We have now been here 5 weeks so here's an update on the TV! No one in this country is allowed to watch any of the 'good bits'!!! Movies especially are censored. We have learnt that if the characters are heading towards any kissing or (heaven forbid) sex then .... CHOP ..... abruptly comes in an ad for Samoan Star Search or the Faztec appliance shop!!! It would be bloody annoying of it wasn't so hilarious! Means you miss out on what is going on as generally when the movie comes back then you pick up after the 'good bit' so you have missed some of the story line.
So when we went to see Sex and the City at the movies I wondered if there would be any movie left to show ...... but they showed it all. Shock horror. No wonder there were so many men in the audience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, June 30, 2008
A cringe factor for Mum!
I'm in a bit of a daze today. Here's the reason why...
There's been an advert on the TV during the last 2-3 weeks showing some horrific pictures of people with large swollen legs. As the ad was all in Samoan we had no idea what it was on about and sort of ignored it, until one of the girls at netball mentioned elephantitis and then I put 2 and 2 together and got 5! What they were advertising was the annual campaign to wipe out this disease in Samoa. It is a mosquito bourne disease. Some mosquitos carry a minute worm and when you get bitten it enters your system. The worm then lives in your lymphs and obviously damages them as it causes a build up of fluid and swelling usually of the legs. Well anyway I didn't much like the sound of this worm thing so figured we'd better sit up and take notice.
Pills for this disease were being given out on Friday and Saturday last week so we went along on Friday but no one was there, even though the advert said there would be. TIS - This is Samoa! So it was back again the next day, Saturday morning on our way to netball. Here comes cring factor 1. There were 2 people sitting at a table in the carpark of the supermarket, surrounded by flies, dishing out these pills. It took a while for the man in front of us in the queue to register all his children (and for their names to be written down) and then just as long for them to painstakingly count out the pills for him (on a plastic plate with a plastic spoon). Everyone needed to take 10 pills in total, 1 big one and 9 little ones.
Here comes cringe factor 2, any pills not needed were then picked up in the fingers of the woman counting them out and put back in the bottle for the next person aka me!It didn't take long for the 2 of us to get our pills....
We took them last night. Were meant to take them then and there on the spot i.e. standing in the carpark under observation but as we were heading to netball they let us take them away. Advice was to swallow all the pills at once with a sugary drink and then get a good nights sleep. They can cause a headache and dizzyness. Well I'm holding my own today but I sure do feel "weird" and a bit unfocussed so I gather the pills are doing their job. I have no idea what I have taken but the whole nation seems to do this once a year without question and I figure the consequences of not are pretty bad so here's hoping .....
There's been an advert on the TV during the last 2-3 weeks showing some horrific pictures of people with large swollen legs. As the ad was all in Samoan we had no idea what it was on about and sort of ignored it, until one of the girls at netball mentioned elephantitis and then I put 2 and 2 together and got 5! What they were advertising was the annual campaign to wipe out this disease in Samoa. It is a mosquito bourne disease. Some mosquitos carry a minute worm and when you get bitten it enters your system. The worm then lives in your lymphs and obviously damages them as it causes a build up of fluid and swelling usually of the legs. Well anyway I didn't much like the sound of this worm thing so figured we'd better sit up and take notice.
Pills for this disease were being given out on Friday and Saturday last week so we went along on Friday but no one was there, even though the advert said there would be. TIS - This is Samoa! So it was back again the next day, Saturday morning on our way to netball. Here comes cring factor 1. There were 2 people sitting at a table in the carpark of the supermarket, surrounded by flies, dishing out these pills. It took a while for the man in front of us in the queue to register all his children (and for their names to be written down) and then just as long for them to painstakingly count out the pills for him (on a plastic plate with a plastic spoon). Everyone needed to take 10 pills in total, 1 big one and 9 little ones.
Here comes cringe factor 2, any pills not needed were then picked up in the fingers of the woman counting them out and put back in the bottle for the next person aka me!It didn't take long for the 2 of us to get our pills....
We took them last night. Were meant to take them then and there on the spot i.e. standing in the carpark under observation but as we were heading to netball they let us take them away. Advice was to swallow all the pills at once with a sugary drink and then get a good nights sleep. They can cause a headache and dizzyness. Well I'm holding my own today but I sure do feel "weird" and a bit unfocussed so I gather the pills are doing their job. I have no idea what I have taken but the whole nation seems to do this once a year without question and I figure the consequences of not are pretty bad so here's hoping .....
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Goosebumps and Kayaking
Back in Apia we went for plan B which was to find another place to launch our Kayak. There is a public beach just next to the marine reserve and so this we decided was the place to go. The beach is not the best on the island but nevertheless it was a place with access to the water! As we (or should I say Adam) was pumping up the kayak we got talking to some of the tourists off the liner who were looking for a place to swim. They were from Tasmania and could not believe that you have to pay to go to the beach in Samoa! I tried to gently remind them this money is one of the few ways the Samoan villages have to earn some revenue for the village. After surveiling the rubbish on the banks (an unusual sight as Samoa is pretty clean) and the look of the beach (not golden sands as probably expected) they decided this was not the place for them to swim.
Anyway we donned our hats and life jackets, put the seats in the kayak and launched our boat for its inaugural christening. We were pleasantly surprised that the kayak motored through the water quite well (even with just 1 person aka Adam, paddling!) I found sitting bobbing in the rougher water was not so much fun so we kept moving. In the shallower, and calmer, water we could see the coral and some fish below. This was a chance to test out the underwater case for the camera hence the photo of the blue starfish. The most exciting thing though was that we saw a turtle swimming along just in front of the boat. He stuck his head up and looked at us with one beady eye before an almighty splash as he dived under the water. You have to keep an eye of the water level we found (and try not to get distracted by the wildlife below) as it can get shallow very quickly. We just about ran aground of some hard coral – not so good for an inflatable kayak! Had to do some swift back paddling. After about an hour and a half we paddled back in. Lots of fun.
That night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out so headed for the yacht club (the only yacht club with no yachts!) as we had heard it was nice. It was hot so we sat outside under the stars looking at the water. We could see the liner in the port all lit up and getting ready to depart. At around 7.30pm it tooted its horn and we watched as it sailed away, right past us, on its way to Fiji. As soon as the liner had departed the wind picked up and before we knew it we could feel spots of rain in the air. You never can tell when it’s going to suddenly pour down in Samoa! We had to make a swift dash for cover along with other diners. Our meals were lovely. Adam tried some of the local Oka – the Samoan equivalent to cocoda or raw fish ‘cooked’ in lemon and lime juice. We then both had fish for a main and finished off with icecream and chocolate cake with traditional Samoan cocoa bean sauce for dessert. By this time though I was finding it quite chilly, due to the wind and rain, and so with my second lot of goosebumps for the day we headed home.
