Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We have made it to NZ albeit in Samoan time (yes plane was delayed - actually it wasn't even on the tarmac when it was meant to depart!)

We came along with everyone else complete with Umu box and jandalls!

I have eaten strawberries and apricots and nectarines already lol!

We loved the flight on Air NZ as it was such a treat. Lovely food, entertainment and drinks!

Got to Auckland Airport and got to check in electronically using the chip in our passports (we didn't even know there was a chip in there!!) No customs agents involved just put your passport in the machine, keep still and look at the camera then the gates open and let you in. Amazing. Very high tech for those of us from the one hick town of Apia!

Anyway have a great one all. Be safe and be seen!

Campbell Live Samoa Christmas Special

Talofa all

If you missed the NZ TV3 Campbell Live Samoa Christmas special which was filmed with the children in Lalomanu who survived the tsunami then you can find it here

USP Alafua Graduation

Talofa all

Yesterday was Graduation for us here at USP Alafua. A happy and sad time. Much to be celebrated for those Graduating but also sad they will be leaving us, Samoa and friends made here (not to mention the netball team!)

It was a hot day. Very very hot! 35+ degrees in a big hall with little fans and no air con. Thought I might be the passed out Palagi on the stage it was so hot! Luckily I had my fan with me so could keep some air moving.

The library girls were all there either ushering or singing in the choir. Elenoa was also singing and they all looked great in their matching puletasi's.

The hall was packed with people. It was nice to see some of the students I know Graduating. We took a few photos after .....

Rock da Boat

Last Friday night a couple of friends and I decided it was time for a Christmas party here in Samoa! We bought tickets and went on Rock da Boat for 3 hours of cruising around the Apia harbour (yes that is as far as we went!), tunes from DJ Cory from the 98.1 radio station and of course a few drinks. Unfortunately we were the only 3 on the boat that were not part of the SCOPA netball girls hens night or sitting quietly watching the Dubai 7’s inside!! A good time was had by all though. We were joined in the last hour by one of the SCOPA Faafafine’s who certainly entertained us and made our night. Here are a couple of photos….

Table Runner

Here is my latest project. Made with scraps of material including that from my beautiful girls who danced for USP Open Day. One of them is graduating on the 15th December and so this is her gift from me to remind her of Samoa. She also played in the netball team. I hope she likes it!!

2nd Worst Hair Cut Experience EVA!

Hi all

After making an appointment with a recommended hair dresser here in Samoa I waited for 2 weeks for her to return from the States and was really looking forward to my trim before heading home to see you all at Christmas.

This was my experience however.....

I arrived at the salon. It is not a huge place. 3 cutters chairs and 2 basins plus they have managed to fit one of those foot baths in and have a new beautician (who was incidentally doing toe nails and sticking sparkly jewels on!!)

I took a pew. The place seemed over crowded but as is normal in Samoa the person with the appointment seems to come with a number of hangers on who watch and talk!!! I could see the hair dresser I made the appointment with was very busy putting someones hair up. Looked like some special occassion was happening that night. I figured she was running late and would be a while so engrossed myself in a magazine (wow a magazine. These are few and far between in Samoa and VERY expensive to buy). I was enjoying the gossip when I was interrupted by a Fijian Faafafine with short afro hair (there is a reason I'm telling you this) and blue eye shadow!! He/She asked me to come to the basin.

I trotted over and took a very uncomfortable seat and waited patiently. A few minutes later I was duely informed that there was no water!! Oh well no hair wash today then.

Next I was shown to a seat and the Faafafine sprayed my hair down with the squirty bottle. After a very rough comb of the hair I figured I was as ready as I was going to be for the hairdresser. She however looked very busy with her job at hand........

Low and behold the Faafafine whipped out his scissors and started to cut my hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't know what to do. Should I say something? Should I not? In my head I thought that maybe I should give the benefit of the doubt as maybe he was some fantastic cutter with awards or something???????????????

Unfortunately I was to be sorely disappointed! With some reference to my split ends (an expert in palagi hair obviously!) my appointment was over in a flash with a bare minimum cut off my hair and some funny angles to show for it. Much "product" later and I emerged from the salon with hair like concrete looking ridiculous. Mind you one of the other patrons thought it looked nice (or do they pay her to sit there and say that?!!)

Oh well now I've sorted it out myself (fixed up the funny angles) and given it a wash things look ......... well as they did before I went to the hairdresser actually. So I probably won't be going there again. Might try Double D's the Aggie's hair salon next time as I'm sure to receive some palagi treatment there and after all I suppose that is what I'm expecting!!

Christmas Show

Last week we got invited to the Robert Louis Stevenson Primary School Christmas performance. We know 3 of the teachers there. Adam was a bit dubious about this event so I had to ply him with dinner beforehand. Surprisingly he managed to still be awake at the end of the show! I loved it. The kids were all doing their Samoan performances celebrating traditional Samoa. They looked lovely in their traditional wear. I was impressed with what the teachers had done to get them all into uniform. The dancing and singing was great. It's always nice to take in a bit of culture. This has been the only Christmas thing we have been to so far and might be the last. We will see. No Christmas parties planned for us here. No one can afford it which is sad. Check out these photos....

The Cashew

Hello All

Check this out. It is a Cashew!! Adam picked it off the tree at Samoa College the other day. Isn't it cool. First time I have seen one. Apparently you can eat the fruit (the red bit) but the nut is in the stem (the green bit) which you have to roast so you an crack it open and get it out. 1 nut per fruit. No wonder they are soooooooooooo expensive. It tasted just like a real one!!

Clubbing Samoan Style!

Talofa all. Well before the road switch the government ruled that all night clubs down town would close at 10.00pm and no liquor would be sold after this time. This was presumably to stop drunken driving while people were figuring out what side of the road to drive on? All good yeah?

So now that the driving seems to be going well with no major problems we wonder when the clubs will open back up again until 12.00am, which was their closing time before?

A notice came in the paper just last week to say the early closing was being lifted. Yay we all thought (especially the students who's lives had been significantly impacted during this time). Low and behold though it now seems that those who live in the near vacinity to the clubs are complaining about the noise so get this.......

Clubs are now open until 12.00am but the music has to stop at 10.00pm!!!!!!!! There have been many suggestions about donning your hoodie, dark glasses and plugging in your ipod so you can continue to dance to your own tunes for 2 hours while the club stays silent!!!

