It’s day 10 or 11 or 12 (I legitimately have a very hard time of keeping track of what day or time it is as we are constantly changing time zones), and I’m in country number 6 of this trip.
Mauritius.
I will admit I didn’t even know where Mauritius was on a map before planning for this trip. I knew it was somewhere off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. But where exactly? No clue.
Flying in, the landscape looked like they filmed Jurassic Park here.
From when I first stepped out the airport, this country had a vibe that I was oddly familiar with it. It felt (and smelled) like a Caribbean island. The mix of people and languages, but with the Caribbean ‘melting pot’ of ‘I can’t put my finger on what your ‘race’ is or isn’t.’
(Side note: this is a product of the ‘cut and paste’ model of enslavement and colonization.)
Even as the education system here was explained to me, it has a very similar vibe as Barbados. Highly educated pupils, with a government that supports their education abroad with post-secondary scholarships.
I will be learning more about the K-12 system while I’m here and plan to do more research and writing on it once I’m back in Canada. It’s very interesting to see colonial education frameworks from similar environments - literally and figuratively - that are half a world away.
Addendum:
I want to say thank you again to all the people that made my experience in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya, safe, informative, and challenging.
As I mentioned in my speech at the closing dinner last night, this trip has forced me to come to grips with my failures and limitations as an AVP, prof, and Black Canadian that has access and socioeconomic advantages.
I know what I said may not have been received well by all, but it was important to recognize that we (those in Canada involved in PWIs) perpetuate inequity even if our best intentions are to address them. Our bodies and our position and our passports are markers for advantages over others. Particularly those on the Continent.
It’s not an easy position to be in.
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