Anyway we donned our hats and life jackets, put the seats in the kayak and launched our boat for its inaugural christening. We were pleasantly surprised that the kayak motored through the water quite well (even with just 1 person aka Adam, paddling!) I found sitting bobbing in the rougher water was not so much fun so we kept moving. In the shallower, and calmer, water we could see the coral and some fish below. This was a chance to test out the underwater case for the camera hence the photo of the blue starfish. The most exciting thing though was that we saw a turtle swimming along just in front of the boat. He stuck his head up and looked at us with one beady eye before an almighty splash as he dived under the water. You have to keep an eye of the water level we found (and try not to get distracted by the wildlife below) as it can get shallow very quickly. We just about ran aground of some hard coral – not so good for an inflatable kayak! Had to do some swift back paddling. After about an hour and a half we paddled back in. Lots of fun.
That night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out so headed for the yacht club (the only yacht club with no yachts!) as we had heard it was nice. It was hot so we sat outside under the stars looking at the water. We could see the liner in the port all lit up and getting ready to depart. At around 7.30pm it tooted its horn and we watched as it sailed away, right past us, on its way to Fiji. As soon as the liner had departed the wind picked up and before we knew it we could feel spots of rain in the air. You never can tell when it’s going to suddenly pour down in Samoa! We had to make a swift dash for cover along with other diners. Our meals were lovely. Adam tried some of the local Oka – the Samoan equivalent to cocoda or raw fish ‘cooked’ in lemon and lime juice. We then both had fish for a main and finished off with icecream and chocolate cake with traditional Samoan cocoa bean sauce for dessert. By this time though I was finding it quite chilly, due to the wind and rain, and so with my second lot of goosebumps for the day we headed home.
Goosebumps in Samoa
Last Saturday we decided it was time to get out of Apia and have an adventure day. Enough of sorting out the house and doing domestics so we packed the inflatable kayak and a picnic lunch into the car and headed off. We thought we might go over Cross Island Road (guess where that goes?!) to check out some of the beaches on the Southern side of Upolo.
First port of call though was the port in Apia. A massive P&O liner had arrived at 7.00am that morning (Adam heard it toot!) and it sure was making a statement in the harbour. It was huge. It had been 3 years (around about the time my ex-neighbour Kaye from Palmerston North was on her cruise) since the last liner had called in at Western Samoa. There were several thousand passengers and 700 crew on board. This meant that there were heaps of palagi tourists in town wearing their shorts, sandals and with camera’s around their necks. Everything in Apia usually closes at lunch time on a Saturday but businesses were being advised to try and stay open a bit longer to make the most of the tourist dollar.
Anyway after checking out the boat and taking a few compulsory photos (for you of course but I’m no tourist!) we headed off. Last time we came across Cross Island Road it had been dark so it was a nice surprise for us to see the view as we headed up the hill. Looking back into Apia and out to the sparkling blue sea. We passed the Robert Louis Stevenson museum (his old house – must explore that one day), a monastry, the 3 hearts church (with only 2 hearts on it – doh!) and the best view in town, the Baha’I house of worship and past the road to the inland lake with lots of goldfish (must also investigate that).
We reached the top of the hill and were just starting to head down the other side when we were stopped. There was a traffic jam in Samoa. Just like everyone else we parked up and got out of the car to go find out what the problem was. Unfortunately it was a problem we would rather not have seen. One of the Samoan buses was upside down and shattered into pieces blocking both lanes of the road ahead. We must have been only 5-10 minutes behind the accident (makes you wonder what might have happened if we hadn’t stopped to see the liner?) There were sirens blaring as the Police, Ambulance and Fire brigade arrived at the scene. One girl came puffing her way back up the hill and so I asked her if people were alright. She looked distraught and said no an elderly lady and a young boy were very hurt. Humbled we went back to our car and made the decision to turn around and head back to Apia. This was a scene best left to the experts. The next day we read the article in the paper and found that 3 people had died during that accident. Goosebumps in Samoa. We were too close for my liking. I have scanned the article and put it up on Flickr if you would like to see. To be continued ….
First port of call though was the port in Apia. A massive P&O liner had arrived at 7.00am that morning (Adam heard it toot!) and it sure was making a statement in the harbour. It was huge. It had been 3 years (around about the time my ex-neighbour Kaye from Palmerston North was on her cruise) since the last liner had called in at Western Samoa. There were several thousand passengers and 700 crew on board. This meant that there were heaps of palagi tourists in town wearing their shorts, sandals and with camera’s around their necks. Everything in Apia usually closes at lunch time on a Saturday but businesses were being advised to try and stay open a bit longer to make the most of the tourist dollar.
Anyway after checking out the boat and taking a few compulsory photos (for you of course but I’m no tourist!) we headed off. Last time we came across Cross Island Road it had been dark so it was a nice surprise for us to see the view as we headed up the hill. Looking back into Apia and out to the sparkling blue sea. We passed the Robert Louis Stevenson museum (his old house – must explore that one day), a monastry, the 3 hearts church (with only 2 hearts on it – doh!) and the best view in town, the Baha’I house of worship and past the road to the inland lake with lots of goldfish (must also investigate that).
We reached the top of the hill and were just starting to head down the other side when we were stopped. There was a traffic jam in Samoa. Just like everyone else we parked up and got out of the car to go find out what the problem was. Unfortunately it was a problem we would rather not have seen. One of the Samoan buses was upside down and shattered into pieces blocking both lanes of the road ahead. We must have been only 5-10 minutes behind the accident (makes you wonder what might have happened if we hadn’t stopped to see the liner?) There were sirens blaring as the Police, Ambulance and Fire brigade arrived at the scene. One girl came puffing her way back up the hill and so I asked her if people were alright. She looked distraught and said no an elderly lady and a young boy were very hurt. Humbled we went back to our car and made the decision to turn around and head back to Apia. This was a scene best left to the experts. The next day we read the article in the paper and found that 3 people had died during that accident. Goosebumps in Samoa. We were too close for my liking. I have scanned the article and put it up on Flickr if you would like to see. To be continued ….
Mowing the lawn …. Samoan style!