I haven't said this for a while but "This is Samoa"!!!!!

APS

Well Monday morning and it was time take Lucky to APS for choppo. She came on heat last week so we have had the entire male population of the neighbourhood in the back yard lately!! Apparently it is not best to do choppo when the dog is on heat but as I wasn't actually told this (even though I asked) the poor thing had to endure anyway.

As for the enduring I'm not sure if Lucky or Adam had to do the most?! Poor Lucky has never been in a car before and of course knew something was going on before we did so getting her in there was interesting. Having evicted the big ass male dog from down the road, and patching up the hole in the fence so no one could get in or out, we tried the gentle coaxing patting of Lucky to get her as close to the car as possible. Adam in the end backed the car up towards her but of course she then definately knew something was up!

Poor Adam next .... he had to lift her up into the car. Well I was not going to be of much use as she is too big and heavy for me. Luckily we had lined the boot with a tarpaulin. Anyway Adam managed to come out of the experience covered in dog pee!! Lucky was actually not too bad in the boot of the car. Sat down and rode quietly.

We got to APS to see a man exiting the door covered in blood with gashes up his arms and a big plaster on his nose. "Crikey" I thought. I hoped our experience was not going to be like that! It turned out he had held his dog in his arms for injections or something and the dog had gone mental.

Somehow I managed to get a muzzle on Lucky without a similar experience. She was actually very well behaved which surprised me. Old Man got choppo pretty easily and I expected a fight with Lucky. Anyway then came the hard part. Sitting for 1 1/2 hours waiting for them to do the job. There was a "bleeder" apparently which meant things took longer. At the end of it all a very groggy dog emerged with needle sticks in her legs and shaven bits everywhere plus IV fluids. Poor old thing.

We got her home and out of the car OK. She lay for quite a few hours in the car port and slept which was good as Old Man kept trying to lie in the sun after his op which dogs are not meant to do especially in this heat. I got a bit worried though as she looked very "puppy" like so kept checking for breathing. At one stage she was very groggy and not breathing much.

All is good now though. She has pulled through and is nearly back to her usual mischief. We still have dogs hanging around but apparently that will cease soon as the estrogen gets out of her system. We need to fix the fence properly as somehow the wire, gardening twine and clothesline have all not worked in plugging up the gap. The dogs still get in and out!!

Now we look forward to breezy dog handling with no more puppies .... just got to sort Old Man now who is limping badly. I think fighting over Lucky ......................

Nearly Christmas

Talofa all. Yes we are still here! Have been back at the desk at work for a week now and have realised that I haven't really been here much in the last 2 months. First it was 2 weeks in Fiji, then the tsunami struck then we got involved with the visiting scientists and straight after this we had Barbara and Malcom, Kayla and Olivia visit!

It was great to have those guys come and stay with us. We were all pretty packed into our little 2 bedroom house but surprisingly there was enough room! We set up the spare room for the girls and had a spare bed in the lounge room for B&M. A bit more rearranging of the furniture and we were there. The house sure was full!

During the first week of their stay we spent 4 days around Apia. As soon as they got off the plane the jeans were off and cooler clothes were on. Kayla got really cool and donned her togs so she could run around the back lawn under the hose. Great fun was had by all. Aunty Angela, fully clothed, somehow got soaked as well! We also visited Aggies, the Mailelani soap factory, Robert Louis Stevensons house, went to the markets, a Fia Fia night of wonderful Samoan food and entertainment, the turtles at Malua and had a go at cooking a Samoan meal. We also had a day at Palolo Deep so were able to do a bit of snorkelling and playing in the lovely warm water. Adam spent one afternoon grating coconut on his new grater and then squeezing it to get the coconut milk out for the dinner. The grated coconut was also toasted in the oven and is now making lovely coconut loaf that we are eating.

After this we packed up the car and headed to Samoana for 3 nights. Somehow we managed to get 6 people, 2 car seats, 1 pram, 1 porta cot, 3 suitcases, a chilly bin, food and snorkelling gear all in the rental car in 1 go. It was like heading off on summer holiday. Slight problem with our room however when we got to Samoana where the self composting toilet was a bit stinky due to the fan having stopped working so after 1 night of this we were able to move into a new room and all was good.

We met some great people while staying at Samoana. As always everyone is friendly and shares the dinner table etc. Richard was there with his contraption that he had built to house his video camera so he could do underwater filming. He also had some fab photos of the Nemo's and gave me instructions on how and where to go to get some myself. We went out one day in the kayaks with Richard, guided by Wes, to a snorkelling spot and saw TURTLES in the wild. Fantastic. Too quick for me to get a photo but saw some lovely blue coral that I hadn't seen before. B&M and kids enjoyed being in the pool all the time and we went through quite a lot of sunblock with everyone trying not to get burnt.

Next stop on the tour was Aggies near the airport where B&M had booked for 5 nights so we dropped them off there before heading back home and to work. Ugh! Caught back up with them the following Saturday for the day at Aggies before their departure to the airport at 10.30pm. Everyone was looking suitably relaxed from a week spent by the pool reading and playing. Somehow we managed to go through WST$400 in one afternoon which was a bit of a shock. Could have been to do with the "blue sky" cocktails at the pool bar at $35.00 each however I swear I only had one - honest!! We got to see Fraser our friend performing in Aggies Fia Fia night which was great and also his Siva Afi fire knife dancing which we didnt' know he could do!

So catching up on some work now and getting ready to come home for Christmas on the 18th December for 3 weeks. It is very hot here at the moment. Don't know what has happened to the rainy season but the river beds are still dry. Next week the Aussie Netball people are visiting and are running some clincs on Umpiring and Coaching so I hope to go to these and learn something. We don't have anything planned for our next 5 weeks before coming home which is a great relief to be honest. Time to catch up with ourselves. The USP students are dutifully studying this week and exams begin next week then after that things will quieten down a lot when everyone heads home. Graduation is on the 16th December so that is a day to look forward to although it will also be sad to be losing those we know.

Since working with the scientists on the tsunami a colleague and I have decided to try and write a book of survivor stories so will keep you posted on that one. I have also just submitted an abstract for a conference for Agricultural Libraians in Paris (I Knnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww!!) next year so will see how far I get with having that accepted and getting funding through USP to go.

