Settling down: Home away from Home

I arrived in Mauritius in the early August of 2013. That was the cold season and wow was it wonderful. Coming from a 'typical' tropical group of islands, I had never experienced weather lower than 28 degrees.

I walked out of the airport than late afternoon, with the cold wind blowing against my warm-weather skin and felt ecstatic to have made a safe landing, and well, very excited to see my home away from home.

The almost 2 hour drive from the airport was spent with knots in my stomach. I tried to distract myself with the scenes of sugar cane plantations and long stretches of flat-roofed houses until, we came close to the town. It was quite different from the one back home; it was filled with several story high buildings, lots of intertwined roads; that's when it dawned on me. I was no longer home. An overwhelming feeling of loneliness engulfed me as thoughts of my family back in Seychelles raced through my mind. I could phantom only one solution at that point.

I WAS GOING TO MAKE MY NEW LIVING QUARTERS A HOME.

Oh, but much to my despair that was a goal would not accomplish for a while.
Finding a place to stay in general is difficult but add to that the factor that you are in an another country with little or no acquaintances it is a lot harder. There were times when rent was too high. Times when the space was too cramped.

Two things I picked up when searching for the proper place to settle down:

• When you find the right house/apartment, the landlord is not always that nice.
• When you find that right landlord, his accommodation is not suitable for students.

My HOME away from home

I've move around 3 times in my two years of studying. Some before us, have had it worse.

That is not to say that there isn't a proper place for you to stay at when you're studying abroad. But, just a little note to self, be prepared to go through certain challenges when you've first arrived. After a while though, when you're accustomed to your new surroundings it's easier to find the "ideal" place to stay, like me!

Though it took almost a year and half, I have managed to settle down in my own cozy little space
Now, I am lodged in my small one bedroom apartment which I now call my "Home". A place which will witness the final year of my Student Sejours.

With the help of Pinterest and Cosmopolitan articles, I've customised it to be my little space. My 'home away from home'.