Whether it be your small back yard or the rugby field at the University, the lawn will be mowed completely with …. Weedeaters! Yes you heard me right. Gangs of boys line up, as if searching a crime scene, and methodically work their way across the lawn mowing it down. As you can imagine this can take some time especially when they are mowing a large space. The boys cover their heads and mouths with scarves and cloths to stop the bits of grass getting into their orifices. All you can see is their eyes. They therefore they look like Muslim women, only they are not! This morning I’m at home as I’m working til 9.00pm tonight and you guessed it, a truck load of weedeating boys has just driven down our road. There goes my peace. “I’m going to the pub …. and I may be some time” (quote care of Dad Pepelo - bro Town!)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Netball in Samoa
No one will be surprised to hear that Angela has already found herself a netball team. Apparently the netball season is due to get underway in a couple of weeks and there have been ads in the paper for teams looking for players. So Angela bowled along to netball practice last Saturday afternoon and came home a couple hours later hot, sweaty and red-faced, but saying that it was good fun and it looks like she has found a team. This will be the first season for a few years, I am not sure what has happened over the last few years, but this year there seems to be plenty of keen netballers around and her team is a mix of Samoans and a few kiwis and aussies.
It turns out that many of the teams like to practice against their male partners, so part of netball practice consists of a boys against girls game. Because of this the men also get plenty of netball practice and have their own league, and that’s right I have been ‘encouraged’ to join in. This netball setup is a lot more organised than anything I have ever seen – practice 2 nights a week, plus a game on Saturday once the season starts. So on Tuesday I reported for my first ever netball practice. Even though we started at 5.00 pm it was still around 28ยบ - too hot to be running around the netball court. After going through our warm ups we did some skill drills. All of this was new to me, but I muddled my way through. It was a bit hard to follow some of the instructions, especially the ones that were in Samoan! So there was a bit of confusion, a few dropped balls and lots of laughs. It wasn’t quite as bad as the time that my rugby team had to do an aerobics class!
Then we split into our teams and I got to meet the rest of the ‘boys’. I had noticed that there were a few faafafines around the court, but once I was introduced to the team I realised that about half of the team are faafafines. (For those of you that don’t know what a faafafine is, Google it!). They are a friendly bunch and pretty soon we had our team sorted out, ready to take on the girls. I seem to have found a spot at Goal Defence and I think I was doing OK. I managed to grab a few intercepts and didn’t get penalised too much. I even got to mark Angela for a while. It turns out that some of the faafaines are pretty good netballers. I think we were beating the girls team! Of course there are 1 or 2 of the faafafines that seemed to flounce around the court more worried about their hair than the game! They certainly add a bit of colour and humour to our practices.
So, after an hour and a half of running around the netball court I was hot, sweaty and completely worn out. But I will be back for more, next practice is tomorrow night!
It turns out that many of the teams like to practice against their male partners, so part of netball practice consists of a boys against girls game. Because of this the men also get plenty of netball practice and have their own league, and that’s right I have been ‘encouraged’ to join in. This netball setup is a lot more organised than anything I have ever seen – practice 2 nights a week, plus a game on Saturday once the season starts. So on Tuesday I reported for my first ever netball practice. Even though we started at 5.00 pm it was still around 28ยบ - too hot to be running around the netball court. After going through our warm ups we did some skill drills. All of this was new to me, but I muddled my way through. It was a bit hard to follow some of the instructions, especially the ones that were in Samoan! So there was a bit of confusion, a few dropped balls and lots of laughs. It wasn’t quite as bad as the time that my rugby team had to do an aerobics class!
Then we split into our teams and I got to meet the rest of the ‘boys’. I had noticed that there were a few faafafines around the court, but once I was introduced to the team I realised that about half of the team are faafafines. (For those of you that don’t know what a faafafine is, Google it!). They are a friendly bunch and pretty soon we had our team sorted out, ready to take on the girls. I seem to have found a spot at Goal Defence and I think I was doing OK. I managed to grab a few intercepts and didn’t get penalised too much. I even got to mark Angela for a while. It turns out that some of the faafaines are pretty good netballers. I think we were beating the girls team! Of course there are 1 or 2 of the faafafines that seemed to flounce around the court more worried about their hair than the game! They certainly add a bit of colour and humour to our practices.
So, after an hour and a half of running around the netball court I was hot, sweaty and completely worn out. But I will be back for more, next practice is tomorrow night!
Siva Afi
Last Saturday night we attended the 7th Annual International Siva Afi Competition. Siva Afi is the traditional Samoa fire knife dance where long-handled bush knifes are spun, thrown and caught all to the beat of the Polynesian drums. To make this even more spectacular, especially during the evening when the sun has gone down, the knifes are on fire! There are some photos on Flickr, but they don’t really show how impressive these dancers are. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the final of the international competition, so we got to watch the 3 best junior and 3 best senior contestants selected from preliminary competition earlier in the week. The locals were really getting into it, encouraging the dancers. We could hardly hear over the screams of the waitresses when their man was on! In between the competitors we were entertained by some traditional (and not so traditional) Samoan singing and dancing. This was all hosted at Laumei Faiaga – the Turtle Take it Easy Bar!
Gecko Observations
There are baby gecko’s living in our house! I have got over running a mile when I see one move and have gone so far as to research them (using all good librarian’s favourite tool – Google!) I think they are house geckos. One had a missing tail so must have got a big fright. Apparently the tail falls off if they get stressed and wiggles around on the floor to distract the predator while the gecko gets away. I read that they eat insects and fruit so tested the theory with …. you guessed it, banana!! It was better than watching TV. I spent a good hour keeping my eye on little gecko to see if it would come and tackle some banana. It approached from many angles, around the leg of the TV table, down the wall and along the floor. I think it might have tried a little nibble. Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I have not yet been quick enough to catch one. As for the adult ones, they live outside and come out at dusk. They make a gook, gook, gook noise and boy can they motor!
Flash Flooding (or boy does it rain!)
On Saturday we experienced our first flash flood. It started raining at 5.00am and was still pouring down at 9.00am when I got up! Adam, as all good water engineers do, had the front gate under surveillance and was eyeing up the road to our place with the possibility of launching our inflatable kayak for the first time! By the time I woke up he had it sussed what direction the water was moving in and where it was draining to. As for me, we I was more interested in getting into town to do the shopping we had planned. I figured what could a little rain do to hurt? Right? Wrong!! We donned our rain coats and waterproof walking sandals. I was already ankle deep as I shut the gate. As we drove along the road I began to wonder if it had been such a good idea to go out. The flooding was quite deep and in some places was lapping up around the top of the tyres on the car. The police and fire brigade were out in force keeping the traffic moving slowly. It sounded like we were in a boat not a car due to the lapping sound. Of course this happened on the busiest day in down town Apia, Saturday when everyone is trying to get their shopping done for Sunday lunch. People seemed in high spirits though with their trousers rolled up and an umbrella in hand they continued about their business with a smile on their face.
