Zot Mauriciens

That's Creole for other Mauritians. The French is les autres Mauriciens. So the Creole takes the s from les and the aut from autres and spells it phonetically in English.

Anyway, here are some longtime friends of ours in Mauritius. Some haven't changed. Some have.

Sylvio Salomon

Corinne (Salomon) and Ivan Catherine

Merlin Armance, Kyle Catherine, and Joanne (Salomon) Armance

Bruno and Marie-Claire Toi

Marjorie Rima, David Roméo, et zot

Here Comes Johnny

Woo hoo!

For those who are American football newbies, the quarterback is the one throwing the ball, the center is the one hiking the ball back between his legs, the receiver is the one the quarterback is throwing the ball at, and the safety is the one trying to stop the receiver from catching the ball and trying to catch it himself. I'm the one wearing the solid navy blue shirt. With way too much blond hair.

Baby Brother

Well, yes, the baby is the biggest. And his voice is the boomingest. Denis and Hana are a dashing couple and can they ever sing. They sang at our wedding, and then were married the next year. They have no kids yet, and we figure they are the most likely candidates to visit us next.

Denis worked as a supervisor in a textile factory and was making good money as a young single man. Marie-Josée and Jean-Marc were operating the family pig breeding and farming operation. Once that became exceedingly profitable due to changes in import rules, Denis joined Jean-Marc in the family business. However, in 2007, the tides turned when African Swine Fever found its way to Mauritius, and wiped out over half of the pig population, including those of Denis, Jean-Marc, and ultimately those of Medgé and Jacques as well.

Having just built an impressive house largely himself just prior to getting married, Denis was able to secure a job as a mason. He is getting back into the family business as it is currently on the way back to where it was before the trouble.

Sweet and Sour

Favorite Things

Man of the House

Ruby and Jean-Marc Tanner

Phanuel and Lydia

Jean-Marc, Sammy Sosa look-alike, is Isabelle's older brother by five years, and he lives in the house in which he, Medgé, Isabelle and Denis grew up. Alongside the house in an apartment is Marie-Josée (when she's not with us, that is), and Denis and Hana are in a house that Denis built on top of the original house.

Jean-Marc followed his father Joseph to work in Israel back in the 1990s. It was there where Jean-Marc became a Christian. He preached to and had a hand in converting the rest of the family, but sadly, Joseph also had a hand in converting the family when he died in a motorcycle accident in 1999.

As a result, Jean-Marc, who married Ruby in 2002 (I was there), was there for us to fulfill his patriarchal role in the family and walk Isabelle down the aisle in our wedding. It was nice for us because he was able to bring his own tux. I guess it also didn't hurt my chances with the family that he was a newlywed while I was looking for approval from the family for Isabelle's and my engagement.

About one year ago during an outing to the beach, Phanuel was brought by his cousin to his father, lifeless and feared drowned. We are so thankful that nearby tourists saw what had happened and were able to revive Phanuel.

Les Vigilantes

Medgé and Jacques Lavigilante

Jonathan Leutéritz and Matthieu Lavigilante

Adeline Lavigilante and Julia

Chloe and Julie Lavigilante

Introducing...Matthieu, Adeline, and Julie Lavigilante, and re-introducing Medgé and Jacques, their parents, and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Jacques and Medgé have been a great help to our Mauritius project, and so have their children. Adeline in particular spent many nights with Isabelle and helped take care of Julia and Chloe. Julie contributed much with her talent as a chef, and Matthieu also did his share to entertain and otherise care for our girls.

La Famille

Julia and Grand-mère

Jacques with Chloe

Medgé and Denis, wiggin' out

Ok, so we needed a way to organize and present our photos and video of our clan in Mauritius. The ones who have come to visit us here in America are Isabelle's mother, Marie-Josée, and Isabelle's sister and brother-in-law, Medgé and Jacques. No one else in her family has yet come to visit us. Isabelle has two brothers as well, and each is married. Her younger brother, Denis, is married to Hana, and they have no children. Her older brother, Jean-Marc, is married to Ruby, and they have two young children, Lydia and Phanuel. Medgé and Jacques have three teenagers, Julie, Adeline, and Matthieu.

Isabelle's mother has one sister, Maryse, and she and her husband and kids all live in Mauritius. Isabelle's father, who was killed in 1999 in a motorcycle accident, was one of five children. Two of his sisters and their families have lived in Victoria, Australia for many years. Isabelle's cousins Florine and Fabrice live there. Florine is married to Lance, and they have one daughter, Angelique. Florine's BROTHER, Fabrice, perhaps out of necessity with a name like that down under there by the outback, is an accomplished competitive bodybuilder.

One of Isabelle's dad's sisters, Monique, moved to Quebec and married a French-Canadian, Pierre Roberge, and they have four children. The youngest, the only girl, is Kalyna Roberge, a reigning silver medalist from the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, for the short track speed skating relay. She will be skating in Vancouver in the 2010 Olympics.

