Welcome back! I interrupt my 5-week long vacation to tell you a little about how I spent the holidays in Reunion Island.

 

Holiday #1: The 20th of December (The Holiday of the Abolition of Slavery)

I talked about “le 20 décembre” or “la fête de l’abolition d’esclavage” (or “la Fet Kaf” in Créole) in my last post, so I won’t be redundant and talk about it again, but I just wanted to include a picture of the parade that we went to that evening.

Holiday #2: Christmas

Like many parts of the world, some aspects of Christmas here are pretty Americanized. Those who celebrate Christmas here (which seems to be most people, though not everyone, especially with the diversity of culture and religion here) decorate their homes with Christmas trees and/or nativity scenes, many go to midnight mass, and some even put up Christmas lights on their houses.

Otherwise though, Christmas does feels very different in Reunion. Some of my friends and students admitted that Christmas for them doesn’t feel very magical here like it is portrayed in all of the American movies. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s hot and tropical, but I agree that while Christmas in Reunion was wonderful, it didn’t give me that same magical wintery feeling that Ohio does. Especially since this was my first Christmas ever not in Ohio with my family. So on one hand I’m kind of grateful it felt so different, because it made it a completely different experience rather than an experience that made me constantly think of and miss my family.

As far as what exactly I did for Christmas, I spent Christmas Eve (“le Réveillon de Noël”) with my host family in the French style, with foie gras, champagne (poured over frozen letchis, which was amaaaaazing), duck, and salmon. We set off Chinese lanterns from our yard and at midnight the whole island was lit up with fireworks, which was an incredible sight to see from up on our mountain. Then Christmas Day I spent with a Créole friend, Isabelle, and had a creole meal (langoustine) with her and her family then drove around the west of the island a bit.

 

Not A Holiday But Something Else I Did

The weekend after Christmas, I spent a day in the south of the island with my friend Claudia and another friend. Claudia has been telling me for ages how the south is the best part of the island, and so much more beautiful and fun than Saint-Denis. So we planned a day where I got to see Saint-Pierre, the major coastal city in the south, as well as her small town Entre-Deux up in the mountains a little bit. I have to admit, it did not disappoint, and was just as beautiful and exciting as she said. Plus I got to experience some nightlife, which is slightly lacking up in Saint-Denis…

 

Holiday #3: New Years

I spent New Years Eve (“le Réveillon du Nouvel An”) with Isabelle again, who was kind enough to invite me along to celebrate with her and her friends in a villa in La Possession, a town just west of Saint-Denis. The evening was slightly Hawaiian themed, with leis and glow sticks and of course lots of food. There’s no New Year’s Eve TV special like in America but that’s fine because I was busy just trying to have full conversations in French the whole night. Then at midnight once again the sky was lit up with fireworks, but this time I was at sea level and palm trees were blocking the view, so I couldn’t really tell you how it compared to the Christmas fireworks. Alternatively, a lot of people celebrate the “Nouvel An” by partying on the beach in the west and from the snapchats I saw it looked really fun, so if I ever find myself in Reunion Island for NYE again, I think I want to check it out for myself…

Holiday #4: My Birthday (the most important holiday)

My birthday, which was the week after New Years, started off with an 8am appointment to validate my visa (3 months after my arrival, it’s still not validated thanks to the sloth-like speed of French administration). I didn’t mind though, because it meant I was awake and in downtown early, so after I showed up to my appointment at the Rectorat only to discover they had mistyped my passport number by one letter on the form meaning I have to go back in a few weeks (I can’t make this stuff up people), I spent the rest of the morning window shopping and relaxing at a cafe. Then I made my way back home and read by the pool, called my family back home, then spent the evening with my host mother, Simone. We had some champagne with letchis again, and had long conversations about deep social and religious topics. I have to give her so much credit for how patient she is with me and my French skills, and it also felt amazing just spending the evening of my birthday feeling competent and able to successfully have deep conversations in French finally.

Then on Saturday, I had a birthday party at the villa in La Possession again, thanks to the kindness and hospitality of Isabelle and her friends that I met on NYE. I made a playlist of nostalgic old and new American music, danced my heart out, and had a lovely night.

 

That’s all the updates I have for now, as I’m currently staying in the west with one of my coworkers and her family for a week, but I will be back again soon. Bisous.