We managed to make it as far as Farmer Joe’s Supermarket and parked in the car park. All good so far. Decided to go to Frankies next door in search of some furniture. We were looking for some drawers and shelves to unpack our stuff onto. From the top of the Farmer Joe steps I took a few photographs (as you can see on Flickr) and then decided there was no other way but to wade in myself so up rolled the shorts (to show more of my palagi legs!) and in we went. The locals warned me to go easy and I soon found out why. Couldn’t see a thing through the muddy soup also known as water. At one point I took one step too far to the left which was over the curb and nearly ended up waist deep! It was actually fun in a wacky kind of a way. Certainly a novelty for the moment.
No luck at Frankies so we moved on looking for the Big Bear shop we had seen last week. I’m sure the police man on the street corner wondered what those crazy palagi’s were doing as we drove up and down past him trying to figure out where we needed to go. Got there eventually (albeit slowly) and managed to find what we were looking for but guess what? They didn’t take an eftpos card for payment so it was back out onto the street to wade up to the money machine.
After a good 3 hours or so in town we had had enough of that so headed home to have a good wash of the legs and shoes. Decided not to go to the Samoa vs Australia A rugby match on at Apia Park which was probably a good thing considering it looked like a huge mud bath on the TV.
Next time …… I’ll stay home and wait for the waters to subside …… maybe!!
We managed to make it as far as Farmer Joe’s Supermarket and parked in the car park. All good so far. Decided to go to Frankies next door in search of some furniture. We were looking for some drawers and shelves to unpack our stuff onto. From the top of the Farmer Joe steps I took a few photographs (as you can see on Flickr) and then decided there was no other way but to wade in myself so up rolled the shorts (to show more of my palagi legs!) and in we went. The locals warned me to go easy and I soon found out why. Couldn’t see a thing through the muddy soup also known as water. At one point I took one step too far to the left which was over the curb and nearly ended up waist deep! It was actually fun in a wacky kind of a way. Certainly a novelty for the moment.
No luck at Frankies so we moved on looking for the Big Bear shop we had seen last week. I’m sure the police man on the street corner wondered what those crazy palagi’s were doing as we drove up and down past him trying to figure out where we needed to go. Got there eventually (albeit slowly) and managed to find what we were looking for but guess what? They didn’t take an eftpos card for payment so it was back out onto the street to wade up to the money machine.
After a good 3 hours or so in town we had had enough of that so headed home to have a good wash of the legs and shoes. Decided not to go to the Samoa vs Australia A rugby match on at Apia Park which was probably a good thing considering it looked like a huge mud bath on the TV.
Next time …… I’ll stay home and wait for the waters to subside …… maybe!!
The Ship and our stuff
Our stuff has arrived – yippee!! Aboard the Southern Lily and within a week. Very efficient service. I’d recommend NZ Van lines for relocating world wide. They packed everything really well (care of “Mr Tape Man” who covered everything in parcel tape inches thick!) and plenty of bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard. I was actually amazed when we got word that our container had arrived in the country. Thought it was too good to be true. As Adam was off work he managed to snap a photo of the Southern Lily, with the containers on, during its short stay in Apia port. A day or two later and he was down at the port to meet the customs man and go through our stuff.
The car took up most of the container but was well secured and arrived in one piece. It didn’t take long (just a bit of money) to get it registered and on the road. They have abolished the customs import duty but you still have to pay excise tax and VAGST. This cost us WST$3000. To get number plates and registration/warrant of fitness for a year cost another WST$400. All in all cheaper than buying a car here as they are very expensive. We had the car valeted and the engine steam cleaned before we put it on the ship so customs were most impressed and wrote it off as a new car (it is actually 8 years old!) We have already had offers from people wanting to buy it and it’s becoming known as our car no matter where it’s parked around town or on USP campus!
As for the rest of our goods, they were crated into the back of the container. After inspecting maybe 6 boxes (inspection consists of opening a few boxes and asking what is in there) our goods were approved. Door to door service was what we were promised therefore all of the 44 boxes and wrapped items were loaded onto a ute with one Samoan guy sitting on the back holding the bikes down! Everything arrived at our house no problem though. See Flickr for some photos of the ship and the container.
It is really nice to have some familiar home comforts around. Have managed to unpack everything and have no boxes left inside. As I now have baking things I have managed 2 banana cakes (well it’s a must when you are in Samoa!), some chocolate chip cookies and have whipped up some EasiYo icecream which is also to be thoroughly recommended. It tastes great and is low in fat. Cheaper than Tip Top over here that’s for sure. Feel free to send more sachets if you feel like it! There’s also a photo of this on Flickr.
Ah home sweet home ………
The car took up most of the container but was well secured and arrived in one piece. It didn’t take long (just a bit of money) to get it registered and on the road. They have abolished the customs import duty but you still have to pay excise tax and VAGST. This cost us WST$3000. To get number plates and registration/warrant of fitness for a year cost another WST$400. All in all cheaper than buying a car here as they are very expensive. We had the car valeted and the engine steam cleaned before we put it on the ship so customs were most impressed and wrote it off as a new car (it is actually 8 years old!) We have already had offers from people wanting to buy it and it’s becoming known as our car no matter where it’s parked around town or on USP campus!
As for the rest of our goods, they were crated into the back of the container. After inspecting maybe 6 boxes (inspection consists of opening a few boxes and asking what is in there) our goods were approved. Door to door service was what we were promised therefore all of the 44 boxes and wrapped items were loaded onto a ute with one Samoan guy sitting on the back holding the bikes down! Everything arrived at our house no problem though. See Flickr for some photos of the ship and the container.
It is really nice to have some familiar home comforts around. Have managed to unpack everything and have no boxes left inside. As I now have baking things I have managed 2 banana cakes (well it’s a must when you are in Samoa!), some chocolate chip cookies and have whipped up some EasiYo icecream which is also to be thoroughly recommended. It tastes great and is low in fat. Cheaper than Tip Top over here that’s for sure. Feel free to send more sachets if you feel like it! There’s also a photo of this on Flickr.
