home and pick up the item you desire... If you are as lucky as I am, you can usually count on number 3. :-)

It's these little adjustments to life that keep me on my toes. I have to admit that though I am sometimes briefly annoyed, I tend to follow up with a quick chuckle to myself...

Religious Thoughts...

Mauritius is a place of many religions. In fact, almost everywhere you look or listen, you are likely to see the influence of religion. Maybe you can see a small red dot on the forehead of the woman next to you, it might be a full burqa worn by the lady down the street. Perhaps it's the indication that meat is halal in the supermarket, or possibly you can hear the Muslim call to prayer coming through the window. Chances are many of the things you observe here are somehow wrapped up in some kind of religion.

Recently a fellow American, who is living in Mauritius, wrote a blog concerning legislation that is being considered in France, making the wearing of a burqa illegal. If you are not familiar, a burqa is a black dress, including full headdress that covers a woman completely from head to toe only exposing her eyes. (Think nun without the collar, and then add a face covering that exposes only a small slit for the eyes.) This type of dress can be representative of some of the more conservative and fundamentalist Muslims. When women wear a burqa, they are meant to only be recognized by their husbands and families, making them anonymous to all others. It is partially intended to keep other men from lusting after your wife... On one hand, I feel very sorry for these women who are in bondage. They are not able to express themselves to the outside world. Not to mention, that must be incredibly hot. Especially on those hot, and humid days here in Mauritius. On the other hand, I admire their submission to their husbands and to their religion. If my husband asked me to wear a burqa, would I submit to that? Chances are, I'd tell him he needed to go see a counselor to deal with his issues...

In addition to this thought, I was reminded in church yesterday that this coming Saturday is a Tamil festival called Thaipusam Cavadee. This is a Hindu festival celebrated primarily by Tamil Hindus. The largest celebrations take place in India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Mauritius. You may want to Wikipedia Thaipusam to get more information. In short, people often make a pilgrimage along a pre-determined path. While they make this pilgrimage, they carry a "burden" or make some gesture to please the god being honored on this day. In some cases they simply carry a jug of milk, but in other cases people will pierce their cheeks and tongues with small spears. They may even put a hook through the skin on their back and pull a cart... (The reason this was brought up in church is that they cancelled children's meetings on Saturday because of this festival. They didn't want to encourage children to be out on the streets while this festival was taking place.)

When I heard about this festival it broke my heart... These people are mutilating themselves to appease a god. Wow... On one hand, I am absolutely heartbroken by the religious bondage that exists here. On the other hand, I ask myself, what would I be willing to do if God asked me?

Yet another religious practice that exists on the island is the practice of voodoo. Some of you may think of voodoo as myth or fairy tale, but it is actively practiced in many places. These practices range from placing curses to human sacrifice. I myself was naive in thinking that voodoo was an antiquated idea... more folk lore than anything else, but this is not the case. Many people here live in fear because of it...

Although Mauritius is a very spiritual place, it is also a very dark place. If you are reading this blog, please take a moment to pray for the people of Mauritius. Pray that true light will shine here brightly. Pray also for the "light" that your brothers and sisters here carry each day. Pray that we will be a sweet fragrance, lingering everywhere we go.

Coins, Coke, and Customs

So first of all, let me just say that coins are such a hassle. I am faced again with the challenge of learning new currency, including coins. It didn't take me long to learn the British coins and notes, but Mauritius is posing a new challenge. I believe that there are 8 Mauritian rupee coins... In addition, there are many notes to keep track of. I know that in time, I will get this all sorted, but it's a bit overwhelming right now. While it is tempting to use my debit card everywhere, I feel the need to settle in and make this home. I need to learn my new country and I am sure that rupee by rupee, I will.

Coke- so in Mauritius during September and following the Coca-Cola plant had some issues with the machine that put the cap on the bottle. This made the bottles virtually impossible to open. I remember being here in September and struggling with more than one bottle of Diet Coke. I am glad to report that this is no longer the case. I think all of these bad bottles have been consumed and now we are back to easy opening pleasure...

