March 21, 2007
So I left Mauritius three days ago and I am now on my way to Chennai India. We passed Diego Garcia earlier today where the US has a large military base and a pretty nice beach from what I could see. Seeing as it has been almost two weeks since the last update there is much to talk about but I will attempt to be brief. I just reviewed this and realized it is not brief at all so sorry.
MAURITIUS BACKGROUND
Initially settled by the French in 1722, Mauritius was used as a re-supply point and military base. The French introduced the sugar industry to the island creating wealth for many individuals who owned plantations worked with African slave labor. The island was administered by the French East India Company for a long time before coming under direct French governmental control. In 1810 during the Napoleonic wars, the British took over the island and maintained control until 1968. Finally in 1992 the island broke ties with Great Britain to become a republic. The island has been growing sugar for over 250 years and sugar exports still account for 45% or so of GDP. Over 45% of the island today is covered with Sugar fields and there are six or so sugar refineries on the island today. Here’s a fun fact! Over 40% of the electricity on the island is produced by the combustion of sugar cane residue. The economy also relies on some simple textile mills and tourism for significant portions of its GDP. There are also programs in place to market Mauritius as an African offshore banking system as well as a current initiative to create a free WiFi network across the island. Already something like 25% of the island has free high speed wireless internet access. Furthermore the majority of the people on the island are of Indian descent. This is because after the British outlawed slavery in the empire in 1835, a new source of cheap labor was needed to work the sugar fields. Indentured servants from India were used and today Indians account for 68% of the population while 27% of the population considers themselves Creole. One final interesting aspect of the island is the political system. There are over 20 political parties and the government does an amazing job of allowing fair representation in its legislature. They even appoint nine seats of the legislature to the political party or parties that received the smallest number of votes in the election. If you are interested in politics look at the unique democracy in Mauritius. So that’s enough textbook talk, time for the fun stuff.
MARCH 15, 2007
My first day in Mauritius and what better way to enjoy myself than to visit a beach. We arrived late in port in the early afternoon so I missed the ropes course trip I was initially signed up for. Instead I met up with some friends and rode a bus to a beach at the southern part of the island. The bus ride was packed and cost us 21 rupees each or about 60 cents US. The exchange rate of rupees/USD was very good at about 42Rupees/1USD. So anyways, we went to Flic n’ Flac beach which was nice but had a lot of dead coral on the seabed that would poke your feet. I bought a beer at a beach bar and ended up meeting a local with about 5 teeth who ran a catamaran tourism operation. He was very friendly and we talked about George Bush, Iraq, and human tolerance. I was surprised at his sympathies for the US and his support for our initial invasion of Iraq. Later in the evening the group headed back to Port Louis (the capital) to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We then proceeded to an English Pub on the waterfront to have some drinks and watch NCAA March Madness Basketball. Yep nine hours difference from the east coast and we were watching Georgia Tech vs. ??? whoever they lost too. I asked our waitress about the game and she said many people enjoyed American Basketball, British Futbol, Indian Rugby, and American Snowboarding. This young waitress about 21 years of age who had never left the island told me she had always wanted to snowboard and loved watching it on TV. There was also a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC in the capital city. Globalization at its finest? I will admit on the last night I was sucked into the Pizza Hut as my pizza craving got the best of me.