Ah home sweet home ………
Independence Anniversary Celebrations
On the 2nd and 3rd June 2008 we attended the 46th Independence Anniversary celebrations. This involved getting up at 6.00am to make our way to Mulinuu where the Parliament buildings are. There were a lot of schools and local business and community groups gathered for the march past all dressed in their uniform colours. USP were also there. We had a 100% turn out of USP Library staff which was great! Apparently it is necessary to hold the march past and official speeches for Independence at this hour of the morning so that people aren’t standing around in the heat for too long. Well we got there at 6.45 and we waited …. and waited … and then waited some more. People were flooding in via all means. The road was chokker with taxi’s, cars and busses and people were also walking up the peninsula along the sea wall. Unfortunately we couldn’t hear any of the speeches by the Prime Minister or other officials as the PA system wasn’t loud enough. So instead we stood around, shuffled from foot to foot or some people took to sitting on the ground while we waited. Eventually the march past (this was past the Head of State) began group by group but it still took until about 9.30am before the USP group began to move. Some schools, soccer teams and Samoan cultural groups stopped to perform a quick act for the Head of State on their way past. It was quite an experience despite the waiting around. After the march past USP supplied us with sandwiches and cold water which was much appreciated. Adam and I then decided to stay and watch some of the traditional entertainment that was planned for the day. We had to find ourselves a seat in the shade so ended up in the fale with the “Healthy Samoa” team who seemed to be the between acts entertainment. They had everyone (apart from us palangis!) up dancing about doing some aerobics on the grass all in aid of promoting a healthy lifestyle. I learnt to count to 4 here as they were shouting the beats out over the microphone – tasi, lua, tolu, fa – 1, 2, 3. 4! Very similar to counting in Maori. There was a pretty impressive display of marching and pipe band by the Samoan Police all dressed in white and the tallest Policeman I have ever seen. I swear he was 7 foot tall!
The entertainment included a weaving competition. Several males lined up and prepared themselves by laying out their palm leaves and coconuts. We soon found out what they were up to. You will see in the photos the baskets and platters that they made. They also shelled and cut up coconut to serve. Pretty nifty use of palm leaves that’s for sure. We also watched some traditional games which consisted of sliding coconut shell pieces along a woven mat I think with the aim of not letting it fall off the edge. This was about it for us for day 1. We headed home after this to relax.
On the Tuesday however we headed back to Mulinuu for some more traditional entertainment. On this day there were performances by the groups selected for the Festival of Arts in American Samoa. The groups were excellent. They performed a variety of singing, dancing and warrior type moves. Then I had to go to work ………………………
The entertainment included a weaving competition. Several males lined up and prepared themselves by laying out their palm leaves and coconuts. We soon found out what they were up to. You will see in the photos the baskets and platters that they made. They also shelled and cut up coconut to serve. Pretty nifty use of palm leaves that’s for sure. We also watched some traditional games which consisted of sliding coconut shell pieces along a woven mat I think with the aim of not letting it fall off the edge. This was about it for us for day 1. We headed home after this to relax.
On the Tuesday however we headed back to Mulinuu for some more traditional entertainment. On this day there were performances by the groups selected for the Festival of Arts in American Samoa. The groups were excellent. They performed a variety of singing, dancing and warrior type moves. Then I had to go to work ………………………
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Photos are here!
Hi All
Having a few bothers one way and another with uploading photos to this blog and to Flickr so I've managed to get some up on Flickr and here is the link to them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9249618@N08/ (You'll have to copy and paste this into your browser. Seems there is also a problem with creating a link!!)
Enjoy!
Ang
Having a few bothers one way and another with uploading photos to this blog and to Flickr so I've managed to get some up on Flickr and here is the link to them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9249618@N08/ (You'll have to copy and paste this into your browser. Seems there is also a problem with creating a link!!)
Enjoy!
Ang
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
1st Week at Work at USP, Alafua
My first week at work has been good. The first day was a bit surreal. It has taken a few days to adjust to the warmth and start to feel familiar with the place. I am slowly learning the processes and rules for the USP Library and getting my head around what past librarians have done and where things are. All in all the library, staff and students are just the same as in New Zealand! Lecturing staff ask for the same resources and students use the internet for chat and email rather than study! I am feeling a lot happier now I have cleaned my desk (yes I know what you are thinking!!!!) and set up my computer the way I like it. IT support was excellent. They had me signed up with a log in, internet connection and email address on my first day and gave me access to files created by previous librarians which are proving extremely useful. I have also read through the folder of information for ‘The New Librarian’ so are getting up to speed with what’s going on. I have discovered a whole lot of CD-Roms covering some very useful agricultural information (Agriculture is the main focus for USP Alafua) that have never been set up and made available to staff and students. It also appears that our connection to the online databases is sketchy so this is giving me 2 things to get my teeth into already! I have Admin access to the library system, Athena, and the server so am able to do the backups and that is making me feel a bit happier and at home! Acquisitions also seem to be something I am meant to look after so I need to get my head around ordering, receiving and invoicing all through a manual system where no one seems to know how much of the budget has been spent! Of course I am looking to digitise this as much as possible so I know where things are at. One thing that struck me in my first day at work was that the clocks were all different! It was impossible to know what the real time was between the clocks on the wall and each of the computers which were all different to the time on my mobile phone. I had to rectify this quick smart as I don’t work in ‘Samoan Time’! Opening hours for the library also seem to be ascertained the ‘Samoan way’ i.e. whatever fits goes! We have therefore had to try and come up with something standard so that we know where we are at and another job for my list is to ensure the library brochure and various places on the web site all have the same opening hours (need I say they are different at the moment!) On my first day I was also unable to get any lunch. I went to the cafeteria to discover that sandwiches are frowned upon and that instant noodles and soup were all that were available on the menu. Since then I have been taking my lunch with me. So I sit and eat my palagi sandwiches and an apple while my Samoan colleagues tuck into fried chicken and chips from the local village!
On day 2 of work I was feeling much more comfortable. One problem though is that I’m too short to see the counter from my desk therefore I can’t see when students need serving! This is quite disconcerting considering I’m used to leaping up the moment a student even passes by the desk. We are going to have to move some cabinets around so that I can see through!! Saying that though the students seem very used to standing at the counter and waiting for someone to notice they are there. I’m sure we can do better than this though! On day 2 we watched one of the IT guys, whose name is Wiki, outside up a ladder on a power pole. Seems it’s the ‘Samoan Way’ to have a jandalled IT consultant fiddle with the wiring for the phones and internet connections. While he was up the pole he was constantly ringing the library to ensure he hadn’t cut us off!! I was also astounded to see the person holding the ladder had bare feet and a box with a hole cut in it on his head. One assumes this was to keep the sun off his neck! I also met a Fijian lecturer who lived in Palmerston North and knew where our house was (it’s a small world).
