End-of-year festivities - Mauritian Students Abroad : immersing in different cultures 

Far from the eyes but close to the heart, this one phrase sums up how our Mauritian students, studying in the four corners of the world, must be feeling right now. Many Mauritian students are away from their families in this end-of-year festivities. Feeling lonely despite long, continental distances is not an option. These young people find ways to enjoy Christmas and the New Year and immerse themselves in different cultures and traditions. 

Nirvana Gunesh : “Celebrating Christmas in London and New Year in Lyon”

Since September 2018, Nirvana Gunesh has left Mauritius for her studies in France. For this Christmas, she was in London with her friends. She chose London because she has been hearing that in London, Christmas is quite spectacular and she has been yearning to experience a white Christmas. “For the New Year, I will be back in Lyon and will probably be having an Eve with friends over good food, which is quite abundant there. At midnight, as per my traditions, I will be speaking to my parents over a video call to see their faces first before beginning my year, just like every New Year since I was born. On a side note, I am very excited to see how they celebrate it here!”

She reveals that the culture differs vastly from Mauritius. “People here are generally very open-minded in the sense that they respect different cultures, sexual orientations and personal life choices. Also, in case of any injustice, whether it's administrative or political, people do not hesitate to manifest.”

Nevertheless, despite that the French gastronomy is great; the young lady missed the food made by her mother. “I do miss my family and friends, who are like an established comfort zone. The bottom line is that both countries are special in their own ways, and I am grateful to my parents that I have got the opportunity to study here.”

Zahrah Saumtally : “Spending wonderful time with friends discovering Canada”

Zahrah Saumtally is studying in Grenfell Campus, Memorial University in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She has been there for almost four months now and she is completely in love with the country. “Christmas   and   New   Year   in   Corner   Brook   is   a   little   different   from   the celebrations in Mauritius. Staying thousand miles away from home during this holiday season is tough. I will miss my parents, my siblings, my cousins, uncles, aunts and grandma. In Mauritius, Christmas and New Year are all about families, getting together for meals. Also, we celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve.”

However, she reveals that in Newfoundland, Christmas celebrations started several days before 25th December. “Christmas is truly a white one here, with about 16 feet of snow covering the ground. The Grenfell Campus Student Housing organized a Christmas tree lighting on 27th November and a Christmas potluck dinner on 30th November to mark the beginning of this amazing festive season. Both events were amazing.”

Moreover, she states that on 2nd December, she participated in a Santa Claus parade. “There is a popular tradition which I witnessed called ‘Mummering’. Local people wear masks and visit houses during the twelve days of Christmas, miming and making noise, moving around, ringing bells and asking for candy or other treats. The mummers remove their disguise and stop behaving riotously if the hosts guess their identities correctly. They also quiz the children to check whether they have been good in the past year.  If they are satisfied, the kids receive candy as reward.” 

For Christmas and New Year, there are usually parties and carnivals being hosted in almost all the clubs and pubs around Corner Brook, she adds. “For me and my friends, this festive season means spending some wonderful time together followed by the traditional Canadian Christmas and New Year dinner, which includes a delicious dish of roasted turkey with vegetables and sauces. There will also be a ritual of gift exchange among people.”

Asliyah Meeajan : “New Year in London”

Asliyah Meeajan is studying economics at the University of Angers in France. She confides that Christmas in France is amazing and full of discovery. “During this festive season, there are lots of handmade craft and locally made goodies to take advantage of. Streets are brightly decorated in the colours of Christmas, especially ‘Le Grand théâtre et la Place du Ralliement’, in the city center.”

For this Christmas and New Year, she is in London to visit her uncle. “New Year and Christmas is a period that should not be spent alone. To be sincere, I have missed the fireworks and the happy New Year kisses with my family. What I will miss the most is my mom’s happy New Year kiss. She is generally the first person to kiss me at midnight.”

Thaneeshth Bahadoor : “Celebration started as from November”

Thaneeshth Bahadoor is currently in Canada. He landed in the foreign country in August 2018. He confides that in Canada, people start celebrating Christmas as soon as Halloween is over. So during most of November and December, it is Christmas time. “The streets are decorated and most public buildings have their own Christmas tree set up and magnificently decorated in the first few days of December.” For Christmas, he has been meeting with friends coming from different countries. “We organized a ‘bring and share’. We played songs from our respective countries. We also exchanged gifts.”

On New Year’s Eve, he is planning to go out with friends and have some food and spend the end of the night on top of Signal Hill (the one rare tourist attraction in St John’s) admiring the fireworks and enjoying the concert.

International Students in Mauritius : church, beach, movies and meals with friends

If we have Mauritians students celebrating Christmas and New Year abroad, we also have African students in Mauritius. Far from their homeland, let us see how they are living through this festive season. 

Rodrigue Alonsoh : “Celebrating Christmas with children in a shelter”

Student from Ghana and studying at Amity University, Rodrigue Alonsoh has been wondering since November how will he celebrate Christmas and New Year far from his family. “Since the celebration of Diwali, I can feel the festive season and it actually triggered the celebration of Christmas for me. Just before Christmas, I had started to receive gifts from my friends. For Christmas, I kept my routine like in Ghana. I went for Christmas Carols at church, then went for movies and tried new meals I did not before.”

But one thing which really made his Christmas celebration has been the awesome party he had with children in a shelter at Forest Side. “It was a moment to share love with these children, eat with them, play with them and sing with them.”

Mark Tamale : “Work and fun goes together”

Mark Tamale, another African student, has been looking forward for celebrations. For this festive season, he made his plans already. For him, it is an amazing time to interact with people on the beach. “Who wouldn’t like to enjoy all the pleasures at a single destination? An example of one amazing place is the beach, with the crowds, the more the merrier. Walking on the beach and meet new people at every step is wonderful.”

He reveals that he is making the best of his very first festive holidays in Mauritius. “I don’t mind travelling to several places and make some discoveries. But at the same time, I am willing to take up work also and earn something. So, I am trying different places to find a reasonable job as well.” For Mark Tamale, Christmas has always been a special prayer day to thank the Lord and he kept this tradition even here. He even had a nice Christmas party during the night with friends. 

Ronald Tumusiime : “Fun time with friends and family”

Ronald Tumusiime is from Uganda and is all set to celebrate New Year with his fellow friends and families. “Usually, for the end-of-year festivities, the African student communities here, we organize a meet up. It is all about catching up together and celebrate so that no one misses their homeland. All students from different schools, we meet, we organize parties, do clubbing and go to the beach. We do lots of shopping as well. As it is hot, we prefer to go to the beach despite the crowd. We intend to spend much time in Flic en Flac and Grand Bay.”

This year, Ronald is also expecting his family in Mauritius. He has planned to spend a joyful moment in Mauritius and take advantage of his stay so far.