first week and bit...

hello everyone! Bienvenue a l'ile Maurice!



So been here 12 days now and its going well.  First impressions of Mauritius were.. Hot and its winter..yeah baby! The mountains surrounding us are funny shaped but can be seen all around the centre plateau. We were picked up by Mandy our rep from the airport, she was standing with a sign saying 'project trust'. I was so tired.. hadn't slept for hours and now its was 9.30am in Mauritius.. 3hrs ahead of UK time. we only found this out a week ago.. aha we thought it was 4hrs. We were first taken to our home, in Eau Coulee Curepipe, it was a 1st floor apartment with a huge lounge, kitchen, bathroom area and 3 large bedrooms. However there were four of us… we needed to do a random lucky dip, we all picked out the hat and i got my own room,  My tiredness had past me now i started to unpack and make my room my own before i slept in it for the first time. Mandy came back and took us out food shopping, it was more difficult than i thought… starting from scratch! It was very cheap though. At this time we also got our Mauritian sims and phone. We then went home and put photos up. felt more like home now. family and friends surrounding me.
Our first weekend in Mauritius consisted of learning how to use the buses to get to 'flic en flac' on the west of the island where there is a public beach. 2 buses later we arrived to a beautiful golden sand beach and clear blue water. It was slightly overcast but this did not bother us. I went in the sea which was colder than imagined, and experienced Mauritian cuisine 'beach food' noodles which were amazing. We were told to leave the beach at 4 as it gets dark and dangerous. The bus took us over a place called Bambous which was very different to Eau Coulee, houses made out of cardboard and corrugated iron. The little narrow streets held so much character, regardless of what they were made of they were houses of proud owners who put their own stamp on it. Arrived home in dark and it was only 6pm. Bed was early as we were shattered. Sunday was a relaxing day, we didn't do much but cleaned the house and did washing. Received phone call from my Mum and Grandparents, was good to hear their voices.  Monday came and it was time to start work, Sheela our boss, and founder of the shelter took us on our first day. We arrived and ate with two other volunteers who were only there for 3 weeks as part of university. was so scared to go through and meet all the girls, but they were very welcoming and the little ones loved the camera! week 1 was getting to know all the children. 39 in total. They were all lovely however the language barrier is proving to be a problem at the time, im sure in time we will learn creole. During the week i taught maths, english and art. Some thrived in it and others struggled.

 Week one flew by working 930am-330pm.So tired this week. Getting on the bus we often are stared at and horns are peeped constantly when walking down the road. Here we look so different and attract a lot of attention. Some cars often slow down and ask us if we want a lift places. The weekend came and we decided to go to flic en flac again where it was sunny, went right under the water this time, a lot more white people there.. its funny that everyone stares at us but when we see white people we cant take our eyes off them and wonder what are they doing here? ha! sunday we went to Quatre Bourne market which sells a lot of indian textiles. I got another pair of cheap flip flops and a indian style top. It was interesting to see all the foods being made at the side, dal puree,briani, rotti, all mauritian foods i haven't had yet.  Did my first airmail letters and sent them on Monday.

Today we started work at 12-5 to help those who go to school with homework afterwards. We arrived and found out that 3 of the girls had gone this morning, the twins and their sister. Hit a nerve when i found out as i had became close to them, hope they get on ok where ever they go. In the afternoon i sat in the classroom with the teacher and 4 students who were doing english which i was helping with. Some of them are really good at it and puts my french to shame. Many of them talk to me about missing their families which they haven't seen for months or years, i miss mine very much as well.

So i have settled in i think, just need to focus on making a change at the Shelter.  Miss you all!


Love


D x