Isabelle's dad's remaining sibling also lived and died in Mauritius. Two of Isabelle's cousins, Clive and Clara still live next door to the family home. Their sister, Sarah Jane, lives in Dubai, UAE, and Isabelle got to visit her there in January. I'm still so jealous.

New Year's Ham

Here's another of Chloe on a test drive...

Facebook Photos

We posted some recent photos from our travels in Facebook. We used to upload everything to yahoo photos but then they closed up shop, and we were guided toward Flicker, but we never got into it, so it looks like Facebook will be our destination of choice for photos. We threw the videos in my last post out there as well, as well as the video we have of Chloe walking for the first time.

Sega!

Here's Chloe, getting the hang of things:



And here's Julia, a bit more cautious, but also bustin' a move:



Sega is the national cultural music and dance of Mauritius. Historically, it is the event for which slaves in Mauritius (ancestors of today's Creoles, such as Isabelle and her family) would gather during the night. Men were chained to a ball on their right ankle and so danced accordingly, while the women were unencumbered, and also danced accordingly. The men's steps have been carried forward until the present time.

It was hard to believe the changes that take place over nine weeks for a three-year-old and a one-year-old. Now I'm trying to find my rhythm and some discipline with my time again after languishing in my bachelor shoes those nine weeks. Too much play and work with the girls now that their jetlag doesn't knock them out by 7 pm.

Kiwis, Hong Kongers, & Us

Here are our friends we met in Hong Kong last weekend.

Kiwis (Brenda, Amber, Richard & Jonathan)

Hong Kongers (Peter & Anita)

Us

We really enjoyed our time in Hong Kong. Peter and Anita, upon hearing we would have one less day than we thought in Hong Kong, took us on a single day's grand tour of Hong Kong like no other. We ate wonderful home town food, with chopsticks of course, and took a ferry from Kowloon, the part of Hong Kong where we were staying, to Hong Kong Island in order to visit the Peak and truly see the town. We made it back to the Kowloon side just in time for the nightly 8 pm laser show which involves at least a dozen buildings in a coordinated masterpiece set to music on our side.

On Sunday, we met up with my friends the Leotas, who just happened to be visiting parents/grandparents in Hong Kong for the first time in four years. They are from New Zealand in case the Kiwi reference got past you. We attended the Hong Kong Church of Christ, which was a very lively and uplifting experience. Then we went out for lunch and did a little shopping but no buying.

So this week, I arrived back in the US late Monday night. Isa, the girls, and Zoz (Marie-Josee, Isa's mother) finally arrived last night (Friday night). My week spent waiting was rather eventful. Tuesday was the inauguration. What a party. Wednesday, I found out that my manager, and my manager's manager's manager were getting laid off in the first wave of Bank Of America's promised 30,000 over the next three years. My manager's manager used to be my manager and is again now. Thursday, news broke that the CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain, had been a bad boy. BOA just acquired/saved Merrill in Q4 of 2008. Mr. Thain spent $1.2 million to redecorate his office last year, and he authorized and paid $4 billion in bonuses in December, during a quarter in which Merrill lost $15 billion, so that BOA would not be able to put a stop to it which they would have had the bonuses been scheduled for January which is the customary timing for such disbursements. So Mr. Thain also got laid off.

Friday, the weary travelers arrived, altogether, but their bags, thanks to some changes in the flights they took as opposed to the flights they were scheduled to take, came at all different times. One came on the flight before theirs. Two came on the flight after theirs (which was their originally scheduled flight). The last came on the flight after theirs but then got loaded back onto the next flight to Chicago. So we arranged first for it to be delivered when it arrived, at midnight or so, and then reconsidered and requested that it be delivered this morning after 8. Instead, we got a call at 2:30 am and it was delivered then. This was among Julia waking up to vomit earlier than that, and then to eat cereal later than that. Eleven hours of jetlag is no picnic. I managed to stay in bed until 10 am, though, somehow, and woke up to home made waffles, so I can't complain. Tonight, Julia and Josee fell asleep before dinner was ready at 7 pm or so.

We finally got our pictures on the PC after these many months, so we'll try to post some more of the best of those in the near future.

Hong Kong Amigos

Here we are in our hotel room with Peter and Anita Leung, our good friends who returned here after living in St. Louis. Yesterday they showed us the town, and today we met up with Brenda (Smith) and Richard Leotta, and their two beautiful kids, Amber and Jonathan. No pictures for now, but they are coming soon...

In Guangzhou

Well, here we are. Everything has gone pretty much as planned. I arrived, made it through customs, collected my bags, got some yuan at the Citibank ATM I spotted, and found the taxi stand outside the international terminal at the airport. I was able to communicate with the driver just enough to get him to take me to the Guangzhou Hotel in Haizhu Sqaure. It was at this point I discovered what seems to be really valuable in Guangzhou: change for a 100-yuan bill. I got 1000 yuan (~$145), and it came out all in 100 yuan bills. When the cab fare turned out to be 110 yuan and I gave him 200 yuan, we appeared to be at an impasse. The driver was carrying on and pulling small yuan bills out from anywhere he could find them, but it didn't look like he was going to come up with 90 yuan. So, I offered him $1 rather than the second 100-yuan bill. That is worth almost 10 yuan and he took it.

