Just a week ago, Katie, Stephanie, and I had a really good day. You know when you wake up and you're a little bit tired, but you have this awesome day in front of you? So, no matter what, it's all going to pan out? It was a lot like that.
On Saturday evening we checked our emails (sitting outside various academic buildings stealing wi-fi because it NEVER works in our dorm) and found that Sylvie, a woman who works with international students, had invited us to go explore the eastern coast of the island with her two cheek-pinch-worthy kids, Ocean (Oh-sae-ahn) and Mathieu (Mah-tyu). We really like Sylvie. She's always so glad to see us, and apologetic for calling us into her office again for the fourth copy of our passport, or our signature on this, our resumes, our birth certificates... always something. It's such a pain to go there, mainly because we would rather they just scan these documents so they can print, copy, and fax them to their hearts' desire without bugging us. But having Sylvie makes it all worth it. Always accommodating, always willing to help, always looking out for us.
Of course, we jumped at the opportunity to spend a day speaking with a 5 and 6 year old who can blow our French out of the water, and getting a mini-van tour of a part of the island we haven't seen. So, somewhat bleary-eyed and waiting for our great day to happen, Sylvie picked us up and brought us back to her nearby apartment. We finished packing the picnic and watched some French cartoons ("Lucky Luke," based on the pioneer days of the American West), and hopped in.
She showed us the sugar cane fields, parks, and pools. We wound down the coast stopping at gorgeous old churches and a suspension bridge, a waterfall (Cascade Niagara), and a Hindu temple. We took turns sitting in the front and speaking French (she says mine has improved! I gave myself an imaginary gold star for that) and sitting in the back and listening to the kids giggling at nothing at all. We stopped to eat lunch at a beautiful park on the ocean (Anse des Cascades- Cove of the Waterfalls). We wound down a steep hillside into a forest of palms freckled with colorful Creole families sprawled on the ankle-high grass, spending their Sunday together. Old men sitting around and women watching their brood. There were waterfalls trickling down the night-black rocks, accentuating the absurd amount of green. My rods and cones could not handle it! We enjoyed a crab-cucumber-tomato-corn-lemon juice salad, macaroni and cheese (made with Camembert, not Kraft American cheese-ha!-as if), poulet grille (amazing rotisserie chicken that you only buy from shacks or roadside vendors), and fresh pineapple juice. An enormous fresh baguette was a given. It was the best lunch I've had in a long, long time, and definitely the best one I've had since being here. Homey, refreshing, complete.
We also were lucky enough to see the lava flows from Piton de la Fournaise, which is the very active volcano on the island. We saw a church called Notre Dame de la Lave, Our Lady of the Lava. After an eruption in 1977, lava flowed all the way down the mountainside and stopped about two feet from the foundation of this tiny church, and flowed around it. Needless to say, it's a pretty important landmark for the faithful of Reunion. Then, we drove by the lava fields and saw the vast expanse of craggy black with tiny shoots of green, the first stages of primary succession. We even saw lava cooling from an eruption that happened last year!!!!! Yes. And it was as cool as it sounds. Sylvie was a gracious tour guide and pulled off to let us snap a million photos of her beautiful island.
We finished the trip by going to a natural pool by the sea and watching a rainbow extend from the green jungle to the endless horizon. On the way home, we pulled off and mimicked the locals, and picked goyaviers. They look like tiny pomegranates, with flesh the texture of tomatoes, guts like passion fruits, and a taste like a spicy apple. They're about the size of ping pong balls, and oh-so yummy.
I told you it was a freaking awesome day.
On Saturday evening we checked our emails (sitting outside various academic buildings stealing wi-fi because it NEVER works in our dorm) and found that Sylvie, a woman who works with international students, had invited us to go explore the eastern coast of the island with her two cheek-pinch-worthy kids, Ocean (Oh-sae-ahn) and Mathieu (Mah-tyu). We really like Sylvie. She's always so glad to see us, and apologetic for calling us into her office again for the fourth copy of our passport, or our signature on this, our resumes, our birth certificates... always something. It's such a pain to go there, mainly because we would rather they just scan these documents so they can print, copy, and fax them to their hearts' desire without bugging us. But having Sylvie makes it all worth it. Always accommodating, always willing to help, always looking out for us.
Of course, we jumped at the opportunity to spend a day speaking with a 5 and 6 year old who can blow our French out of the water, and getting a mini-van tour of a part of the island we haven't seen. So, somewhat bleary-eyed and waiting for our great day to happen, Sylvie picked us up and brought us back to her nearby apartment. We finished packing the picnic and watched some French cartoons ("Lucky Luke," based on the pioneer days of the American West), and hopped in.
She showed us the sugar cane fields, parks, and pools. We wound down the coast stopping at gorgeous old churches and a suspension bridge, a waterfall (Cascade Niagara), and a Hindu temple. We took turns sitting in the front and speaking French (she says mine has improved! I gave myself an imaginary gold star for that) and sitting in the back and listening to the kids giggling at nothing at all. We stopped to eat lunch at a beautiful park on the ocean (Anse des Cascades- Cove of the Waterfalls). We wound down a steep hillside into a forest of palms freckled with colorful Creole families sprawled on the ankle-high grass, spending their Sunday together. Old men sitting around and women watching their brood. There were waterfalls trickling down the night-black rocks, accentuating the absurd amount of green. My rods and cones could not handle it! We enjoyed a crab-cucumber-tomato-corn-lemon juice salad, macaroni and cheese (made with Camembert, not Kraft American cheese-ha!-as if), poulet grille (amazing rotisserie chicken that you only buy from shacks or roadside vendors), and fresh pineapple juice. An enormous fresh baguette was a given. It was the best lunch I've had in a long, long time, and definitely the best one I've had since being here. Homey, refreshing, complete.
We also were lucky enough to see the lava flows from Piton de la Fournaise, which is the very active volcano on the island. We saw a church called Notre Dame de la Lave, Our Lady of the Lava. After an eruption in 1977, lava flowed all the way down the mountainside and stopped about two feet from the foundation of this tiny church, and flowed around it. Needless to say, it's a pretty important landmark for the faithful of Reunion. Then, we drove by the lava fields and saw the vast expanse of craggy black with tiny shoots of green, the first stages of primary succession. We even saw lava cooling from an eruption that happened last year!!!!! Yes. And it was as cool as it sounds. Sylvie was a gracious tour guide and pulled off to let us snap a million photos of her beautiful island.
We finished the trip by going to a natural pool by the sea and watching a rainbow extend from the green jungle to the endless horizon. On the way home, we pulled off and mimicked the locals, and picked goyaviers. They look like tiny pomegranates, with flesh the texture of tomatoes, guts like passion fruits, and a taste like a spicy apple. They're about the size of ping pong balls, and oh-so yummy.
I told you it was a freaking awesome day.
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