Christmas Cheer

It has been slow, but finally we are starting to see some Christmas spirit around here. There are some decorations and lights up, but nothing like the outrageous displays you see in some parts of NZ.

We are now well into the ’13 Days of Christmas’ – this is the countdown to Christmas Day and each evening a church gets to do their show – lots of Christmas Carols and hymns etc and everyone is dressed up in their Sunday best. This is shown live on TV each evening.

The various work functions are underway. Angela is going out for dinner with her library team and USP had a few drinks after work on Friday. I have the advantage of working for 2 different companies at the moment, so get to enjoy twice the Christmas cheer! This has included a great hamper, complete with a turkey and ham from Kramer Group.

The turkey came at a good time as we had invited Nicola a Fraser around for a ‘kiwi’ Christmas dinner. Angela did a great job of the mince pies, shortbread and even a pavlova with kiwifruit on top!

Last weekend we had some of our friends from netball around for Christmas dinner. This included roast potatoes, pumpkin, chicken (we couldn’t get turkey) garlic bread etc. All the usual kiwi Christmas fare. This was also Angela’s first attempt at a pavlova, and it was a success. Actually, too much of a success as there were no leftovers for me! She also made shortbread and mince pies, but this proved to be a more challenging than normal. First we couldn’t find any pastry so had to make our own. Then we couldn’t find any fruit mince, so Angela decided to have a go at making some. It turned out good, the secret ingredient was Jack Daniels!

So, we are now feeling the Christmas spirit and looking forward to heading off to New Zealand to spend Christmas with our families. We are flying out later tonight, so in case we don’t get the chance to post anything else –

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Village Visit

Well, last week I had my second inspection of a village water supply scheme. Things were quite similar to the first trip – everything was running late and we had to go through the same welcoming procedures before we could start our inspection. This time we enjoyed koko Samoa– the Samoan cocoa drink instead of tea. It is really good, almost as good as eating chocolate!

We had to wait for the rain to stop before we could head out. We had been warned that we might have a long walk ahead of us, but fortunately we had a decent 4WD with us and managed to get a long way up a rather rough track before we decided that the risk of getting stuck was too great – real Barry Crump stuff!!

The rest of the inspection was straight forward and we finished up back at the meeting house for the speeches etc. This time there was a fair bit of laughter and I heard the word palagi used a few times. Apparently they were conveying their appreciation for me coming out to visit their village – and their hopes that I would hurry up and complete my design and fix their water supply!

This time after the speeches we weren’t invited to partake in a feast – instead we were presented with 2 whole pigs that had been roasted in the umu while we were doing our inspection. This was accompanied by a basket of roasted taro and palusami. Apparently they were worried that we had got wet during our inspection and did want to hold us up any longer so sent us on our way along with our feast. So we loaded the food on the back of the ute and headed back to the office. There we divvied to food and tucked in. It was a bit messy, but delicious. We certainly never get anything that back in NZ!!

Samoan Ava Ceremony

Talofa all

I have just attended my first Ava ceremony in the Samoan Fale here on Alafua campus. The ceremony was to welcome the new Vice Chancellor for USP and our new Dean to the campus. We were once the Faculty of Islands and Oceans but have now been moved to the Faculty of Business and Economics hence the reason for a new Dean. We are hoping for great things out of these 2 for next year!

I have put some photos on Flickr for you to see. I am wearing my traditional Puletasi today just for the ceremony and I'm glad I did as everyone else was also dressed traditionally. When I arrived I was ushered to sit with the other female senior staff on woven mats on the floor. Shoes had to be removed and legs had to be covered. I am not used to sitting like this any more so my feet went numb!

The guests of honour were given leis and shown in. The orators then spoke (in Samoan so I cant' tell you what they said). Then the mixing of the Ava took place. The "Taupo" for the ceremony was none other than Gwendonlyn the current Miss Samoa. She looked lovely dressed in her fine woven outfit with elaborate head gear. A lot of mixing of the Ava (with stringy stuff from a coconut I think) goes on but the best part is when she squeezes out the stringy stuff and throws it over her shoulder without looking! It is up to the person behind to catch it and shake it out.

Once the Ava was mixed it was served up to the guests in a 1/2 coconut shell with lots of shouting and "Manuia's" (cheers) going on.

The new VC himself spoke and thanked everyone for the warm welcome to campus. It sounds like he has good plans to take USP forward in the future so I look forward to a meeting with him tomorrow to find out all about it.

Netball wager...

Just when you thought the netball season was over….
For the last few weeks we have been playing in a business house netball competition. This is a lot more social than our regular season, with mixed teams and shorter games. Our Hyundai club entered 3 teams and we all did quite well, with our team (Team 1) coming third in our group and Team 2 winning their group, along with $150.

Because we had been placed in different groups we never got to play against each other and this became the point of a very ‘robust’ discussion at the prize giving. Daryl from Team 2 was trying to tell us that they were the best team because they had won their group, but we figured that their group was of a lower standard and that we were a better team. Of course there was no way to resolve this argument, so after a few more drinks a challenge was laid down. Team 1 would play Team 2 at 3.00pm on Saturday. Peni and Mandy (from Team 3) would umpire and instead of the shorter 20 minute game we would play the full four 15 minute quarters. At stake would be Team 2’s prize money. This was also the source of a heated debate. We had put our prizes into the team fund, but Daryl was determined to keep the money.

When we arrived at the courts at about ten to three on Saturday we were a bit surprised that there was just one other person there. Slowly our team started to arrive, but there still wasn’t any sign of Team 2. Eventually Daryl turned up, but still no sign of the rest of his team, or our umpires. After more than an hour of waiting we finally had enough players to start the game, but Team 2 were a player short. We also decided that no one could be bothered playing 15 minute quarters on such a hot day, so we played 10 minute quarters instead. The game ended with a convincing victory for Team 1, and finally Daryl was quiet!

Wet Season

The wet season has finally arrived. After having a very dry July, August and September the rain has finally started. It started raining on Sunday morning and didn’t stop until Monday night. During this period we had more rain than July, August and September combined.

When it rains here it really rains, huge raindrops beating on the corrugated iron roof. It gets so loud that we can’t hear the TV, even at full volume!

Anyway, the Electric Power Corporation should be happy now that their dams are filling and they will be able to generate hydro-power again. Apparently this was one of the contributing factors to the blackouts we endured a month or so ago.

Our water supply at home has been ok, although they do sometimes shut it down after midnight to conserve water, but other parts of Apia and the surrounding villages have been on water restrictions for several months. Now the rain has come there should be no more water
shortages.

The ‘Samoan Carwash’ is back in business again. The ford was always flowing when we first arrived, usually about ankle deep, but has been dry since July. On Monday it was about knee deep and flowing very fast. A carwash costs 5 tala, you just stop in the middle of the ford and the boys come out with their buckets and rags and give the car a quick clean. Almost as good as the drive through carwash back in NZ!















The other good thing about the change in season is pineapples and mangoes are now available in great abundance. When we first arrived there were a few pineapples in the markets, but they were very expensive, and no mangoes. Now there are plenty in the markets and they are cheap.

Work Update (Adam)

We have finally completed the design work for the two bridges and the contracts are being tendered at the moment. We have decided to start construction after the worst of the wet season is over – April/May – so I thought things would be quite for me until then, but I have picked up a couple of new jobs.

I have got involved with some water supply work, something that I am a lot more familiar with. The project I am working on provides technical assistance to some of the independent water supply schemes. These are schemes that are run by the villagers, whereas 85% of the water supplies in the country are operated by the Samoa Water Authority. We have to go out to the village and meet with the matais and operators, then we inspect the intakes and walk or drive over the supply route, inspecting the pipelines, storage tanks etc. We take plenty of photos and a handheld GPS with us so that we can map the scheme. Once we have collected all of the information, we then make an assessment of the scheme with recommended improvements.

My first field trip to the village of Saoluafata was last week. We were running a bit late (in true Samoan style), but still had to stop and meet the chiefs before we could start our inspection. This involved cups of tea (luke warm, milky and sweet!) and bread and butter sandwiches. Unfortunately all of the conversation was in Samoan, so I sat politely sipping my tea and eating my sandwich. Once we headed off to the intake I got to enjoy a pleasant walk through the bush up in the mountains to the two springs. The track got rather overgrown and it felt like we were deep in the jungle, but I was enjoying exploring the Samoan countryside.
















Once we found the intakes and pipelines I was introduced to the ‘Samoan Air Valve’. Whenever they are having problems with the water supply that they think might be caused by air trapped in the pipe someone takes a hacksaw and makes a small cut in the pipe to let the air out. These cuts of course never get repaired, so we found that their primary water supply line is full of holes. Then they wonder why they can’t get water at the village or why the water pressure is so low!

After completing our inspection our guide showed us to the end of the pipeline, which was right next to another meeting house in the village. We were invited in and shown to the dinning table where lunch had been put on for us. A feast of umu pork, taro, breadfruit, palusami, along with the good old pisupo (canned corned beef) and lamb soup. One of the perks of this type of job I was told. We have to visit another village next week, so I am hoping for more of the same!

In between the fun of the field trips I am helping write up the assessment and am also developing computer models for each scheme to help with planning future work and possible extensions. I am enjoying doing some water supply work, but am missing having people like Kate and Shane around to help me with some of the more mundane parts of the modeling work. (Thanks Kate for the help last week – my MapInfo skills are improving, slowly).