MARCH 16, 2007
Today started early with a “Sugar Adventure” trip. I really did not know what a Sugar Adventure would be but it sounded fun. Maybe an amusement park where you get a really crazy sugar high and go on lots of rides? Perhaps a sugar pit to play in? Well that did not happen but I think it is a good idea. I would go there at least. Anyways, it was actually an old sugar mill that was converted into a museum. The museum was extremely well done and explained the history of Sugar on the island from a historical, economic, and agricultural perspective. There were many hands on activities including an old plantation train that would make smoke, blow its horn, and chug along if you answered some question about sugar correctly. It reminded me of the little train at Pullen Park which I need to ride again. I used to love that little train. We also tasted about 20 different samples of sugar with different levels of sweetness. This gave me a little sugar buzz which was appreciated because I did not get much sleep the night before. About five minutes after returning from the Adventure du Sucre I left for another more serious trip to a children’s orphanage. The orphanage was run by an NGO that took in children who were removed from their parents due to neglect or abuse. The school enrolled about 60 kids and maintained residence for about 10 kids who lived there full time. I was fortunate in that I was put with the group that had recreation day which meant I got to go back to the beach and play with all the kids. The kids were boys and girls approximately between the ages of 10 and 16. I did not have my bathing suit so I just went in my shorts and boxers. Needless to say I was the palest kid in the group and garnered much attention. However I was also the most hyper student, perhaps as a result of the earlier sugar tasting, and everyone seemed to enjoy my presence. I became an especially in demand person after I began throwing the little kids into the air and holding some on my back to do chicken fights with other kids. My age gave me quite an advantage along with the suns reflection off my white body so I became the chicken fight champion of the day along with the kid on my shoulders. I later found out the kid on my shoulders was 14 and had tattoos all over his left arm which was interesting. The best part was the drive home when Bob Marley came on the radio and all were impressed that I could sing along with the song. In fact I was the only one who actually knew the song. I forgot to mention that most of the kids were illiterate and only spoke Creole. Very few knew French and even fewer English so communication was difficult and their illiteracy will likely hurt them in becoming productive members of society. The NGO did have a small program to place graduates in apprenticeship positions at local hotels and tourist resorts but opportunities were limited. I inquired into the annual operating budget which amounted to around $125,000 USD per year. I was disappointed however to learn that there was no record as to how the kids fared after graduation. I was curious as to how many children turned to drugs and crime later in life and the gentleman had no idea and did not feel it was their business to “tag them like fish.” I find this to be unfortunate as one can not tell how effective their NGO really is without this type of data. Maybe I have just taken too many accounting courses by now? On a good note, all the children were very friendly and happy and seemed to enjoy their place there and were much better off than they would likely have been otherwise.
MARCH 17, 2007
My last day in Mauritius and I spoiled myself with some fun and relaxation by going on a full day catamaran and snorkeling trip. We boarded a beautiful catamaran about ten in the morning and returned to the dock about four in the afternoon. It was fairly uneventful but the water, air, and views were incredible as is the sunburn. While I did not get very tan, I did manage to miss a few spots with sunscreen so I now have about five random burned spots on my body which looks pretty good if I say so myself. Others may not agree but that’s alright. So the best part of the sailing was when we came up upon dolphins that were swimming and playing games with the boat. Unfortunately the snorkeling was pretty bad as there were not any coral reefs nearby so we just looked at some rocks and a sandy bottom. Lunch and beer were provided so we still made a great time of it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Mauritius was beautiful, I felt as though I were in the Caribbean or any other tropical region. The culture was diverse, the people were friendly, and the beaches were beautiful. While there was interesting history and great food I felt as though Mauritius was a destination better suited for Spring Break or a Honeymoon than anything else. In fact I ran into some British gentleman who just finished packing up from an IBM corporate celebration event there the week before for their outstanding employees or something. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to avoid this Island, but it is a long ways to travel when the Caribbean is so much closer.
WHATS NEW
The day after Mauritius we held our Sea Olympics which was a day off from classes where our respective residence halls competed against one another for the sea flame. Events consisted of a relay race, basketball, flip cup, synchronized swimming, juice pong, lip singing, scavenger hunt, team cheer, and some other stuff. It was a plethora of fun and I participated in the Juice Pong event. I spent over two hours playing juice pong in three consecutive games in the sun. Furthermore the boat was rocking and the wind blowing making for the most difficult game of pong ever. My hall, the Arabian Sea, placed second in the day’s events and hopefully that means we can depart the ship early when I arrive in San Diego. As an update I will be arriving in Chennai, India in three days. While in India I am scheduled to do a quick and exhausting tour including New Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Agra, and Varanasi where Hindus bathe in the Ganges River. On the last day I am scheduled to do a walking tour of the untouchable poverty stricken areas of Chennai. India should be a pretty eye opening place and perhaps somewhat disturbing, but I CANT WAIT!!! I will be out of touch from March 25 to 29 but will check e-mail again before Malaysia.
Mom, Dad, and Art thank you so so so so much again for this experience. I am learning so much and have not forgotten how lucky I am to be on this voyage. I am beginning to feel less like an American and more like a global citizen while on this journey. Stereotypes are being shed, my eyes are being opened, and my mind is expanding. That’s all for now and I look forward to sharing more with everyone soon.
