Mauritius… you love it and hate it in the same heartbeat. Used as a pit stop between major routes since the fifteenth century, this ministate saw fortune and heartbreak accumulate side by side over five hundred years. Its atoning independence in 1968 thrust the island into one of the success stories of our time.
Leaving the colourful tapestry of pirates, privateers and slave traders for readers to discover on their own, in My Mauritius Life I paint a slice of The Rock, whose intricacies don’t always surface for visitors and expats. Potential holidaymakers and immigrants will find useful material here.
Who am I?
My Mauritian roots run deep, although I grew up and wild in Africa. I stumbled back into my birthplace in 2016 to start an agricultural project. A pen-pusher who chooses a volcanic island (pure rock) in the tropics (crawling with pests) to grow organic vegetables.
Oh, that’s what you tried? You ask.
Scalded by my fantasies and the local business culture, I conceded defeat after two years and curled up in self-pity. But we can’t rest on our failures. They’re our allies. We think the pain they inflict will incapacitate us forever. It doesn’t; it stuffs our heads with sense. Now rebooted, I’m cracking the unwritten codes of Mauritius. It helps to speak French and Creole; a hotchpotch of cultures simmer under the skin of this nation, whose sometimes infuriating “no problem” lifestyle belies complex social systems.
Come, grab your coffee and let’s go beyond the mundane.
Catherine Leclézio
Failure is a greater teacher than success. Listen, learn, go on.”