My other project is completely different – it involves working with some of the schools to improve their facilities. It looks like that one will start in January, so more about that later.

Angela Says: "No rest for the wicked and no more slacking “House Boy”. Go and actually do some work!!

"Party in the Park" Samoan Style

Last night Adam and I went to the Viala Beach School Christmas end of year show. This year's theme was ABBA which the kids seemed to enjoy even if the parents and teachers were sick of hearing the songs!! Adam described this night as his very favourite for 2 reasons, firstly there were a bunch of screaming kids running around and secondly we were going to be listening to ABBA music!!! He did however confess to enjoying himself and even thought it was better than BonyM at the Mission. The show was entertaining and it was just nice to be sitting outside with our picnic dinner and a glass of wine and spending time with friends. Maybe the Christmas spirit is starting to appear?

Manono take 2

Talofa all

This weekend we joined the others from our Hyundai netball club on an end of season trip to Manono Island. It was heaps of fun. We had to be ready for the boat at 9.00am on Saturday morning which was a bit of a struggle but in the end we waited 45 minutes for one of the others to turn up with a car load of people to offload into our car. We ended up with all the kids which was a bit of an education for Adam and I! There were rules about eating lollies but not Shapes in the car (as they are too messy!!) A few games of "I Spy" later and we were at the wharf.

The boat seats about 30 people plus can take a whole lot of luggage which was lucky. We had a number of chilly bins and bags plus our snorkelling gear. The boat can only go at a few knots so it takes maybe 1/2 hour to get over to the island.

A number of people came on the trip, some for the day and others staying the night. We decided to stay and were allocated a fale with Moira's Dad. I think ours was the quietest fale in the whole place! After a nice lunch and a boat trip around the island we played balloon volleyball (balloons filled with water flung over the net with a lavalava) and then went for a snorkel.

Saturday evening was great. Lots of chat and a few drinks with friends. We headed to bed about 11.00pm but the "young ones" stayed up most of the night. Luckily we took our chilly bin with us otherwise there would have been no Jack Daniels left the next day!!!!!!!!!!!! Somehow I seemed to be commissioned to paint all the toes of the little girls there pink. Oh well it was fun.

Sunday was relaxing. Lovely food for Tooanai (traditional Sunday lunch) and then it rained on cue so we had to lie in our Fale and read or doze until it was time to catch the boat back.

Check out the photos.

Schools Library Assistant Course - Graduation

On Friday night Adam and I both went to the Schools Library Assistant Course Graduation ceremony. It was held at the Millenia hotel in their fale which was nicely decorated with palm fronds and Teuila flowers. The students all turned up in their "uniforms" which one of the guys had hand printed. It seems to be the done thing here to have a "uniform" for different occasions which you then carry on and wear afterwards. They looked very nice. Family and friends of the students also came along so the fale was full.

As a staff member I also had a "uniform". My first Puletasi - or traditional Samoan outfit of long skirt and top. I chose not to have sleeves in my top as I find it too hot but traditionally most people do. I also ended up sewing the skirt myself as the one they made for me at the tailor was mid-calf length (must have thought I wanted a Palagi length skirt!) which I didn't feel right with. All the Puletasi's I've seen come down to your ankles.

Out of the course of 35, 33 students passed and there were only 4 guys but they all did very well and will make good librarians. Laki made a speech on behalf of the students and I was very grateful for him speaking a few words to me in English so that I could understand what he was saying.

The ceremony went very well. The students had prepared some songs so the speeches were broken up with singing. I was very proud to see all the students graduate and I hope they now go on to be good librarians in the schools where much organisation and cleaning of the libraries needs to happen.

I have uploaded some photos for you of Adam and I in our Samoan outfits etc.

Mango Mania

Talofa all

Last night when we finished work the girls were heading down to the mango tree to see what they could pick so I decided to go along. The air was full of the smell of rotting sweet flesh and of course the ripe mangos were not at the bottom of the tree. People passed and had a good laugh at the sight of the library staff trying to throw things to make the mangos fall down. Luckily we were rescued by a hunky male who decided to climb the tree and pick the mangos for us. Next problem was trying to catch them as they fell ................. not so good at cricktet me!! Yummy though. Wish the mango season went all year round.

Samoan Santa?

Where is Santa and the Christmas spirit in Samoa?

Things have been mighty quiet around here. There is no maddness, no diary full of Christmas party bookings/clashes, no decorations and hardly any ads on the TV from the shops.

Has Samoa gone to sleep or is Christmas coming in Samoan time?

Luckily Adam has agreed to me putting up my tree now as it is a month until Christmas and only 3 weeks til we fly home. I am having to create my own Christmas spirit. Luckily for all of you I have done some Christmas shopping so you will get presents!! I am also planning a Christmas dinner with a couple of friends who will be in Australia at Christmas time so will do something before we all head in separate directions.

Oh and we are off to Manono Island again this weekend with the netball club for our end of season "do". We are all staying the night in the fales. I wonder how much sleep will be got on Saturday night......................

Library Update

Well it's taken 6 months but I can finally log into the library electronic databases - yay!! This is such a relief. At least now when Distance students come in needing information I may have half a chance of helping them. 1 step closer the the goal of electrifying this library by the end of 2009!! Of course the internet connection still works like a slow wet week but I am learning the art of patience. "As long as it works - eventually" - is now my motto!

Next exciting thing on the horizon is that I have received a 500GB database of Agricultural journal information from the USA. This is a subscription which is updated annually. We now have access to Agricultural journals dating back to 1993. This can be networked and made available within Alafua, Samoa but not to the other islands as yet. It will be great to have our own local database that is not relying on the internet connection for access. Very helpful for the staff and students when researching.

Have also been very busy here with writing Annual Reports and Action Plans for 2009. I am glad of the experience I got at UCOL with these and with aligning the library objectives with the overall objectives of USP. As I had a "list" of many things I wanted to tackle next year this task was reletively easy. It is also a chance to make the mother ship aware of things that need working on in Samoa and where we may need assistance with funding etc. Things not achieved can carry forward to 2010 etc. How organised!!

Today is the last day of the Exam period. Many students heading home last weekend and the next batch will depart this weekend which will make it very quiet around here. Just a few post graduate students left finishing off their research. We are therefore starting to tackle the major weeding project and getting rid of composting journals from the 1960's onwards!! That should be fun. We will have lots of free shelf space after this and I hope to create a journal display area and make our Reference Collection more prominent. We are awaiting a whole lot of nice new Reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries etc) from a special fund held in Fiji. Yippee. Hard copy encyclopedias are still very helpful here as battling with the online versions is tiresome.

I am also keenly awaiting the arrival of Matua II 041 the ship that is bringing 40 boxes of Children's books and Adult fiction to Samoa from the lovely libraries that donated these in New Zealand. This should arrive Sunday and the books will be available for collection next week. I will then have the lovely task of opening up the boxes to see what is in there - just like Christmas! Dividing up the books to the needy schools is going to be difficult so I will have to enlist the help of the Ministry of Education and the Public Librarian (as long as the books don't all end up in her collection!!)

Last but not least we are also now at the end of the Schools Library Assistant course. I had a full day of revision with the students last week so that took some preparation. Not wanting to bore them half to death I tried very hard to souce some videos on Customer Service in Libraries and also on Covering and Mending books. Much better to show them something than to blah blah blah at them. After much perseverence with my internet connection and many failed attempts to download I finally managed to get 2 Goofus and Gallant in the Library videos off YouTube and burn them to DVD to show in the class room. I know this may be no mean feat to you but to me it was a minor miracle to achieve this!! The revision day went well and the students did not snore too loudly so I think it was successful. This Friday is graduation day. Adam is also invited along (which he thinks is appropriate as he assisted me in planning and testing my class sessions). I have been given fabric and have had my first Puletasi sewn so will be wearing that to graduation. Photos to follow shortly .........

The Samoan Touch

Hi all

It's been a while since I last posted (sounds like a confession?!!). Normal life has taken a hold. We haven't been away or done anything different or exciting (other than living in Samoa ;-)) Actually I have been playing a bit of Touch Rugby in the last few weeks. There have been tournaments each weekend with 3 games of half an hour each. Somehow I have managed to stumble into Touch at the very end of the season and have been caught up with the top 8 teams in the league!! Anyway they welcomed me but then swiftly plonked me out on the wing where I could do the least damage. I have been fast trying to learn the Jordan, Bounce, Save, Noodle and the Helmet (which all have other names as well just to confuse matters more). After much perseverence I think I have mastered the Jordan which is the main move for the team so at least that is something. It has been heaps of fun and now I have some contacts for next year's season which starts in February. Good fitness build up for netball.

Touch gets played rain or shine (there is no hail here!) but when it rains it really rains. I have had 2 weekends of being soaked through to the skin now with rain dripping off my nose and hair and running into my mouth. Last weekend I had to wring out my top on the field to try and lose some weight from it! Apparently I have "tries in there" and I have been trying hard but so far my only chance was in the middle of a torrential down pour and as hard as I tried I just couldn't pull in the spinning bullet that was thrown to me so it went plop through my arms and dribbled over the try line (yes I was that close!!) Very frustrating and annoying.