So I left Mauritius three days ago and I am now on my way to Chennai India. We passed Diego Garcia earlier today where the US has a large military base and a pretty nice beach from what I could see. Seeing as it has been almost two weeks since the last update there is much to talk about but I will attempt to be brief. I just reviewed this and realized it is not brief at all so sorry.
MAURITIUS BACKGROUND
Initially settled by the French in 1722, Mauritius was used as a re-supply point and military base. The French introduced the sugar industry to the island creating wealth for many individuals who owned plantations worked with African slave labor. The island was administered by the French East India Company for a long time before coming under direct French governmental control. In 1810 during the Napoleonic wars, the British took over the island and maintained control until 1968. Finally in 1992 the island broke ties with Great Britain to become a republic. The island has been growing sugar for over 250 years and sugar exports still account for 45% or so of GDP. Over 45% of the island today is covered with Sugar fields and there are six or so sugar refineries on the island today. Here’s a fun fact! Over 40% of the electricity on the island is produced by the combustion of sugar cane residue. The economy also relies on some simple textile mills and tourism for significant portions of its GDP. There are also programs in place to market Mauritius as an African offshore banking system as well as a current initiative to create a free WiFi network across the island. Already something like 25% of the island has free high speed wireless internet access. Furthermore the majority of the people on the island are of Indian descent. This is because after the British outlawed slavery in the empire in 1835, a new source of cheap labor was needed to work the sugar fields. Indentured servants from India were used and today Indians account for 68% of the population while 27% of the population considers themselves Creole. One final interesting aspect of the island is the political system. There are over 20 political parties and the government does an amazing job of allowing fair representation in its legislature. They even appoint nine seats of the legislature to the political party or parties that received the smallest number of votes in the election. If you are interested in politics look at the unique democracy in Mauritius. So that’s enough textbook talk, time for the fun stuff.
MARCH 15, 2007
My first day in Mauritius and what better way to enjoy myself than to visit a beach. We arrived late in port in the early afternoon so I missed the ropes course trip I was initially signed up for. Instead I met up with some friends and rode a bus to a beach at the southern part of the island. The bus ride was packed and cost us 21 rupees each or about 60 cents US. The exchange rate of rupees/USD was very good at about 42Rupees/1USD. So anyways, we went to Flic n’ Flac beach which was nice but had a lot of dead coral on the seabed that would poke your feet. I bought a beer at a beach bar and ended up meeting a local with about 5 teeth who ran a catamaran tourism operation. He was very friendly and we talked about George Bush, Iraq, and human tolerance. I was surprised at his sympathies for the US and his support for our initial invasion of Iraq. Later in the evening the group headed back to Port Louis (the capital) to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We then proceeded to an English Pub on the waterfront to have some drinks and watch NCAA March Madness Basketball. Yep nine hours difference from the east coast and we were watching Georgia Tech vs. ??? whoever they lost too. I asked our waitress about the game and she said many people enjoyed American Basketball, British Futbol, Indian Rugby, and American Snowboarding. This young waitress about 21 years of age who had never left the island told me she had always wanted to snowboard and loved watching it on TV. There was also a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC in the capital city. Globalization at its finest? I will admit on the last night I was sucked into the Pizza Hut as my pizza craving got the best of me.