Next week Monday and Tuesday are public holidays for Samoan Independence Day. As we are leading up to study and exam weeks for the students the library will be open limited hours. I am working Tuesday afternoon. Monday morning we have to be up and downtown by 7.00am to take part in the Independence Day parade and help to represent USP. We are meant to wear a white shirt and blue or black lavalava/skirt. This is going to be tricky so we will see how a bit of shopping goes over the weekend!
Well this is us signing off for now. Have a seki a (awesome) day and we’ll post here again soon.
On day 2 of work I was feeling much more comfortable. One problem though is that I’m too short to see the counter from my desk therefore I can’t see when students need serving! This is quite disconcerting considering I’m used to leaping up the moment a student even passes by the desk. We are going to have to move some cabinets around so that I can see through!! Saying that though the students seem very used to standing at the counter and waiting for someone to notice they are there. I’m sure we can do better than this though! On day 2 we watched one of the IT guys, whose name is Wiki, outside up a ladder on a power pole. Seems it’s the ‘Samoan Way’ to have a jandalled IT consultant fiddle with the wiring for the phones and internet connections. While he was up the pole he was constantly ringing the library to ensure he hadn’t cut us off!! I was also astounded to see the person holding the ladder had bare feet and a box with a hole cut in it on his head. One assumes this was to keep the sun off his neck! I also met a Fijian lecturer who lived in Palmerston North and knew where our house was (it’s a small world).
Next week Monday and Tuesday are public holidays for Samoan Independence Day. As we are leading up to study and exam weeks for the students the library will be open limited hours. I am working Tuesday afternoon. Monday morning we have to be up and downtown by 7.00am to take part in the Independence Day parade and help to represent USP. We are meant to wear a white shirt and blue or black lavalava/skirt. This is going to be tricky so we will see how a bit of shopping goes over the weekend!
Well this is us signing off for now. Have a seki a (awesome) day and we’ll post here again soon.
Our first week in Samoa
This first week has been a bit learning experience for us. While I have been going to work Adam has been sussing out the supermarkets and shops. Unlike at home you can’t get everything you need in 1 place so you have to know where to go for what. Consequently we have been eating a bit of what resembles cat food out of a tin this week! Not too appetising! We have been reduced to what they sell at the supermarket just up the road. We dared to try the tinned Corned Beef and I’m sorry to say it’s not to be recommended. Nothing like Mum’s that’s for sure. It is full of fat that goes through the whole cut of beef in the tin. On the TV they show you frying it up which at least makes it look better as the fat dissolves but it still doesn’t taste that great. Once was enough for us. Later on in the week though we have managed to make some more normal meals such as tuna pasta and salad and have even dared to try some beef strips and mince from “Farmer Joes” one of the big supermarkets in town. We have had 1 stir fry and tonight Spaghetti with a side of Broccoli (my favourite). Would you believe though that the broccoli cost the equivalent of $NZ10!!!!!!!!! It was imported. Oh well don’t suppose I will be having that very often. One of my colleagues at work informed me today that Taro and Bananas are the staples that go with everything for a meal in Samoa. I’ve yet to try that. There are also huge markets for fruit and veges and fish down town so we will have to make a habit of going there. I was pleased to find lettuce and tomatoes at the market so we can still make salads.
This week we have had a few rainy days. I love the rain on the tin roof. As the louver windows are always open to let in the breeze you can hear the rain dripping outside. It rains with huge splotchy drops here but it is still very warm. The trees, grass and plants are a lush green as a consequence. When it is not raining the skies are a clear blue and the sun beats down with temperatures in the early 30’s. Palagi’s like me need to seek shade to avoid passing out! Another point with the louver windows though is that you can hear everything that’s going on outside and with your neighbours. This can be dogs fighting, babies crying, stereos and TV. The first few nights I really noticed the crickets chirping and in the mornings it was like living in an aviary only we were the caged animals!
We have also already experienced a power blackout. Things were pitch black while we scrambled around looking for our phones with a built in torch. As we didn’t’ know how long it was going to last for we walked up to the local shop to buy some candles and matches but ….. you guessed it, the moment we got these lit the power came back on!
This week we have had a few rainy days. I love the rain on the tin roof. As the louver windows are always open to let in the breeze you can hear the rain dripping outside. It rains with huge splotchy drops here but it is still very warm. The trees, grass and plants are a lush green as a consequence. When it is not raining the skies are a clear blue and the sun beats down with temperatures in the early 30’s. Palagi’s like me need to seek shade to avoid passing out! Another point with the louver windows though is that you can hear everything that’s going on outside and with your neighbours. This can be dogs fighting, babies crying, stereos and TV. The first few nights I really noticed the crickets chirping and in the mornings it was like living in an aviary only we were the caged animals!
We have also already experienced a power blackout. Things were pitch black while we scrambled around looking for our phones with a built in torch. As we didn’t’ know how long it was going to last for we walked up to the local shop to buy some candles and matches but ….. you guessed it, the moment we got these lit the power came back on!
Samoan Television
We get 1 TV channel where we live (on the TV with a rabbit’s ears aerial). The great thing is that they show the NZ TV1 news every night at 7.00pm which also includes the weather for NZ and Samoa. Following this there is the Samoan news which seems to drag on a bit in a droning fashion. This is about when we do the dishes! Another good thing is that all Super 14 rugby (and any other rugby for that matter such as the London 7’s) is shown free to air on this channel so we are able to keep up with the games. Go the Crusaders tonight against the Warratahs! We have been tuning into anything in English which can be a movie or a documentary from the USA, Australia or NZ. 1 night we even tried to follow the Philipino substitute for Shortland Street but had to read the subtitles to figure out what was going on! There is also a movie theatre down town with 2 cinemas and usually 4 different movies showing at a time. At the moment Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Run Fat Boy Run are on so it’s pretty up to date.