Nothing like a bit of Samoan touch in the pouring rain that fast turns into humid heat with bugs flying everywhere and eating mangos picked fresh off the trees, peeled by hand and eaten on the side line with mango juice running down your arms!!

The Power and the Rain

I am sitting on our verandah under the shelter of the corrugated iron roof and it is chucking it down with rain which sounds great. The guttering is overflowing in many places as it can’t cope with the volume of water. Bring it on I say though as only in Samoa can it rain this hard but there still not be enough water in the dams to run the Hydro Power stations!! For the past 8 days we have had power outages whenever the Electric Power Corporation has felt like it and they call it “rationing”. This morning there was an announcement on the radio as to which areas were going to have “rationing” at what times. In Vaigaga we were meant to have 12.00pm – 3.00pm this week every day so why is it 6.00pm and we have no power? This is Samoa. We have just cooked our dinner on the BBQ in a pot (re-heated food from last night). The BBQ is proving to be very useful in these times. It is very hot here, especially inside when there are no fans, and there is not much breeze but the 5 children from across the road have got the right idea. They are running up and down the street splashing in the puddles in the pouring rain and they are naked!! What a life aye? That is probably their shower for tonight!! There is thunder and lightning now so best they head inside before their bits get fried!

Carnage in the Library

Yesterday when I opened the library door I was very surprised to find a bird flying about inside. The poor thing must have been stuck in there all weekend. We opened up the doors as wide as we could and I tried to shoo him out but to no avail as the ceilings in the library are quite high so he just kept flying up out of reach. During the morning little bird sat on the louver windows while his mates clung to the mesh on the outside and they chirped to each other. When not doing this he flew up and down the length of the windows trying to find a way out. Unfortunately in the afternoon I heard a massive twang and turned to see feathers floating in the air. Poor little bird had hit one of the ceiling fans and come worse off. I looked for him everywhere but could not find him. It was not until later that evening when Adam came to pick me up that he spotted the bird on the floor underneath Silia’s desk. He is R.I.P. now. Wrapped in the Fiji Times daily newspaper and given an appropriate send off. This happens all too often for my liking so I’m open to suggestions as to how to get the birds out of the library …

Palolo Deep

The weather here has been hot and on Sunday we were both keen for a swim, so we decided to go to the Palolo Deep Marine Reserve. This is a marine reserve in Apia, just around the corner from the port.  None of the beaches in Apia are very appealing so we had not bothered to go the Palolo Deep before, even though it is supposed to have some good snorkelling. 

We managed to catch the high tide on Sunday morning and had a good time snorkelling out over the shallower waters (waist deep) to the ‘deep’ where there is a 'hole' in the reef, about 10m deep and 200m in diameter. Along the edge of the hole there is a great variety of coral and fish and even in the shallow water you can get close to all sorts of fish.  No photos this time, we decided that we should give the camera a break from the water. 

This spot is nice and close to town, so I am sure we will become regular visitors whenever we feel the need for a swim.  

Bike Update

At last we have an update on the condition of Angela’s bike. 

Some of you might remember that our first bike ride here in Samoa ended with a buckled back wheel and some broken spokes on Angela’s bike.  We then found that there are no bike shops or places to get replacement parts over here.  We managed to order some spare parts and the necessary tools from an online bike shop in NZ just in time for Latika and Hedley to bring them when they came up for their visit. So a big thanks to our ‘couriers’.

Armed with all the parts, tools and my bike maintenance book I got back into trying to get Angela’s bike back on the road.  It still wasn’t as straight forward as I hoped – there were problems with more spokes breaking, needing some longer spokes, trying to find Locktite in Apia…..   Then there was the fact that the wheel was very badly buckled and trying to straighten it up was not an easy task. Anyway, last week I finally got it back in one piece and rideable.

 Naturally we were both keen to get on the bikes and go for a ride, so on Saturday we decided to ride to netball training.  (Angela is helping to train the Samoan development squad and they train on Saturday afternoons).  Unfortunately training is at 1.00pm, so we set off from home in the hottest part of the day – about 33°! We got to Apia Park OK, no problems with either bike, but realised that riding around in that heat is a silly thing to do!! We waited at the courts until about 1.30, but no one else turned up. Practice must have been cancelled, but no one had told Angela.  So we rode to the closest shop, picked up some iceblocks and sat under the coconut trees by the sea. Then we rode around the shoreline and back home without any damage to the bikes.  It was good to be able to ride again, even though it was hot, we had to dodge a few dogs and fight our way through the Apia traffic.  

Elections

For those of you that are caught up in the hype of the American Presidential Election don’t forget that it is the New Zealand general election this Saturday, November 8.  

Angela and I decided that we should have our say, so headed down to the NZ High Commission on Friday morning to cast our votes.  After going through all the necessary identification checks and filling in a form to get out ballot papers we were finally allowed to cast our votes. Then there was a bit of an origami test to fold up the ballot paper and seal it into the correct pocket in the envelope.  Anyway, our votes have been cast and we will stayed tuned for the results next week.  

Building Bridges

I was reminded the other day that I haven’t posted anything about my work here in Apia. There are some people that think I have been unemployed over here enjoying a tropical holiday while Angela is slaving away at USP!

I have actually been working most of the time we have been here. I had sent my CV to some of the civil engineering consultants before we departed for Samoa, and one of them (Kramer Group) contacted me about a week before we flew out. One of their engineers had just left and they needed someone to fill that gap on a bridge project that they were working on. So, once we got to Apia I went to see them to find out more. I ended up agreeing to work for them on a part-time casual basis (20 hours/week) for the duration of the bridge project, which is due for completion in September 2009. The project involves the replacement of 2 road bridges in Apia and the upgrading of approach roads and intersections.

So, I didn’t get the 2 months of lying on the beach that was recommended to me by Stu and Stu from GHD in Palmerston North. It did however take about a month to get my work visa sorted out, during which time I didn’t work. That was good for us as it allowed me to do a lot of the running around while we were settling in here. I also wasn’t allowed to start work on the bridge project until I become a member of the Institute of Professional Engineers, Samoa (IPES). The team at Kramer managed to get all the paper work sorted out, so now I have a 3 year work permit and have my IPES CPEng membership. I am now officially a Kramer employee, you can see me on their website.

Initially I was supposed to help coordinate some of the activities during the design period and then look after the construction supervision phase. Before anyone panics – I was not going to be involved in any of the structural design of the bridges, so they should be safe to drive over!! We figured that 20 hours/week should cover my role. Once I got started the role grew and has been mainly 35 -40 hours a week. During the design phase I was required to do various things that I hadn’t done before, but no one else was able to tackle them, so I had a go. This included Road Safety Audits, Economic Analyses, Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plans, Project Risk Analyses, Environmental Assessment Reports. I even had to design, then participate in, some traffic counts. The roading engineers back at GHD would probably be shocked that I was doing these things that I am not qualified or experienced in, but I enjoyed it. Fortunately most of the Transit New Zealand / LTSA manuals are available online and I was able to download these to help point me in the right direction.

There have been a few other challenges during the design phase – our bridge designer was based in Brisbane and our road designer was in the Papua New Guinea, so coordinating all the information was difficult. We also struggled to get any of the information that you might need when designing a bridge, e.g. we need some geotechnical investigations done, but I found that there is only one geotechnical engineer in Samoa, and he passed away about the time our project started. His business is still operating, but without him there the services that they can provide are very limited.

Working here has good so far, a bit more relaxed than home. I don’t wear a shirt and tie to work, and I turn up in shorts and jandals most days. There have been a few times when I have been to site and felt that jandals might not be appropriate, so I put my boat shoes on instead - no over zealous OSH inspectors here!

Anyway, we have now delivered all the bridge designs and associated documentation so things for me have quietened down a bit. We aim to start construction towards the end of the rainy season, late March or April 2009.

In the meantime I am doing some work for Kramer’s Solomon Islands office and have helped out with stormwater designs for some other projects that Kramer are doing in Apia. I have also been approached by another local consultant to help out with s project to develop water supplies to some of the villages. That is due to start soon and I am supposed to provide technical assistance 2 days per week over the next few months. There is plenty of other work out there, so I don’t think I will be sitting around at the beach as much as I would like too.

Diwali

Tuesday was the Hindu Diwali Festival, or Festival of the Lights. Part of the Diwali celebrations involves lighting candles or lamps to signify the victory of good over evil. Our neighbours are Indians from Fiji and they were celebrating Diwali. When we arrived home and saw their house was all lit by candles we assumed that this was for Diwali, until we went into our house and found that the power was off!! This power cut lasted from about 5.30 until 8.00 – not very convenient when you are trying to cook dinner.

Anyway, we had our own Diwali candle lighting and then proceeded to cook and eat dinner by candle light. Fortunately we have a gas BBQ and were able to cook outside, then enjoyed a nice outdoor candlelit dinner.

Thanks to our neighbours for sharing some of their Diwali sweets with us.

Unfortunately the following night we had another power cut of about the same duration. The novelty of our own version of Diwali was OK for one night, but it isn’t much fun to be in the dark every night. Lets hope that the power is on tonight.

Manono Island

This weekend we were lucky enough to enjoy a couple of days at another tropical island.