Hope you are all good. Sorry for the lack of phone calls our landline has been out of action for 3 months. We have finally managed to get the engineer around today and he says the problem is further up the line. They knocked off at 12.00pm though as it is a public holiday this afternoon so that everyone can go and take part in Health promotions outside the government building. Aerobics anyone? Nice for some aye?!! We at USP are all still working!

Tsunami Scientists in Samoa

Hi all

Well we have been rather quiet in the last week which has been because of hard work and late nights working with the international scientists who are currently visiting Samoa to investigate and research the Tsunami. Adam has just written the following which we will share for now until we have a moment to write you more about our experience. I should get back to the report for Governement I am meant to be finishing right now!!

We have both been flat out working with a team of international scientists studying the tsunami. UNESCO had assembled the team, which had people from all around the world - NZ, Australia, USA, Japan. Italy, Brazil. They were being hosted at USP and there were a few USP professors from other campuses involved. Anyway, we heard about this and turned up to their first meeting to find out what they would be doing and a couple of hours later I was out in the field with them! We both ended up working with them all of last week and through the weekend. My part of the team flew out on Monday night, so I am back to normal work now but Angela's team is still here and desperately trying to deliver their report by the end of the day!

I joined up with a team that was measuring how far and how high the tsunami had travelled as well as maximum water depths where this could be found. We were also surveying building damage, recording the extent and nature of damage to various building types. We had some long days in the field, but collected a lot of good data and have already produced a report with our preliminary findings.

Angela got involved with the 'Social Impacts' group. They have been interviewing the survivors to record their experiences - what they felt and saw, how they survived, how they reacted, what are their future plans etc. She ended up working with a guy from Hawaii who videos these stories and they use them at the tsunami museum. They also take these stories and use them in some of the 'how to survive a tsunami' education materials that are produced. She enjoyed it, but found some of it quite hard. After a few long days in the field and listening to some heartbreaking stories she was pretty drained, but has bounced back now. Now she just needs to get her group to deliver their report and she can relax!

That's all for now folks but will be back in touch soon.

RIP Puppy

Talofa All

Well just when we thought the sadness was over and we could start to move on, puppy got sick and passed away. Friday night she was very lethargic. Saturday not much better. I managed to get her to drink some water but no eating. She was very wobbly and could not really hold herself up on her legs though did manage to walk to the puddle outside the gate and lie in it. Sunday I was getting very concerned about no improvement and by this stage puppy could lift her head into the water bowl but did not have the strength to drink. We contacted the Vet from the Animal Protection Society and took puppy up to the clinic. The vet said either she had been poisoned or had the Parvovirus which was very contageous to dogs and dangerous for puppies under the age of 1. We pumped her full of fluids and antibiotics and she perked up right away and tried to stand up and get off the table.

We took puppy home and she walked around the section for a good hour which we thought was a good sign then she crawled under the car to sleep. About an hour and 1/2 later I went back out to see her as it was about time for some more water and electrolytes in a syringe given to us by the vet. Unfortunately she did not move when I called her and then I noticed her still eyes and no breathing. This was only about 2 hours after we had seen the vet and all thought she would pull through.

It was heartbreaking to see our beautiful little puppy so still and stiff. Adam set to digging a hole in the back yard which was hard yakka in the ground that is very dry and like concrete. Actually he hit a slab of concrete and a number of large rocks before finding a spot that was suitable.

We buried puppy and placed rocks on the top to stop the other dogs digging her back up. What a way to spend our White Sunday weekend.

Puppy will be remembered for her mischief as the jandal theif, for bringing all manner of rubbish into our back yard from coconut shells to mats, cardboard boxes, bones etc, for her beautiful ginger and golden colourings and when she wagged her tail her whole back end wagged with it. Somehow she was also louder than the other 2 dogs put together when she barked.

RIP little puppy. Peter wanted you to become the fire dog at the fire station. I hope you are now in heaven where you can look after each other.

Outside of the Bubble....

Well last Saturday we volunteered for the Red Cross to see what we could do to help the tsunami victims. We dutifully packed our back pack with "survival" stuff such as first aid, gloves, non-perishable food, water, jandalls (we were actually wearing the closed in shoes), hand wipes and sanitizer, the camera, phone and ..... well you name it and we probably had it in there!! On the way we picked up our friend from netball Molia who wanted to come help too. We were all very keen to get stuck in and help out with something.

In the morning though I received a call from the USP Campus Director asking if I could go and take a picture of "the vision" that had appeared on the John Williams building while we were in Fiji and which was apparently growing stronger after the tsunami. The Vision was of Mother Mary and 8 Disciples. Luckily Molia was there to show me where to look! We got a couple of good pictures of what Adam refers to as the stain from the guttering! You can be the judge. It is however giving a lot of people a lot of hope that it is a sign.

Next stop was the Red Cross at Motootua next to the main public hospital in Apia. After registering a ute pulled up which we were told was our ride so we jumped in after loading clothes, food, water etc on the back.

The drive around the coast took a while. I was feeling a bit apprehensive about what we would find at the other end. It was however nice to get out of Apia and to see that not all of the beautiful coastline of Samoa has been damaged. In fact there is still a lot of beautiful places left untouched. This began to lift the spirits in the heart.

When we got near to the Aleipata area it wasn't until we came down the hill that we saw the destruction. Houses gone, everything brown and dry and dead. It was easy to see where the wave had washed in to. Surprisingly the palm trees around the coast were still standing. They are tough little b*ggers!! Made a mental note if ever caught in a tsunami to hang on to one of them!! We pulled in at the hospital on the Aleipata side and lept out of the truck to help.

A lot of standing around happened next. I approached a palagi guy and asked him what we were meant to do. We managed to register again and help with sorting some stuff into piles for families and then realised all the vehicles were gone and we were still standing there so a bit more standing around happened.

Sadly they brought in a body while we were there. The police pulled up with a faded blue canvas stretcher on the back of the ute and a white body bag. After lumbering the body off the back of the truck and putting in under a makeshift shelter the poor men were retching along the fence line. There were flies all over the white bag and I really felt for them and what they were having to deal with and see.

When the vehicles returned we managed to get on the next delivery run out to a family who were sitting under a tarpaulin propped up with sticks looking at the concrete slab which was all that was left of their home. We delivered some pillows, mats, water, food, kitchen utensils and household items to them. They were very grateful but it was very sobering to see what they were having to cope with.

