Today (Saturday) we took a bus to a newer bigger shopping center and went to the Jumbo store. Think a big K-Mart with groceries and reggae (actually Mauritian sega music) playing really loud while you shop. I wanted to buy the guys a DVD player. I found one for 900 Ru (around 35.00 US). OK - I just had to go and check. Yep - it really was only 35.00 dollars! Here are the boys walking back from the bust stop, toting our haul. The three story apartment complex on their right was colored grey went we went to the market this morning - some people got really busy in a very non-tasteful way while we were gone.
I took these pictures while walking to the ShopRite to buy groceries. Our neighborhood is in the Sodnac area of Quatre Bornes, and to put it in perspective it would sort of be the upscale area of the city. People in Mauritius tend to live as very extended families, and so there is often construction to accomodate newly married sons or daughters, or grown children returning home from educations abroad. The top construction picture shows a house under construction, while the bottom shows one in which people live, and they just keep slowing adding on to the top. This goes on everywhere, and it goes a a very leisurely pace. The house next to us has been in progress for two years, apparently. Two doors down a brother is working on adding his floor to the family house, and he apparently sleeps on the pool table in the garage (it's really a car port - I can see the pool table) at night. One would think he'd get a move on.
The boys really needed haircuts, and Mela (our landlords wife) had recommended a guy (Viya) on St. Jean road, a close walk. So, after our market run this morning we walked down to Viyas shop. It was a tiny little place down a corrider (past the Hindu deity store, where Sam bought his Ganesh). Viya is a very popular guy, with all kind of people lined up for haircuts, and he gave Will and Sam GREAT haircuts! The hilarious part is that he did them in full Maritian style, with holding gel added at the end to create spikes. This is the look that all my students sport. Sam was a little unsure but now he likes it. Wills' would not stay in spikes for long, but I snapped this picture immediately after. Cost for both cuts? 200 Ru ($7.00).
This is our 'corner store'. It is one block from our house, and is a typical small place that sells sodas, the paper, snacks and other sundries. Will and Sam have decided that they can get their on their own to buy a Coke.
No comments:
Post a Comment