We hadn’t planned to go away this weekend and spent Friday night watching the rugby (what happened to the Lions?) the rugby league (we got interested when it looked like PNG might upset England) and a movie while Angela was sewing. So it ended up being a late one on Friday night (2.00am) and I had planned on a nice lie-in on Saturday morning. When the phone rung at 7.30 on Saturday morning I assumed it was a wrong number and wasn’t going to get up and answer it (no phone by the bed here!) but Angela got up and found that it was Moira from the netball team inviting us to her family’s place at Manono Island. The only problem was that the boat to the island was departing at 9.00 and we were still in bed and hadn’t packed. After a few more phone calls a new plan was in place – we would get a boat a bit later in the day with some others that were coming around lunchtime.

That gave us time to get up, have breakfast, buy some supplies and get packed. We also had time to have a quick look at our Lonely Planet and we learnt that Manono Island is about 2 km off the western end of the main island Upolo. There are no cars, no roads and no dogs and apparently the pace of life is even slower than the rest of Samoa!!

After a slightly bumpy boat rode we arrived at Manono and found that it is as idyllic as it sounded. We settled into our fale and were then straight into the water. The water was so warm and clear with more excellent snorkelling right off the beach. After a quick Vailima / Jack Daniels we decided to go exploring. We were guided by Raymond and Austin (Mary and Moira’s children!) As we worked our way around the island we found more nice beaches, villages plantations of bananas, pineapples coconuts and papaya, and of course a couple of churches. We ended up walking all the way around the island in about 1 ½ hours (including photo stops). I think Raymond was a bit shocked at being made to walk so far, but he survived. There is also a walk up to the top of the island, but we told him that we would save that for next time.

We got back just in time for dinner – a feast that included curry, fish, taro, bananas, clams and some good old sausages. Delicious. Although the island now has power (a cable was brought across from the mainland a few years ago) we did not have a TV so we didn’t have to endure the Kiwis losing to the Aussies.

Our fale was right on the waters edge and we woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of waves on the rocks right under us. Another fine morning and sparkling seas. Thanks to the boys (Ray and Tate) we enjoyed a hearty breakfast – bacon, eggs and koko-rice (a sort of rice porridge with Koko Samoa, the local cocoa). After letting breakfast settle we were back in the water. This time we decided to snorkel out to a small rock island that was off our beach. Angela took the camera and snapped a few more photos. We found a lion fish and tried to photograph it, but it was a bit deep and I don’t think the camera liked being taken that far under water. We must have been in the water for a couple of hours and arrived back in time for lunch. We were treated to another feast, this time from the umu. A tasty selection of mutton flaps, fish, taro, coconut cream and some of the previous nights curry. As we ate lunch a bit of a storm blew in and pelted us with rain but this was short lived. The fale was built traditionally with a thatched roof and woven panels and it stood up quite well to the “storm”. The rain sounds great on the roof.

Then it was time to pack up and head for home. We had a great impromptu weekend away full of excellent snorkelling, delicious food and good company all in a beautiful setting. We owe a big thanks to Moira and her family for welcoming us all to their part of Manono Island.

USP Open Day 2008

On Thursday 16th October it was open day at USP Alafua Campus. This date was chosen so we could link to the USP campus in Fiji via video conferencing, as it was open day there on Friday 17th (time zone differences!) We were all in the library on Wednesday night to do the decorating. With the sounds pumping we blew up balloons and made streamers plus put together a display to show the various courses we can support in the library. Although the Alafua campus primarily focuses on Agriculture, there is increasing interest in Distance and Flexible learning (DFL) courses that can be studied via the video conferencing facilities and using the learning management systems Blackboard and Moodle.

In the library we wanted to help promote all the different courses offered by all the campuses of USP around the pacific and encourage students to enrol in their area of interest whether it be accounting, law, business, tourism, agriculture etc. Our display looked very nice once we had finished and we even managed to adorn it with a few agricultural products just to give it “flava”! Potatoes, tomatoes, sprouting coconuts, beans and corn plus a couple of cabbages.

The library staff wore their new, very professional looking uniforms for the day and received many favourable comments! The opening ceremony took place under the Pulu tree. This is a massive tree on campus that must have been there for years. There were stalls and gazebos set up under the tree and in the field and a stage for the formalities. The campus manager Lemalu Taefu said a few words and introduced the USP campus and was then followed by a government minister before the cake was cut by the Australian High Commissioner, supported by the NZ High Commissioner (who supply lots of funding for USP). Not only was it open day but USP was celebrating 40 years of business in education.

Once all this was over it was time for the tours of campus to begin so we high-tailed it back to the library to get ready. We must have had 15-20 groups of students through the library within a 2 hour period. It was busy but nice to see the place humming. The students were great, even if they only had 5 minutes each in the library before moving on to other areas of campus such as the IT studios, the farm and the soils areas. Managed to get a few photos as it seems if you produce a camera there is no shortage of people willing to have their picture taken!!

During the afternoon we closed up the library so we could go and enjoy the cultural performances by the current USP students. We had heard them practicing in the fale for weeks so it was time for it to become a reality. I very much enjoyed this part of the day and seeing the dancing from many different pacific island groups such as, Samoan, Fijiian, Tongan, Kirabati, Tuvalu, Solomons, and Vanuatu. My favourite were the Fijiian boys who performed some very convincing war dances. The outfits from each group were great and the students went to a lot of trouble to produce very polished performances. I have made video clips of each of the groups for you to see so check out our YouTube site. Awesome.

Vavau

As it was a long weekend last weekend we decided to go away for a few nights of R&R. Picking another spot out the Lonely Planet guide we decided on a place called Vavau on the south coast of Upolo. The guide promised tranquil beaches and top class fale accommodation with a good restaurant supplying a range of meals. Sounded great.

Upon first arrival our impressions were that the place was really nice. Beautiful gardens and big secluded fales. The fale however had seen better days! Although this was more upmarket than other places we had stayed, the fales had walls, a kitchen and a bathroom, we found that the place was dirty, with holes in the mozzie nets (and hence a room full of mosquitos), a cockroach on the floor and a resident rat! Not much to my liking I must admit. It was raining on the Friday night when we arrived also so I was hoping for some sunny weather so we wouldn’t have to spend too much time inside.

Adam inspected in the kitchen cupboards and wasn’t too impressed therefore I did not bother to follow in his footsteps. There was an electric jug and a fridge (the fridge turned out to be the best part of the room for keeping the Jack cold!!) but no mugs or tea bags so no chance of any tea. I’m not sure when the last time was that the bathroom got cleaned and the funny smell in the pillows turned out to be mould!

We headed for dinner soon after we arrived and were served a piece of steak with rice and a slice of pumpkin. Skirvy coming as no greens in sight! The meal was also cooked by what looked like a 12 year old boy. Granted he did do a good job though. We did however find out when we paid the bill that this gourmet meal cost us $32.50 each – about double what it should have been!!

The next day, Saturday, I discovered I’d left some very important medical supplies behind in Apia so we had no choice but to drive home to get them (nothing like an after hours pharmacy in Vavau!) Only an hour each way luckily! While back in Apia we (aka I) decided it would be a good idea to soak up some of the sights and sounds of the White Sunday markets!! Adam told me he had been tricked!! We did have a great time though looking in the flea market and in the special markets set up selling all the white gear you could need for the weekend celebrations. Everyone was well stocked and we managed some good bargains.

After a bit of lunch and the retrieval of the necessary supplies we headed back to Vavau again. In our absence 2 large samoan busses had arrived full of – USP students!!!! My peace was shattered! They were all very friendly though waving out and saying “Hello Ma’am”. I am getting used to answering to this. It was also Fiji Day during this weekend so the Fijian students had decided on a day out in Vavau with their families.

Adam and I took to the water for a bit of snorkelling. Everywhere we go it’s slightly different. At Vavau the underwater world was pretty interesting with loads of coral peaks and troughs in lots of different colours. The fish were generally the same but you always spot something you haven’t seen before. After an afternoon in the water we figured we had earnt a Jack on our deck watching the sun set and decided to head up the road to a posh resort for dinner in their restaurant .....

Dinner was very nice until drama number 3 happened!! Somewhere along the line the key to our fale dropped out of Adams pocket. We could not find it anywhere in the car, on the ground in the sand or back at the restaurant. Don’t think the old samoan guy (who didn’t speak any English) was too impressed with us when we mimed having lost the key and not being able to get into our room!! All manner of suggestions followed, how about removing some mesh so we could reach in and unlock the door or taking the pins out of the hinges? Easier said than done however when all you have for tools is a kitchen knife and a spade!!! In the end the spade and lots of jiggling got the door open which I was very pleased about.

The next morning guess what Adam found on the beach????????????

Sunday we finished up with some more snorkelling in a small bay protected by a couple of offshore islands. At low tide there was still a deep channel that we could swim in. Tried our luck at going around a rocky point but got “beached” on a platform of coral when the water got a bit shallow. Adam wondered why I wasn’t moving and my legs and arms were up out of the water!! Lots of slimy sea slugs round there anyway so I didn’t want to be touching them!!

Also managed to get out for a bit of kayaking. We picked 5.00pm when the tide was high and off we set. Some of the waves rolling in drove us home though, not til we had had to surf some! The inflatable kayak held up well and the view from the boat looking at the fish and coral below is always fantastic.

And that’s about it for this times adventures. Speak to you again very soon.

