Ziplining on Mauritian Mother's Day

Happy zipliners

Some awesome video too

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Shelly in descent

Damon Inverted

Mauritius celebrates Mother's Day a couple weeks after ours; that meant Damon could take his Mom out for the day on "her" special day---her own choice of activity.  Naturally, Shelly chose ziplining multiple times across a river gorge in the rain as the preferred way to spend her special day! Chazal is a family owned wilderness adventure park near Mauritius' south coast.  There's a great zipline course crossing the gorge 8 times, with a river trek, followed by swimming and a tasty Mauritian meal, served family style.  Shelly had a blast, and Damon and his Dad were okay with it too.  Most of all, we were glad that Mom Shelly got to have her way on her special day.     

Damon Arrives in Mauritius!

He made it!  Damon arrived on schedule after nearly 30 hours of travel from Philadelphia to Paris to Plaisance airport on the southern tip of the island.  He spent some time today seeing beaches, and then taking a long afternoon nap, followed by Shelly's home cooking.  It's a joy to have him here---once he gets caught up on his sleep, he'll find lots in Mauritius to stay busy and amused . . . scuba diving class starts this week, along with a catamaran trip, hikes, ziplining, snorkeling, and some tough beach time.  He deserves the break, after making all A's on his Junior Year spring semester grades . . . in civil engineering no less!  Hooray for our boy and his summer vacation in the Indian Ocean!

Henna & Happiness

As far back as the Bronze Age, women have used a paste made from powder of henna tree leaves to create intricate, lace-like designs on their hands, arms, and feet. Signifying the celebration of an occasion of great joy, henna body art is thought to bring blessings and good luck!

This month we attended the wedding of this beautiful embassy colleague.

Her wedding preparations—like many Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian brides throughout the world where henna grows—included this time-consuming tradition; right along with hair and makeup!  

 Applied like a tube of decorator icing with a cone-like tip, it takes about an hour to dry; then one waits for the “puff” to flake off—leaving a pale brownish-orange shadow that gradually darkens to a rich auburn. This ritual became so customary in the Jewish communities of Persia, that the night before a wedding was known as “The Night of Henna.”  

Now, don’t swim in a chlorinated pool or do dishes, and your masterpiece might last several weeks – a stunning reminder of your happy henna occasion.

Backyard Sunset Watch

 We have watched some spectacular sunsets from the back yard; last night's was no exception.  The routine:  Pull out the folding chairs, uncork a nice Sauvignon Blanc, munch on cheese, crackers, and settle in for Mother Nature's beautiful spectacle.  A great way to close out the day or the week. Last night, Bailey was even in awe of the sunset and was rewarded with occasional nibbles of cheese.  There is a reclining humanoid looking sculpture out about 30 meters from the shore.  Local lore is that a sculptor created these rock formations from volcanic rock all over the island; this one was a mermaid. Over the years, the sea has reclaimed many of her features.  Still, she's a striking silhouette at sunset. Speaking of striking silhouettes, isn't Bailey looking like a ferocious guard dog?  It's his job to protect us from all the shrews that populate the yard, and mermaids that drop in from the sea . . .  it's a job he takes very seriously.

Today marks nine months since we have been living in Mauritius, and we have but 15 months left here . . . roughly 460 more backyard sunsets.  Each one unique----we never tire of our evening tradition.

Ambassador's Special Self Help Program

One of my great joys as a diplomat is being the administrator of the Ambassador's Special Self Help Grants program.  These are small foreign aid grants that are awarded and administered by the U.S. Embassy in the host country.  This year, our Embassy awarded grants totaling $80,000 for ten small projects in Mauritius and Seychelles.  The projects range from helping set up a women's catering cooperative on Rodrigues Island to rehabilitating a school for special needs children in Mauritius. Once the grants are awarded, it is up to the Embassy staff to monitor the expenditure of the funds.  Last week, I made site visits to inspect the progress of three of the grant recipients.  Our small grants are already making very large differences in the lives of many.  At a Mauritius school for developmentally disabled children, a major renovation has already taken place to expand teaching areas and make all areas wheelchair accessible. At a non-profit community center for physically challenged adults, we provided cooking equipment so the adults can get training and make some income cooking commercially.  My third visit was to a health clinic and NGO dedicated to diagnosing and treating Type 1 diabetes, for whom we bought a new state of the art diagnostic device.  The staff was receiving training just following our presentation of the equipment.

