nPostednon July 14, 2014
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nActually,nit’s Bastille Day everywhere, especially in France (you know, wherenthe Bastille was actually located!). But this national holiday isncelebrated by places that are very far from Paris…
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Reunionnis an “overseas department” of France made up of one island. Sonit IS a part of France – just a part that is in the oppositenhemisphere, in another ocean, about 5,400 miles away as the crownflies!
Reunionnis an “overseas department” of France made up of one island. Sonit IS a part of France – just a part that is in the oppositenhemisphere, in another ocean, about 5,400 miles away as the crownflies! n
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This island is located in the Indian Ocean, off the easternncoast of Madagascar, which in turn is off the eastern coast ofnAfrica.
This island is located in the Indian Ocean, off the easternncoast of Madagascar, which in turn is off the eastern coast ofnAfrica.n
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nGuadeloupenis another overseas department of France, again a full part ofnFrance, that is made up of five islands.
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nIt is located in thenCaribbean Sea, which basically is a part of the Atlantic Ocean; andnlike France, it is in the Northern Hemisphere. And it’s a mere 4,000nmiles as the crow flies!
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| Guadeloupe after a hurricane |
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nThesenfar-flung islands are both tropical and have lovely beaches… Butnboth are a bit too prone to disaster to make me want to live there!nReunion has an active volcano that has erupted more than 100 timesnsince 1640 – the last time in 2010! – and Guadeloupe has beenndevastated by several hurricanes in modern times, including HurricanenHugo (1989), which destroyed 10,000 homes, all the banana crops, andna majority of the sugar cane crops!
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| Reunion is a hot spot for volcanic action. |
nEvennthough French is the official language in both Reunion andnGuadeloupe, many people speak a “mother language” other thannFrench. Those who grow up in Reunion speak a creole language creatednfrom the mixture of French with Portuguese, Hindi, and a variety ofnother Indian languages. The Guadeloupeans also speak a creole callednAntillean Creole; it combines words from French with words from Caribnand African languages.
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Isn’tnit interesting that African languages have a bigger influence in thenfar-off Caribbean island than in the much-closer Reunion? Actually,nit’s also sad, because of course it speaks to the widespread practicenof bringing African slaves to the New World.
Isn’tnit interesting that African languages have a bigger influence in thenfar-off Caribbean island than in the much-closer Reunion? Actually,nit’s also sad, because of course it speaks to the widespread practicenof bringing African slaves to the New World.n
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nAnotherninteresting point about the creole languages spoken commonly innReunion and Guadeloupe is that neither creole is often written.nFrench is the language used in schools, not the creoles, and neithernlanguage has standardized spellings.
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nReunionncelebrates Bastille Day with fireworks and partying. Guadeloupeansnadd pageants and parades to the fireworks and festivities.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nNational Day in Mayotte
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nBastillenDay in France
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nEmmelinenPankhurst Day
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nJulyn holidays
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nJulyn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in July
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugustn holidays
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nAugustn birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in August
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