Randall C. Kennedy
@rck01
American expat in Mauritius
Forum posts
60
About me
American
Lives in Beau-Bassin
Speaks English, Bad English
Registration: 16 January 2011
American Primary School by sally1968
I just saw an ad on the newspaper about the new American International Academy opening this year. Has anyone been to the school yet? We will be registering our son for standard 4 at the open house this weekend. They are taking admissions for both ...
I'm sending you a reply this evening. Please check your email inbox tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks! Randall C. Kennedy, Director American International Academy Read More
Possible to enroll child in US Private School - legal in Mauritius? by mdefields
We homeschool in US and know it's not legal in Mauritius. However, we can enroll her in a US-based private school, where I basically homeschool, but she has teachers we interact with in US - Global Village School. Would that be legal in Mauritius?
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Mold and fungus stuff in your house. by NadiaM
Being an expat, especially from the continent you might notice, that Mauritius has quite humid air. Normally places close to Equator or located in the Ocean have extremely high humidity level. It creates some special rules for living, if you don't ...
Ventilation is the key. We live in Beau-Bassin, near Balfour Garen, an area that tends to be quite humid. In the first couple of years we lost countless items to mold: Clothing, shoes, purses, and yes, electronics. If left in a sealed room with ... Read More
What is the FASTEST internet provider in Grand Baie? by niknpatel
Hi there, We just moved to Grand Baie from New York last weekend, and i am looking for the best/fastest internet connection for my home office. I went to EMTEL yesterday, and bought their "Home & Office" Internet modem that SUPPOSEDLY is ...
Nik, No matter how fast the *local* connection speed is, once you go off-island the traffic is heavily throttled. AFAIK, Maritius Telecom has a monopoly over all of the pipes leading to/from our little rock, and everyone else - even Emtel - has to ... Read More
American Primary School by sally1968
I just saw an ad on the newspaper about the new American International Academy opening this year. Has anyone been to the school yet? We will be registering our son for standard 4 at the open house this weekend. They are taking admissions for both ...
nik, The school is located in Phoenix, which is in the center of the island a few miles to the South of Port Louis (near "Jumbo"). You can find more info from our web site (Google "aia mauritius" and you'll see us as the first result). Or leave me ... Read More
American Primary School by sally1968
I just saw an ad on the newspaper about the new American International Academy opening this year. Has anyone been to the school yet? We will be registering our son for standard 4 at the open house this weekend. They are taking admissions for both ...
I just wanted to confirm that we are indeed holding an open house event this Saturday, the 12th, from 1-4PM. Anyone interested in learning more about our school is encouraged to visit the AIA Mauritius web site for directions to the campus. Or feel ... Read More
International Secondary schools
Thank you for your interest in AIA. We are currently on schedule to open in January, 2013 with a limited enrollment of 70 students. Our main campus building will be completed at the end of this month and we will be hosting an open house in late ... Read More
temperature and climate by time1
I'm a newby here so thought this would be the place to start out. I have a question about the climate. If your temps are 80ish in the summer and 70ish in the winter, do you need any AC or heating?
time1, I, too, am from Florida (Wellington). I've been on the island for six years now and I can tell you that heat isn't a necessity. Temps will dip into the low 60's at night mid-winter (July/August) inland, but nothing a sweater and some ... Read More
Super Bowl - Feb 5
Only if the Pats are the AFC representatives. :cool: Note: This is supposed to be the first year where they stream the game over the Internet. So there's actually a chance of watching it live for a change... RCK Read More
Upload speed for MyT
I believe it's 384Kbps in both cases. My 2Mbps MyT connection says "380Kbps" upstream on the Livebox config page, so... RCK Read More
Why people like to live in Mauritius? What so special abt this Island? by Michelle Chan
I like Mauritius and planning to have a holidays next year. But just curious, why so many people like to live in Mauritius ? What so special about this Island ? please share with me how u feel about Mauritius .... thanks
Conface, Tips for living securely on Mauritius: 1. Secure your home. Property theft is rampant on the island. If your home isn't secure - bars on *all* windows, xpanda's on *all* doorways - then you're basically inviting the thieves in. This is ... Read More
Internet access yesterday by Julien
Have you experienced problems with your internet access yesterday ? We were not able to work from 11am to 5pm Nice isn't it ? Thanks Orange / Mauritius Telecom !
Julien, To be fair, Internet access on the island has been pretty reliable for me overall - this coming from an American ex-pat who lives and works on the web 24x7. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times that an outage disrupted my ... Read More
Broadband internet - does it live up to speed claims? by AndrewM
Orange MyT 2M quotes speeds of up to 2Mbps on download or 4Mbps on its fastest package. anyone tested their broadband speed to see how it compares to the claimed figures? How often are broadband connections 'down' due to weather or other ...
Andrew, I've been on the island for 5+ years now, and the service has steadily improved while I've been here. We got a free speed bump last year (everyone at 512Kbps was upped to 1Mbps, everyone at 1Mbps to 2Mbps, etc.) and the connection has ... Read More
Ballet classes for children by Coolhand
Does any one know of ballet classes, for my year old daughter. or please point me to a tutor for her?
Coolhand, Audrey Ferriere runs an excellent school in the building next to Super-U in Belle Rose (go to the top floor to find the studio). It's classical French style and they have bi-annual certification testing through the relevant accreditation ... Read More
Cable / Satellite tv in Mauritius by Sleeping Cookie
What is the preferable cable / satellite tv in Mauritius more European orientated. Is there a better option than Canal +?