After our delivery run Adam and I decided we were not being of much help so took at walk to the Taufua area. Along the way we saw first hand the destruction. There were many diggers out moving great piles of rubble and rubbish from the beach. The road had already been cleared of rocks. There was a bit of a stench in the air like the mangrove swamp due to the rotting fish and sea life that had been thrown onland. We sat at Taufua and picked out where our fales had been when we had stayed and remembered the dining hall and the benches that used to be on the beach that were now smashed to smitherines. The NZ Herald photographer and reporter came to talk to us for a while but they were more interested in people who had been staying there during the tsunami.

All in all getting to go last Saturday helped a lot with our healing. Even though there was massive destruction of certain areas of the south coast there was still hope and a positive feeling that all would be OK. Nicola and Fraser went past in their car so picked us up and gave us a lift back to Apia via Cross Island Road which gave us a chance to check out Sea Breeze and the now non existent restaurant where we have had a few nice meals.

The past week has continued to be sad but not as much so as the week of the tsunami when so many horror stories had us all scared. We attened the funeral for our friend the firefighter, Peter Letiu. This was an experience in itself as after waiting 1/2 hour to get into the funeral home following a previous funeral we were then all asked to leave and wait outside as another funeral had to happen first! This is the first time we have ever been kicked out of a funeral! Sadly though the funeral homes are under pressure and many services are happening back to back and in Samoan time so it's a matter of taking your place in the queue. The service itself was very good though and we rounded the day off with a few drinks and much laugher as we remembered the things Peter used to do. We also put up photos to remind us of the happy times with the "Happy Juice" that he so liked to partake in.

Since this there has also been the state funeral this week where all 143 of the tsunami victims were acknowledged. We didn't go to this. Felt it best to let those who had lost family members etc the opportunity. We watched it on the TV and saw people we knew in tears. I have since heard it was a very sad occassion. 10 or so bodies were part of the state funeral and have been buried together in a place where a memorial to all victims will be placed. I plan to go visit that when it is ready.

We have also had another tsunami warning following the earthquake in Vanuatu. This turned out to be a non-event but certainly caused a large amount of panic in Samoa. The roads out of Apia town were jam packed with cars going nowhere and there was much distress from people trying to get themselves and their family up the hill. The phone lines blocked up so I couldn't get through to see if Adam was evacuating OK and just had to hope and pray he was on his way to USP. Very frightning times. We have a few plans laid out now for emergencies and where we will meet up etc.

Well this has been a bit of a long post. I hope you are still reading! This weekend is White Sunday here in Samoa so a long weekend for us. Unlike last year we will not be heading away but staying put at home. This year is a very difficult year for people to celebrate children especially in the wake of so many who lost their lives last week. There is still grieving to be done but I would like to hope we are moving on now while being ever vigilant of Nature!

In the Bubble....

I write to you from the bubble that is Apia. The bubble that has escaped all the devastation that surrounds us. It is like a roller coaster ride of emotions here. On one hand things are continuing in reletive normality, on the other there is the news paper, TV, emails, texts, internet and radio reports and peoples stories that bring the harsh reality back to us.

We are very very lucky to be on the side of the island that was not hit. Our house is close to the sea so it does not bear thinking about if the wave came from the opposite direction. I can tell you I will never be blase again about earthquakes and tsunami sirens. You will see my dust if there is even a hint of a problem. I will not wait for any warnings or stop to pick up my cup of tea. I will be out of here. All the places we love here in Samoa are wiped out. This is nothing compared to the people who have lost their homes and loved ones. It is a devastating and saddening time that breaks our hearts.

We are off to volunteer for the Red Cross over the weekend to see what we can do to help although I have just heard from a friend who is over there today who says they will not let her do anything. Times of disaster like this are no time to put people on pedastals or try and protect the palagis.

We are living in a bubble at the moment but hear daily stories of great tragedy. Fellow Librarians who I work with have lost family members. One reports they just found their 2 year old yesterday in the rubble. You cannot even imagine what people are going through. I am in pain and it must be 100 times worse for them.

Seeing the other side of the island will give us perspective on this disaster. We will report back again next week.

Just before I sign off I want to again thank you all for the messages, texts and calls. Your support and caring has meant so much to us and we are so grateful to firstly be alive and secondly have you all as our friends and family.

Faafetai lava

Tsunami Update

By last night we getting a clearer picture of just how much damage the tsunami has done, and it is a lot worse than we first realised. The south coast of Upolo (the island we live on) has been devastated. Many villages have been destroyed and there has been significant loss of life. We aren’t sure exactly how many people have been killed, but reports here have ranged from 40-100. At this stage there are still lots of people missing so I guess it will be a while before the real numbers are known.

The areas hit worst include many of the beach fales and some of the bigger resorts. We have seen pictures on the local news and it is hard to comprehend how much damage has been done in some places. They have been showing pictures from some of our favourite beaches and holiday spots and we can hardly recognise them. It is strange to be so close to such destruction and yet where we are has been unaffected. We have been very lucky, and spent a little while yesterday reflecting on what might have happened in the tsunami had come from the other direction.

Clearly this is quite a tragedy for the country and everyone has been affected in some way. For us it has been with the loss of Peter Letui. Pete played netball with us this season. Earlier in the year he had joined the Fire Service and often told us how much he was enjoying it, especially because it gave him the opportunity to help people. Yesterday we heard that a fire truck had rolled when it was on its way to assist after the tsunami. Peter was killed in the accident. It is so sad to lose someone that was so full of life with so much to offer, but unfortunately in an event like this I guess there are will be many other similar tragic stories. We have already heard about families that have lost children and children that have lost at least one of their parents.

We would like to thank everyone for their concern and kind messages of support. These days news travels so quickly and we were amazed to hear from people all around the world that had heard about what had happened here.

Devastating News...

We have just received the news that one of our friends from the Hyundai netball club passed away this morning going to the rescue of tsunami victims. He recently began working for the Fire Service. No further news at present other than it was a Fire Truck accident.

Peter was the life and soul of the party, a kind and caring guy. His time was not up yet. He had a lot to offer Samoa and so many fantastic business ideas. We all loved spending time with him and appreciated the help he gave to the club.

We hope he rests in peace knowing he was loved by us all at Hyundai and that he was taken while going to the care of others - something that reflects his personality.

Here is Peter (kneeling) at our end of season netball party at our house surrounded by his friends and drinking the "happy juice"

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

By now most of you will have heard that Samoa was shaken by a rather large earthquake this morning, followed by a tsunami. First of all, for our Mums and everyone else that is worried about us, we are fine.

