Meet the expats : Paul found his Virginie

Around the time of the 50th Anniversary of Mauritian Independence, we were strolling through Bagatelle Mall when we came across a smiling and jolly man with a delightful and distinctly American accent, on a stall selling the most beautiful hand-painted glasses.

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Stopping for a quick chat, he told us his name was Paul and he had moved to the island a few years ago and married the love of his life, a Mauritian lady called Virginie. Upon hearing this and being reminded of the beautiful tale set in Mauritius of Paul & Virginie, we knew we had to get him in for an interview, which he happily agreed to.

We met Paul a few weeks ago and over a round of fresh tropical fruit juices, the most interesting conversation took place. Here’s what happened…

Thank you so much for coming out to meet us, Paul. So to begin with, can you give us a bit of insight into your background?
My nationality is Spanish - from Chile, South America. My brother, my sister and I were the first to be born in the US in my family. That branch is now being extended to Mauritius, as my wife and I have a two-and-a-half year old little girl, so she’s Mauritian.

I was born and raised for 10 years of my life in Baltimore, Maryland in the USA and then moved from there to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I’ve spent most of my life in Myrtle Beach – that’s where I grew up and got involved with the family business in automotive repair. I spent 20 years in that profession.

Upon going to church, we read and studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation - and we study it together – and that is how I ended up coming to Mauritius.

Interesting! So, can you tell us more about how you ended up in Mauritius the first time?
My pastor had been coming here for 13 years in order to share and hopefully instill in the pastors on the island about how to teach the Bible – not just to read it and take what they want from it – but read through Genesis to Revelation, back and forth.

Back in 2009, I was offered to come and help out a local church here and that was for a month. When I arrived in this country, I said, “you know, this is where I am destined to come” - though it took me four years to come back after that.

So, how and why did you finally come back to settle down here?
I came back to Mauritius in August 2013. I was in Bangor, Maine, and I was to either return to Myrtle Beach and go back to my home church, or to venture out to their outreach, which was in Mauritius: assisting the church to be set up here on the island; offering resources; utilities and all sorts of amenities, in order for the church to be operational. That’s how I arrived in Mauritius and of course being here, that’s what I continued to do.

What were your initial thoughts and feelings when you arrived to settle on the island and have they changed?
I’ve absolutely loved it because when you are where you are supposed to be, everything will work out for you and everything does, one step at a time.
I think my first impression when I arrived was that there’s no turning back now. I think, like most people, I realised that it’s one thing to visit and another thing to live in a place. You can visit and you appreciate the beauty of the island.

I mean, it’s only when you live here that you see the people in their true light. We can only smile for so long. And if you’ve ever heard the expression ‘when the honeymoon’s over’… when the bliss and euphoria come to an end and then you go home to the hustle and bustle of everyday living…

Okay… So let’s talk about your wife, Virginie! How did the two of you meet?
When I came to the island, I was 30 pounds heavier and much physically stronger, and very military-like in my focus. My job at that time - because I have an automotive repair background - was to buy used vehicles, fix them up and sell them, and all this so that I would be able to buy a 15-passenger van for the church. That was the plan and the focus and therefore I wasn’t looking at some of the most beautiful women ever on the island.

Anyway, within that year my wife was attending church regularly and that’s how we met. I noticed her but my plan was to focus on the cars, and as it works out, sometimes you can have your plans but the Lord has his own plans. So I ended up building a relationship with my wife. And there is a wonderful love story here on the island of Paul and Virginie and it’s just wonderful how our relationship just worked out.

I’m still learning about my wife and dating her, we support each other and deal  with our relationship, because I can be quite difficult. My culture, the American culture, is very straight and without offence, but we’re going to do what we’re going to do and we drive forward. That somewhat clashes with the culture here because it’s very relaxed; I’ve been quite cautious of that, as I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Virginie happens to be the same way. She’s an adventurer.

And she is also an artist, right? Hence the beautiful painted glasses we spotted you selling in Bagatelle…
Yes! It’s my wife’s venture and she started to paint on glass just for fun. She started to paint to relieve herself of stress – she’s a primary school teacher. When I saw her doing that, I thought her work was absolutely beautiful and that we needed to share this with the people, so I told her to keep going and I would handle the sales. We ended up with a hundred and twenty five glasses and I thought, “let’s do something with it” and so ‘Simply Virginie Pimentel’ was born.

