a-l-i-n-e.com

Note: Entry edited to add the links to survey 1,2 and 3.

Please let me know if you did the survey or forwarded the links to other people. I want to know so that I know where to send my thanks to.

-Surveys-
1. Are you a Chinese language teacher who is currently teaching in Mauritius? (of Mauritian nationality or others, as long as you are teaching in Mauritius) (duration doesn’t matter)
>>Click here<<

2. Are you currently studying the Chinese language in Mauritius? (duration doesn’t matter)
>>Click here<<

3. Have you ever studied the Chinese language in Mauritius before? (duration doesn’t matter)
>>Click here<<

4. Are you a Mauritian who is now in mainland China or Hong Kong or Taiwan (studying or working) and who has studied the Chinese language there? (duration doesn’t matter)
>>Click here<< <- Link down for the time being. Contact me directly if it is still not up when you try to take the survey.
===========
5. Do you know anyone (of any ethnic group in Mauritius, not only the sino-Mauritians)who fit into any of the above 4 categories?

——————————————————————————————–

Like I’ve mentioned in my entry dated 10 March 2008, I’m looking for people to fill in questionnaires/surveys. It will only take you a couple of minutes and the results of the surveys will help me to complete my thesis. Some people (unfortunately, only a few) have already filled in my surveys and I’m so grateful to them. Still, I need to find more people! I’m running out of time.

If you’ve replied Yes to 1 ,2 ,3 or 4 and would like to help me by taking my questionnaire/survey, please contact me in the comment form below or by using the contact form found here. ( <- Click the word here) If you already know my hotmail or gmail address, you can also email me directly.

If you’ve replied Yes to 5, do you mind forwarding the link to my surveys or the link to this entry to those persons? (From primary school students to adults, anyone, as long as they correspond to any of the 4 categories.)
Please contact me in the comment form below or by using the contact form found here. ( <- Click the word here) If you already know my hotmail or gmail address, you can also email me directly.

I’m finding it hard to find primary school students to fill in the survey. I’m aware that primary school students might have trouble understanding all the words in the survey and maybe don’t even use the computer. Parents/brothers/sisters/cousins please help them. Please think. Do you have neighbours with kids studying the Chinese language? Do you have little brothers/sisters/cousins who are studying the Chinese language? Or what about your friend’s little brother/sister/cousin?

All the 4 different surveys are available in paper or online version. The ‘intro’ page of both versions gives some explanation about my survey. All the surveys are in English and the one for the teachers is also available in Chinese. (Link available on request)

The online versions will be more convenient for a lot of people (as well as me)…. As for the paper versions, they are only available to people who are in Mauritius right now and who really can’t do the online surveys. My family lives in Port-Louis. My sister can meet up with people to give them the paper surveys but I don’t want to trouble her unless really necessary.
—–

Please help me. Thank you!

================
Thank you Morinn, Kevin, Karina, Karen Y, Wendy, Tracy,Rosemary, Joanne, Clive, Pat, those 50+ years old people & the secondary students I don’t know but who took the survey, the 15 teachers who took the survey so far,the anonymous persons who took the survey, Kevin T & Oliver for the info and of course my family, especially my sis Cel who had to go many places for me. List will be updated accordingly.
You will all (if you’ve left your email address or if I know it ) get a Thank you email from me as soon as this is all over.
I’ll be your free guide if you come to Shanghai when I’m still here. Or if I’m not around, I’ll link you up with my friends in Shanghai or other parts of China. It mght sound unbelievable to those people who don’t know me but I’ve done it a couple of times already when people contacted me to let me know that they are coming. Else, see you all in Mauritius(in a couple of months) or in SG or Msia or CA (the countries on my GO TO list so far)
================

This is old news(two weeks maybe) by now… but the HSC results were out in Mauritius and as usual, QEC (Queen Elizabeth College ,the middle + high school(all girls) i had attended) got the most laureates (again!It’s the same every year. Go girls!). All laureates will benefit from a full scholarship to study abroad. (as far as i know, there are around 30 laureates (girls and boys) every year and they all go to study in UK)
More info about the laureates there. (it’s in French)
Ever since the educational reform a few years back, I don’t follow the news when it comes to education in Mauritius . I’ve heard of a new reform not long ago but frankly, I’m not interested in knowing more about it because I think our present educational system is all messed up. I consider myself lucky not to have gone through that. I was perfectly happy with the old ranking system. I think that competition is needed to bring out the best in everyone. Bah. I don’t want to talk about education in Mauritius or about the government. I only want to post these pics, simply because I miss high school.
I saw the photos on an online community for Mauritians (where everyone can have their own personal pages) and asked Kendy (the girl who posted the pics) for permission to use the photos on my blog. She kindly agreed and emailed me the photos.
Here they are:
QEC girls,happy & excited upon hearing about the number of QEC laureates. I was once like them too, celebrating with my friends.

