First Impressions

Woo! It’s been a week and a half already so I figured it’s time to share how things are going. Warning this will probably be a longer post than future ones will be since I want to try and cover a lot of subjects, so bear with me…

Arrival

After flying from Cincinnati, Ohio to Reykjavik, Iceland, then from Reykjavik to Paris (where I stayed for 24 hours thanks to the gracious hospitality of a friend – s/o to Shreya!) the final leg of my journey was an 11 hour flight from Paris to Saint-Denis, Réunion. Being me I only slept 30 minutes on said flight. Oops.

When I landed it was about 9 in the morning and I wasn’t able to get into contact with the girl whose apartment I had arranged to stay at the first week and a half. Or her neighbor who was supposed to give me the key. After standing around the airport exit for at least an hour I decided to desperately text the other TAPIF language assistants in Saint-Denis. Long story short I kind of bounced around all day, storing my luggage and mooching off of wifi until the evening when I was finally able to contact the girl who had the apartment key (she thought I was arriving a day later!).

The whole thing was a little stressful (especially on 30 minutes of sleep) but it all worked out in the end, and I even had enough time to go sightseeing around the city with the other assistants (mostly because I literally had nowhere else to go…).

Food and Drink

See where my priorities are? Well, importantly, La Réunion is part of France and it shows. There are boulangeries and pâtisseries EVERYWHERE. It’s great. But even more exciting in my opinion is the créole and international influences here. This island is a mix of different cultures and people (Indian, African, Chinese, European, etc) and over time it has cultivated a very unique cuisine influenced by these cultures and of course what the island and ocean can provide. The result is delicious specialties such as samoussas (similar to Indian samosas but smaller and crispier) and bouchons (delicious little dumplings).

My friend and fellow TAPIF-er and I have already become locals at two restaurants in downtown. One is called Je Suis Ici and it’s a cute place where they sell a variety of items for take out (an assortment of samoussas, bouchons, savory beignets, egg rolls, dumplings, and desserts like moon cakes and banana beignets). Their chicken beignets are really just fried chicken and absolutely amazing. The other place is called Inde O Chine and we stumbled upon it one night to discover that they don’t have a menu, they just have a fixed price and you get whatever the chef happens to be cooking that night. The owner is great and we’ve already befriended him. So far we’ve only been there for Indian night but are hoping to catch Chinese night one day…

Lastly, I don’t understand how everyone here is not obese, because what all the high schoolers eat is insane. They eat sandwiches that are basically huge subs filled with meat or bouchons, and topped with a ton of melted cheese. Oh, and they often like to make it American-style, which means all of the above plus fries thrown in there.

People

Everyone here is super nice. Everyone here is also insanely stylish, and my students at the high school are now my new fashion icons. Also everyone is beautiful because most people are créole aka métisse aka mixed. With all of the cultures present on this island, the people here are so beautiful and unique. And all of the curly hair here is giving me life. Plus everyone I’ve talked to so far, including my students, are very proud of their culture and their island, and that attitude is contagious.

The other TAPIF assistants are also amazing. There are other Americans, Canadians, Germans, Spaniards, and a few other nationalities, but those are the main ones. There’s a good group of us in the Saint-Denis area so it’s been great meeting up with each other and going exploring as we settle into life here.

My Job

So far my job is going great! It’s been one week so I’ve mostly just been getting to know my students and bonding with them over topics such as music and television. My fellow teachers are also great and have been insanely helpful in getting comfortable at the two schools I’m placed in (a lycée aka high school and a collège aka middle school) as well as getting through all of the French bureaucracy and paperwork I’m still not finished with…

Environment/Weather

In case you didn’t know, it’s beautiful here. Oh and it’s also currently winter so it’ll get even nicer because summer starts later this month (they only have winter and summer). Granted summer will be hotter and more humid, but it’s been kinda cloudy so far so I say bring it on. Not sure I’m ready for cyclone season yet though… I’m sure I’ll update you when that happens.

As for the terrain, the island boasts mountains, beaches, calderas (giant craters where lava chambers used to be) and two volcanos (one of which is the most active volcano in the world, and is currently erupting but I think it’s about finished so I will have to go see it next time it erupts since I didn’t get a chance to go yet – yes you can get close enough to see it erupt!). Some parts of the coast are rocky and cliff like, but there are plenty of beaches mostly along the west and south of the island (sadly I’m in the rocky north). Shark presence has been on the rise in recent years though so only certain areas are safe for swimming and other aquatic exploits.

Okay I think I’ve bombarded you with enough information for now, but check back again soon for updates! Also, if you didn’t already check it out, the home page is where I explain where exactly I am and why!