White Sunday

This weekend was a long weekend for us for the celebration of White Sunday. This is something we had not heard of in NZ, but the following text from Wikipedia explains what it is all about.

White Sunday is a holiday in Samoa, falling on the second Sunday in October. It is a day for the children of Samoa where they are specially appreciated by their parents and their communities. They have to perform for their parents and relatives in church by ways of reciting bible verses (tauloto), performing creative dances and dramas.
On White Sunday the women and children dress completely in white clothing. Some of them trim the clothes with the other two colours of the Samoan flag, red and blue. Men will wear white shirts with either white slacks or the traditional lavalava. If a lavalava is worn it may not be white.
White Sunday is celebrated all over the world, wherever a Samoan church community exists.
In Samoa they call this day "Lotu Tamaiti".Translation in English is "Children's Day" or the "Children's service"

So, aside from enjoying the extra day off (more about what we did on the long weekend on a later post) we also decided to attend the church service on Sunday morning. We both got dressed up in our Sunday best - Angela all in white (well, cream actually) and me in a black lavalava and white shirt - and headed for the local church. I think we looked the part, but still stood out as the only Palagis in the church.

The entire service etc was in Samoan so we couldn't understand all that was being said, but we got the gist of what was going on. The minister started by baptising the younger children then we got to see all the children giving their performances. The Sunday School teacher had obviously been very busy teaching the kids various action songs, plays etc. They started with the youngest children (pre-schoolers) singing some songs and worked up through groups of increasing age. Most of them were really good, of course the younger ones were the funniest - all trying their best but getting out of time or forgetting the words. The older groups (teenagers) were very good with some very strong singers and confident actors and dancers. There were also a few cases of stage fright, embarrassment and a few tears!

As we have seen with other events here, the Samoans sure know how to put on a show that lasts a long time! We got to the grand finale when all the children got on stage so sing their final songs together. With so many children and so many performances it took 2 hours to get through them all, but it was certainly very interesting for us to see this first hand and we enjoyed the experience. Angela will be uploading some photos soon showing the church and some of the children dressed up in their White Sunday outfits.

Work shmirk!

Hey there

That work thing - yes it's still going on in the background around netball, holidays at the beach and partying!!

Just thought I would give you a quick (and I mean quick) update. Things plodding on well. I'm on the battle now for improved IT services in the library and money to renew subscriptions for very vital databases but what's new - life goes on in Samoa!

Thought you would be interested to see the photos of the packaging my latest book order arrived in from India!! I'm imagining a little old lady sitting in a dingy, dusty room in the heat stitching the calico around the books. So quaint. I have kept that packaging as I haven't ever seen anything quite like it before!

You will also see a photo of the new mouse mats. I know I know this may not seem like a major accomplishment to you but believe me it is to us! Those mouse mats have made such a difference to the mousing pleasure at USP Library. It is such a relief now to move the mouse and actually have it go where it is meant to. In addition to this Latika and Hedley also brought over our book display stands, some business cards I had printed for free (through VistaPrint), perspex brochure display stands and our DVD player. All of these things have made such a difference. Only problem with the DVD player is that now I need a remote for the ancient TV so that I can select the AV channel and actually play the DVDs. Arrrrrrgggggghhhh there is always something!! Maybe it doesn't even have an AV channel????? Anyone coming to Samoa soon who can bring me a TV????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for Adam, he has been very busy on a bridge project getting all the documentation together. That is going to quieten down now and construction probably won't start until the new year after the wet season. He is also going to start working for another company to fill in the spare 20 hours (yeah right) he has each week so no rest for him. He never did get to be the pool boy ;-)

The Hen's Night and the Wedding

I was very surprised but pleased to be invited to Moira's Hens night last Wednesday which was a Bollywood evening! Moira is in my netball team and Adam plays with Tate the groom. Anyway I received my invitation and then had to get to work on the requirements for the evening. Everyone had to come dressed in their best saree or indian bollywood outfit and also bring a plate of indian food to share. Finding the outfit turned out to be not too much of a hassle as I popped next door to see my Fijian Indian neighbour and luckily she brought an outfit with her when she moved to Samoa. She is a skinny little rake though so I wasn't sure I would fit into it but managed to squeeze in there for the night!!

The Hen's do was lovely. Everyone looked fabulous in their colourful and glittery Indian outfits.

The food was also yummy. After a mild panic about what I might be able to make/cook that was Indian (and you all know about my culinary skills - enough said!) we happened upon some vegetable curry pastry things at the bakery in the morning so I took the easy route and bought a few of them! Thanks though Latika for the recipe for Indian Hash Browns. They sound great and I think even I can manage them so will give them a go for Adam and I.

Last Saturday was the actual Wedding day. It's the dry season but wouldn't you know it, it pissed down with rain most of the day. Nothing to spoil the service though. There was a break in the weather just in time. We arrived at the Sails restaurant which in in Mulinuu and right on the sea front for the service and reception. The place had been decorated by Moira's family and was fantastic. I loved the colour scheme, a jade blue green. Lots of sea shells and paua shells, ribbons, candles etc. The cake was also lovely.

Moira and Tate said their vowls in a simple ceremony then were ambushed for photos before heading off for some official ones. There were a few netball friends at the wedding so it was a good night had by all and the bar service just kept running. There are a few picturs of the wedding and the hen's do on Flickr for you to see. My favourite photo is the one of Elizabeth (Moira's daughter) and I. She is a sweetie especially on the netball sideline as she has learned to run up and down shouting "go Adam go"!

Netball Roundup

After our week holidaying at various beaches we made it back to Apia for the final round of matches of the netball season. For those of you that have been following the progress of our teams through the season here is a quick wrap up how things went.

Mens Team
We carried along our winning way until the penultimate week when we played SCOPA. This was the big match of our season, with SCOPA unbeaten since the very first week, and us with only one loss - to SCOPA in the first round. The shield was also up for grabs. Despite the efforts of all our fans on the sideline (including our special fan club from NZ) after leading for the first 3 quarters we ended up losing a close game. We bounced back to a convincing win in our final game and ended up tied with SCOPA at the top of the table. SCOPA lost their last game, and the shield, to Marist. A game that Angela and Daryl (from our team) had to umpire. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to knock SCOPA off the top of the table. We came second on countback, but not a bad effort for a new team.

Womens A Team
Angela's team finally recorded their first win of the season - playing with only 6 players (a netball team normally has 7 players) against Oriana. They also were given the points for a win when it was found that Vaivase had played an ineligible player against them (a game that Vaivase won). They ended the season with a good win and that was enough for them to finish the season in 4th place. A good result considering they were dead last for most of the season!

After the last game we gathered for the customary party, not at our house this time. Again there was lots of food and drinks. After last weeks party Mum had be 'volunteered' to make curry for the final party. So thanks Mum - the curry was a hit, sorry to make you cook on your holiday!!

There was an official prize giving which some of us attended. The Mens team won $350 for coming second, but no trophies. So that's it - the netball season is over, now we can have our weekends back! It sounds like there is a mixed business house netball competition starting up in the next week or two, so I guess there will be more netball for us!

On Holiday - Virgin Cove

First, we must apologise for taking so long to share our holiday stories. While we were enjoying ourselves at the beach we were not updating the blog, and now that we are back to the 'real world' we seem to be to busy with boring things like work.

Anyway, as Angela is the one with the real job I thought I will have a go at the next stage of our holiday.

So, after spending 2 relaxing days at Lalomanu we pack up and headed west along the south coast heading for Virgin Cove. First stop was To Sua Ocean trench. (The place is called 'To Sua', which translates as 'big hole' from Samoan - originally I wasn't sure if the name was just Sua Ocean Trench, with the sign pointing the way to Sua Ocean Trench, but my Samoan friends have told me otherwise). This is where there are 2 large holes in the the ground, one of which is connected to the sea forming a saltwater swimming hole. As you can see from the photos it is a long way down (maybe 15m?) We had heard that a rather precarious rope ladder was the only way in and out, but we were pleased to see that there is a much more sturdy ladder now. Hedley does not have a head for heights, so he watched as we climbed the 26(? - Hedley was counting!) steps down to the water. It was a neat experience to be swimming so far down below ground level. We can confirm that the hole is connected to the sea - the water was salty and we could feel the surges as the waves washed in and out at the shore. We did not attempt to swim through the tunnel out to the ocean!



The site also has some nice gardens and access to the beach, and there are signs pointing to a blow-hole. We followed the signs and think we found the elusive blow-hole, but there wasn't much to get excited about while we were there.

After our salt water swim the plan was to head off to one of our favourite swimming holes - the Togitogiga Falls - for a refreshing freshwater swim. Unfortunately this is dry season and what we have only ever seen as a fast flowing river was completely dry, so no swimming!!

We carried on around the coast and found our way to the Virgin Cove Resort. After the fun we had trying to check in a Lalomanu it was a relief to see that we were expected and our fales were ready for us. The resort is on another lovely white sand beach, but this time we found that the fales are in more of a forest setting, and further apart that the wall to wall style at Lalomanu. We were all really impressed with the setting, facilities and service - the only disappointment: NO HAPPY HOUR!! We had a bit of time for some exploring and snorkelling before another delicious meal.

