Aurelie's take on our first three weeks

So were are we? well I think we are not doing too bad. For me some things feel like home, I'm happy to find stuff I could not get in Ireland (like proper breakfast chocolate cereals, for adult not children, ah the chocolate Clusters) and there are damn good road signs. I love to go to the supermarket and finding stuff I used to have when I was young...

There is also the culinary novelty (that we have not tried to do it yet) but the mix of french, indian, chinese and african cooking give some very interesting result. Ask Stephen for the famous sandwich "americain bouchon gratiné" which is an open baguette, with steam dumplings (ravioli chinois), fries, a dressing to choose (ketchup, mayo, spicy sauce), the whole thing topped by cheese and grilled. You can also get it without the fries...

We did the market today and there Stephen kept asking what were the different fruit and veg. The pb is I can barely tell the difference between a courgette and a cucumber, so I'm really the wrong person to ask. But there is plenty of them (what ever they are). At the end of the market, after the food and some clothes and souvenir stalls were also live poultry and bunnies which I found a little disturbing. I was very tempted to buy the bunnies just to free them (sorry chicken, you're just not that cute).

There are some french things that I was not so happy to get back into, like the administrative paper work, the fact that you need a ID card and address to get a sim card, that I need my parents to be our "guaranty" for the renting contract of the house, and I have not started with the school or the health service yet. But it's fine cos we are not working and we have plenty of time to go through it.

The place is beautiful. I don't think I will get bored of the palm trees, sugar cane fields, banana trees, the beach sunset, the ravines, the mountains in the clouds. And we have not done the full tour yet! Also there is a great peace of mind for me it that it's safe, no deadly beasty is going to attack my kids; and like in France, there are pharmacies at every corner for the scratches and bruises.

So yes some stuff is quite expensive, but not much more than Ireland, and a lot of local things are quite cheap if you buy them at the right place.

I have learnt at least a new skill: how to peel a pineapple. Yes these is a specific technique! Of course it took me about 30 min to get it ready, but I'll practice.

So yes, so far so good! Now we are (hopefully) getting a 4 bedrooms house with a big garden full of fruit trees, so we will have plenty of room for guests. You know what to do.