Meet the Expats : From Cold Country to the Tropics

Gitana Kootbally, 26, has been working as a physiotherapist in Mauritius since 2016. She is of Lithuanian origin, from Telsiai, the former capital of Lithuania. She got  married to Shuaib Kootbally and since then has settled in our country as an expat. 

Gitana first met her husband, Shuaib Kootbally, in 2011 through the Internet. “Shuaib introduced himself as a Mauritian; I had never heard of Mauritius before,” she confides. However, attracted by the kindness and polite words of Shuaib, Gitana was keen to learn more about this multicultural island in the Indian Ocean, which was very far from Lithuania. “Shuaib made me love the island even without seeing it, and as our relationship was evolving, he invited me to visit his country, which I could not resist,” she narrates. In 2013, Gitana came to visit Mauritius and three years later, they got married. Since then, she has been living here with the Kootbally family in Port Louis.

She confides that she misses her country a lot, as things are different in Europe, especially the climate, which is much cooler than in Mauritius. She travels to Lithuania every year with her husband to visit her family. “They want to visit Mauritius. So, there could be a lot of Lithuanians coming to Mauritius in the near future,” she said with a smile.

Adaptation to the Mauritian culture and climate

Gitana reveals that it took her several months to adapt to the Mauritian culture. It might appear easy to adapt to a new country, but the hot climate and the spicy food were real challenges for her. “In Mauritius, there are a lot beautiful mountains offering gorgeous views but there are no facilities that can take you up there yet. In my country, I was used to mountain hiking, I found it difficult it to walk around because of the narrowness, unevenness of the footpath or you simply don’t have a path to walk,” she explains.

“In Mauritius, people are very friendly. The beaches in Mauritius are out of this world and you can have heavenly views on top of the mountains,” she says. It is also interesting for her to see the co-existence of cultural diversity in the country. The assortment of food is exquisite but sometimes too spicy for her. 

According to Gitana Kootbally, Mauritius is developing at a very fast pace, as we can see so many construction sites mushrooming all over the country. However, she indicates that it is unfortunate that many cars cause lot of traffic jams everyday and she finds it disastrous that there are no bicycle tracks to enjoy a nice ride, like in Europe. “It would be really nice to see the  local people at least resort to improve cleanliness in the country,” she advises.

Lithuania

Lithuania is located in the Western side of Europe among the Baltic countries neighbouring Russia with a population of about 3.5 million. The distance between Mauritius and Lithuania is about 9,000 km. In the country, they speak the Lithuanian language, which is the official language of Lithuania and also one the official languages of the European Union. “My country is mainly distinguished by its nature, hills, plains, lakes and forests which attract a lot of tourists worldwide. Lithuania gained independence in the year 1918, so, in 2018, Lithuanians had celebrated 100 years of independence,” said Gitana. She pointed out that the Lithuanian people are amongst the tallest people in the world and this is probably why their basketball team is famous. “The people of my country are very friendly and patriotic but they still remember about the tough times through the war,” continues the physiotherapist. The most popular national dish of Lithuania is the Cepelinai, a dish made from potatoes and meat.

If she had the power to change things in our country?

“If I had the power to change something about Mauritius, I would like to review the distribution of medical facilities to elderly people such as the free supply of medicine, medical beds, and other needs,” she says. She points out that it is sad to see many Mauritians spending a lot of money to have surgeries abroad and it would be a great achievement to have the same surgeries done in Mauritius.

Furthermore, she advances that in many places, the footpath is inappropriate for a wheelchair. According to her, there is a need to standardise the infrastructure for the pedestrians and disabled. “Also, the education system for the children seems too much of a burden. It is sad to see Mauritian children spending most of their childhood taking private tuitions or occupied with studies, which appear to be imposed. You can spot the children walking with school bags bigger than them,” she said.