Living in Samoa
We can’t believe we are actually doing it! Living and working here. It is warm, busy, laid back and beautiful. There are many coconut and banana palms around as well as tropical multicoloured leaved bushes, frangipani, hibiscus, ginger plants and taro. So far we have only found 2 streets with footpaths in the town of Apia and these lead to the Sports Complex where the South Pacific Games were held last year (the team from Guam actually stayed in our house during the games!) These are good streets for a walk after work or maybe a run once we dig out the running shoes. Other places you walk along the side of the road in the gravel. This is not good for your shoes! We have had a couple of cloudy days in our first week which have at least been less sweaty than the days of full sunshine. Being sweaty seems to be the accepted norm however. Ceiling fans operate constantly and shops and places with air conditioning feel like fridges. We have found it much easier to get up and running with normal life here in Samoa compared to the UK. In 1 day we managed to set up a joint bank account, connect to Digicel one of the local mobile phone networks and get a post office box for our mail. There are no street names or numbers in Samoa therefore where you live is described by your village. We are living in Vaigaga (pronounced Vaingunga). It seems everyone in the town knows our landlord and the 2 houses he owns down our street. Failing this we just describe it as the street in Vaigaga by the cake and video shops! When getting a taxi home it’s taken a few goes to pronounce the name such that the driver can understand where we need to go but we are getting there. Taxi’s are everywhere so it hasn’t been a problem getting to and from work. The other day I rode in a taxi with orange fluffy seat covers that the driver thought were “cool aye”! We have been for a few rides on the local busses which are definitely an experience and an education. They are big with open windows in bright colours and generally pump out Samoan and English pop music. You pay the driver when you get off so you have to know to climb aboard and just sit down. It costs $1 (Samoan Tala) for your journey. People are pretty good at moving over and making a space on the seat for you to sit down. We haven’t been on a chockker block bus yet but apparently the norm is to sit on each others knees for the journey. It freaked out our next door neighbour, a very slight Indian girl, when a big Samoan lady picked her up and plonked her on her knees for the trip!
Samoa is a very religious and family orientated country. There are churches every few hundred meters down the road which are usually elaborate with well kept grounds. Saturday is the day for all Samoans to do their housework and shopping in preparation for Sunday which is a family day and a day to attend church dressed in white. Shops are open until midday on a Saturday which makes down town pretty busy and manic in the mornings. I have been asked already which religion I am and I don’t think it is looked on favourably that we don’t attend church regularly.
A lot of the slow paced and laid back way of life is described as “We Samoans …..” or “The Samoan way is …..” It makes perfect sense when you are here in the country where it is hot and humid and moving about at a great pace just isn’t done. Although at a first glance it appears you can’t buy what you want or do what you need to, you actually can once you know where you need to go. Some dingy back alley place could be just what you are looking for to get a key cut or purchase one of the best meals in town. I am impressed at how efficiently things run in a so called backward and manual way. USP managed to process my starting allowance and refund on our flights within a few days of me starting work which was fantastic. We now have some Tala in our Samoan bank account.
People in Samoa are very friendly. Wherever we walk we get tooted at and waved to. The other night we were going for a walk after work and had a family sitting inside around their dinner table call out hello and wave! It means you have to go everywhere switched on and ready to be friendly back or risk being labelled as the ‘Pouty Palagi’! There seems to be a lot of smoke in the air around home time. I think some families cook dinner over an open fire and others burn their rubbish. Walking around as a little white girl seems to draw a bit of attention so I much prefer it when Adam is there to ward off unwanted attention. There is one benefit though, cars stop to allow you to cross the road! The most asked questions by everyone are whether I’m here with my family, where are we living and how many children do we have…….
Samoa is a very religious and family orientated country. There are churches every few hundred meters down the road which are usually elaborate with well kept grounds. Saturday is the day for all Samoans to do their housework and shopping in preparation for Sunday which is a family day and a day to attend church dressed in white. Shops are open until midday on a Saturday which makes down town pretty busy and manic in the mornings. I have been asked already which religion I am and I don’t think it is looked on favourably that we don’t attend church regularly.
A lot of the slow paced and laid back way of life is described as “We Samoans …..” or “The Samoan way is …..” It makes perfect sense when you are here in the country where it is hot and humid and moving about at a great pace just isn’t done. Although at a first glance it appears you can’t buy what you want or do what you need to, you actually can once you know where you need to go. Some dingy back alley place could be just what you are looking for to get a key cut or purchase one of the best meals in town. I am impressed at how efficiently things run in a so called backward and manual way. USP managed to process my starting allowance and refund on our flights within a few days of me starting work which was fantastic. We now have some Tala in our Samoan bank account.
People in Samoa are very friendly. Wherever we walk we get tooted at and waved to. The other night we were going for a walk after work and had a family sitting inside around their dinner table call out hello and wave! It means you have to go everywhere switched on and ready to be friendly back or risk being labelled as the ‘Pouty Palagi’! There seems to be a lot of smoke in the air around home time. I think some families cook dinner over an open fire and others burn their rubbish. Walking around as a little white girl seems to draw a bit of attention so I much prefer it when Adam is there to ward off unwanted attention. There is one benefit though, cars stop to allow you to cross the road! The most asked questions by everyone are whether I’m here with my family, where are we living and how many children do we have…….
Our House in Vaigaga, Samoa
Our rental house is great. Last weekend we got the keys on Saturday and received a ride to the house, with our suitcases, from our landlord. Everyone in the street seemed to be expecting us including the people up in the fast food shop on the corner! The landlord did a very thorough check to ensure all lights, electrical equipment and water taps were working in the house. He was very disappointed to discover 1 light was out – I thought this was no biggie – however a few days later he turned up with a new starter for the tube to get it working again. We have got hot water. This consists of a gas bottle that sits outside so we need to keep an eye on that or have a cold shower (which wouldn’t be a bad thing!) We also have air conditioning in 1 bedroom and the place is tiled throughout. The temperatures at night at the moment are not too bad so after a short burst we find we can sleep with just the fan on. Actually in the New Zealand winter, Samoa is a bit cooler too. Our house is 1 of 2 on a fenced section, owned by the same landlord. The couple in the other house are very nice. Similar ages to us. They are Indians from Fiji. Richard works at the Vailima beer factory across the road but his wife is still searching for a job. I am pleased that our houses have a lockable gate and barbed wiring on the fences as this is more secure and also means we can keep the stray dogs (and there are a lot of these) out. Dogs are actually a bit of a problem here. Not everyone has theirs fenced in and they seem to be allowed to run wild having puppies. I have heard some nasty stories about people receiving dog bites which don’t please me. As if I wasn’t apprehensive enough about dogs to begin with. I met one of the lecturers at work the other day out for a walk and when I asked him what the stick was for he said “dogs”! If a stick is not to hand than apparently you shout at them or throw a stone. I was approached by a dog owned by the Asians up our street last night and discovered they don’t understand Palagi shouting!! “Go away” didn’t work that’s for sure. My backpack seemed to warn it off though!
