Mark Twain once stated that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and heaven was copied after Mauritius. From the day I woke up on the island after my long flight. I haven’t stopped admiring the overwhelming beauty across the entire island.
My heart sings every morning when I wake up and look over the sugarcane field, mountains, and volcanoes from my balcony. I am proud of myself because, for the first time in my life, I have been snorkeling, underwater swimming with the fish in the middle of the Indian Ocean, sky-diving, and water tubing.
I am from Baltimore, Maryland and the crime rate is extremely high. Being a young female, studying abroad alone in my host country began as a very scary experience for me because of my home town! When I drove from the airport to campus I was weary. The citizens of the island drive fast. They switch in and out of the lanes with no blinkers. They even switch into the lanes of oncoming traffic swiftly. As I held onto the door to keep from sliding around too much I asked the other students in the car who lives in my host country, “What is the number to the police?” “What do you mean?”, they said. I explained to them in the U.S. we call 911 for emergencies. No one in the car was able to tell me the number to call in case of emergencies. They all laughed at me saying things like, Mauritius is the safest place in the world. “You’ll never have to call for anything, in the event something did happen like an accident the people around would be enough help.” This took time to resonate with me but it is an obstacle that I am happy to say I have overcome. I am so grateful to have the experience to study abroad in a safe and comfortable environment.