Cookie, I'm not much of a European sports fan (American - our football is pointed at the ends), so I haven't paid much attention. I do know that you get Orange Sport with MyT, and I believe major events like the World Cup are covered on the MBC ... Read More
Cable / Satellite tv in Mauritius by Sleeping Cookie
What is the preferable cable / satellite tv in Mauritius more European orientated. Is there a better option than Canal +?
Cookie, The MyT solution is actually not bad. Some of the channels are in French (notably, the cartoon networks for children), however, you do get CNN World, Bloomberg TV and France 24 in English. It also gives you the local MBC stations digitally, ... Read More
Homeschool for my grade 12 son by GeorgeGordon
Hi, I have been looking at all private English schools, and have not yet found a school where my son would fit in. Currently he's in a small private school in South Africa, after being in a school similar to Le Bocage...he hated it. Now he's so ...
Douglas, Public schools are of varying quality and are generally spread evenly throughout the island - though the top schools (in terms of academics) are concentrated in and around the central plateau. Expect spartan campuses with crowded ... Read More
TRADITIONAL Taekwon-Do
Pina, 2nd Dan in Chung Do Kwan (i.e. Duk Sung Son's style). It' been a while, and I'm a bit out of shape, but I spent the better part of my young life kicking and punching my way around New England. I don't know of a school on the island, but if ... Read More
Americans moving to Mauritius by vjohnsonbarrett
I'm directing my questions to Americans who have relocated to Mauritius, since that is my current frame of reference. My husband is negotiating an employment package right now, and I have many questions. Having lived on Saipan and in Shanghai, I ...
Regarding electrical devices, note also that some seem to handle the conversion better than others. My wife's heavy-duty Kitchenaid mixer has been running strong for 4 years on a simple travel converter. Likewise, our Black & Decker rice cooker. ... Read More
Private and Public school in Mauritius by alisa_ram
[quote=Stormtrooper]Hi Lutus. Personally when it comes to secondary schools in Mauritius, I find a lot of these schools are a waste of money. I attended a normal secondary school in Mauritius and my English is not to 'degree standard' at all. I'm ...
Bunkoma, Do you know if Northfields allows its teachers to offer private tuition after hours? I know that Le Bocage prohibits its teaching staff from offering tuition, and this is often cited as the reason for the school's high staff turnover. ... Read More
Cost of living in Mauritius by expat.com
Hi everybody, It would be very useful to talk about the cost of living in Mauritius. Don't forget to mention where in Mauritius you are living. How much does it cost to live in Mauritius? > accommodation prices > public transportation fares ...
purplepixie, I see that someone else already answered you on this forum over a year ago: http://www.expat-blog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10000 Again, you may be able to get away with it here - as an ex-pat you blend in with the tourists - ... Read More
American husband, South African wife. Could Mauritius be our solution? by Vaquero67
Hello. I am an American and my wife is South African. We have recently married and face the challenge of deciding where we will put down roots as a new family. In the U.S., I work as an electrician (mostly at nuclear power plants) and I have a ...
bunkoma, Update: They just found the body of a teenage student in the ravine near Balfour Garden - only blocks from my front door. And you think I'm paranoid? I have two children of a similar age (11 and 14) and I *never* let them out of my sight ... Read More
Cost of living in Mauritius by expat.com
Hi everybody, It would be very useful to talk about the cost of living in Mauritius. Don't forget to mention where in Mauritius you are living. How much does it cost to live in Mauritius? > accommodation prices > public transportation fares ...
Expat Explorer, Please note that it is *illegal* to home school your children in Mauritius. You may be able to slip "under the radar" as an ex-pat/foreigner (they tend to ignore us as they assume we're all just vacationing here), however, I would ... Read More
Private english speaking schools in Mauritius by Julien
Several people asked, so here are a few private english speaking schools in Mauritius ips: www.ips.intnet.mu northfields: www.northfieldsonline.com le bocage: www.lebocage.net
The options for private secondary education in Mauritius are about to expand...stay tuned! :) RCK Read More
American husband, South African wife. Could Mauritius be our solution? by Vaquero67
Hello. I am an American and my wife is South African. We have recently married and face the challenge of deciding where we will put down roots as a new family. In the U.S., I work as an electrician (mostly at nuclear power plants) and I have a ...
I, too, must take issue with bunkoma's assessment of the crime situation. In addition to rampant property crime, there has been a marked rise in more serious infractions, including rape and even murder. It seems like every other week we hear about a ... Read More
Schooling In Mauritius by lutus
Hi All I am considering a job offer in Mauritius and would be looking to bring my family over. My main concern however would be the availability of english speaking schooling for my children children 11 and 14 years of age. Any advice would be ...
Keep your eyes open for a new private, English-language secondary school option coming in early 2012... :) RCK Read More
Pointe aux piments to University of Mauritius(Moka) during rush hour. by tib1234
Hey all, Im going to be in Mauritius for a week on business. I will mostly be based at the University of Mauritius in Moka, and the hotel I I have been given is in Pointe aux Piments. I was planning on taking a taxi to work each day and back. ...
If you have the option, I'd check out the Four Points Sheraton in Cyber City. New and modern, it's within walking distance of the University and has convenient shopping/restaurants nearby. Commuting from Pointe aux Piments to Moka is a nightmare, ... Read More
EXPAT BLOG JANUARY 29th SUNSET MEET UP AT TROU AUX BICHES by Julien
Hi, I guess it's time to organize our very first 2011 meet up, isn't it?
This sounds like fun. I'll bring some soft drinks for the occasion (sunsets make me thirsty). :) RCK Read More