Vive La Réunion!

It all began when I got my host family. I was really surprised when I found out that my host family lived in the Reunion Island . I had never heard of this island before. At first, my family and I were a bit shocked because we had not thought about being placed on one of the foreign French colonies. I was both frightened and excited about this placement. I started to search for more information about the island. From the pictures I found, I became eager to go. The island looked like heaven. Even though it was far from my country, I realised that I was really lucky to go there. I didn’t want to miss this chance.

On August, 16th, I landed at Saint Denis airport and the first thought that popped into my head was « that is definitely heaven » The Reunion Island has such a wide range of things to offer. You can find everything you want there. It’s absolutely great. No other country can offer such experience and adventure. There is ocean, sun, palm trees, mountains, forests, beaches, water falls, rocks, volcanoes, rivers, hot and cold. The way people live and their states of mind are genuinely outstanding. The island is a mixture of everything just as the name describes it, a reunion of a lot of things.

The food is influenced by many different cultures. We eat lots of typical French food such as wine, baguette and croissants. We also eat Creole food (a mix between Asian, African and Indian dishes). All the Creole dishes are rice-based. They can be spicy or come with roasted meat, chicken or fish. I just love it!

I love all what the Reunion provided me during my stay. Beautiful landscapes, warm people, different cultures and origins, great weather, delicious food etc. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. I’ll keep the dear memories of this stay in my heart for my entire life!

I thank STS, my family and my host family for this wonderful experience.

Charlotte (Sweden) in Saint-Denis, La Réunion