In my nine years in the United States, I’ve only encountered two people who’ve heard of Mauritius (and no, I haven’t been on death row for nine years). One of them is the founder of this blog who, as I write this post, is green with jealousy as to my whereabouts. The other person, retired from Halliburton, was stationed on Diego Garcia in the 1970s and had witnessed the eviction of the Chagosians to Mauritius at the time.
When I tell people in America I’m from Mauritius, I’m usually asked one of the following questions:
“Malaysia?”
“Where’s that at?”
“Ah… 毛里求斯?”
In Europe, Mauritius was always considered an idyllic honeymoon destination – cheap enough to save up for, but too expensive to backpack to. Unless you knew a local family. Though that advantage, too, has been eroded by high inflation. I suppose the reason we Americans can’t find Mauritius are:
1. It’s on the other side of the globe, in the middle of the Indian Ocean
2. Hawaii is a honeymoon destination that’s highly tuned to our vacation requirements and our American dollar
3. Getting to Mauritius takes forever (which is how long it took me via Manila and Singapore this summer)
So, let me mention some fun facts about my country!
Mauritius:
1. Is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, near the African continent. The closest land mass is Madagascar. Madagascar is East of the African continent. More about that in my Geography post!
2. Is an independent country. Was Portuguese, Dutch, French, then British before becoming independent in 1968. More in my History post!
3. Is volcanic. Everyone and every species immigrated here. On a boat, usually. More in my Geography post
4. Is tropical, much like Hawaii. Geography Post!
5. Is about half the size of Rhode Island.
6. Has about 1.3 million people. About 70% of Indian ancestry, 20% African, 5% Chinese and 5% White. More in my people post!
7. Has a coral reef surrounding most of the island. The result is a spectacular turquoise lagoon for about 200 meters, bordered by foaming breakers, with the deep blue sea beyond.
8. Has white, coarse sand
9. Has an extinct volcano
10. Is mountainous
11. Exports a lot of sugar
12. Has nonstop flights from London (11 hours), Singapore (8 hours), Delhi (8 hours), Perth (8 hours), Johannesburg (4 hours). If you’re coming from the US, your best bet is to stop in London.
13. Has English as its official language. But people only speak English in school, in court or with tourists. In their homes, all Mauritians, regardless of ethnicity, speak “Kreol Morisyen”, which is a form of unconjugated French.
14. Boasts a Nobel Laureate in Literature, Jean-Marie Le Clézio
Alam Kasenally was born in London and began travel writing at age 5. His first essay, “Why I want to live in America” was written on a jagged scrap of paper and described his enchantment by the World’s biggest cars and “buildings that touched the sky”. He has since lived in Mauritius, France and Hong Kong and has finally achieved his life-long dream of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. His passions include kids, improv, flying, swimming, the quest for the perfect pain au chocolat and writing. In his spare time, he’s an entrepreneur, working on bringing technology to education.