I have had lots of random thoughts pass through my head in recent days and I have thought... I should blog about that. Somehow these thoughts are not nearly as interesting as they were days ago. :S

Next topic, customs... To my delight, I received the items that I shipped from London yesterday. It was like Christmas opening the bags and boxes and remembering the things I owned. I held up a dress and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that one." There are several things I had been anxious to get, but the other things are an added delight. I guess you don't realize how much you like your stuff until you have to go without it... But you also realize what you could have lived without.

Finally I will comment on the climate. I have to say that overall, I am pleased with the climate here. Don't get me wrong, I get hot frequently and am mopping sweat off myself more often than I'd like to admit, but the moderation of it is so pleasant. The funny thing is that to people here a 10 degree change in temperature calls for a new wardrobe. Today was a rainy day here and as I took my daily walk to the grocery store, I got more than the usual number of looks. Now, being that I am Caucasian in a non-Caucasian country gets me a fair share of looks, but evidently wearing shorts when it's 70 degrees will get you even more. All of the locals in their jeans and jackets looked at me as if they thought I were going to freeze to death. Not to mention, get a cold for not being more covered up... This made me smile. To me, this weather is a delight... Certainly not anywhere near cold...

In addition today I noticed that there is a school on the way to the local grocery store. It is a private school with lots of white kids, so I am guessing it might be a French school. The funny thing is that it was raining as I was walking and all of the kids were outside playing. Because it rains here so frequently if there were no outdoor recess in the rain, you'd hardly ever get to be outside, but it just makes you reconsider what you are used to...

Well, that's enough for today... If you are in America, eat a taco, a hamburger or an Oreo for me... I will eat another pineapple for you. :-)

Chinese in the dark

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner with a few of his work colleagues to celebrate our marriage. It was a really nice chance to meet a few of the people that he works with and their wives. Both wives were really beautiful ladies and they were very sweet as well.

Because my Mauritian is a lawyer, it follows that out of 7 people at the table, 5 were also lawyers. That makes for some funny stories, and better yet, they all speak English fluently. My first dinner party where I could actually communicate. It was so wonderfully refreshing...

At any rate, we met in Trianon to eat at the Imperial China Restaurant. First, I must say that this is a nice place. It's not over the top fancy shmancy, but it's got a nice atmosphere, it's comfortable and professional ,and the tables aren't all bunched together. We sat down and enjoyed our meal together... We had some chicken and cream corn soup, some calamari and some fried fish, some cashew chicken (real cashew chicken, not Springfield MO cashew chicken), steamed fish and a venison dish that was absolutely fabulous. I've never had venison that tasted that good. Toward the end of our meal we all heard a "crack" and the lights were out. The electricity in the building had gone. The waiters and waitresses frantically rushed around until everyone had a candle at their table. It was an unplanned candlelight dinner. Amusingly enough, everyone also pulled out their cell phones to use as flashlights.

The bad part about this experience is that when the electricity goes, so does the air conditioning and on the second floor of a building, in a restaurant, it heats up quick... Our waitress kept asking us to be patient... Poor girl. We waited for what I would guess to be about 30 minutes. Each of us carefully picking through our food in the dark.

When it came time to pay the bill, the electricity was still not on. This meant that the waitress had to try to add up our ticket the old fashioned way. Now, let's not forget that I was at a table with lawyers, and so during this excercise the negotiating began. In the end, they negoitated us a 10% discount and a free coffee. Not too shabby I'd say.

Before we left, the electricity did come back on and we were able to have our coffee in a lighted room. I had a fun time and there was no harm done (except for the customer who ate a fish bone in the dark and tried to ask for a 50% discount... Good luck Mr.).

The reason for this blackout was unknown although losing electricity in Mauritius isn't a completely unheard of phenomenon, especially during cyclone season. I suppose it's a good reminder to pick up some candles next time I am at the store and also a good memory to keep in my head. :-)