here are some videos i took while in mauritius:
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Today was unbelievable. We had our last class of the trip, but really it was just a party with a bunch of food and games and songs and awards for the kids. During the afternoon we went to L'Ile au Benitier, a tiny uninhabited island just off the coast of Mauritius, on a small boat to do the "Coconut Challenge".
This essentially amounts to climbing a coconut tree, reaching for a coconut while maintaining your balance, climbing down, breaking it open, and then drinking the milk/juice/water/whatever inside. If it doesn't sound like a marathon to you, maybe I didn't describe it adequately, because that shit was TOUGH. In order to break the coconut you have to whack it repeatedly against a rock for about an hour. It's only very infrequently that I feel like I'm some kind of mountain man, but today was one of those days. It was pretty damn rewarding.
I have a great video but unfortunately the internet is too slow to upload it. I fell from the tree the first time I tried to climb it and I've got some nasty gashes on my legs and my arms, but I'm happy I didn't break anything. Here are some pictures, and I think my ridiculous jubilation shows:
Climbing the tree
Excitement after nabbing my coconut
After breaking the coconut open
Tomorrow we are taking a field trip with the students to Chamarel and then I'm having my farewell dinner with my family and Sam's. Then I think I'll hit the bar for one last time on this awesome little island.
My flight is on 10:30 PM Saturday (2:30 PM in the States) and then I connect through Paris to Boston. I'll be back Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM EST. I'm excited.
This essentially amounts to climbing a coconut tree, reaching for a coconut while maintaining your balance, climbing down, breaking it open, and then drinking the milk/juice/water/whatever inside. If it doesn't sound like a marathon to you, maybe I didn't describe it adequately, because that shit was TOUGH. In order to break the coconut you have to whack it repeatedly against a rock for about an hour. It's only very infrequently that I feel like I'm some kind of mountain man, but today was one of those days. It was pretty damn rewarding.
I have a great video but unfortunately the internet is too slow to upload it. I fell from the tree the first time I tried to climb it and I've got some nasty gashes on my legs and my arms, but I'm happy I didn't break anything. Here are some pictures, and I think my ridiculous jubilation shows:
Tomorrow we are taking a field trip with the students to Chamarel and then I'm having my farewell dinner with my family and Sam's. Then I think I'll hit the bar for one last time on this awesome little island.
My flight is on 10:30 PM Saturday (2:30 PM in the States) and then I connect through Paris to Boston. I'll be back Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM EST. I'm excited.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:
Crystal rock, a "floating" piece of rock that is slowly eroding away
At a road named after me in the Jardin de Pamplemousses
A woman preparing the meal at a Hindu wedding we went to (which was awesome)
Some of our younger students holding up a little quiz they took this week. I tried to make them look happy but mostly they were just bummed about having to take a quiz.
Everything is still going well, and now there are only 4 days left of the trip. My feelings are a mixture of somehow already-seeping in nostalgia for Mauritius and excitement to be back in the United States, with its big cities and people that speak English. But Mauritius has been kind to me: I've had a great time and have had the opportunity to experience many things I never otherwise would have. I don't think this will be my last post but this is the first time I've felt the need to sum things up. It's all gone by so fast.
Everything is still going well, and now there are only 4 days left of the trip. My feelings are a mixture of somehow already-seeping in nostalgia for Mauritius and excitement to be back in the United States, with its big cities and people that speak English. But Mauritius has been kind to me: I've had a great time and have had the opportunity to experience many things I never otherwise would have. I don't think this will be my last post but this is the first time I've felt the need to sum things up. It's all gone by so fast.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
It's been a while since my last update, but everything is going really well here in Mauritius. This week we decided to split the class up based on a rough age/skill-level divide, and that has enabled us to focus our efforts more effectively.
With the younger kids, we learn how to write basic phrases like "Hello my name is ____" and "I am ____ years old". With the older kids we are working on possessive words (his, her, ours, theirs, etc.) and with some more expansive vocabulary. The other day we had them draw and label their dream houses, which was pretty fun.
But there's another issue I've wanted to mention for a while now, and I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. Basically, as much as teaching English here is a positive benefit for Mauritians coming from low-income backgrounds, the only reason we're here is because the government has disadvantaged them in the first place - by making English the official language. Basically, these people are naturally bilingual - they speak Creole and French - and making them learn a third language solely to understand government documents and the like seems a bit stupid.
The way English is integrated into their curriculum is what I have the biggest problem with. Essentially, until the 4th grade, English is taught as a foreign language class much like French and Spanish are taught in America. But after fourth grade, everything switches over to being taught in English: math, science, history, etc. What happens then is that anyone who was, say, skilled in math or science but subpar in English falls behind and gets screwed over for the rest of their schooling. This hypothetical student would really struggle to graduate from secondary school.
I understand that English speaking skills are essential for those seeking work in the tourist industry, and I understand that Mauritius is a melting pot of language and culture. It just seems like the way the government has decided to implement learning English is far from sufficient.
With the younger kids, we learn how to write basic phrases like "Hello my name is ____" and "I am ____ years old". With the older kids we are working on possessive words (his, her, ours, theirs, etc.) and with some more expansive vocabulary. The other day we had them draw and label their dream houses, which was pretty fun.
But there's another issue I've wanted to mention for a while now, and I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. Basically, as much as teaching English here is a positive benefit for Mauritians coming from low-income backgrounds, the only reason we're here is because the government has disadvantaged them in the first place - by making English the official language. Basically, these people are naturally bilingual - they speak Creole and French - and making them learn a third language solely to understand government documents and the like seems a bit stupid.
