As the title this week implies, although I haven’t gotten around to writing a blog post for awhile, thanks to the help of countless crazy, disgruntled French citizens, I am stuck at home with nothing better to do. I’ll admit I haven’t been up to much these past few weeks besides working, napping, bungling through the French language, and eating lots of food per usual. But first:

Time for more random fun facts!

• Almond-flavored things here are green. WHY? I don’t understand. Pistachios, makes sense. Mint, duh. But almond?????? Tastes good though, I’ll give it that.
• Bon appétit! French people like to eat, who doesn’t? But you know what they like even more? Saying “bon appétit” at the first sign of someone eating. They cannot even walk past a stranger eating without compulsively saying it. One night I was sitting on a curb by the bus stop stress-eating some Chinese food while suffering through a migraine unhelped by the high-pitched girl screaming into her phone in Créole next to me, and people still kept walking by and saying “bon appétit” to me. LET ME EAT IN PEACE. Other than that one time though, it’s kind of just an amusing, if not endearing, cultural quirk.
• While we’re talking about food, Americans are spoiled. We already knew that. But specifically, as Americans we rarely have to deal with bones in our food. Unless they are big and easy to chew around/on. But here, it’s common for every single little bone in a chicken curry to be present. Or worse, every tiny little damn-near-invisible fish bone. I don’t think it’s purely out of American laziness to dislike this. I think we just don’t like succumbing ourselves to constantly and undignifiedly having to pull things out of our mouths while we eat. For some odd reason, it seems no one else minds this.
• Lastly, I can’t believe I have yet to mention the Reunionese gem that is Radio Freedom. Radio Freedom is, obviously, a radio station, but it’s also so much more. Radio Freedom is the go-to source for all things traffic-related, current goings-on, locating lost items, and literally anything people feel like calling in to talk about apparently. I haven’t listened to it a lot myself yet, but I’ve heard many stories. From conversations on proper picnic etiquette to locating someone’s lost passport just by calling in to ask people to keep an eye out for it, Radio Freedom has it all. I love it.
• I keep forgetting to kiss people on their cheeks when I greet them. Though I think I’ve decided I like it as a custom. It’s a nice, albeit a bit time-consuming, way to acknowledge your peers or coworkers when you walk into a room. It’s also perfect when you’re passing someone you know, because you can stop and say hello, and get whatever small-talk in that you have time for during the kisses, and then go your separate ways without awkwardly standing there and not knowing when it’s time to walk away. The only downside is that for close friends, a hug just feels so much better.

What Have I Been Up To?

Like I said earlier, not a whole lot honestly… I’ve been hanging out with other TAPIF assistants and friends I’ve met through them, other teachers from my school, and my host mom who has been busy doing things around the island with some friends in town from France. I finally went out dancing for a friend’s birthday which was a blast. We had a picnic for another friend’s birthday (everyone in my life is a Scorpio all of a sudden…) I’ve gone to the beach a few times. Otherwise I’ve been trying to keep up with expanding my French vocabulary through French music, TV, podcasts, and YouTube (all of which often leads to taking a nap because learning new languages is EXHAUSTING). And I’ve also been going to markets and my favorite hypermarché more often than I really need to. I’m sure I’ve been doing other things as well, but honestly, who remembers?

Wait I lied, last weekend was Dipavali, otherwise known as Diwali, which is the Hindu festival of lights. Since there is a huge Indian culture and population here, there were lots of things going on. There was a parade, lots of food and clothing vendors, and a Holi celebration (the one with all of the colors that celebrates spring, since we’re currently transitioning from winter to summer here). It was lots of fun, and I’m starting to really appreciate all of the different cultures here. For example, I can’t wait to see what everyone does for Chinese New Year…

French People Love to Air Their Grievances 

Alternate title: Strikes are Scary.

Okay, let me preface this with the fact that I’m not the news channel, so if you want the facts about why French people are striking and the big picture of how it effects the country, kindly look elsewhere. I’m just going to summarize my experience of the strike and also why I think it’s hella weird.

This past Saturday was the official strike day, where people were allowed to demonstrate, wear their neon yellow jackets, and cause a lot of mayhem. I was warned all of last week to not go anywhere on Saturday because it would be impossible. So I didn’t. Basically from what I saw on the news and internet, etc. people just filled the streets in Reunion and all across mainland France to block any cars trying to get through, and to set lots of things on fire, especially once night fell.