The U.S. foreign aid program is always a source of some controversy at home, particularly when the economy is as bad as is this one.  Partly, the positive results of our good works are unseen by the American public.  This stuff rarely, if ever, makes the news. By contrast, what is often seen on the news are foreign people burning our flag and taking shots at Americans.  Seen from up close, our aid projects, especially small, targeted ones like the Self Help program are extraordinary opportunities to improve the quality of life of many at relatively small cost; in doing this, people worldwide get to experience America's caring and compassionate character.  I'm proud to be that kind of American.

"I expect to go through this world but once; therefore,
any good thing I can do, any kindness I can show
to any fellow creature, let me do it now.
 Let me not defer nor neglect it.
For I shall not pass
this way again."

   ---Anonymous            

Taming of the Shrew?

No, we haven't been reading Shakespeare here on the island!

Our little dog Bailey has spent months hoping to find a playmate, but Mauritian dogs are all waaay too big and wild.  This week, during his 5am, still-dark-outside walk, Bailey jumped and barked with delight, "For I am he born to tame you, Kate."  This tail wagging, leash tugging pronouncement was immediately followed by our sad little Petruchio's shriek ...  "Oh, monstrous beast!  How like a swine .. how foul and loathsome is thine image!" 

 Not a shrew, nor a hedgehog, the Mauritian Tailless Tenrec is a cartoon-like evolutionary mixture with bristle-like fur that feels awful in your mouth - as Bailey learned the hard way!  Growing to a whopping 10 inches and 4 pounds, it sure looked like a puppy to play with, but this was nothing like the loving nips on the neck he used to give his girlfriend back in the US - blech! Sorry fella; we'll keep looking for a more suitable playmate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailless_tenrec

Carved Pineapples: A Delicious Art Form

If you read all the tourist books on Mauritius, you won't find a mention of my favorite art form . . . the art of pineapple carving.  Take a regular football sized pineapple, trim off the skin and the scratchy top; and you are left with an oblong yellow orb with pockmarks.  Then you painstakingly slice spirals around the pineapple, pockmarks are gone, and you have an artistic, delicious creation!  Drop into a clear plastic bag, and voila . . . it's nature's dessert or a great afternoon snack.  Shelly likes hers in the afternoon with hot chili and tamarind sauce; I take mine straight for breakfast.  If you happen to be in Mauritius, just ask for one by its Creole name:  "zananas plisey".  Whatever it's called, you can say we've acquired a taste for great works of art!

May Day Political Rallies in Mauritius

 

Here are Shelly's impressions of the Labour Day political rallies in Mauritius:

Today, May 1, was a public holiday in Mauritius, and a day of political rallies for the two major national parties.  Of course my political wonk husband had to go observe - both rallies - and I tagged along.  Through my untrained eye, this is what I gleaned …

• oooh, the party with the colors orange & purple has the most eye-catching banners!

• sure are a lot of 20-somethings in the Youth Party

• feeling an odd aversion to the party with an acronym that's a combination PMS and PTSD … no woman in her right mind wants that!

• why are they wasting money handing out "gimme" gifts like skimpy scarves and head bands?

• who the heck decided to place the stage so the speakers were facing into the blazing sun … fire him!

• crowds gets quieter as the temp gets hotter

• sure wishing some party had money for "gimme" gift umbrellas - any color!

• what angel decided to place the stage so the listeners had their backs to the sun … LIKE him!

• hmmmm, not a port-a-potty in sight

With these insights, I guess it's a good thing I'm not eligible to vote here!