MARCH 16, 2007
Today started early with a “Sugar Adventure” trip. I really did not know what a Sugar Adventure would be but it sounded fun. Maybe an amusement park where you get a really crazy sugar high and go on lots of rides? Perhaps a sugar pit to play in? Well that did not happen but I think it is a good idea. I would go there at least. Anyways, it was actually an old sugar mill that was converted into a museum. The museum was extremely well done and explained the history of Sugar on the island from a historical, economic, and agricultural perspective. There were many hands on activities including an old plantation train that would make smoke, blow its horn, and chug along if you answered some question about sugar correctly. It reminded me of the little train at Pullen Park which I need to ride again. I used to love that little train. We also tasted about 20 different samples of sugar with different levels of sweetness. This gave me a little sugar buzz which was appreciated because I did not get much sleep the night before. About five minutes after returning from the Adventure du Sucre I left for another more serious trip to a children’s orphanage. The orphanage was run by an NGO that took in children who were removed from their parents due to neglect or abuse. The school enrolled about 60 kids and maintained residence for about 10 kids who lived there full time. I was fortunate in that I was put with the group that had recreation day which meant I got to go back to the beach and play with all the kids. The kids were boys and girls approximately between the ages of 10 and 16. I did not have my bathing suit so I just went in my shorts and boxers. Needless to say I was the palest kid in the group and garnered much attention. However I was also the most hyper student, perhaps as a result of the earlier sugar tasting, and everyone seemed to enjoy my presence. I became an especially in demand person after I began throwing the little kids into the air and holding some on my back to do chicken fights with other kids. My age gave me quite an advantage along with the suns reflection off my white body so I became the chicken fight champion of the day along with the kid on my shoulders. I later found out the kid on my shoulders was 14 and had tattoos all over his left arm which was interesting. The best part was the drive home when Bob Marley came on the radio and all were impressed that I could sing along with the song. In fact I was the only one who actually knew the song. I forgot to mention that most of the kids were illiterate and only spoke Creole. Very few knew French and even fewer English so communication was difficult and their illiteracy will likely hurt them in becoming productive members of society. The NGO did have a small program to place graduates in apprenticeship positions at local hotels and tourist resorts but opportunities were limited. I inquired into the annual operating budget which amounted to around $125,000 USD per year. I was disappointed however to learn that there was no record as to how the kids fared after graduation. I was curious as to how many children turned to drugs and crime later in life and the gentleman had no idea and did not feel it was their business to “tag them like fish.” I find this to be unfortunate as one can not tell how effective their NGO really is without this type of data. Maybe I have just taken too many accounting courses by now? On a good note, all the children were very friendly and happy and seemed to enjoy their place there and were much better off than they would likely have been otherwise.
MARCH 17, 2007
My last day in Mauritius and I spoiled myself with some fun and relaxation by going on a full day catamaran and snorkeling trip. We boarded a beautiful catamaran about ten in the morning and returned to the dock about four in the afternoon. It was fairly uneventful but the water, air, and views were incredible as is the sunburn. While I did not get very tan, I did manage to miss a few spots with sunscreen so I now have about five random burned spots on my body which looks pretty good if I say so myself. Others may not agree but that’s alright. So the best part of the sailing was when we came up upon dolphins that were swimming and playing games with the boat. Unfortunately the snorkeling was pretty bad as there were not any coral reefs nearby so we just looked at some rocks and a sandy bottom. Lunch and beer were provided so we still made a great time of it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Mauritius was beautiful, I felt as though I were in the Caribbean or any other tropical region. The culture was diverse, the people were friendly, and the beaches were beautiful. While there was interesting history and great food I felt as though Mauritius was a destination better suited for Spring Break or a Honeymoon than anything else. In fact I ran into some British gentleman who just finished packing up from an IBM corporate celebration event there the week before for their outstanding employees or something. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to avoid this Island, but it is a long ways to travel when the Caribbean is so much closer.
WHATS NEW
The day after Mauritius we held our Sea Olympics which was a day off from classes where our respective residence halls competed against one another for the sea flame. Events consisted of a relay race, basketball, flip cup, synchronized swimming, juice pong, lip singing, scavenger hunt, team cheer, and some other stuff. It was a plethora of fun and I participated in the Juice Pong event. I spent over two hours playing juice pong in three consecutive games in the sun. Furthermore the boat was rocking and the wind blowing making for the most difficult game of pong ever. My hall, the Arabian Sea, placed second in the day’s events and hopefully that means we can depart the ship early when I arrive in San Diego. As an update I will be arriving in Chennai, India in three days. While in India I am scheduled to do a quick and exhausting tour including New Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Agra, and Varanasi where Hindus bathe in the Ganges River. On the last day I am scheduled to do a walking tour of the untouchable poverty stricken areas of Chennai. India should be a pretty eye opening place and perhaps somewhat disturbing, but I CANT WAIT!!! I will be out of touch from March 25 to 29 but will check e-mail again before Malaysia.
Mom, Dad, and Art thank you so so so so much again for this experience. I am learning so much and have not forgotten how lucky I am to be on this voyage. I am beginning to feel less like an American and more like a global citizen while on this journey. Stereotypes are being shed, my eyes are being opened, and my mind is expanding. That’s all for now and I look forward to sharing more with everyone soon.
2 comments:
If you're stressed from busy life and wanted to relax,it's very wonderful to spend it here..very awesome place!i just had fun with my friends.
just so awesome beaches..
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