Why though? Beats the hell out of me. Anytime I asked someone, they just kind of shrugged and gave answers along the lines of “it’s just what French people do” and something about dissatisfaction about Macron and some new taxes. That is absolutely wild to me. Especially because when I asked people if these strikes are ever effective, the answers were just as vague, if not a straight-up, “no, not really.”

But that was just Saturday, right? WRONG. Although Saturday was the only day where people were officially allowed to demonstrate, apparently no one is obeying that. Sunday was relatively calm for the most part, I was able to drive with some friends to the beach for the day and back at night without too much trouble, though my friend encountered some blockages in the road in the morning before picking us up and we sometimes saw remnants of recent fires on the road on our way back at night. But now that it’s Monday, it seems things are back in full swing, if not worse. So I’m stuck at home again, and may not even be able to get to my classes tomorrow, because everyone is saying it’s going to continue until Wednesday. Cool.

The thought that I keep having is what would happen if the entire US went on strike all across the country all at once? It would be absolute anarchy, with riot gear, and casualties, and possibly martial law. I know it’s a different culture, but this is an aspect of French culture I definitely do not and never will understand. Being upset at current politics and taxes and whatnot is not a foreign concept. But setting cars on fire in the road and inconveniencing your fellow citizens (who are probably just trying to get to work if they’re risking leaving the house at all) far more than you’re inconveniencing the things and people you’re actually mad at is bizarre to me. I understand such demonstrations on smaller scales but everywhere all at once? For little to no result? Just madness.

Please enlighten me if I’m missing something here.

On that note… I’ll leave you with some more pictures of food!!! (my mother requested them)

 

 

I’m sure you’ve been anxiously awaiting my return. Well, after two weeks of work, we had a two week vacation. Jealous?

Week 1

Along with three other TAPIF assistants (two from the US and one from Canada), I spent most of the first week on a three-day hike in Mafate, one of the three large “cirques” (calderas) on the island. Tuesday afternoon we drove up to the start of a trail at the top of a mountain and climbed down for about two hours to the small town of La Nouvelle. Afternoons on Reunion Island are often cloudy, especially the further inland you go, so by the time we set off around 1pm we couldn’t see anything amongst all the fog and clouds. It was crazy, because we knew we were at the top of a mountain, yet we couldn’t see anything past the ledges. The hike down was otherwise pretty uneventful save for the cool Enchanted Forest we passed through (that’s what I like to call it because it really looked like an enchanted forest…)

We made it to the town of La Nouvelle with plenty of time to hang out until it was time to check into our gîte (kind of like a lodge or hostel where hikers spend the night and get fed dinner and breakfast). The town is one of the biggest in the area, but it still is only accessible by foot. Well, actually it’s also accessible by helicopter, and in fact they get helicopter deliveries of supplies several times a day.

After a nice hearty meal full of rice and meat accompanied by aromatized rum (common themes in Créole eating here) we passed out under lots of blankets to combat the mountain cold. In the morning we had a very French breakfast of baguettes, butter, jelly, and our choice of coffee or hot chocolate. Not exactly the kind of fuel American hikers gravitate towards (no eggs or protein?!) but I wasn’t about to complain.

Our second day of hiking was a doozy. Luckily we were prepared. Kristi and I had purchased matching hiking backpacks (with those water pouches that have a tube and mouthpiece so you can easily stay hydrated on the go) and matching trail running shoes (which also meant we equipped our feet with matching band-aids to prevent matching new-shoe blisters). I’d only ever done day hikes before, not multi-day ones, so I was very impressed with how my small-ish backpack not only fit all the essentials easily, but the way it redistributes the weight to your hips is soooooo nice. Very happy with my purchases (not opposed to sponsorship @Quechua and @Kalenji).

We broke up the day into 3 trails. First we went from La Nouvelle to Trois Roches where there was a river featuring large boulders (more than three, so we were confused about the name) and a terrifying waterfall into a deep abyss. Then we found a Tisanerie (herbal tea shop) a little off the path that I imagine the employees must have to hike to get to each day. Next we hiked to the town of Marla for lunch, where we gave ourselves a nice long break because part of that trail included a lot of tiring uphill climbing. And the final leg was from Marla back to La Nouvelle to stay in another gîte.