The way English is integrated into their curriculum is what I have the biggest problem with. Essentially, until the 4th grade, English is taught as a foreign language class much like French and Spanish are taught in America. But after fourth grade, everything switches over to being taught in English: math, science, history, etc. What happens then is that anyone who was, say, skilled in math or science but subpar in English falls behind and gets screwed over for the rest of their schooling. This hypothetical student would really struggle to graduate from secondary school.
I understand that English speaking skills are essential for those seeking work in the tourist industry, and I understand that Mauritius is a melting pot of language and culture. It just seems like the way the government has decided to implement learning English is far from sufficient.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Hey - check it out. Sam and I made it into the Mauritius paper. Here's a picture of the article, and there's a link below to the internet version.
http://www.lexpress.mu/display_article_sup.php?news_id=112056
It's pretty funny - there are a few ridiculous inaccuracies (Sam's name is spelled wrong, my university is spelled wrong, etc.) but it's still really cool to be in the paper. We're celebs, man!
So the second week of class is over and I'm completely exhausted. Last night I went to the bar in Flic & Flac with Sam and our Mauritian friend Lorenzo, which was a lot of fun, but today I overslept and missed our group hike up the mountain. I'm sure it's going to be an awesome experience, and I can't wait to see everyone's pictures.
Other news:
-I just changed my flight so that I'll be flying into Boston with Sam, and I'll be able to spend a few days with Eliott in the Cape which will be awesome.
-I got run over by a car last week and forgot to blog about it. It hurt like crazy, but thankfully there was no structural damage in my foot.
-They wouldn't let us into the bar because we had sandals on. So we found a few people inside to throw us their shoes and we wore them to get inside. It was a little gross, I guess, and I got blisters because they were WAY too small, but it was pretty funny.
-Someone tried to pickpocket me in the market a few days ago, but the only thing in my bag was a bundle of bananas. He decided not to take them.
It's pretty funny - there are a few ridiculous inaccuracies (Sam's name is spelled wrong, my university is spelled wrong, etc.) but it's still really cool to be in the paper. We're celebs, man!
So the second week of class is over and I'm completely exhausted. Last night I went to the bar in Flic & Flac with Sam and our Mauritian friend Lorenzo, which was a lot of fun, but today I overslept and missed our group hike up the mountain. I'm sure it's going to be an awesome experience, and I can't wait to see everyone's pictures.
Other news:
-I just changed my flight so that I'll be flying into Boston with Sam, and I'll be able to spend a few days with Eliott in the Cape which will be awesome.
-I got run over by a car last week and forgot to blog about it. It hurt like crazy, but thankfully there was no structural damage in my foot.
-They wouldn't let us into the bar because we had sandals on. So we found a few people inside to throw us their shoes and we wore them to get inside. It was a little gross, I guess, and I got blisters because they were WAY too small, but it was pretty funny.
-Someone tried to pickpocket me in the market a few days ago, but the only thing in my bag was a bundle of bananas. He decided not to take them.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
After WAY too much time in an internet cafe, I managed to recover some of my lost photos. They're smaller this time around, because uploading the large-scale ones took too much time, but enjoy:
Mountain and beach at Tamarin. Probably my favorite place on the island yet.
Standing outside Casela Park
Mountains at Casela
Chamarel Falls
"Seven-colored Earth" at Chamarel
With the kids on the playground
Bamboo shantytown
Teaching, for the most part, is going well, although there are behavioral issues every day. The kids are constantly hitting each other and throwing things and crying, but as soon as you give them a piece of candy they cheer up, which is actually pretty funny to see. It's also funny to see them come into class every day with WWE t-shirts - wrestling is really popular here.
This week we've been teaching them body parts and emotions, and soon we'll move on to animals and to working more closely with sentence structure. They really liked the body parts lesson, and we played tons of Simon Says with them.
Outside of class, last night we went to an Hindu prayer, which was essentially a massive service at a local house with tons of beautiful garments everywhere, a shrine with a big fire surrounded by fruits and various ornaments, and a big feast where we ate with our hands and wore no shoes. All the old Indian women were dressed in these amazing colored silk garments, and I felt a little out of place in my jeans and t-shirt. Nonetheless it was a good time even if it was for a somber purpose; the woman who invited us, Ashwanti, organized the prayer for her father, who is very ill with Parkinson's. I don't think they can afford treatment so his prognosis is not good.
The weather has been great, for the most part, although at night it can get pretty windy and also surprisingly cold. During the day, though, it's warm and sunny, and it makes it easy to have a good time.
Teaching, for the most part, is going well, although there are behavioral issues every day. The kids are constantly hitting each other and throwing things and crying, but as soon as you give them a piece of candy they cheer up, which is actually pretty funny to see. It's also funny to see them come into class every day with WWE t-shirts - wrestling is really popular here.
This week we've been teaching them body parts and emotions, and soon we'll move on to animals and to working more closely with sentence structure. They really liked the body parts lesson, and we played tons of Simon Says with them.
Outside of class, last night we went to an Hindu prayer, which was essentially a massive service at a local house with tons of beautiful garments everywhere, a shrine with a big fire surrounded by fruits and various ornaments, and a big feast where we ate with our hands and wore no shoes. All the old Indian women were dressed in these amazing colored silk garments, and I felt a little out of place in my jeans and t-shirt. Nonetheless it was a good time even if it was for a somber purpose; the woman who invited us, Ashwanti, organized the prayer for her father, who is very ill with Parkinson's. I don't think they can afford treatment so his prognosis is not good.
The weather has been great, for the most part, although at night it can get pretty windy and also surprisingly cold. During the day, though, it's warm and sunny, and it makes it easy to have a good time.
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