For those of you who don't know (or can't remember), I'm spending seven months in the French overseas département of La Réunion, a small-ish volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, about halfway between Madagascar and Mauritius (go on, do a search on Google Maps..!). Why? I decided to re-apply to be an English Language Assistant in France (NB - I did this job 2010-2011 for the year abroad of my degree) as a "back-up" graduate plan, but the back-up somehow became my first choice when I was allocated the job in Réunion. Why wouldn't you spend 12 hours a week earning 1400€ a month on a tropical island with mountains, waterfalls, beaches and an active volcano?!
So after flying from Newcastle to Paris to Mauritius to Saint Denis almost two weeks ago, here I am. First impressions were that my nearest main town, Saint Pierre - reputed party capital of the island - was not all it's cracked up to be. Admittedly, I haven't been out to a bar or club, but the place seemed a little tatty, incredibly windy, and everyone seems to vanish at about half past six once it's dark. But it's growing on me: there's a beach and a fantastic lagoon which is great for swimming and snorkelling, and on Saturday mornings the sea front is taken over by a huge, colourful market selling everything from live poultry to sugar cane juice to French cheese. One of my favourite things about being here, though, has got to be the fact that almost wherever you go, you get either a sea or a mountain view.
I visited both of the schools I'll be working in during my first week here, and have been staying with one of the teachers. My hosts have been really lovely, but unfortunately they live a little out of the way, so I am looking to share a flat somewhere in the centre of Saint Pierre with a few other assistants so that I'll be able to get the bus easily to both of my schools. Fingers crossed we'll find one soon...!
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