Our third and final day was just the hike back up to our parking spot on the mountain. Thankfully, it wasn’t as steep or exhausting as we thought it would be, plus we took a break in the Enchanted Forest to climb some trees. Overall, the trip was super fun and had so many amazing views I’ll just leave you with some more photos and call it a day.

Week 2

For our second week of vacation, the four of us went to Mauritius. Mauritius is a small African island nation just a little northeast of Reunion Island. It’s not big, but it is actually the most densely populated country in Africa. It was also my first time officially adding Africa to the stamps in my passport (but I do wanna hit continental Africa soon too).

Mauritius is similar to Reunion in some ways. There’s a lot of French there, they also speak Creole (a different Creole though), and their food is also a fusion of African, Indian, and Chinese cuisines. Otherwise it is pretty unique. Though the island does have mountains, it has a lot more flat land than Reunion, making it much easier to drive from one side of the island to the other. It also has smaller islands surrounding it which Reunion does not. They also do more island-y things like surfing and kite-surfing (too many sharks in Reunion), eating lots of fish and seafood (overfishing in Reunion) and boating to the cool surrounding islands (poor Reunion, island-ing solo). Oh, also it used to be a British colony so they drive on the opposite side of the road. Other than that and a fair amount of people who speak some English it doesn’t feel British in the slightest.

We stayed the first four nights on the west coast, in a town called Flic en Flac where we stayed right across the street from the beach. We arrived Friday night, had a beach day on Saturday, on Sunday we (along with a bunch of other tourists) rode a boat out to swim with dolphins, and Monday we visited some really cool Hindu Temples and statues in Grand Bassin. On Tuesday we hiked the mountain Le Morne, which involved some steep, dangerous free climbing to the top which was terrifying at first then exhilarating.

Later that day we drove to Blue Bay, where we were staying the final three nights. Wednesday we drove to Port Louis, the capital, and went to the market and Chinatown. Thursday we found a guy with a sailboat who gave us a private (unless you count his skipper) day of snorkeling, island visiting, and lobster barbecue-ing. And then Friday morning it was time to return to Reunion and prepare to return to work on Monday. Or Tuesday for me since I have Mondays off 😉

Once again, I’ll leave it to the photos to give you a better idea of our time in Mauritius:

Until next time, I will leave you with one last food picture…

 

I’m back! It has officially been a little over two weeks now, and I still have plenty of moments where I have to stop and take a moment to appreciate where I am and how lucky I feel to be here on this beautiful island.

This week I’d like to start off with some fun facts about Reunion Island.

1. People here have actually heard of Ohio! I have travelled a fair amount and rarely when people ask what state I’m from do they know what on earth an “Ohio” is. Well, not here! The response I usually get is an excited “Oh! Ohio!” which warms my heart. I’m sure they know very little if anything about Ohio or where exactly it is in the US but hey, I’m still impressed.
2. The only way to get around this small island is to drive on the highway that circles around the coast. There are a few roads through the mountains in the center of the island but they’re not really a reliable way to get around. A project is currently underway to build a giant highway right off the coast aka held up on really tall pillars in the ocean. It’s very controversial because a giant suspended highway on an otherwise beautiful ocean view is kinda hideous, but supposedly the highway congestion makes it necessary. Oh, and since this is France, the EU is paying for it. I bet non-French Europeans living in small landlocked European villages are thrilled about it.
3. Speaking of highways, everyone here does actually obey the custom of driving in the right lane except when passing (my dad would be ecstatic), but even more fun than that is they leave their left blinker on for the entire time they are passing. Even if they pass 20 cars in a row. It’s really funny but also kind of cute.
4. French people make a lot of sound effects to express certain emotions or reactions. There are quite a few different ones but to me it feels like everyone just goes around making fart noises with their mouth all day, and I love it.