The earthquake hit around 6.50 this morning. In NZ and while we have been here we have experienced several earthquakes, but this is
definitely the biggest. Our house shook a fair bit, with windows and dishes rattling, but no real damage. What surprised us was how long it went for. Usually these shakes are over before you realize what is happening, but this went on for a couple of minutes. There were then a few small aftershocks.

We were trying to tune into the local radio stations to find out more and about half an hour after the main quake the tsunami warning was sounded. Last year not long after we arrived they tested the new tsunami warning system and had a national tsunami drill, so we all knew what to do. For us living by the water it means head for high ground. The sports complex just up the road high enough (about 80m above sea level) and not far away. Angela was still in bed when the quake struck, so she had to get up and decide what to wear before we could evacuate. I did manage to get her out of the house without doing her hair and makeup, but she still managed to bring her cup of tea!

No one else in our street seemed to be showing much urgency, but I figured if a tsunami was coming we better get out. On the radio we heard that a village on the south coast had been flattened by the tsunami, so that was good incentive to get moving.

We ended up parked up the hill looking out over the sea, trying to see any signs of the tsunami. We didn’t notice anything, but it turned out that we were parked in front of the house of one my work mates. So we went in and had a drink and caught up on all the latest news. The radio stations broadcasting in Samoa seemed to have the most up to date information, so we were able to get a translation.

I am sure the international media will be reporting all the facts, but at this stage we have been told that the earthquake was magnitude 8.3 on the Richter Scale and was centred about 190km southeast of Apia at a depth of 35 km. The tsunami was reported to be up to 3m in some places and has hit the south and eastern coasts of Upolo and Savaii as well as American Samoa. The airport at Pago Pago (American Samoa) is closed after it was swamped by the tidal wave. There are various reports of missing people and damage to villages along the south coast of Upolo – Siumu, Falealili, Lalomanu, Aleipata etc. Parts of Manono Island were inundated too as well as some parts of Savaii. At this stage we don’t know how much damage has been done.

We have been home to collect some things and are now up at USP. Apia is a bit like a ghost town now. All the schools are closed for the day and while the tsunami warning is in effect business in the main CBD area are closed. The Alafua area were USP is located is one of the designated assembly points, so there are heaps of people all around here. Some families are well prepared and have even brought picnics with them. About 10 minutes ago we were advised that the warning has now been lifted, so I guess I am free to go back to town and in to work now. I reckon a lot of the Samoans won’t be back at work today and USP is closed, but I have work to do so will head back there soon.

So, that was our excitement for the day. We are OK and there has been no damage around our place. Hopefully there hasn’t been too much damage around the rest of the islands.

Bula!!

The real reason we hadn’t posted anything for so long is because we are currently enjoying a break in Fiji.

Angela has been supposed to visit the USP headquarters in Suva, but after more than a year it still hadn’t happened. Anyway, they have finally got it organised and this week she is busy meeting her colleagues in Suva and checking out the USP facilities here and joining in the USP Open Day activities on Friday. I am sure she will be posting more about this soon. While she is at USP I thought I would be able to do some sightseeing, but I actually have some work to do and Kramer have an office in Suva, so I am working out of their office this week.

On our way to Suva we managed to fit in relaxing 4 day break at Plantation Island. It was all arranged at the last minute and I didn’t realise how family orientated the Plantation Island Resort is, but we managed to survive the screaming babies and bratty kids and had a good time.

Of course it wouldn’t be a holiday for us without some rain and for 2 days it rained heavily all day. On our first day there our outdoor dinner was interrupted by a brief shower that sent everyone running for cover, but we are used to things like that. But it was the next day that the heavens really opened. Parts of the resort were underwater, but the frogs seemed to be enjoying it. That night we came back after dinner to find that the toilet was about to overflow. After a few calls to get the plumber we had to resort to bailing out the bowl with a coffee cup! Eventually the plumber managed to get things sorted and we could sleep easily.

Through the rain we got out for a few walks around the island, and Angela did some shopping! Lucky for me there aren’t many shops on the island, but I am sure we visited each one twice. Once the rain stopped and sun can out we enjoyed some snorkelling and time on the beach. The water wasn’t as warm as what we are used to in Samoa and we were both shivering and complaining about the cold!

On our last night there we enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Flame Tree Restaurant at Lomani Resort, complete with transfers by stretched golf buggy and champagne. It was also the night of the All Blacks vs Wallabies tri-nations test. Our ‘chauffeur’ had been keeping an eye on the game and was able to give us an update on the way back to Plantation. He managed to get us back in time to watch the end of the game on the big screen in the lounge where we caught the last 2 All Blacks tries. I hope he didn’t have any urgent pick-ups because he joined us in the lounge to watch the end of the game!

The next day we headed for Suva. For some reason we decided to take the bus so that Angela could see some of the countryside. After 4 hours bouncing around on the bus I don’t think she thought it was a good idea! For the record it is raining in Suva too!

So Far So Good

After a week or so of driving around on the left side of the road we are pleased to report that things are still good. Actually, at the moment they are better than normal. Most people are driving slowly (the temporary speed limit is 25 km/h in town) and there are plenty of police patrolling the busiest intersections. With all the new signs and road markings in place it is easier to get around than it used to be. Even all of the traffic lights are working (for now). We have found it easy to adjust to driving on the left and there haven’t been any reports of major problems.

The bus drivers have come to an agreement with the government about installing new doors on the left side of the buses, so that seems to be OK now.

Over the first few days there were no accidents reported. Now there have been a few crashes, but they have been minor and most of them had nothing to do with the road switch. I reckon it won't be long until everyone has forgotten that they ever used to drive on the right.

Surviving the Switch

Sorry about the belated posting. For those of you that were getting worried that we had not survived the chaos of the road switch no need to worry we are still here!

Actually the switch went OK. There were a lot of people predicting disastrous consequences and even some threats by those opposed to the switch to disrupt things, but in the end common sense prevailed and the changeover was fairly smooth.

