Remember the name. He’s from California, USA, and this gentleman first came to Mauritius last year on a voluntary programme to teach English to young children. Then something happened to him. And… he’s back.

He is back with a project and this project has to do with what happened to him when he first arrived. Don’t ask what it was. Nathan or Nate, as his friends call him, can’t even explain it himself. You see, when he decided to come and teach English in Mauritius, he didn’t know anything about the place.

Then he got here and realised that Mauritius was like a Petri dish. Whatever was happening in the world was also taking place here, on a microcosm level. Nate saw Mauritius as a kind of laboratory of humankind. And he decided to make a movie. On Mauritius. About people. All kinds of people. Because they all have something to say. Something worthwhile. What do you think?

In a world where everybody is busy listening to the sound of their own voices and ignoring what others may think, to meet somebody like Nathan, who spends his time listening to what you have to say, is like sitting on the beach on the hottest day in December, when suddenly a breath of fresh air just comes your way and caresses your face.

And you know what the best thing is? The man really listens. Because he wants to know what you, as a human being, want to say. And why you feel the way you do.

Even better news now… there are four of them, not just one! And I met all four of them - don’t worry, you will to… All in good time.

Back to Nate now. The man is so used to listening, he can’t talk about himself. Quite untypical for a Leo, one might add. But give him time and he comes round to it. But then another problem crops up; Nathan is so used to working in a group and thinking as a group, every time he answers a question, he answers… for the group! Now I had one question I absolutely needed Nate to answer - the most obvious one; what does he make of Mauritius?

The question grew in significance because Nate had spent the past few months listening to people talk about this country and while he is trying hard not to pass judgements and impose his opinion; his analysis of Mauritius must be quite insightful. Do you know what he said? I absolutely have to share it. But I have to add that this actually came some 45 minutes into the conversation, so you owe this most interesting observation to my perseverance!

There it goes: “If anybody is sure they know how the world works, I would advise them to come to Mauritius. When you’re here, you question how you feel about the world. This country, so small and insignificant in the world, takes on another dimension when you’re here. The dynamics are so big when you’re here.”

Remember the name. And the next three. We will owe them one soon.