Saturday, February 23, 2008

Our fabulous trip to Rodrigues...









In honor of Steve's birthday, we took a trip to the neighboring island of Rodrigues with our friends Tim, Mel, and Sarah. Rumor has it that Mauritius was like this 30 years ago. Regardless -- it was an amazing four days. The scenery is spectacular -- dramatic mountains and valleys, pristine and clean beaches. On top of that, it was immaculate and the people were SO friendly. We took a day trip to a neighboring islet -- and for a time were the only people on the beach. We visited a school that teaches disabled Rodriguans life skills and then employs them in making crafts out of coconuts (beautiful), we sampled local cuisine (octopus curry, anyone?!), and saw some local performers do the sega. It was an utterly relaxing weekend in fantastic company and we're itching to go back before our time is up here!





Terrance Simien wins a grammy!



The Embassy sponsored Terrance Simien to come to Mauritius last fall -- he and the "zydeco experience" were AWESOME! They performed a couple of times around town and it was absolutely riveting -- fun music and the first time I'd really heard zydeco. The guys were fantastic - and great American "ambassadors" for zydeco music. Recently, he and the band won the first ever best zydeco album grammy. Available on Amazon -- I urge you to check it out!

Happy 41st Birthday Steve!


Kung Shee Fat Choy!


Liam celebrated Chinese New Year at school. Here he's
pictured with one of his favorite teachers, Danielle.

Cavadee 2008



This year, we decided to avoid the traffic and check out some Cavadee celebrations close to home. This temple hosted quite a large procession.