Originally we had planned to stay off the roads completely and enjoy our 2 days of holiday chilling out at home, but as the countdown progressed there was a bit of a sense of excitement about the event. There was a surprising interest from overseas media with TVNZ, ABC, BBC, NY Times and various other media from all around the world covering the event. On Friday night before the switch all the TV stations (both of them!) were broadcasting programmes about the switch, how to prepare and what the procedures were for the actual time of the change at 6.00am Monday. After watching all of this there was a feeling that this was going to be a piece of history and we started to think that maybe we should walk up to the main road to watch the events. Then we decided that if we were going to be up and about at that time on Monday morning maybe we should be in our car and ‘be a part of history’!

Much to my surprise Angela was keen able to get up at 5.30 in the morning and hit the road. We tried taking some movie clips and photos, but it was still very dark and a bit wet, so the photos aren’t the greatest. We will try and upload some soon.

Anyway, we headed out, driving on the right side of road and were surprised to see quite a few other cars on the road. The road was giving live coverage of events, but some it was in Samoan, so we could understand all of it. The headquarters were at the Fire Station on Beach Road, and all the dignitaries were there. Like all important events it started with a blessing and then speeches from the Prime Minister and others.

As we got closer to town it got busier and before we knew it we found ourselves at the clock tower roundabout, at 5.50 am just when they were making the announcement for everyone to stop driving and pull over. This was probably the most awkward place to try and change over – a roundabout on a four lane road with 5 or 6 approaches – but it was too late to do anything about it.

The instructions were to pull over to the right side of the road at 5.50 and wait for 10 minutes, then at 6.00 move over to the left side of the road and wait another 10 minutes, then at 6.10 start driving on the left side of the road. As we approached the roundabout it was about 5.45, but the announcement to stop had already been made. All the announcements were in Samoan, but we could guess what was going on. Time here is a bit of an abstract concept and I don’t know whose watch they were using but it certainly wasn’t right. Anyway, as I pulled over and prepared to wait for the prescribed 10 minutes all the cars in front of us started to move over to the left side of the road. The policemen at the roundabout were directing them so I thought I better do what I was told. So much for the official procedure! At about 5.55 (or 6.00 on the official watch) another announcement was made on the radio and a siren was sounded. We assumed that this was the signal to move to the left side of the road, but we had already done this so just sat there. Then the police started waving us forward onto the roundabout – again not quite as per the procedure, but who were we to argue. After creeping around the roundabout we had to stop and wait for the official signal to start driving. Again the announcements were in Samoan, but the tooting of horns and sirens going off were a pretty good signal that the time had come.

We ended up doing a lap around town, past the headquarters and TV cameras and headed back home. It was amazing – heaps of people out watching and taking photos and cars driving up and down tooting their horns etc. All of the fire engines and police cars were out, with all the flashing lights and sirens going. All of the intersections and roundabouts were patrolled by policemen, along with the Red Cross armed with their first aid kits and stretchers!

As it turned out it was probably the best time to be out to do a bit of practice on the other side of the road. Everyone was driving carefully and there were plenty of policemen around helping to direct traffic.

After all of the excitement we made it home OK and Angela went back to bed while I watched the replay of the events on TV. I even saw our car driving past the Fire Station!

Miss Samoa 2009

I am now the Netball Coach of the reigning Miss Samoa 2009-2010 the elegant and beautiful Miss Jacinta Bourne!! I sat with Jacinta's family, friends, fellow students and boyfriend in the audience and we were all so excited as they announced the winners and she was left standing there. We felt pretty sure she was going to do it but didn't dare to hope and jinx the situation. We all lept to our feet Chi Hooing when they announced her name. We then couldn't get near her for the people who wanted to congratulate and take photos.



She intended to come to the last netball game of the season yesterday but the game was in the morning and instead her tasks had already begun with a press conference and the awarding of trophies to the Rugby 7's players.



We were honoured and thrilled however to have Jacinta come to our house for the end of netball season BBQ with the USP and Hyundai teams. It was nice to see her able to relax and enjoy some time with friends. Jacinta oblidged with a few special photos and that crown winning smile just for us.



Congratulations Jacinta you are beautiful in heart, soul and appearance. We know you are going to do a fabulous job and be a great role model for the young people of Samoa. We are pleased to be there to support you in all you have to do and to keep you fit by playing netball!!

We are becomming Lefties!

Road Switch this weekend so it's a 4 day weekend but we aren't going anywhere as Adam says the car is staying put until all the silly buggers figure out what they are doing!! It is going to be very interesting next week driving on the left hand side of the road. Let's hope we can avoid any prangs!

Tonight I am off to the Miss Samoa Competition with some of the USP Netball girls to support one of the team as she competes. Not biased or anything but I think she is lovely and would make a great Miss Samoa. Go Jacinta!!

USP Alafua Open Day 2009

Last Thursday we had Open Day on campus. This is when the college students from all over Samoa get to come to USP to see the facilities and find out what courses are offered.

The campus looked fantastic. With a new Director at the helm a lot of effort and energy was put into tidying the place up a bit. Lawns were mowed, weeds pulled, paths swept, rubbish picked up etc. Each section also got well into the spirit this year and put together some great presentations and displays. The library girls out did themselves with a very artistic display of new books and decorated the library with Teuila flowers and flower arrangements.

This year I was on the committee to help organise Open Day and so was in charge of the Tours around campus. We had 10 locations from the library to IT, satellite room, crops, engineering, tissue culture and farm etc. It was my job to walk around campus with the camera and get photos in each area. You will find these up on Flickr! Unfortunately I did not have my own camera as it got accidentally broken at netball so I was using the ancient campus camera that takes 30 seconds to re-load between pictures!! Anyway some photos are better than none.

My most favourite part of the day is the cultural performances by the various USP students. Again this year they all practiced hard and put on a good show. The netball girls had me sewing their costumes which meant 2 late nights in the sweat shop but they looked so beautiful on the day and got some nice comments so it was well worth it. See the photos of the lovely pink outfits for proof! I will also upload some short clips to YouTube soon.

In the evening we had our first ever staff party in the newly opened Multipurpose Centre which is for staff and students to share. Somehow I ended up organising this too but it wasn't too hard. Got a few sausages and some bread for a sausage sizzle and told everyone to bring their own drinks. Had IT hook up the laptop with some tunes and away we went. I think I managed to entertain with my Samoan Siva on the night and am still living it down!!

Puppies and Taro

Last weekend I discovered Lucky up in my garden sitting in a big hole she had dug with a Taro in her mouth. She got short shift from there I can tell you especially as my lettuces ended up all over the place due to her frantic digging!!!!