How is it all going so far?
Well, we are brand new. We don’t have a shop or a show room for Simply Virginie Pimentel, so everything is done in-house. We plan to have an online catalogue. The exhibition we did at Bagatelle was great. We met lots of people and made many contacts and we’re having phone calls from people that have seen our products. We’ll be setting up our Facebook page soon!

That’s great, best of luck. So, can you tell us more about your work with the Church? You seem to be very passionate about it.
When I began to read the Bible, I felt a relationship forming between me and the Lord and I felt that this is what led me to come into this area. As the Bible says, ‘make the kingdom of God your number one concern and He will give you all that you need from day-to-day’. So my job is to share that story.

What were the circumstances in your life that brought you to the calling you have?
I had a best friend back when I was eight years old. He was all religious and he introduced me to the Bible. I began to read the Bible then and we were great friends until I was around 13. Then rebellion started to kick in with drugs and alcohol and the whole nine yards and I found myself in and out of trouble well into by 30s. My pastor sent me away to a place in Bangor, Maine, where we were taught to read the Bible and build that relationship with our Lord. Then I gave up messing up.

You also mentioned that your pastor in the US sent you to Mauritius. Why Mauritius?
There are people in the US who haven’t even heard of Mauritius! 13-15 years ago, an email was sent by one of the churches here on the island mentioning that they liked our style of teaching – which is just reading the Bible, verse-by-verse - and they were interested in doing the same.

So, my pastor agreed and said, “We’ll get you going with that.” So, he visited the church people and began to give them resources and assisted them. When I started going to the chapel there in Myrtle Beach, the offer came: “How would you like to go to Mauritius?” And that waas how it started.

How do you deal with people who disagree with your message that you put across?
The Mauritian people are so friendly and kind. Their hospitality is probably one of the best that I have seen in the different places where I have been. They treat a complete stranger with tea and cake and like they’re family.

There are never any arguments, but when they disagree, it’s a case of them avoiding me or not calling me, which really hurts, especially when you thought there was a bond building. When people disagree with me, they’re still kind and they still smile but you tend to see them drifting away. Even with those of the same faith, it happens.

With your work being what it is, in your relationship with people, when you encounter someone with views contrary to yours, do you see it as your job to change their minds or do you just leave it as it is?
No, because religion is man’s way in working with God whereas relationship is God reaching down to man. If I encounter someone from another religion, it’s not for me to say they are wrong but it’s for me to say, “This is what the Bible says is right and let’s talk about it.” Do I push? No, I don’t. It has to be about respect. The key is showing my faith through my work.

Thank you for sharing that. Moving back to your feelings about Mauritius now, what would you say are your favourite things about being here?
My favourite thing about being here is - without a doubt - the food! It’s interesting to see how my palette adjusts so easily to Mauritian cuisine. Now Spanish cuisine is brilliant and food from Chile is amazing. In America, we didn’t grow up eating hot dogs and hamburgers; my mother would cook Spanish food and I think that helped me to eat everything. Now, my wife tells me that I’m eating more Mauritian cuisine than the Mauritians themselves!

Did you encounter any challenges here?
I think the manner of living is very slow and it takes some time getting used to - that took me quite a few months. I was rather tense when I first got here; I’m a more a ‘go-go-go’ guy and I found that when people say goodbye to you here, that just means we’re going to talk for another 20 more minutes! *laughs*

Another challenge during my first year was that I wasn’t permitted to go anywhere and I was under strict orders from my pastor to stay put for one year minimum. That means you cannot go out at your discretion. For that one year, it was quite a struggle, as I felt I wasn’t doing what I was here for and meet people.

And now, what are you favorite things to do on the island?
My wife being Mauritian, she herself had not visited the island so much but then we learned. We bought a vehicle and we go and visit many places like the Black River Gorges, Tamarin, the North and the South. As we visit the island, we’re always looking for a place to relocate to.

But materially speaking, I was far better off in America than I am here. But I feel I’m living a much better life and I’m so much more content. And one of the things I tell people in Mauritius is that they tend to always want more, and they’re not just appreciating what they have.

Yes, it’s definitely the simple things in life. And finally, in the long term, do you see yourself staying in Mauritius?
I do think so, yes. I don’t see any call to be leaving. I’d like to relocate from Curepipe to maybe somewhere like Black River though.

By Sabah Ismail & Khalid Khadaroo