Last Updated on August 29, 2023 by Roslin Dwivedi
Cultural shocks I had on moving to Seychelles, some were eye-popping, while others were interesting. Talking right from my heart after living in Seychelles for 5 long years, I still feel I can never take out Seychelles from inside of me. The time spent there and the friends and loved ones we made were very special. Colleagues in both mine, my husband’s workplace and our neighbours, the struggles and happiness we received in Seychelles are most memorable for us.
Landing in Mahe island from Mumbai you witness the beautiful runway with lush green hills on one side and deep turquoise waters on the other. A small but organized airport services await your welcome. And that’s the first time you meet the first Seychellois. You are full of excitement as it may be your vacation destination or a place you are going to have a new beginning in life. An expat life, where you will have to figure out many things for yourself. Look for a way to be happy and survive in a new country. And this blog is among one the things you need to know before moving to Seychelles.
As we met our neighbours and colleagues in a company accomodation, we slowly got acquainted with the expats and the locals who worked there and became a part of our life.
I can go on and on and may get emotional also. I can continuously talk all about Seychelles for hours, but let’s talk about all that next time or you can email me if you want to talk about life in Seychelles or watch the Seychelles playlist. In this blog post, I am sharing some of the cultural shocks I experienced when we moved to Seychelles, providing insight into the intricacies that make Seychelles a unique destination for travellers and expats alike.
Let me know how fascinating it is to hear about my insights and observations:
Straight Faces equals no warm welcome.
In India, we are taught to welcome our guests with smiles and open hearts. Tourists coming to India may feel the same. In Seychelles, often you will find people with straight faces. There are times when you smile and ask something or talk. Some of them look at you as if you are an alien. May be thinking, Why are you so happy? Even some local resorts or small hotel receptionists doesn’t smile and look welcoming. So I was shocked. Seychelles is one of the best tourist destinations, and seeing people like this cringes my heart. But they are still good people.
Marriage is not necessary to have kids.
When we started to know more people in Seychelles, we were introduced to the culture there. We met some people who had kids together but were not married and were dating others at the time. The heights of my shock came when I was traveling by bus to my work, and I saw a girl going to school boarded the bus with her baby to drop her to the daycare on the way. At first, I didn’t understand that, but later I learned of this.
Whenever we went to Victoria, we saw plenty of young girls with babies on their hand. We said this place is such a baby land! To increase the population, the Seychelles government took charge of having more babies on the island and put kids without marriage as an okay rule. But the father is supposed to support the mother financially and more depending on their relationship.
Women wear the shortest, tightest and almost party-like dressing on usual days.
Yes, that’s right! Being an Indian girl, I was kind of happy to see this culture. Where everyone was okay to wear short dresses anywhere. AKA liberal dressing.
In India we still have this short-dress dilemma, we are still not there yet. Our culture of women dressing is not that liberal yet. Indians are still not used to seeing girls with short or less clothing. But it’s interesting to note the contrast in dress norms between India and Seychelles.
In Seychelles, it was so liberal. You will see everyone dressing short, hardly they are wearing full clothes. Also, we can blame it on weather and high temperature but that’s the same in India too. I still remember one of our friends was moving to Seychelles and she asked me “Hey what kind of dress should I bring?” I told her to bring the shortest dresses you have. Haha, she was shocked as well as I said no one cares what you wear but again you should be comfortable in your clothing.
Women breastfeeding babies in public
At first, we saw a young girl feeding her child at the bus stop, then I noticed this in many places. I feel that’s a good thing. A mother should be free of this guilt or worry about how she is supposed to feed her child in public. Public nursing acceptance is a beneficial component of Seychellois culture since it helps moms to care for their newborns without feeling self-conscious or stigmatised. This is a cultural distinction that reflects a more open-minded approach to nursing, with the well-being of both mother and child being prioritised.
If people around you are open-minded about this then it’s a good thing for the child and the mother both. In India, we have to hide ourselves so much that I have seen a few new moms struggling with all that baby cries while they are out.
Alcohol is available at the supermarket
India does not sell alcohol in the same shop as groceries. So when I saw supermarkets selling alcohol it was shocking for me. Though we enjoyed that fact. But it may lead to too much drinking because of the convenience of buying alcohol.
I recommend everyone visiting Seychelles must try the local Rum and Beer. Because I loved it and I feel you will too. You can buy alcohol from duty free but we didn’t feel much of a difference from the local shop. We got some cheap but good wines at the supermarkets. If you are a budget traveller visiting Seychelles, then buy some beers and alcohol from the supermarket near your hotel or self-catering to enjoy during your stay rather than buying from the hotel.
Some locals women paid their relatives to take care of their children
Seychelles has a maximum population of working women. And that’s one of the reasons they have very good day cares. But even though there are daycares there are a few women I saw who were paying their relatives to take care of their kids. Where in India your parents take care of kids without any asking. Or women don’t resume work after kids because of a lack of childcare arrangements. I don’t want you to judge anyone on this point because I feel everyone has valid reasons to do so.
Whenever a Seychellois met another, they spoke infinitely
Even if they met every day. They always have a lot to talk about. They could talk all the time. To your ears, the language and continuous talking sounds like they have so much to talk about which could be named Gossip shhh!
Other shocking things we found were
- We had to buy water.
- Infinite geckos. Seychelles is a gecko-friendly country. Here you can not kill geckos and if by chance they come inside your house their noise is so loud that you will be restless. At least I was.
- With that hot environment, I could never get my homemade yoghurt goal right. We always ended up buying huge packs.
- Coco de mer female and male translation in Seychelles is hilarious. There are two types of Coco De Mer found in Seychelles, a rare fruit with a big seed. But they grow differently. One looks like a female butt and the other looks like a male genitalia.
Finally,
If you ask me what is so special about Seychelles, I would say read the above blog again. Because seriously, these things were a part of our life and locals in Seychelles are as unique as the beautiful islands of Seychelles. And their culture and lifestyle were a bliss. Overall, its critical to approach cultural differences with an open mind and respect for the host country norms and traditions. These cultural shocks I experienced demonstrate the unique perspectives and practices are present in different communities.
I hope you liked my thoughts about life in Seychelles!
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