School Festival Day

This Saturday was the Clavis Carnival, the same type of school festival as held back home.  I had no idea that such events were a world wide phenomena.  It was exactly the same as ones in Auburn - food booths, donated things for sale/auction, and games that you had to buy tickets to play, with plastic crap as the prizes.  For the boys the highlight was running around the football field with their friends.

The carnival at Clavis.

The Carnival at Clavis.   I looked equally as thrilled.

After the Carnival we took the bus home and then headed to Flic N Flac.  Karen (another Fulbrighter) hosted a Halloween party at her house, and we all had to dress in Mauritian costumes.  We spent the night at her house, and headed home Sunday morning.

Matt (another Fulbrighter) arrived as a Mauritian Sega dancer, wearing a skirt made by one of Karens students from her textile class.  Sega dancing is the very lively and colorful traditional dance of the Creoles in Mauritius.

Will and Sam went as French tourists.  You can't see it but Will has on the these horrible long plaid shorts, and they also went 'full French tourist' by arriving with their backpacks on backward.  Apparently this is done to ward off pickpockets but I think it just makes one look like.... well, a French tourist.  The Sunday market is crammed with people that all look like this, with the added chic of being sunburnt.

Sams' birthday is tomorrow, and Anna (another Fulbrighter) baked Sam a cake!

Saturday mornings are always spent at the market.  We fit that in before heading to the Clavis carnival and Flic N Flac.  Below are some pictures of things we typically see on market morning.

This is Sam at the corner by the market, waiting on our taxi to take us to Clavis.  The Courts store you see in the background is the Best Buy of Mauritius.  They sell bicycles, stereos, furniture, appliances (big and small) and some jewlery.  It is where we bought our 49.00 DVD player.

Scooters and motorcycles are everywhere.  Helmets are required (as are apparently flip-flops), but that is the only concession to safety.  Scooters can go anywhere they can fit, and note all the bags hanging off the handlebars.  Those will be filled with market produce, rehung on the scooter, and off home you go.

A typical 'snak' store.   These are everywhere.  No one goes hungry in Mauritius, and people eat all the time, everywhere.  These shops sell all manner of Indian foods.

Now where is that bus???

Just a few snapshots I took while walking from the boys school, in Moka.  Although most of Moka is fairly upclass and wealthly, as with all of Mauritius there are pockets of housing that are not so nice.  I do not feel unsafe when walk down this road (in the daytime), but it is certainly not a high end area.  I tried to get Sam to pose for a picture with a free range chicken but the chicken was not into the photo op.