The dentist and the Professor

It's about 0739, I woke up 2 hours later today, and feel conquered by the sun. I'm going to write first (to save precious bandwidth so that my father can listen to his Obama podcast) and illustrate later. [ed: Podcast over, illustration complete]

Yesterday started with a long run outside up John F Kennedy Avenue, and down Queen Mary Avenue, then down the hill again to my house. Here's my house as seen from the main road (look for the dark grey roof)

Next, made a trip to the hospital, here's a picture of my father (yes, he put the suit on especially for the photo, and the mac is there for effect too (no not really):

Some original artwork from my mum on the wall opposite: oil on wood.

We then had a lively discussion on marketing, and increasing revenue. I told him of my difficult experiences with Kaiser Permanente (yes, Dr Nyachoto, I hope you are reading this), and we agreed that the hospital is small enough to follow up and guide patients PROPERLY.

First, I hopped in the car and drove to the dentists' in Rose Hill. He works in a converted appartment in the middle of Rose Hill's commercial district:

There is only one Sale:

On the way back, I decided to take some backstreets behind the Rose Hill Plaza. And came to a dead-end. But hey, isn't this a nice place to get lost?

Eventually found my way back to the hospital. I had the following conversation with my father, as he dropped my at the University of Mauritius.

Dad: How much did the Dentist charge you?

Me: 700 Roupees ($23)

Dad: As much as that? (looks surprised)

Me: You mean you can do it at home for nothing? (he likes saying that when we go out to restaurants)

Dad: No, he charged you his  Foreigners Fee!

Me: Well how much should he charge?

Dad: He charges me Rs 200 ($7)

Me: Well you're his friend

Dad: But you're my son! I can't believe he did this to me!

Me: He didn't. I paid. And he's running a business.

Dad: What if you couldn't afford to pay?

Me: Then he should have charged me less. But I could. besides, what I would have paid in America is $120 (Rs 3600)

Dad: OK. 

(later)

Dad (quietly): I can't believe he did that...

Here's the University of Mauritius:

Well, only today, because of Student Elections.

The chanting was loud enough to sound like Paris, c.1968

Roukaya and I had lunch in the faculty dining hall (Panini for me, no garlic thank you) and then attended a lecture by Ellen Barker, Professor Emeritus of the LSE, on Religion, Diversity and Democracy.

No photos allowed, but some interesting points she made:

20% of people surveyed claim to be "spiritual and non-religious"
Families with no religious parents had children who didn't follow a religion
Families with two religious parents had children with a 50/50 chance of becoming religious
People over the age of 20 who had not changed of religion would never change their religion

Next, spent 2 hours in Roukaya's office, working, while she lectured. The view outside the window looked like this:

Sony's email started like this:

Hello Alam,

I don't want to spoil your holiday in Mauritius, but:

Had a wonderful meal at home with Mum and Dad (pumpkin, spinach, roti, sauteed potatoes) (sorry no photos, they asked me to take my camera to the restaurants)

then spent time on Skype with Vahe.

Went to bed 2 hours too late (midnight). Only 6 days left. And evenings are filling up fast....