Hello. If you come to the blog regularly, you'll notice I haven't written on here for a reeeally long time. Sorry about that. I've been pretty busy since Diwali - I went for a job interview, went to La Réunion for a week to see my Belle Famille, went to England for a month to celebrate Christmas with my family, and I got back last Saturday and then started my new job on Monday morning!
The new job is the reason this post is entitled "New Island Life"; not because I moved to a new island, but because life as I knew it is over. No more day trips, or visits to the beach on a weekday when all the children are at school, no more flying to Réunion to see Belle Maman (unless it's the school holidays), no more Pilates classess, and much less time for baking experiments. On the plus side, I'll be teaching English to small children, keeping myself busy and getting out of the house to meet people.
It's only been a week so far but I'm really enjoying it. My colleauges are friendly and the children are (mostly) well-behaved and very sweet. I could fill a blog post already with the funny stuff they come out with, but I'll save that for another time.
I haven't done much visiting recently, but I do have a few photos which I've been saving for the blog. In no particular order:
This sign (Do not wash your clothes in the river) is on a temporary bridge near to the Balise Marina, a posh complex of apartments and villas which all have their own moorings outside the front door. There are some rocks in the river where people obviously did wash their clothes, but I can't help wondering if the residents are actually bothered if people do their washing, or if it's just that the owners of the development think it makes their area look less attractive. One of the big problems in Mauritius is local people and habits being displaced for wealthy developers and this is a prime example.
Another one for the funny shop names category. Sorry for the photo quality but it was raining and I almost missed my chance. It's the One and Only Hairdresser Beauty Saloon. As well as calling it a saloon, I love the fact that they advertise a hairdresser with a picture of a woman in a headscarf whose hair you can't even see.
Home of the Perfect Bread. I haven't tested it, so can't tell you if this is true or not.
Creepy creature spotted on the living room ceiling. He minded his own business and didn't land on me or anything, so I left him to it.
This sign (Do not wash your clothes in the river) is on a temporary bridge near to the Balise Marina, a posh complex of apartments and villas which all have their own moorings outside the front door. There are some rocks in the river where people obviously did wash their clothes, but I can't help wondering if the residents are actually bothered if people do their washing, or if it's just that the owners of the development think it makes their area look less attractive. One of the big problems in Mauritius is local people and habits being displaced for wealthy developers and this is a prime example.
Another one for the funny shop names category. Sorry for the photo quality but it was raining and I almost missed my chance. It's the One and Only Hairdresser Beauty Saloon. As well as calling it a saloon, I love the fact that they advertise a hairdresser with a picture of a woman in a headscarf whose hair you can't even see.
Home of the Perfect Bread. I haven't tested it, so can't tell you if this is true or not.
Creepy creature spotted on the living room ceiling. He minded his own business and didn't land on me or anything, so I left him to it.
Hopefully I'll have a lot more to say (and time to say it) soon. Bye for now.
