2023, A New Life…

I promised to some of you that I would explain why I wrote the preceding post ‘A Farewell to Film’. Why I will in the future not use film any more. The choice was very hard as you might guess from my years of posting stuff on the subject. But there are some aspects of our future that render the use of film quite difficult.

Well, here’s the stuff I want you to know. The stuff that will change the lives of our family for the (hopefully) many years still to come. This implies a radical change in life, in environment and in expectations.

I think this will be a longer post, so grab a beer, a cuppa or some popcorn and board the ride.

I’ve just retired from work and on January 15th, our life will change radically! We will relocate to Mauritius, one of the most beautiful places on earth and we will build a new life there. Why Mauritius you ask? Well here’s the story:

First some details on my family: I married a beautiful mauritian woman in 1989 and we have 4 magnificent children in the following years (2. girls and 2 boys). We moved a lot, we lived mostly a ‘normal’ luxembourgish middle class life. Now I have to confess that I was never really content with my life, there was always something missing, some obscure thing that escaped even me but that has bothered me all those years.

The kids have grown up now, have their own lives and during our travels I admit that I have fallen head over heels in love with Mauritius. Its strange but I feel at home there, much more so than here in Luxembourg.

Here in Luxembourg i feel insecure, I worry constantly andI regret each and every instant I spend here. In contrast, in Mauritius I’m at home. Much more so that my wife, I must say. She ‘adapted’ to the luxembourgish lifestyle quickly and we found a common ground and lived our life…

If you wonder what the differences are for me between here and there, it’s clear:

I hate shopping here, I love it in Mauritius. Congested roads drive me crazy here but I don’t give a damn in Mauritius (and there ARE roadblocks there I tell you!). I feel extremely self conscious here but am ‘liberated’ in Mauritius!

Of course all is not well in Mauritius, far from it. It’s an emerging country with huge gaps between population (and income) classes. It’s steeped in tradition and on a rocket trail to modernity. Some people will be left behind certainly on the way to modernity.

On the other hand, it’s a true multicultural country. Hindu, Muslim, christian Creole and Chinese all live together without any frictions (mostly). Everyone celebrates his neighbor’s holy days irrespective of religion. It’s a big hodgepodge of nations and beliefs that staggers the mind.

Then there’s the food…. each culture added their flavour to Mauritian cuisine all while staying typical and unique. The best food (and by far the cheapest) is found with street vendors and small restaurants.

And regarding to film photography, film is quite hard to get in Mauritius, extinct like the Dodo you might say, and it will be too cumbersome to keep on using film. No hand checks for film rolls at the airport, and import taxes make using film still. kore expensive. A hard decision, but one that will fit my future life well.

Of course I will keep you updated on what we’re doing, how we’re getting along and I look forward to seeing you again soon on this blog!

And above all,

HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!