Adam thought it was funny but the puppies got a hold of the Taro and started to eat it. Problem is Taro is quite sticky when it comes out of the umu. There was some very peculiar puppy head movements as the Taro got stuck to the roof of their mouths and they couldnt get it off. Managed to convince Adam to stick his fingers in their mouths to give a bit of assistance - only for them to pounce on the Taro again as soon as their mouths were clear and have a repeat performance!

Two more puppies are going tonight :-( They are 13 weeks old now and are my little friends. I will miss them as it has been great having them around and watching them grow. It is getting a bit expensive with the food though and we sure don't want 5 large dogs hanging around so off they go. Will have 1 left after this so 1 more good home to find.

One of the amazing things though is that Lucky now sits when I say SIT. I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence!

The Sheild

Well yes as Adam says it was a pretty exciting and amazing game of netball last week. Mary and I have been kicking ourselves over little mistakes and wondering why we couldn't have made the big upset and won the shield!!! Actually before the game I was pretty sure it was going to be another severe beating so much so that I partook in a "Happy Juice" mixed by the opposition! Maybe that is why I was so relaxed for the whole game? Actually it wasn't until 1/2 time it dawned on me that we had the shield within our reach so I had to quash the nerves and try and keep calm.

Anyway it was not to be but we gave them a pretty good fright. I heard later on SCOPA were out in the clubs with the shield in tow!! I didn't think they should get to celebrate that hard considering they were being beaten by the team coming 4th in the division!! Luckily my spies were out so I managed to get a dedication to Hyundai through the DJ just to remind them how close they came to losing it!!

Weekend Results. Part 3 - Netball

Obviously I didn't play netball this weekend because I was busy running around the island, but Angela's team was challenging SCOPA for the shield.

This was not something that she was looking forward to - they have never beaten SCOPA and the games have never been close. When I arrived they were in the 2nd quarter and I was surprised to see that the score was quite close. Then I got a bigger surprise when I found out that they were actually leading!! The game was very exciting, they were playing well getting lots of turnovers and scoring their goals. At half time they still had the lead (maybe 4 goals?). I don't think they could believe it. Could they do the unthinkable and take the shield off SCOPA?! Unfortunately not. Although they played really well they ended up going down 45-40. It was a really good effort - probably the best game they have played.

As for the men's team - we were playing GM Bakery, the team that took the shield off us. I didn't get to see the game, but apparently we didn't play so well and ended up losing by 10 goals.

There are the usual dramas going on with the netball. The men's association are all squabbling about the way the playoffs have been done. When the draw was first published it showed 7 weeks of round robin games then the top 4 having playoffs over 2 weeks - a semi final then grand final. Apparently now the top 4 will have another mini round robin where they will play each other over 3 weeks. I am not sure what is happening now, I don't know if we have 2 more games or 1 more. At this stage everyone in our team seems to be more interested in the end of season party than the games we have left to play!

The other drama on Saturday involved the game that Angela was umpiring. The poor thing, she gets given all of the tough games. This one was between 2 of the strongest mens teams - SCOPA and Marist. There has been a history of 'trouble' between these teams. One of the Marist players in particular can get a bit worked up and last year was actually banned from the courts for 2 weeks following an incident after his Marist team had been beaten by SCOPA. During the game this week he was sent off by the other umpire. Angela isn't exactly sure what for, but according to the boys he was swearing at the umpire in Samoan. After the game he again got a bit worked up and apparently was threatening to throw a chair at the umpire. So I guess just like last year he will be banned again.

Weekend Results. Part 2 - Relay

The relay run went really well. We all had heaps of fun and were still standing and smiling at the end - and talking about doing it again next year!

The 3.00am wake up to get to the start line for our 4.15 start was a bit of a struggle. My good intentions of going to bed early were derailed when, much to our surprise and un-advertised, the netball came on TV. So it wasn't until 11.oo that I got to bed!

The running was good. My first leg started about 4.45, so I was running in the dark. There are no streetlights out there and it was pitch black. We had our van following the runner most of the time s, but while we were changing runners the runner on course was left alone for a while. It was a bit eerie being out in the middle of nowhere all alone in the dark, but it was nice and cool - good for running.

My second leg started at 7.15, so it was light and much easier to get gear organised etc. It was still nice and cool and along this leg I ran past some of the TV cameras. Saw myself running on the news this morning - it looked like I was having fun!

My third leg was going to be my toughest - mainly uphill and a bit later in the day when it is starting to get hotter. The uphill wasn't too bad, a long gradual hill, and I did get quite hot but we were lucky with the weather. It was overcast all day with a strong breeze, so it was as cool as it could be.

I was pleased to get to my last leg. By this stage I my legs were starting to stiffen up from sitting in the van for so long and I was getting a bit tired, but once I got going I felt OK.

Before much longer it was time to get out of the van again for one last effort - the whole team was allowed to join our final runner for group finish. We all crossed the finish line together flying our NZ flag 9 hours and 50 minutes after we started. We were please with our effort - we had estimated that it would take us about 10 1/2 hours, so we were quicker than that. The organisers had estimated our time at 11 hours 40 minutes.

We had some good battles along the way as we caught up with some of the other teams along the course. With our 30 minute head start we managed to cross the finish line before the Australian team and win the Charity Challenge. This earned $2000 for our charity, the National Children's Orchestra. Overall the Aussie team was a few minutes quicker than us, so claimed the trophy for fastest Diplomatic Team.

At the prize giving it was interesting to mix with the other teams and hear how they had gone throughout the day. There was a real mixture of teams - some that were very social and took 12 hours or more to complete the course and there was one open mens team that was very fast and managed to finish the 102 km in 7 hours 13 minutes. The most remarkable achievement of the was that of Dave Edgar, the fitness trainer for the Samoa Rugby Team - he ran the whole course by himself. I think it took him just over 14 hours, but he was still running when he crossed the finish line.

I will try and get some photos and post them later.

For the record the total course is 63.6 miles or 102.4 km.

The NZ High Commission Team took 9 hours 50 minutes to complete the course

My legs were:

1. 4.83km 26:10
2. 5.09km 27:01
3. 4.83km 26.09
4. 4.51km 25:17

Total 19.18km 104:37

Weekend Results. Part 1 - Road Switch

Well, at 2.00pm Friday we all tuned into our radios to hear the verdict, but in true Samoan style it wasn't until 5.00pm that the announcement was made. No surprises, the PASS case was dismissed so the road switch can still go ahead as planned.

