Reunion Island

It may have been Gertrude Stein who wrote, “To lead a life of any interest, one must first spend time in Paris. It’s a place that defines and shapes like no other; its Aphroditic nature can overwhelm or inspire, but it can't leave you indifferent.” It’s been about ten years since I last stepped foot on Réunion Island and each time I think about being there, I’m reminded of this quote. Réunion Island is the most fascinating place I’ve ever seen and it having a piece of Paris is just a sliver as to why it was a place that shaped and defined me. Not many people know Paris has a long lost sibling in the southern hemisphere called Réunion Island and yes the name does tie back to a reunion of sorts. Parisians would bring parts of their Paris lives to the island and over time. The piece of Paris is like the top of Crème Brulee because it is the first thing you see. And just like a Crème Brulee, there is a lot more beneath the surface. When you crack into Reunion’s interior, there’s confusion and uneasiness about certain areas. All of it shaped and defined me.
When I arrived on the island, I was in my mid-twenties and too old to being doing what I was doing. I wanted to stop hanging around bars as much as I did and make a decision on what I was going to do with my life. I had never stepped outside of my comfort zone and this why I ended up on the last place on earth.
When I moved to the island, I had very little French under my belt—I quickly learned the art of observation. The first thing I observed when I got off the plane and stepped outside for the first time was paradise. I was greeted by palm trees, a stunning mountainous landscape and had the Indian Ocean’s tide rolling about 100 yards from the airport. The ocean’s blue was such a perfect blue, it didn’t look real. I would soon discover one minute you could be on a white sanded beach or in a chic French restaurant and the next, you might be surrounded by slums. It’s jarring and my first glimpse of it was just the beginning to what I would absorb from being on the island. Once you see how the other side of the world lives, there is no way you can’t be changed. This is for both paradise and the third world. They are Reunion and what makes it The World’s Most Interesting Island.