Expand your social circle in Mauritius

hi, i can help you out. just get in touch

bhavish koonjul wrote:

hi, i can help you out. just get in touch

hello, how are you?

Hello everyone,

@ Bhavish Koonjul, welcome on board.  This thread has been launched to gather a maximum infos. If you care providing your feedbacks to the questions asked by the Team in post #1 it will be much appreciated and will be useful to expats/future expats.

This thread should not be used as a chatroom.

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All the best,
Bhavna

There are several ways in getting new friendships with local people in Mauritius which can be different to ex-pat meetings.

To gain an insight into the island and its people of course you can read the newspapers but it maybe easier to watch the news on the television of an evening as it is broadcast in Kreole , French and English and if interested in Hindi earlier.

Go shopping where more mauritian people go not just the SUPER 'U' or Jumbo but the smaller supermarkets that are just local groups maybe more in the DREAM PRICE style. Go to the fruit and vegetable markets in the island and market days in the major towns. You will pick up the culture and soon you will get an idea of normal everyday life in Mauritius.

do always use your own car or hire car , going on a Mauritius Bus is an experience worth having as you travel mainly with mauritian people and again you pick up on the cultural and everyday living experience.

another easy thing to do is use a couple of local store for shopping where possible to get milk , bread etc if you become a regular there you will have a friend in the shop-keeper and very often you get to see the same people in the shop as they are regulars and then you can say bonjour etc each time.

The same applies if you go to church often as you get to see familiar faces and once again you can get to make new friends from a common interest the church.

A good tip also is that if you are resident in Mauritius stop acting like a tourist , haggle for prices at the market and don't shop where the tourists shop as the sellers only want to sell you goods and make money. 
If you look and listen and watch local people and understand their ways of life then you will find that they will accept you more into their circle of friends and treat you like a Mauritian rather than a foreigner.

Hey @ Leslie,

This is some really good advice! I think the tips you give applies to living abroad in many countries but specially to Mauritius from what I can remember. I have this fun memory of going to the market at Quatre Borne with some local friends and hearing them say "Je ne suis pas un touriste!" 

Best,
Gordon

Hi Leslie,

Thank you so much for the local tips and will definitely be keen to see how the locals trade as living in Dubai has learnt me loads about expat living but each country is different.

As an expat can you give advise on the best places to live as we are currently looking for a property and with the very different areas can't seem to agree.

TIA

Jackie

You will see a lot of views about where to live in previous topics. Many say the North but personally I prefer the West - Black River / Tamarin - where the scenery is more dramatic and it is less touristy (except for Flic en Flac).