We spent our first 2 days in the house cleaning. It was necessary to go and find some cleaning products and a mop (with no bucket!) so that we could do a bit of a tidy up. Walking on the floor and getting black feet let us know how dirty the place really was. When walking back from the supermarket I heard my name called and turned to find a colleague from USP, who we met in February, walking up behind us. It turns out she lives around the corner from us which is great. I thought it was really amazing to have someone call out my name on my first weekend in Apia although not so good that she found me carrying a mop! It took the first day to clean up the kitchen and the lounge area plus scrub the bathroom so we could have a shower. Sunday was a little easier going as we moved some furniture about and mopped the floors some more. I’m not certain I really want to think about what the stains on the mattresses are so we have currently covered them up with mattress protectors and sheets. I will have to figure out how we clean them up a bit. The welcoming committee has so far been the cockroaches and ants that made our house their home! They have been slowly eradicated I’m pleased to say. It’s quite disconcerting however when the pile you sweep up is moving (ants) and when you keep seeing things move out of the corner of your eye, such as the cockroach in the cupboard and the gecko behind the fridge! Gecko and I came eye ball to eye ball and I ran in one direction while he ran in the other. ‘TIS’ though, This Is Samoa! We are waiting for our household items to turn up on the ship next week and then we will have some containers to store our food in etc. I am wondering though where we are going to fit our stuff as the limited amount of furniture we have in the house is already full! We have also already had to use some ‘Kiwi Ingenuity’. During cleaning we suddenly had no water but could hear a gushing sound outside. Upon further investigation we found that the water pipes, which run across our lawn, had burst apart. Adam managed to jack up a couple of rocks to hold it in place which did the trick until the landlord came on Monday and glued the pipes back together.
We spent our first 2 days in the house cleaning. It was necessary to go and find some cleaning products and a mop (with no bucket!) so that we could do a bit of a tidy up. Walking on the floor and getting black feet let us know how dirty the place really was. When walking back from the supermarket I heard my name called and turned to find a colleague from USP, who we met in February, walking up behind us. It turns out she lives around the corner from us which is great. I thought it was really amazing to have someone call out my name on my first weekend in Apia although not so good that she found me carrying a mop! It took the first day to clean up the kitchen and the lounge area plus scrub the bathroom so we could have a shower. Sunday was a little easier going as we moved some furniture about and mopped the floors some more. I’m not certain I really want to think about what the stains on the mattresses are so we have currently covered them up with mattress protectors and sheets. I will have to figure out how we clean them up a bit. The welcoming committee has so far been the cockroaches and ants that made our house their home! They have been slowly eradicated I’m pleased to say. It’s quite disconcerting however when the pile you sweep up is moving (ants) and when you keep seeing things move out of the corner of your eye, such as the cockroach in the cupboard and the gecko behind the fridge! Gecko and I came eye ball to eye ball and I ran in one direction while he ran in the other. ‘TIS’ though, This Is Samoa! We are waiting for our household items to turn up on the ship next week and then we will have some containers to store our food in etc. I am wondering though where we are going to fit our stuff as the limited amount of furniture we have in the house is already full! We have also already had to use some ‘Kiwi Ingenuity’. During cleaning we suddenly had no water but could hear a gushing sound outside. Upon further investigation we found that the water pipes, which run across our lawn, had burst apart. Adam managed to jack up a couple of rocks to hold it in place which did the trick until the landlord came on Monday and glued the pipes back together.
Our Arrival in Samoa
Talofa (Hello) and Malo (Hi) everyone
Well we are finally here. After 3 months of preparations and waiting, waiting, waiting for either police checks, visas or tickets we have made it to Samoa. We arrived on the most entertaining flight I have ever been on. It was Pacific Blue and during the flight we were treated to exercises with the crew and gospel singing from one of the flight attendants. We stayed the first night at the Insel Fehmarn hotel, as we arrived at 9.30pm, and were recognised by 1 of the reception staff as having stayed there before! The room was set up to greet us in the usual Samoan style which is to have the TV blaring on the rugby channel and the air conditioning and fans going full bore! The next morning we were offered the “Champagne special” for breakfast so we were able to toast our first day in Samoa.
Well we are finally here. After 3 months of preparations and waiting, waiting, waiting for either police checks, visas or tickets we have made it to Samoa. We arrived on the most entertaining flight I have ever been on. It was Pacific Blue and during the flight we were treated to exercises with the crew and gospel singing from one of the flight attendants. We stayed the first night at the Insel Fehmarn hotel, as we arrived at 9.30pm, and were recognised by 1 of the reception staff as having stayed there before! The room was set up to greet us in the usual Samoan style which is to have the TV blaring on the rugby channel and the air conditioning and fans going full bore! The next morning we were offered the “Champagne special” for breakfast so we were able to toast our first day in Samoa.
From Whoa to Go
Here is a timetable of what needed to happen before we could move to Samoa and begin work. It took 3 months all up!
November 2007 - Applied for the position of Senior Librarian, USP, Alafua
January 2008 - Received an email with an interview date
January 2008 - Interview postponed due to bad weather - a cyclone hit Fiji!
February 2008 - Telephone interview took place between myself and staff from Fiji and Samoa
February 2008 - 1 week later I was offered the position
February 2008 - At the end of the month we took a trip to Samoa for 5 days to meet everyone and find out what it was like. This was our first taste of Samoa.
March 2008 - When we arrived back from our trip we sent away the forms for a Police Check and made appointments for X-Rays and Medical Checks. These were necessary for a visa to work in Samoa.
March 2008 - Handed in 1 months notice at work
April 2008 - It took 5 weeks but finally our Police Checks turned up in the mail. Now we had all the documentation required to apply for our visas.
April 2008 - We are now unemployed but are frantically packing up our house, putting it on the market and finalising things to move to Samoa
May 2008 - 4 weeks after applying our Samoan working visas finally turned up. Yippee we are now on the plane destined for Samoa!
24 May 2008 - We make it to Samoa and this blog begins.......
November 2007 - Applied for the position of Senior Librarian, USP, Alafua
January 2008 - Received an email with an interview date
January 2008 - Interview postponed due to bad weather - a cyclone hit Fiji!
February 2008 - Telephone interview took place between myself and staff from Fiji and Samoa
February 2008 - 1 week later I was offered the position
February 2008 - At the end of the month we took a trip to Samoa for 5 days to meet everyone and find out what it was like. This was our first taste of Samoa.
March 2008 - When we arrived back from our trip we sent away the forms for a Police Check and made appointments for X-Rays and Medical Checks. These were necessary for a visa to work in Samoa.
March 2008 - Handed in 1 months notice at work
April 2008 - It took 5 weeks but finally our Police Checks turned up in the mail. Now we had all the documentation required to apply for our visas.
April 2008 - We are now unemployed but are frantically packing up our house, putting it on the market and finalising things to move to Samoa
May 2008 - 4 weeks after applying our Samoan working visas finally turned up. Yippee we are now on the plane destined for Samoa!
24 May 2008 - We make it to Samoa and this blog begins.......
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