I like this pic. Number of fingers equals to number of QEC laureates. Twelve!
From left to right: Nadya, Kirsty,Kendy and Terry.

I miss my QEC days. Time really flies. It seems like not long ago that I attended my last Prize Giving Day at QEC.
ah yes, the QEC school uniform is like that. The length varies from person to person. Usually it’s knee-length or ( *gasp* ) way below the knee during the first year and gets shorter and shorter (above the knee) but still, at a decent length (for most girls anyway) when we reach our final year. For other girls’ colleges, the colors are different but it’s the same thing when it comes to the length of the uniform. The QEC Winter uniform (optional) consisted of green trousers (or jeans) and a white blouse. When I had first started attending QEC, it was even green trousers ,white blouse, black blazer and black tie(influenced by the formal British-style school uniforms) for the Winter uniform. I never got to wear that. They stopped wearing the tie and blazer when I was in my 2nd year. I don’t like green but I grew fond of my old school uniform over the years. I have a few photos of me wearing my school uniform somewhere on a CD. Need to look for them.

(Note: I said that I was happy with the old ranking system . If you (esp Mauritians) disagree with me or want to tell me why the new reforms are better, well no need to tell me about it. I don’t want to have a debate here. Everyone is entitled to his/her own preference. Comments will be moderated and deleted if necessary. )

We had a big gathering with the other Mauritians in Shanghai at the Shanghai Second Medical University a few days before I went to Xiamen. It was fun.

It’s hard to say what’s really Mauritian cuisine because of the ethnic diversity of the people of Mauritius.
I did some research to try to explain what Mauritian cuisine is like and also its history.

Quoted from The Republic of Mauritius Web Portal,

Mauritius is a paradise for the senses, not only for the eyes with its beautiful landscape, but also for the palate. Gastronomes will find a variety of flavours and aromas inherited from the different migrations through its history. Culinary traditions from France, India, China and Africa, the best-known and appreciated cuisines in the world, have been passed on through generations. The story of a Mauritian starting the day with a continental breakfast, followed by an indian lunch and finishing off with a chinese dinner is a common cliché.

Along the years, each community has adapted and mixed each other’s cuisine to their liking, which has resulted in a Mauritian cuisine. This can be seen in the Creole cuisine which is a blend of different ingredients and savours. The ever-present creole “rougaille” is served with a number of “achards” (pickles) or dals and rice from Indian origin. There have also been some changes during the last twenty years with the arrival of some fast foods: burgers, pizza and chips.

Anyone visiting the island should try a pair of dholl puri with a large glass of “alouda” or tamarind juice to have a genuine taste of Mauritius.

———-
Sometimes, I feel like eating samoosas, chili cakes, roti, farata, dholl puris,halim, normal sui mai (also called sow mai in Mauritius. Those that I have eaten in Shanghai are filled with rice and meat… ) ,gateaux arouille, briyani, etc.. but since I’ve never been into cooking when I was in Mauritius, I never learned to cook those.
Fortunately, there are other Mauritians in Shanghai and they can cook!! hehe
I’m trying to learn from them now.

Making Samoosas (also written Samosas or Samoussa)

gram dholl or Dholl gram or Dhal gram or yellow split peas… used to make chili cakes (called gato pima in Mauritian Creole) and Dholl puris. Unfortunately, it is not available in Shanghai. Same for black or red lentils. Varun brought this packet from Mauritius.

Chili cakes (called gato pima in Mauritian Creole)

The guys learning how to make dholl puris

Click on the link below for more…
Warning: 13 more photos
Read the rest of this entry »

So the day has finally arrived. I was looking forward to going back to Shanghai during my very first days back to Mauritius but now, I kinda wish I can stay one more week. I still have so many things I didn’t get to do and so many friends I didn’t get to meet. I plan to go back to Mauritius again in 2008. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing those friends who are studying in SG, UK and CA before that.
I started packing last week but I’m still not done. So far, I have a small suitcase, a backpack and a big suitcase. I have one more suitcase or sports bag(still haven’t decided which one) to pack. arghh… and I’m going to do some last minute shopping later. I need to go get a few things for a friend who hasn’t gone back to Mauritius since 1999 or 2000.

I’ll be posting some pics when I get back to Shanghai. I won’t have time to resize them now. I’ll reach Shanghai on Monday evening.