What have I been doing since my last post? Well, I moved from my temporary housing into my permanent housing, more on that later. I’ve been working, aka goofing off with a bunch of middle school and high school kids in the most educational way possible. I went exploring a little bit last weekend with two other English assistants. We saw some waterfalls, did a little hiking, drove around Hell-Bourg, which has been voted one of the most beautiful cities in France, and of course ate lots of creole food. That’s basically it, but let’s go more into depth about a few things. Starting with…

Language

I haven’t really gone into detail yet but I’ve mentioned to a lot of people that I was excited to start on this journey mainly to improve my French. My French skills are not where I want them to be, nor are they at the level of most of the other assistants. I knew this would make my first couple weeks here a STRUGGLE. Well, I’m happy to report that while this has been the case, I haven’t gotten as down on myself as I worried I might. Don’t get me wrong, there have been times where even my most basic French absolutely refuses to be produced by my mouth, but with the help of very kind locals and assistants alike, it’s been manageable. I owe a lot especially to one of the other American assistants Kristi, who has helped me so much and not gotten annoyed when I rely on her to be my guide and/or my transportation (because she has a car which is clutch since the busses stop by 8pm, also that pun was not intended but yes all cars here are manuals which makes all of the steep and narrow mountain driving all the more impressive). I also owe a lot to the English teachers at my schools who are so friendly and fun, and though I hope to slowly start speaking in French with them, I’m still getting the hang of my schedule and the way the schools operate etc so the fact that they all speak near-perfect English has been a huge relief.

What’s really incredible about language is that it’s only been 2ish weeks but I already feel like my brain is starting to get more and more into French mode each day. I still don’t know what people are saying more often than not, but it’s getting easier and even my speaking is starting to come a little faster. Just a little though. So this week I started a new challenge for myself where Monday through Friday, I only consume French media. So any TV shows I watch, any music I listen to, any news I read etc must be in French. Then, starting 5pm on Friday I let myself have a breather and allow English media back in for the weekend. This was only my first week of doing that, but it was easier than I thought it would be and actually pretty fun!

One interesting thing I’ve noticed about both French and English is just how much pronunciation matters. You can having amazing vocabulary and grammar but if your pronunciation is too far off people will have absolutely no idea what your saying. This goes both ways too. When I speak French with too much accent or when someone speaks English with too much accent the conversation gets nowhere. It can be frustrating but also kind of funny, especially because I’ve found the hardest things for me to understand have been when an English word is thrown into a French sentence (but is of course said in a French accent). I’ll be racking my brain for a French word that sounds like that until I finally realize it was an English word, and by then I’ve completely lost track of the rest of the conversation…

Lastly, no matter how much your language improves, there will still be moments where it all completely fails you. That happened to me two days ago when I went to the post office to mail my overseas absentee ballot (which is already not a fun process). But also, YAY I REMEMBERED TO VOTE IN TIME (thanks for all the reminders, Mom!). You have to print things a certain way, seal them in an envelope and attach certain things to the outside of that envelope and then put all of that in a separate envelope and all that jazz. I completely blanked on how to explain all this but luckily I had google translated the instructions ahead of time and taken a picture of that so I just gave that to the two kind post office dudes who were trying to help me and let them figure it out. We got it done with only a few injuries to show for it.

Where I Live Now

So, like I mentioned, I moved. I now live closer to the schools I work at, which is convenient so I don’t have to leave quite as early especially on the days I work at 7:30am. As of last Sunday, I’ve been living with a very nice French woman and her 30 year old daughter. They are both amazing and I spent two nights this week with my host mom, Simone, just talking and watching TV and drinking wine. I also was graciously invited to join her daughter Emilie and two of her friends for aperitif (similar to happy hour or a pregame, includes wine and snacks and in our case later in the night, champagne and pizza) the other night which was also very fun. Simone only speaks French which is great practice for me, and she is remarkably patient with me which I’m very appreciative of. Emilie speaks some English and one of her friends lived in New Orleans for 2 years so I spent the first half of the night still trying to speak mostly in French and by the second half got a little lazy and let myself fall into English more.

As for my room, I have a private room with a small semi-kitchenette and desk downstairs and a spacious bedroom upstairs in a loft-like situation. It’s very nice and did I mention it has that amazing view pictured above? That was taken from my window. And I can’t wait to utilize that pool when summer hits here very soon.

Whew…

Okay so this post ended up being much longer than I intended and I still didn’t touch on quite everything so I’ll either have another mini post during the week or just touch on things next week. Though prepare yourself because after two not-even-that-hard weeks of work we now have a two week vacation!!! I’m very excited and am spending the first week hiking one of the three big calderas on the island, called the Cirque de Mafate (ps if you don’t know what a caldera is, check my First Impressions post). Then the second week we are going to Mauritius!!! I’m soooooo excited and will surely bombard you with photos on any and all media platforms. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some photos of food:

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!

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!