Our fales were great - nice and big with woven panels for walls that you can lift up during the day to let the breeze through. No blue tarpaulins here! But we did find that we had a few unexpected visitors at night - hermit crabs! The hermit crabs live on land and come out at night. Some of them get quite big and we could hear them walking across our floor and up our walls during the night! Fortunately the mosquito nets seem to be crab proof too!

Somewhere along the way we decided that a pre-breakfast snorkelling session was a good idea, so we were all up and in the water first thing in the morning. Actually, it was the best time for the tide and the wind usually picks up later in the day so in the morning the water is the calmest. We managed to get to breakfast just in time then decided to attend the mornings activities of 'making fire with two stick' and 'roasting Samoan peanut'. Tupu showed us how to make fire, then used the fire to roast the Samoan peanuts. Angela and Hedley tried very hard to make fire using the same sticks, and after a lot of effort they claimed that they had made some smoke but we didn't have to call the fire brigade! After we ate our Samoan peanuts Tupu showed us the trees that the peanuts grow on and the tree that the fire sticks come from.

Angela was keen to learn how to weave a basket out of coconut leaves, so we arranged a lesson with Tupu after lunch. First he picked a few leaves and then he started making a basket. Once he was underway he handed it over to Angela and she carried on. It looked like she got the hang of it quite quickly, but there were a few tricky bits. By the time we were finished we ended up with 2 baskets, a hat and had a demonstration of how to make a plate from coconut leaves and how to make a fan. We still have the hat and baskets at home, and have even used the baskets to do our shopping at the market!

The next day was our last at Virgin Cove, so there was time for another pre-breakfast snorkel before we packed up and headed back to Apia.

On Holiday - Lalomanu and Coconut tree climbing

Next stop on our whistle stop tour of Samoa was Lalomanu Beach. We drove around the coast through many beautiful villages to the north and north east of the island before rounding the corner on to the south side and passing Namu'a where Adam and I paddled our Kayak.

Lalomanu beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Samoa with white sands and is an excellent spot for snorkelling and looking at the fish and coral. We had booked, or so I thought, to stay in the Taufua beach fales. Upon arrival though we found that our booking had been lost and so had to enter into some negotiation as to whether there were 2 rooms for us or not!! In the end Latika and Hedley were allocated a beach fale with views from out the tarpaulan to the sea and Adam and I took one of the fales set back a bit behind the others but with a small verandah and table that would be useful for drinks later on!

As the weather was not that warm (did I just say that?) we went for a walk exploring along the beach. You will see from the photos the massive clam shells we found and we also came back with bits of coral, shells and other treasures (which to be honest are at home now and smelling a bit fishey!!) We watched some of the local children race bottle tops down roads they had made in the sand and also looked to see what we could spot in the tide pools. Adam and Latika reakoned they spotted an eel .... Just a little one!

On the way back (Hedley was keeping an eye on the time and Happy 2 Hours was due to start) I decided it was time to tackle a Coconut tree so Latika pointed out a reasonable one and off I went to climb up it. It was a bit freaky and quite high up but with a bit of crawling and shimmying I managed to get close enough to the top that I couldn't turn back without picking a coconut! Grabbing hold of a sturdy frond I stood up and had to twist the coconut before it would fall down. Pretty happy with that. This nut was later named Louis (after Robert Louis Stevenson of course) but no matter how hard we tried no one would open it up for us (stupid dumb tourists climbing trees aye - jeeze!) I have now found out that that tree won't fruit again as women are not meant to climb. Oh well at least there are plenty of others here in Samoa!!

Happy 2 hours turned into a number of "blue" drinks for me and various other coctails for the others. The evening meal was great. Plenty of food served at one long table to all the guests around 7.00pm.

The next morning it was up for another "last supper" type breakfast before heading out to do some snorkelling. I was pleased that the day had dawned a bit sunnier than the one before however you will see photographic evidence of why it is not a good idea to fall asleep under the so called shade of a coconut tree!! You will see lots of underwater photos on Flickr too. What an amazing sight. Snorkelling around here is just fantastic and there is always something to look at. This time round I was particularly amazed at the schools of fish that swam below and around me. Close enough to touch. Awesome.

And what a way to top off a great day but to sit back for another Happy 2 Hours with netball friends Ray and Mary and their family who had come over to stay for a night. Many laughs and netball stories told this night as I'm sure you can imagine!

On Holiday - Robert Louis Stevenson House and Museum

Well what a start to the holiday. A Faafa show and then a netball party? Thought it was about time to take our guests away for a few days for some rest and relaxation.

Monday morning (in the car and driving by 9.00am please Angela - and yes I made it!!) we headed off first stopping at the Robert Louis Stevenson house/museum. Lovely gardens and well manicured lawns. The weather was a bit cloudy and drizzly but that did not dampen our spirits - we were now on holiday. We paid our money and joined the tour of the house which was due to start in 10 minutes - that would be a Samoan 10 minutes which meant about 20!! Never mind it gave us time to look in the gift shop at the rather expensive souvenirs for sale.

The house was apparently damaged in a hurricane some years ago so had been completely rebuilt and refurnished. They had done an excellent job by following photos that were available of how the rooms used to look. We started off in the Tapa room with the lion (yes a real one) rug on the floor. Then it was upstairs to the bedrooms. Robert Louis Stevenson slept separately from his wife due to suffering from TB for most of his life. His bed was in his study which was also set up with a massive writing desk and many old editions of his books (which the librarian enjoyed looking through!) Fanny's room was lovely of course but the best bedroom in the house went to the mother who apparently complained so much about the heat downstairs that she was given the best room in the house upstairs with sea and garden views and plenty of space to spread out.

I was facinated with the old sewing machine they had set up there and there were also some great photos and drawings on the walls that really gave an idea of what it used to be like.

Coming back downstairs through the impressive dining room we saw a huge dining table and also a large safe which Robert apparently used to lock his jewels, money and whisky in. Wise man!!

Outside was a tiny tiny house which was the kitchen and I found it strange that large meals would be cooked in such a small space. Unfortunately it was not set up like the rest of the house so we couldn't see what that used to be like.

I'd recommend a visit here very interesting. If the weather had have been better then we may also have climbed the hill up the back of the house to Robert Louis Stevenson's grave site but we left that for another time. Robert lived in Samoa for the last 4 years of his life and died in the house.

Miss Drag Queen 2008

Latika and Hedley had just arrived at 5.40am Friday morning but we thought they shouldn't miss a classic Samoan cultural show - the Miss Drag queen 2008. Adam and I worked through the day and left our guests to rest and catch up on some sleep, apparently the flight over was a bit bumpy and not very restful.

Friday night and we headed out the the Hotel Kitano where the competition was being held. There were 14 contestants and the show was absolutely hilarious. Quite a mixture of Faafas - some very feminine - some very masculine! We were treated to a number of lip-synched songs but the best category was the "what you want to be when you grow up" category with a sniper, photographer, lawyer, business woman but the best of all was the astronaut! This was the costume replicated by Hedley the next night when we held the Miss Hyundai Competition at our house - complete with vacuum cleaner pipe and bike helmet. I tell no lies. Guess who Latika wanted to be? Yep - the sniper!!

The outfits were elaborate with much floaty chiffon and glitter and glam. Not sure we agreed with the final winners but it was an excellent night out and we sure got our quota of laughter medicine.

Party Time

On the 13th September we played our second to last netball games and finished off with a party at our house on the Saturday night. Incidentally the season has now ended (I hear you breathe a sigh of relief!) but that will not be the end of the netball stories as the Business House competition is about to start :-) (I hear you groan!)

Anyway back to the important stuff, the party. We invited everyone from the 3 Hyundai teams around to our place for a BBQ. It has become the tradition to go to someone's house on a Saturday night for a bit of a do so we (correction I) figured it was about time we paid back the hospitality.

Latika and Hedley had arrived the day before so we geared them up for a bit of fun! In the morning Adam, Hedley and Latika headed to the markets to get supplies for the evening while I dutifully headed to netball to play and umpire. Luckily they bumped into Mary who had managed to clean out all of the sausages available in the supermarket for the BBQ and so avoided a panic!! WHAT NO SAUSAGES LEFT!!! Anyway they managed to get some beef.

The party began just before 6.00pm when a ute came driving down our road piled with boys on the back!! Unfortunately for us they had all been to one of the church bazaars and had begun drinking Vailima during the afternoon. Hence they made a very hungry arrival and managed to polish off a few bowls off chips and dip!

Our next guests also turned up from the bazaar and brought with them a whole pig that had been cooked in the umu and won in an auction. I was a bit worried that we had far too much food but I majorly underestimated the apetite of the Samoan male - they polished off all the food and were asking for more when they left at 1.00am!

Anyway it was a great party. As you can see from the photos our resident guests from NZ joined in the fun. Latika now has many more "sisters" than she had before in the faafines and also won the Miss Hyundai competition as Miss Fiji!! Actually the Miss Hyundai competition was hilarious. Miss Australia (aka Holly) played a mean digeridoo on a Vailima beer bottle and had us all in stitches and Hedley (aka Miss NZ) managed to re-model our vacuum cleaner hose and bike helmet into a replica of the space man outfit we saw at the Miss Drag Queen 2008 show on Friday night!

I had warned the neighbours about any noise before the night began which was lucky as those Faafa's in our club sure have great singing voices and put them into practice. We had many renditions of Samoan songs as well as some attempted Maori ones including the Haka with made up words where appropriate. The singing is usually accompanied by traditional Samonan Siva (dancing).

