Day One... In Africa!

Friends! I promised I would keep you apprised of my trip but, the truth is, I am horrible at chronicling my experiences. So these posts might be few and far between, and long-winded by the time I actually get around to writing them. But I promise they will be full of adventure, heartache, and self-discovery. Here it is.

Day One. I landed in Mauritius at 7am on Monday morning. Mauritius is 11 hours ahead of Utah, so where you guys were it was still Sunday. I had boarded my first flight at 11:30am the previous Saturday, then I had a 1 1/2 hour flight to LAX, 2 hour layover there, then 12 hours to paris, 4 hour layover, and another 12 hours to Mauritius. Most of you know that I have a [yet to be diagnosed] sleeping disorder that causes me to sleep often and for long amounts of time. Usually it is just a big problem, but it turns out that for long international flights it actually becomes a super power! Thats right , I slept the entire way here! Every flight, every layover, I didn't read a single page or watch a single movie. It was the most painless travel experience ever. Plus, I had made myself a super comfy travel scarf (complete with hidden pocket for passport/wallet/cell phone) and wore the most functional and fashionable footwear--socks with sandals.

As soon as I stepped of the plane I could tell I was on a tropical island. It was the smell, the air just smelled so humid and clean. The mauritius airport is pretty small and was basically empty on the terminal level except for the passengers of my flight. I had already filled out my forms on the airplane and I got to the customs desk pretty quickly, expecting to be out of the airport in a matter of minutes. Not so. The customs forms asked for the address in Mauritius where I would be staying. I had left it blank because, even thought I have traveled internationally before and should have known I would need that, I neglected to ask Jessica for the address. Apparently that is not an optional field. So I was stuck at customs for a little while. In the end I gave them Jessica's parents' names and they were able to look them up in some database and call the number on file which was miraculously the correct number.

Reunited at the airport

When I got downstairs, there were more people. I was looking for Jessica, but she saw me first and called out my name. She was wearing a leapord print skirt that I gave her for her mission. It was my favorite skirt at the time and it was a big sacrifice to give it up, but she really liked it and needed clothes for her mission and I am glad that I did, she got good use out of it :). I was thinking on the plane that I might not want to hug her because she had told me earlier that she had gotten lice, and I didn't want to put my head close to hers. But once the moment came that I saw her for the first time in over a year and a half, not hugging wasn't even an option. And anyway, I had already pretty much come to terms with the lice thing. 

I wasn't really sure what to do with the sugarcane

On the way back to our house from the airport, Jessica's step dad pointed out all the mountains and beaches, and we were constantly surrounded by cornfields. Actually I just thought they were corn fields, actually they are sugar cane fields!! Randomly her mom pulled off into one of them and told us to go knock one down and eat it! It was basically like what you would imagine chewing on a corn stalk is like, only
sweeter. It was also Shivratree that day. It's an Hindu holiday where everyone builds little floats that they have to carry to the highest point of the island. So they leave on friday after work and walk all weekend so they can make it to the top on Monday. This island is very culturally rich, and they recognize every holiday for the Hindu, Muslim, Chinese, and Christian cultures. Basically there are a lot of days off of school and work, and there is always some kind of celebration going on. 

One of the Shivratee floats

I realize at this point that I am being really long-winded, but I just don't have the heart to leave any of the details out!!!

Okay so I went home, took a shower (I do that sometimes), and we were off to Casela park to pet lions!!! First we had lunch at a place called Walnut in Time with the sister missionaries. (Jessica's parents are missionaries here, that's why they live here.) The restaurant had a jar labeled "American Style Cookies" that they were selling. I guess those are very rare here. Can you believe the whole world doesn't enjoy chocolate chip cookies on a regular basis? 

Petting the lions was 1400 rupees but it was worth it!! We went into a fenced area with seven or eight lions just laying around or playing. There was a group of about 10 of us led by the guides. I thought that it would be scary but it wasnt. The guides were very cautious about keeping us together, staying between us and the lions, only letting us pet the lion from behind, never crouching down, and we all had to hold a stick to "protect" ourselves. Actually the level of caution was a little annoying, and the guides didn't follow it at all. They played with the lions, and let them lick them and everything. I guess the lions must know the guides and that is why. The lion that we pet was named Matata. The park had a couple other things to do, but we came pretty close to closing so we went on a little safari to see the zebras (Jessica's favorite) and then went home. Plus I was getting a really bad headache. I think it was just because of all the traveling I had just done/jetlag/getting used to the heat. 

So I went home, Jessica's mom rubbed my feet (we are super into reflexology) and then I went to sleep. And that is the end of day one :)