I got my hotel room, had to change rooms because they gave me one with two single beds, started charging all my dead or dying portable devices, and laid down for a ninety minute nap until it was time to return to the airport and pick up Isabelle. I went back downstairs, caught a cab, and was back on my way to the airport. On the way, the driver had to pay a toll, and he got into a five minute argument when he tried to pay it with a 100-yuan bill. They were really going at it so I leaned over in the back seat and showed my perturned pale face to the toll both operator, a young lady, and that seemed to sway her and we were on the road again. We made it back to the airport. This time the cab fare was 99 yuan. Whew! I made sure to get my single yuan bill in change.

I found my way to the exit area outside of baggage claim and customs where Isabelle should have been walking out. Her flight had disppeared off the arrival screen and I was getting nervous, but then she appeared. What a sight for sore eyes.

We got back in line for a taxi. This time some rogue driver came up and asked us where we wanted to go, and offered to take us there for 200 yuan. It was a good thing I had already been around the block. So we waited for an authorized cab. This time, we could not get the driver to understand that we wanted to go to Guangzhou Hotel in Haizhu Square. We wound up calling our contact here, Kiki, and she was able to get the message across to the driver. If there was ever a time to pay for a little international roaming, that was it.

I got caught up with my bride and gave her the grand tour from the back of that taxi, and managed to recognize some of what we passed, and we arrived at the hotel. This time, the meter read 86, and so I hoped with whatever tax had been getting added that 100-yuan would cover it. The driver started squabbling in Chinese and I could tell it wasn't enough, and then he held up one finger. Good answer! I passed him what change I had, which was the lone yuan from the ride back to the airport.

So, by now we're getting what we came for. It is good to be back together!

Seoul Man

Please forgive the redundant nature of my post titles, but this one actually sums it up pretty well. I am a man, and I'm in Seoul. There isn't much else to say, as my tank is about empty. It is a beautiful airport, and they told us the temperature outside was about 15 degrees Farenheit but in here there is no way to know. Glass everywhere, Gloria Jean's, Caribou Coffee, and a Smoothies R Us. There's even a food court that promises "western food." I already had a bagel and cream cheese with a coffee from Gloria Jean's as my second breakfast of the day, or maybe it's the breakfast for Sunday that I didn't have since Sunday got swallowed up by the International Date Line. No, I guess it's just a matter of swapping eating for sleeping, since I'll probably double up on at least two meals when I come back and get a 48-hour Monday.

I called in my Discover Card as lost since I used it to get Burger King in St. Louis but then couldn't find it to pay for a chili-cheese hot dog in LA. Between those times, I was turning my backpack inside out looking for headphones which I did not find. However, I did find my blue-tooth headset which has been AWOL for most of the last year. Then while waiting for the Korea flight, I decided I wanted to take another peek at my passport and the China visa therein, and what do you know but it had swallowed the Discover Card at some point.

So I guess it has been a relatively eventful trip so far, for just being in airports and on planes, and the wins and losses are about canceling each other out. We will see how things go once we're on the street in a Chinese city the size of Paris...

Dubai Girl, China Boy

I survived Christmas and New Year's apart from my girls. Dad came by from December 24-29 and we had a North Dakotan bachelor Christmas. It was fun. We watched movies Benjamin Button (bleah) and Crash (wow!) and played cribbage and darts.

Today at 5, I will be leaving for the airport to fly to Guangzhou, China, via LA, and Seoul, Korea. Isabelle arrived yesterday in Dubai, UAE, and she will be leaving there and meeting me in Guangzhou on Monday. She is staying with her cousin Sarah Jane who has been living in Dubai for a couple of years. Tonight they are on a safari and they are apparently having a wonderful time. Isabelle told me she wishes I was there, as do I.

After Guangzhou, we will make our way to Hong Kong. It's a second honeymoon for us. And it's a chance to visit friends who are living in or visiting Hong Kong. That's right, the kids are staying with tante Medge and ton-ton Jacque in Mauritius. In Hong Kong, our good friends Peter and Anita Leung will be there. Peter went to the University of Texas, lived in the US for 20 years, and became a US citizen, but soon after they got married they decided to move back to Hong Kong. Also, a friend I met in St. Louis whom I've visited in New Zealand will be visiting in Hong Kong while we're there. Richard and Brenda (Smith) Leota and their kids Amber and Jonathan will be visiting family.

On January 19, I will be heading back to St. Louis, and Isabelle will be heading back to Dubai. Then she makes her way back to Mauritius to pick up the kids, and her mother. They will leave Mauritius on January 22 and arrive back in St. Louis on January 23. We hope.