Managed to pack up the chairs around 1.00am and then run a free taxi for the "hangers on" home to get rid of them and so we were in bed late but not too late. A great night was had by all and the Samoan Grape Vine meant that even others down at the netball court had heard about the party a week later!

Teuila Festival 2008

Last week was the Teuila (pronounced Tu-eela) festival for 2008. It doesn't seem to take much for the Samoans to put on a festival which is great. Lots of entertainment and excitement. Anyway the Teuila is the flower that grows on top of the ginger plant (picture on Flickr) and seems to come in 2 shades, a fuchia pink and a pale pink. This is the national flower of Samoa.

During the week long festivities there was fautasi boat racing, craft stalls, umu demonstrations and performances during the evening by many different culture groups and bands etc. It wasn't until last Friday, the last day of the festival, that I managed to have a day off work and get into town to soak up some of the atmosphere.

I couldn't resist texting Mum to say that I was sitting in the sun with the warm breeze on my back waiting for the Miss Samoa float parade to go past!! While waiting many people stopped to say hello, or Morning, to me including a policeman and I got various waves from people driving past. I think it was the palagi legs shining bright in the sunlight that got their attention.

Anyway in true Samoan Style an hour after the parade was meant to have been and I still hadn't seen it go past so I decided to move on and check out some other things. I came across the St Josephs School students getting ready for their performance. They were pretty impressive dressed in their palm frond skirts and carrying wooden spears. There were lots of them and they were singing and chanting so managed to get some pictures and a couple of movies of them.

I also checked out the stalls that were set up behind the information fale. Some nice craft works on display there for reasonable prices.

In the evening Adam, I and our friend Nicola went to the Miss Samoa pageant. After grabbing a nice dinner at the yacht club (that's the club with no yachts!!) we went to the EFKS youth hall in Mulinuu and joined a few hundred other people for the show. I had been warned that the show could go on for a few hours so we were prepared! Anyway it was lots of fun. There were 9 contestants including Miss Samoa NZ and in between the contestants coming on stage we had Siva Afi fire knife dancing, singers and dancers. The show went for 4 1/4 hours!!! Actually I didn't once get bored but felt a bit sorry for the young children there who were asleep in their parents arms or crying as they would like to be asleep somewhere!

The contestants all introduced themselves then appeared in traditionally inspired attire, sarong attire and puletasi (skirt and top). There were prizes for the designers of these costumes. They also had to do the talent category and had most of us in stitches with their performances which were well thought out and performed. Miss Rugby Union came out complete in her rugby outfit and performed a skit with a whistle in her mouth and goal posts as her props. As seems to be the thing here in Samoa the interviews were OK but nearing disaster! The girls all seemed to struggle to say anything sensible but got there in the end. Our friend Miss Rugby Union managed to admit to being a bit over rugby as it is everywhere in Samoa!!

Anway the winner at the end of the night was Miss Samoa USA - Miss Gwendolyn Tuaitanu. She was lovely and definately completed the interview section the best plus had a great singing voice for the talent category. I am sure she is going to be a great ambassador for Samoa and undertake her duties with enthusiasm and expertise. It is a pity to see the 2007-2008 Miss Samoa - Miss Sherry Elekana - end her reign as she is definitely lovely and we have seen her out and about during the time we have been here so the winner is obviously kept very busy during her 1 year reign.

Anyway I was amazed to see Adam was still awake at the end of the pageant. We hear that next week is the Miss Tuity Fruity where the Faafafines compete for the title of Miss Drag Queen. That should be a right laugh especially as we know some of the people involved from netball!!

Well must sign off for now. Speak to you again soon probably after Latika and Hedley's visit. They arrive this Friday - yay.

Angela

Frangipani Update

Hello All

Well Adam and I are both feeling a lot better now although Adam is still suffering from the Dengue side effects a bit. He gets pretty tired but is definitely on the mend which is great. I played netball yesterday and WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I know. That was like a minor miracle really especially as we had only 6 players on the court! Means we get up off the bottom of the table though and with a bit more luck we will beat one of the other teams too before the end of the season (in 2 weeks time) so will end up about 4th overall.

Anyway I wanted to give you an update on my frangipani. I have uploaded a couple of photos for you. My bare sticks that are stuck in yogurt pots and are sitting on the kitchen bench have begun to sprout much to Adam's amazement!!! He did not believe that bits of stick would grow. Anway I have been talking nicely to the sticks and now we have results!! When they get a bit bigger I will transplant them to pots outside on our verandah. I have managed to score a maroon colour, pink with orange centre, another pink from the tree at work and the traditional white with yellow centre. Can't wait for them to start flowering. I'm eyeing up a yellow one but so far haven't plucked up the courage to go raiding bits of stick from in someones front yard - will have to wait til the dead of night!!

Oh yes and just to finish off with I've put up a picture of a bloody big spider that went running into the bathroom from our bedroom (hate to think what happens when I'm asleep) the other night and freaked me out!! (Photo for Virginia!!)

The Dengue and the "Treasure"

The "Treasure" as my mother calls him has come down with Dengue Fever. I'm blaming it on the site visit he had to make for work which was near the pongy drain obviously full of Dengue mosquitos. Mind you if jandalls weren't the footwear for site visits here then maybe his ankles wouldn't have gotten bitten?!

He has been suffering. Firstly it was the splitting headache and not being able to think straight that drove him home from work. Then the other aching began. Backache, neckache, leg ache, ankle ache, wrist ache and oh yes eye ball ache!! He spent 3 complete days and nights on 4 hourly panadol which was the only way to get through. We have not been to the doctor as the threat of having to have a blood test to confirm that it is Dengue was a bit too much but we have had plenty of good advice from others who have had it and the symptoms are classic.

In the last couple of days he has been feeling a bit better though. The rash is breaking out now all over which is apparently the end of the cycle. He can drop off to sleep just like that and is mighty annoyed that he can't get to the end of the Star Wars movie in 1 go and also has to read the same page of his book a number of times before it sinks in. Apparently the fatigue and tiredness will go on for a few more weeks but I'm very happy that the worst seems to be over. The "Treasure" describes his experience as being like a bad flu without the coughing or runny nose.

Luckily it wasn't the hemorrhaging variety which can kill you. Phew.

Father’s Day Weekend

Well, last weekend here was Father’s Day, and that meant Monday off and a long weekend for us – yes, Mother’s Day and Fathers’ Day are public holidays here!! We decided to take Tuesday off too and make a real long weekend of it.

We booked to stay Sunday and Monday nights at Namua Island, which is a small island less than 1 km off the coast at the eastern end of ‘the mainland’. The island is uninhabited, apart from 10 beach fales and the family that runs them, and has no power, TVs etc. We had heard about the place from some friends that have stayed there, and the photos we saw looked great – tropical island with fales on a white-sand beach front, palm trees and clear, blue water. As the island is not too far off the coast we decided we would paddle our kayak across instead of being picked up by their boat.

So, on Sunday morning we packed up our kayak, snorkelling gear and togs and headed off towards the island. The drive around the coast is very picturesque – lots of palms trees and clear, blue water. We managed to spot the island ok, and find the spot to park the car. The lady there seem to be a bit surprised that we didn’t want here to call the boat to come and pick us up, but we explained that we were going to paddle ourselves over. So we pumped up the kayak and launched it. Then we loaded it up with all of our gear. This is the first time that we have taken any ‘cargo’ in the kayak, and we quickly found out that there isn’t a lot of spare room in the boat! Luckily Angela was travelling light and we didn’t have to carry much food with us. Anyway, we squeezed all of our gear in, then somehow got ourselves in too and set off for our tropical island. We didn’t know how well the kayak would handle the extra weight, but it seemed to be ok. A bit of a breeze had picked up by the time we were ready to go, and of course it was a head wind. Still, with both of us paddling we seemed to get along quite well. The highlight of the trip across was spotting 3 turtles.

After about 20 minutes we landed on Namua Island, a little bit wet but with all our gear still on board. Before we could be shown to our fale and familiar voice called out to us and we surprised to see one of the few people we know in Samoa was also staying on ‘our’ deserted island. Helen, Will and their family and a few friends were also taking advantage of the long weekend to have a night away. We were shown to our fale and unpacked our kayak. The fales are very basic, but surprisingly inviting and comfortable. Our fale was kitted out with mattresses, brightly coloured sheets and a mosquito net. For privacy, woven panels are lowered to form the walls, or can be raised to let the breeze through. As we were settling in we were informed that there were some leftovers from lunch for us. They had cooked up a big traditional Samoan Sunday lunch – pork, chicken, fish, crabs, breadfruit, taro, pulasami etc. most of it cooked in the umu. After all our exercise paddling across we both had worked up an appetite tucked into this feast. It was all delicious.

At lunch we also got to met Musty – the 1 month old piglet that is a real character. This piglet is tiny, like a small puppy, and runs around the place like a dog. He is always looking for food and as soon as he hears the kitchen door open will come running from wherever he is as fast as his little piggy legs will carry him. He is so small and cute – for a pig! He seems to be best friends with the only dog on the island. The two of them are usually not far apart. The dog (sorry – didn’t get the dog’s name, but he is one of the best looked after and best behaved dogs in all of Samoa) tolerates the little pig climbing all over him and playing.

