May 2022
In this blog post, we decided to explore the children’s views on our lives in Mauritius by asking them a series of questions. As you will read, their responses are deep and insightful and will definitely let you know that life on a far away tropical island is, well, completely normal and uninspiring. (Lol!)
Question 1: What do you like about school?
Eden: That I have friends. That I have teachers to learn.
Kyler: There’s a doggie, and I like petting Caramel and playing with friends. [Note: Caramel is a dog that hangs around school. No idea who she belongs to, but the kids have named her Caramel and pet her every day. She is also fat from all the food scraps.]
Ezra: I like that there are lots of friends to play with. The teachers are nice. There’s a giant jungle gym. The food is good.
Question 2: What is the best part of Lighthouse School?
Eden: Fantastic Friday! On Fantastic Friday we play on the playground, and sometimes we do stuff different like go on a treasure hunt like we did for pirate day.
Kyler: Going to Daddy’s classroom and playing football [aka-soccer]. I like having daddy’s classroom where I go to school.
Ezra: Art, music, playtime, and numeracy, literacy, and IPC, and friends. [Note: Numeracy is math, Literacy is reading and writing, and IPC is a combination of history, geography, and science. So basically all the subjects.]
[Note: Eden and Kyler’s classes have both been learning about islands and compass directions, so the teachers arranged a treasure hunt on campus. They got to dress like pirates and use maps to find a hidden treasure!]
Question 3: What are you learning this year?
Eden: About islands. I learned about pirates and that some pirates are bad and steal stuff. I learned to write with full stops [aka-periods] and finger spaces, and I know how to draw in the lines. I learned how to read.
Kyler: About “ie” words like lie and spies. I forget what else.
Ezra: Myths and legends, measurement and reading a 24-hour clock, multiplication, map and coordinates, about lines in art, and preparing to sing for a music evening in music class.
Question 4: What would you tell someone who was coming to Lighthouse for the first time?
Eden: It’s fun.
Kyler: The playground is up high, and I would show them.
Ezra: That it is a nice school, and it’s a Christian school
Question 5: What is your favorite thing to do outside of school?
Eden: Play games and video game, watch movies with popcorn, go to the beach, play with friends, riding scooters.
Kyler: Go to the Casela, go ride cars and scooters, play with the puppies at home, go to the beach, go to other people’s houses, watch Sonic the movie. [Note: Casela is a nature/safari park, and riding cars means little electric cars that you can rent for children to drive at a local mall.]
Ezra: Casela, gymnastics, McDonalds, the cinema, the beach, having play dates
Question 6: What is the strangest thing about Mauritius?
Eden: It’s so tiny.
Kyler: When we went to a hike we saw race cars. That was weird. The seven colored earth.
Ezra: That you can rarely see cats, and that there are a lot of stray dogs. Tiny roads.
[Note: When we went out for a recent hike, we stumbled across a bunch of race cars and drivers parked by the hiking site. We had no idea what was going on, but turns out we stumbled upon the Mauritius Motor Racing Club’s championship race at La Pipe. We didn’t actually get to see the race, but when we left, they had to let us out of the police barricade that separated the cars/drivers from the public access. We came before the barricade was up with no clue. The seven colored earth is a tourist attraction that Kyler has only seen in photos…so…I guess that’s strange too?]
Question 7: What is the thing you like most about living in Mauritius?
Eden: That we have upstairs and downstairs [in our house].
Kyler: We get to go to Casela, and we see Ms. Sunitha and Ms. Opaline [his teachers]. And we get to learn about kindness.
Ezra: Dogs. McDonalds. That there’s a nice school called Lighthouse.
Question 8: Is there anything you miss about the US?
Eden: Yes. All my toys and that I miss Pepper and Mr. Kitty [our pets]. I miss the top bunk.
Kyler: Yes, my friends. Our house and our neighbors. Going to the zoo.
Ezra: Lunchables, school, friends. Cheerios that don’t taste horrible.
Question 9: What is your favorite thing about Mauritius?
Eden: That we have parents that let us go to school to learn. I am thankful I have parents because some other people don’t.
Kyler: Going to school
Ezra: Beaches, friends, birthday parties with friends, and having puppies
Question 10: What is your favorite Mauritian food?
Eden: Samoussas
Kyler: Samoussas
Ezra: Not-spicy roti and samoussas, and mine frite too!
Question 11: What do you think is different about Mauritius than the US?
Eden: That there’s not Carowinds.
Kyler: It’s a smaller place, and it has tiny roads.
Ezra: They don’t have a lot of toy stores, and they have different foods.
Question 12: Anything else that you would like people to know?
Eden: I like that there are a bunch of dogs because some are friendly and we make friends with them.
Kyler: I like eating pizza and mac and cheese and spaghetti, and I like sleeping. Mommy and Daddy are the best parents ever.
Ezra: You should come to Mauritius!
And there you have it folks! The pensive reflections of our children. Notice that even in asking about what is strange or different about living in Mauritius, no one mentioned different languages, odd-looking Hindu idols, friends from all over the world, different clothing and cultures, being surrounded by an ocean, or even the eternal summer weather. To them, this is all just part of everyday life. We hope some of these responses brought a smile to your face, just like they did ours!
Other news and updates…
The government recently starting offering the Pfizer covid vaccine for children ages 5-11. As such, our children were all able to get their first does of the vaccine and are due for a second dose in July.
A few weeks before our last term break in April, someone dumped a pair puppies at the school. They were receiving minimal feeding and care, but it was heartbreaking to see them so skinny and penned up (to keep them out of classrooms). We were concerned about what would happen to them over the four week school holiday, so we decided to take them home and foster them during the break. They needed medical treatment and proper feeding and grooming, but now they are doing much better! We hope to find a new permanent home for them soon.
Ezra recently had the opportunity to join Emily in singing at Community Baptist Church. She loves to sing and did a great job. We are so proud of her!
The home church that we attend at Mr. Ashley’s house is also growing and several people were baptized in the month of April. We also had a fun celebration of Easter with the home church on Lighthouse’s campus.
With Peace, Love, and Gratitude 