An Ameri-canine in Paris*

Bailey and Paris got to know each other Thursday afternoon . . . so many sights, sounds, smells, and tastes! Strolling on the Champs Elysees, staring up at the Eiffel Tower, book shopping in the Latin Quarter, lunch at the Sorbonne, tasting gelato on the banks of the Seine, a look at the Louvre, chasing pigeons in front of Notre Dame, circling the Arc de Triomphe in rush hour traffic, and more!  Here's a sampler of Bailey's excellent Parisian adventure. Magnifique!



*With thanks to Shelly and apologies to George Gershwin

Canine Cafe Culture

Taking in the Sorbonne

Book shopping on the Rive Gauche

Nose to Nose at Place St. Michel on the Left Bank

Notre chien et Notre Dame

Pigeons in Flight!

Tasting Gelato Along the Seine

Locks & Lyrics on the Pont des Artes

Smiling on the Seine

Locking Love on the Pont des Artes
& Throwing Away the Key

The Louvre

Arc de Triomphe

Bailey was a great passenger on the Metro and RER train

Fancy Tuk Tuk Took Us on Champs Elysees

Loved the Rides!

Bailey'll be Back!!!

Bailey's Excellent Adventure: Paris!

So far, Bailey has proven himself to be an excellent traveller in his underseat carrier.  The 11 hour flight from Mauritius to Paris went smoothly, and he slept nearly the whole night.  We are taking a rest stop at an airport hotel, then continuing our trip to Washington tomorrow.  More news to come, as we are excited to begin our 7 months stateside.  We start classes at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA next week---intensive Spanish and job skills for consular officers. Bailey will enjoy new friends, faces and sniffing out new adventures!  

Saying Goodbye

I gave a bilingual talk in English and Creole at our farewell party at the Embassy last Friday.  Here's what I said:  

Mwa ek mo madam Shelly fini fer deuzans ici moris.  Tou les zours mari bon.  Mo envi dir zot ki nou byen kontan isi moris, ek nou pa envi kit sa zoli pays la.  Avant alle, mo envi dir enn zafer.

Shelly and I have really enjoyed our two years in Mauritius---every day.  We don’t want to leave this beautiful country.  Before I go, I want to say something. 

Zot morisiens vive dan paradis. Vraiment isi sey en paradis.  Manze ? ena. Boire ? ena. La sante ? ena. Edikasyon ? ena.  Sel zafer . . . de fwa . . . sey pou ban dimoun pas envi pran responsabilite.  Souvent, mo tende « pas mwa sa, li sa »  surtout dans domaine piblik

You Mauricians live in paradise, really this is a paradise island.  Mostly you have enough to eat and drink, health care, education.  Sometimes the only problem I see is that politicians and the public sometimes don’t take responsibility---they say “it’s not my fault---it’s his fault”

Isi dan lambasad lamerik, nou pran responsabilite.  Nou guet enn problem, enswit nou al fer kit soz pou resoud li.  Par ezamp nou fin guet ban zanfans orphelin—nou fin fer proze social dans SOS Village Bambous en aout dernier.  Nou fin trouve inondasyon kote nou batiment---nou fin alle ramasse saltey ek lambassadere.  Nou fin guet ban zenfans ek ban fam gagne batté, nou envi aid zot. 

What I like about our team at the U.S. Embassy is that we don’t do that.  We see a problem and go out and work to solve it.  We saw orphaned children and we did a service project at SOS Bambous last August; we saw flooding caused by clogged drains last April and we spent an afternoon cleaning around downtown, we see children and women being hurt and we write books and put on programs to make that stop. 

Enn kitsoz byen importan pou  ameriken say promouvoir drwa de lom pou fer lepep morisyen avansay.  Surtout, nou envie ki ban zeness morisyen gagne sik-sey dans zot lavie.  Nou byen interessey pu ed amelyor lavi ban fam ek ban zenfan dans Moris.  Surtout, nou envi  ed ban fam ek ban zanfan cont abi ek violans.  

A very important role of the U.S. in Mauritius is to promote human rights . . . to do that, we want to see young people succeed, we want to help women and children be protected and safe, especially those who have suffered from neglect  or domestic abuse. 

Seki bon ek nou nouvo lekip manager ek oficiey isi a lambassade se lenerzi ek passion ki zot amen dans so travay. Deza, nou Ambassadeur ek so ekip envi trouve kouma fer ban proze importan. Kouma protez ban zenfans ek ban fam cont abi ek violans. Kouma protez lenvironman ek lamer autour nou. Nou pa kontan dir “pas mwa sa, li sa”… nouvo ekip dir “nou mem ensam---nou kapav fer sa”. Bizin protez sa paradis la.  

What I love about our new team of leaders and officers at the U.S. Embassy is the energy and passion that they bring to this work.  Already, our Ambassador and her team are finding ways to make a difference and to demonstrate American values of care, volunteerism, and service.  They want to continue this tradition of action, and of service.  After all, “service” is half of our name in the Foreign Service.  Working together, this will help keep Mauritius the paradise island that it is. 

Thank you.  We will miss you.

David and Shelly Campbell

Packed Out

That's it! Stuff is packed and on the plane and ship, headed west.  Crates headed to Ecuador and Washington . . . We will follow on Wednesday.  Bittersweet moments after such a wonderful two year tour in Mauritius.  But looking forward to new adventures.

Two Years of Silly Shots

In two years, we probably took over 10,000 photographs . . . and leave Mauritius regretting we didn't take more.  In that collection, there are a few that stand out as "silly shots" of ourselves and surroundings . . . see what you think.  

Packout!!!

Two years to the day since we arrived in Mauritius, and it is time to pack it all up and move it out.  The movers will be here in a few hours and we will spend the next couple days seeing boxes filled and loaded into crates, next to be seen in Guayaquil, Ecuador in April, 2014!  What a great tour we have had here . . . we will post more soon.