So, having arrived, eaten and settled in I thought it would be time to sit back and relax on the beach. But anyone that knows Angela will know that she doesn’t like sitting still for long! Next up it was out with the snorkelling gear and into the water. It is so nice to be able to go swimming without worrying about getting cold or having to wear a wetsuit! Just off the beach there a number of coral outcrops and huge array of colourful tropical fish. We had a great time snorkelling and exploring the area around our bay. Finally we found some time to relax and lie in the sun reading our books!

Then we decided to check out the shower block and clean ourselves up for dinner, before it went dark. The showers have no roof, so you can work on your tan while you have a wash! The concrete walls are decorated with clam shells and pieces of coral. The water supply is cold – no power or solar hot water system on the island – and low pressure. In fact, if the person at the hand basin next to you turns on their tap there is a good chance that you will get no water at your shower!

After our showers we joined Helen, Will and their friends around their fire on the beach before dinner. Time for a quick Jack Daniels – yes there was room for some JD and coke in the kayak! Then, when we heard the beating of the drums, we knew it was time to go to the main dinning area for dinner. Another spread of Samoan food, looked a lot like the remaining leftovers from lunch, but very yummy. By this stage the sun had gone down and it was getting dark. Somewhere along the way someone had distributed lit kerosene lanterns to each of our fales so that we could find our way in the dark. By a combination of lantern light and torch light we read our books for a while, but this was definitely our earliest night since we have been in Samoa.

The next morning (Monday) was another nice, fine day. After a leisurely breakfast, which included some of the usual fare of toast, eggs, bacon etc, along with some more unusual options like fried eggplant and cocoa rice, finished off with fresh papaya, we decided to walk around the island. It was low tide in the morning and we had been told that it was possible to walk all the way around the island in about an hour. We had also been warned that the rocks around the back of the island could be very slippery. The back of the island faces out to the ocean and it was quite spectacular watching the big swells crashing into the rocks. The wet rocks were very slippery, but we had been warned and were wearing out trusty aqua-socks. One of the other guys had done the walk in his jandals and had taken a bit of a fall. No major damage done fortunately. There were plenty of rock pools to investigate, and Angela was havingfun picking through all of the shells and pieces of coral on the little beaches, looking for ‘interesting’ pieces to take home. I think she was a bit disappointed when I noticed that the tide was starting to come in and suggested that we better hurry up before we got stranded. We made it back around to the fales in time to see Helen, Will and co packing up and heading home.

All of a sudden our island was not so busy, just us 1 kiwi guy and a Japanese girl. Time for some more relaxing on the beach – until the Samoan day trippers turned up. Being Father’s Day holiday many Samoans were having a day at the beach, and a few groups had decided to come across to the island for the day. They must have been having a good time as they didn’t stop singing, playing and laughing all day. It was tiring just watching and listening to them!

We eventually summonsed enough energy to take the kayak out again for a bit more turtle spotting. We didn’t have so much luck this time; it was starting to get a bit windy, especially once we got away from the shelter of the island. So, after stopping for a few photos and checking out where the good coral was we decided to head back to the beach for some more relaxing.

Of course, Angela can’t stay still for very long, so pretty soon it was time to get back in the water for some more snorkelling, then a quick shower before dinner. After our showers we had a bit of time before dinner and we had heard that there was a short (but steep) track up to the top of the island. I was keen to go up to check out the views, so off we went. The track up was certainly steep, and not very short! After climbing straight up for 10 minutes we were at the top and were rewarded with great views across to a nearby island and the mainland. There was also another track the carried on along the ridge giving some better views out to see and some other islands. We followed this track for a while and it started to head down and loop back towards the fales. We were told that the track was supposed to be a loop, but everyone else had just gone up and returned the way they came. We thought we would be smart and continue on and do the loop. Well, after a while the track got harder and harder to see, and rougher to follow. Although it felt like we were almost back to the fales it got the point where we decided we had to turn back. That meant climbing all the way back to the top and back along the way we came. By now it was starting to get dark and we had no torch with us. We made it back ok and still in plenty of time for dinner – after all, we still hadn’t heard the drums. We were both quite dirty and sweaty by the time we got back, so thought we would have a quick shower before it got too dark. As we were heading towards the showers we were told that we had missed dinner, but that they had saved a plate each for us. So the two of us had our dinner, alone by lantern light. We then tried to have showers by moonlight and lantern light, before heading back to our fale and another early night.

I slept like a log, but during the night the wind got up and it started raining heavily. It woke Angela, and she got up and brought in our togs, towels, snorkelling gear etc before it all blew away. Eventually I woke up (or was woken up) and we found that the kayak was starting to blow around, so we went out and moved it under the fale. By this stage it was getting very stormy outside, but we were dry and cosy in our fale. By morning the weather hadn’t really improved much, and the wind that earlier was blowing back towards shore and would have been a tailwind for our trip home had become a headwind. Over breakfast we were all discussing the chances of us paddling back to shore in that weather. The consensus seemed to be that we wouldn’t (shouldn’t) do it and instead should pack up the kayak and get the boat to take us back. A great feature of the inflatable kayak is that you can deflate it and pack it up if you need to. After sitting around the breakfast table waiting for the weather to improve we decided that we better start packing up our gear. By the time we had pack everything but the kayak it seemed like the weather might have been easing, the rain certainly wasn’t as steady but it was still windy. After standing on the beach for a while trying to decide what to do we thought that it would be too much like giving up if we packed up the kayak and to the boat home. So, much to everyone’s surprise we loaded up the kayak, put our lifejackets on (yes Mums, we always wear our lifejackets!) and headed off. I figured that the worst that was likely to happen was that we would struggle to make progress directly into the wind and would end up on the beach a kilometre downwind of where the car was parked and one of us could walk back to the car if we had to. As it turned out our trusty kayak handled the conditions well and we made good progress back. Apart from being rather wet we made it back to the car OK. I am impressed with our TradeMe kayak, we have given it a good test now – its first interisland crossing!

Once we got back on dry land and packed everything up we headed around the coast to Lalomanu Beach. This is one of the best spots in Samoa – nice sandy beaches, excellent snorkelling and heaps of beach fales. But we weren’t too interested in getting back in the water, instead we enjoyed a few Vailimas over lunch with some friends from NZ. Actually, we had not met Tina and Greg before but had been put in touch with them by some mutual friends. They are lucky enough to spend a month enjoying the sun, sea and sand at Lalomanu every year and have done so for a few years now. They are well known to all of the staff and locals, in fact I think they are probably considered locals by now. They even had their wedding there by the beach! Unfortunately for them it was almost the end of their holiday and they were having to start thinking about packing up and heading back to the New Zealand winter.

So, that was our adventure packed long weekend.

Netball Update

A quick update for all of you that are eagerly following the progress of our netball teams.

Saturday 9th
After the excitement of the previous weeks televised shield match Angela’s team then went on to play one of the lowest ranked teams in their league. Through a combination of injuries and other factors they were struggling to round up 7 players to start the match. They eventually got 7 on court, but things didn’t go their way. They managed to injure another shooter – the forth in 4 weeks – and eventually lost 20-22. I don’t need to explain how disappointed Angela and the rest of the team were in the result, and now they are officially bottom of their grade. Later that day the shield match was the clash between the 2 top teams – the holders SMOGA and the challengers SCOPA. SCOPA were too strong and took the shield quite easily. That result means that Angela’s game next week against SCOPA will also be another shield match, and another appearance on TV. I don’t think they were very excited by this news!

Meanwhile, the men’s team had to take on the unbeaten Marist team. This was our big match and everyone was fired up for it. It was a tough, hard fought match, but we won 41-37. This called for a celebration and we ended up having a few beers while we re-lived our glory, and the girls dissected their result. Angela and I ended up leaving fairly early (8.00ish) because we were heading away for the long weekend, but apparently the rest of them were still going at 1.00am!!

Saturday 16th
The Men’s team was first up and confident after last weeks win. We were playing NUS, currently bottom of the league and winless. I think that most of the boys had spent half the night watching Olympics and the All Blacks beating South Africa, because with 5 minutes to start there were only 5 of us there! We managed to get 7 players by start time, but we weren’t very settled. Fortunately NUS are fairly weak and we easily won 39-23. That was the last game in the first round, and we ended up tied at the top of the table. There were 3 teams (Us, Marist and SCOPA) with 4 wins and 1 loss. The top team after the first round is awarded the shield, and as with the girls league the shield is on the line each time that team plays for the rest of the season. Unfortunately on the count back system they use (number of goals scored) we were third, with the shield being awarded to SCOPA – the only team to beat us. Now we go into a second round of games, so somewhere along the line we should get the chance to challenge for the shield.

Next up it was time for Angela’s team to face the TV cameras again as they challenged SCOPA for the shield. They certainly weren’t full of confidence as they went into the game. They all played hard, and for the first time this season got through the game without injuring their shooter, but ended up going down 64-15.
As this marked the end of the first round and the halfway point of the season it was decided that a BBQ, curry and a few beers were in order. Even if some of the on-court results haven’t been that great, off-court we certainly are a great club. All three teams turned up and were still partying when us old farts decided to call it a night at around 11.30.

This afternoon Angela has been watching the game on TV trying to see what they can work on because next week they have to play SCOPA again! She is becoming a TV star!