If I told you the main language here was French, would you believe me? Actually, many countries in Africa primarily speak French! English is also spoken by almost everyone, but they usually start with French and then switch to English when they hear how bad my accent is. Creole (a "hybrid" mix of languages) is another commonly used language in Mauritius.
The money used here on the island is called the Mauritian rupee, which is not the same as the rupee used in India. A Mauritian rupee has much less value than a United States dollar, so I have to count in much bigger numbers over here. A container of ice cream might cost two hundred Mauritian rupees! This gets confusing sometimes when shopping — like the time I accidentally bought salad dressing for over fifteen U.S. dollars!
A large bottle of water is around fifty Mauritian rupees. This might sound like a lot, but it's actually only about $1.50 when exchanged to U.S. dollars!
