Rhinitis, fever, dry cough, vomitting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, migraine. It sounds like the symptoms of a new super bug out of House but is in fact what i've had to deal with in the last 10 days. 10 days is a long time. 10 days ago i was still in Mauritius and having come back to the UK after 4 weeks it feels strange, having to adjust again, like being here for the first time.
Taking a step back now, being back in Mauritius was refreshing! Stepping off the plane onto the land that you took your first steps on, the land that whose beauty first graced your eyes, the land where no matter where you were in the world you knew you knew you belonged in.
The first few days we were bombarded with family and friends, and also by not so welcomed guests: mosquitos! Mosquitos are very very clever.
They wait til it's dark and you're asleep...then they attack!! Defenseless in the dark they come and go as they please stealing your blood at will. I think i got used to it eventually and they either had enough blood or got bored of the taste. Anyways, the main reason for going to Mauritius was because it was my cousin's wedding which was taking place at our house. This meant only one thing for me during the first week: cleaning cleaning cleaning! Not only cleaning; the back garden had to be cleared completely for the tent to go up and the same was true for the front and sides of the house. It was a lot of work but i didn't mind one bit! This cousin who was getting married is my sister, not in the paternal-maternal sense, but in a kind of close cousin sense. In asian/hindu culture she was my sister and i was prepared, no, i was honoured to be there for the wedding and help out anyway i could. So i helped, cleared away bushes, plants, helped move stuff and gradually the grounds of the house was clean! I noticed some people stigmatise or misconceptualise Mauritians from England. Just because i've grown up in England i have not become royalty. It doesn't make me any less of a Mauritian (even if my creole stinks!) nor does it bestow an air of pomposity on me. All that needs to be said is don't judge a book by it's cover, the dictionary has a very simple design but is filled with endless pages of interesting words!
Flip-Flops! (savats) The preferred footwear for many people in Mauritius is savat leponz or sandals. It's so much easier than shoes or trainers!...no laces, you're feet stay clean and fresh and you can put them on and take them off with ease! Here in the UK the weather doesn't always permit people to wear sandals, but the second i got home in Mauritius that's all i was wearing. During my new-found feet freedom i was in Shoprite (a large supermarket in the outskirts of Q.Bornes) helping my mum with the shopping. Now, so far, savats were cool and funky but where they fall short compared to shoes and trainers was that they don't really protect your feet, or more importantly your toes, very well. Accidentally drop a knife near your feet and you could have one less toe! Anyways, long story short, pushing the trolley along i walked into the wheel with my left foot and cut my little toe. The pain i got from it didn't really bother me, looking at my mum "errr yehhh" and then looking back down at my foot my white flip-flops were smeared with my blood. Great. Luckily we were in a supermarket, because the tissue i had didn't really do much to stop help the wound. Bought a packet of plasters, put it on, paid for shopping...and limped away.
Me blabbering on about mosquitos and savats may not interest lot of you and is probably the result of me not being able to blog exactly what I wanted whilst in Mauritius. Writing this entry now has made me delve deep into my brain and pick out events that happened a month ago! It's often difficult to paint a mental picture leaving out the most memorable parts. Weirdnes apart, being back in Mauritius brought back happiness that can't really be described on blogspot; all the family, friends and the uniqueness of the island made being in Mauritius truly amazing.
I will leave it here, next time i say a little about the wedding. hmmm ok, i'll say a LOT about the wedding!
Taking a step back now, being back in Mauritius was refreshing! Stepping off the plane onto the land that you took your first steps on, the land that whose beauty first graced your eyes, the land where no matter where you were in the world you knew you knew you belonged in.
The first few days we were bombarded with family and friends, and also by not so welcomed guests: mosquitos! Mosquitos are very very clever.
They wait til it's dark and you're asleep...then they attack!! Defenseless in the dark they come and go as they please stealing your blood at will. I think i got used to it eventually and they either had enough blood or got bored of the taste. Anyways, the main reason for going to Mauritius was because it was my cousin's wedding which was taking place at our house. This meant only one thing for me during the first week: cleaning cleaning cleaning! Not only cleaning; the back garden had to be cleared completely for the tent to go up and the same was true for the front and sides of the house. It was a lot of work but i didn't mind one bit! This cousin who was getting married is my sister, not in the paternal-maternal sense, but in a kind of close cousin sense. In asian/hindu culture she was my sister and i was prepared, no, i was honoured to be there for the wedding and help out anyway i could. So i helped, cleared away bushes, plants, helped move stuff and gradually the grounds of the house was clean! I noticed some people stigmatise or misconceptualise Mauritians from England. Just because i've grown up in England i have not become royalty. It doesn't make me any less of a Mauritian (even if my creole stinks!) nor does it bestow an air of pomposity on me. All that needs to be said is don't judge a book by it's cover, the dictionary has a very simple design but is filled with endless pages of interesting words!Flip-Flops! (savats) The preferred footwear for many people in Mauritius is savat leponz or sandals. It's so much easier than shoes or trainers!...no laces, you're feet stay clean and fresh and you can put them on and take them off with ease! Here in the UK the weather doesn't always permit people to wear sandals, but the second i got home in Mauritius that's all i was wearing. During my new-found feet freedom i was in Shoprite (a large supermarket in the outskirts of Q.Bornes) helping my mum with the shopping. Now, so far, savats were cool and funky but where they fall short compared to shoes and trainers was that they don't really protect your feet, or more importantly your toes, very well. Accidentally drop a knife near your feet and you could have one less toe! Anyways, long story short, pushing the trolley along i walked into the wheel with my left foot and cut my little toe. The pain i got from it didn't really bother me, looking at my mum "errr yehhh" and then looking back down at my foot my white flip-flops were smeared with my blood. Great. Luckily we were in a supermarket, because the tissue i had didn't really do much to stop help the wound. Bought a packet of plasters, put it on, paid for shopping...and limped away.
Me blabbering on about mosquitos and savats may not interest lot of you and is probably the result of me not being able to blog exactly what I wanted whilst in Mauritius. Writing this entry now has made me delve deep into my brain and pick out events that happened a month ago! It's often difficult to paint a mental picture leaving out the most memorable parts. Weirdnes apart, being back in Mauritius brought back happiness that can't really be described on blogspot; all the family, friends and the uniqueness of the island made being in Mauritius truly amazing.
I will leave it here, next time i say a little about the wedding. hmmm ok, i'll say a LOT about the wedding!
