The grass is greener on the other side....

Since I've been back from CA (almost a year now...), I've been asked quite a few times WHY I didn't stay there. The reason is quite simple, I've been booted off: work permit expired, not renewable.

It's true what people say: you're never as patriotic as when u're abroad. Though I've been back a couple of times during my 5 year stay in CA, from time to time I'd be homesick. I'd miss my parents, my room, my dad's car...all the little things that make MU what it is for me. I'd miss the dholl puris, the samoussas, the briani, the alouda, the beach, the almost-always sunny weather.... These would be missed when it's -25 degrees outside with wind chill and I've got to go to work in 30cm of snow, but before I head out, I gotta put 3 layers of clothes on, not forgetting the boots, the scarf, the hat, the gloves and a lot of courage. When I've been waiting for that damn bus for 15 mins in bitter cold, that's when I asked myself "What the heck? why did I leave my little paradise island again?".

Then I would find myself talking about MU, being proud of coming from such an exotic place....Most people in Canada have no clue where MU is found, so I told them, it's a tiny dot in between South Africa and Australia. Believe me, that's the fastest way for them to understand! Since the coming out of the animated movie Madagascar, Canadians are more likely to know where Madagascar - the country- is, but before that, it was just HOPELESS to try to situate MU by telling them it's next to Madagascar! I could totally make them believe that MU has only 1 main road and a crossroad, that we feed on fruits right off the trees, that we reside in huts, and even that we walk around wearing leaves. There were times when Canadians would ask, with a puzzled look on their faces, "So why did you leave that paradise to come here?".



Now that I am in our little paradise lost in the Indian Ocean, I find myself missing snow from time to time. I miss the hush when all goes to a slower pace because of heavy snowfall. When you're walking in knee-high snow, trudging your way to your house, and around you, there's nothing else but snow and all you can hear is your heart beating and your labored breathing. I miss snowboarding and ice skating, I miss the hot dogs and the chips (crisps, according to Brits). I miss all things Canadian....like the "eh?" they add every now and then at the end of their sentences....

One year ago, I felt like I belonged there. Nothing at home felt like home, I was uncomfortable with the heat, I was complaining about the crazy drivers, the fact that you can't go out without bumping into someone you know or the gossip. For 3 months I stayed home like a hermit, chatting with my Canadian friends on MSN till the wee hours and waking up at noon, resisting to adapt to the lifestyle here. Then little by little, I got used to the mauritian ways again. Now, I'm one of the crazy drivers..... When in Rome, do as the Romans do they say.

People are never satisfied with what they have. When I'm in MU, I think of CA, when I'm there, I think of MU. I wish there could be a way to merge the 2 worlds I belong to.....instead of always feeling like the grass is greener on the other side.