On Monday PASS had a march to protest the decision but it didn't seem to be as big as some of their previous efforts. Surprisingly the government had a meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the possibility of delaying the switch, but in the end they have decided to go ahead as planned.

So, this time next week we will be enjoying our 2 days off and getting used to driving on the other side of the road.

Samoa Perimeter Relay

Aside from the road switch, the other much anticipated event around here is the Samoa Perimeter Relay. Well, tomorrow is the big day. I have just got back from the race briefing with our final instructions, so now we are all set to go.

For those of you that didn’t know, I am part of the NZ High Commission team that is running in the Samoa Perimeter Relay, a relay run of 64 miles (102 km) that goes halfway around the island of Upolu. The route is divided into 23 legs, and we are in teams of 6. I am running 4 legs, a total of 18.7 km.

Training has been ok over the last few weeks, but with netball practices twice a week and a game every Saturday it has been hard to fit in as much running as I would have liked. I am sure I will be ok, too late to do anything about it now!

At the briefing there were a few surprises. First they gave us our start times .There is a staggered start depending on each teams pace. We know we aren’t fast, but we were surprised when we were told we were going to start at 3.30am!! Looks like we are now going to start at 4.15 instead, so I can have an extra 45 minutes sleep in.

Next surprise was that our team has been entered in the Diplomatic Community category, and we will be competing against the Australian High Commission’s team for the trophy in that category. Unfortunately for us the Australian team is stacked full of their Army guys who are all fit and fast, so we might struggle to beat them.

The last surprise is that the 2 High Commission teams will also be competing on behalf of the 2 charities of the event – Samoa Victim Support and the Samoa Youth Orchestra. Based on the fundraising that these charities have done to date some sort of handicap has been calculated to even up our two teams. I couldn't quite understand all of the details, but we will be running for the Samoa Youth Orchestra. It just looks like another good reason for some extra NZ – Australia rivalry.

Time for me to head off and pack my things for tomorrow and try to get some rest. Will post the results sometime next week.

Road Switch

Well, the countdown to the September 7 ‘D-Day’ – the day we change the side of the road that we drive on – continues. On the front page of today’s paper I noticed that we are now down to 9 days to go. So, how is it all going?

Well, first of all it is still not absolutely 100% going to happen (unless of course you are the Prime Minister because he has decreed that it will go ahead). The group that is opposing the switch, PASS (People Against Switching Sides) have finally been allowed to have their objections heard in court. They have been trying for over a year, and previously had been told to go away because they had no case. Now they have successfully argued that the road switch might be contrary to the Samoan Constitution, in particular the Government’s obligation to provide for the safety of the people. Anyway, the case has been heard this week, with all sorts of ‘experts’ giving their views on how the world will come to an end because we have to change the side of the road we drive on. One of these experts, an engineer for NZ, gave evidence saying that changing sides is dangerous and the way to make it safer is to widen all the roads by 1,5m and allow vehicles to overtake on the left, i.e. overtake on the inside - turns out this road expert is a mechanical engineer! The judge is due to deliver his ruling at 2.00pm this afternoon, so we will all be gathered around our radios to hear the news.

Meanwhile, the bus drivers are getting upset because they will have to put doors on the left side of the bus so that they can pick up and drop off their passengers safely. This was identified more than a year ago, but it has only been in the last week or so that anyone has actually started talking about it in more depth. Anyone that has seen the state of most of the buses over here will realize that it is quite possible to simply cut another door behind the drivers seat and put in some steps and away you go. Sure there are costs and it will take a bit of time to do all the buses, but why hasn’t anyone started doing it already? With just over a week to go it sounds like a big ask to put doors in all the buses before September 7. So far I have seen a couple of buses with ‘new’ doors on the left, as well as the existing door on the right, but not many. The bus drivers now want $50,000 tala compensation per bus to convert them. Fair enough, they should get some assistance with these forced changes, but to raise the issue this late seems a bit strange to me. So now they are threatening to keep the buses off the roads until they have their compensation and the new doors have been installed. Fortunately we don’t have to rely on the buses anymore, but a lot of people here do and it will be a major problem for them.

While all of this has been going on the Land Transport Authority has been busy painting the roads, putting up signs, advertising on TV, radio, newspapers etc. It is the first time we have seen a centreline on the roads here, so that is an improvement. They have also been getting ready to paint arrows on the road to remind you which way to drive. For now they are just painting the dash and will add the arrowhead or point at the time of the switch. Unfortunately in some places the locals have taken it upon themselves to paint the arrowhead for them, in some cases on the current side and other cases on the ‘new’ side which of course is very confusing for people driving on the roads now. They have also temporarily lowered the speed limit, from an already slow 25 miles/hour to 20 miles/hour (no metric system for speed here for some reason). To help slow cars down they have instaledl speed humps everywhere. Apparently they will remove them sometime in the future, but we will see if that happens. The traffic lights are also being changed (yes, we do have traffic lights here), but they have been out of action so much recently that no one will notice the difference.

The final instructions have now been issued for the actual moment of the change: At 5.50am on September 7 all drivers are to pull over to the right side of the road and stop. They are to wait there and ‘think about’ the switch. At 6.00am drivers are to move to the left side of the road and stop where they will again sit for 10 minutes and prepare themselves for driving on the left side of the road. At 6.10 everyone starts driving on the left side. Apparently in the Samoa version of the ad the phrasing is a bit ambiguous and could be interpreted to mean that after 10 minutes you change the side you are driving on – every 10 minutes! Hopefully they have got that one cleared up now!!

So, with all of these preparations and the all of the advertising are we ready to change? Probably as ready as we will ever be. At least we get 2 days public holiday to help adjust! I think we will stay off the roads as much as we can for those first few days. Stayed tuned, we wil let you know how it all goes.

Netball - Ups and Downs

Its been a while since we gave an update about netball, so for those of you that are interested here is a quick recap of the results from the last few weeks.

We missed 2 rounds while we were in Australia, but is was business as usual. The Men's team had 2 solid wins over weaker opponents and the Women's A side played the 2 top teams (SCOPA and St. Mary's) and were soundly beaten in both. I think Angela was secretly pleased to have missed those 2 hidings!

The first week we were back the Men's team had another comfortable win and Angela's team also had a win. This was a very rare occasion - all 3 teams in the club managed to win their games.

The following week was a big one for the Men's team -we were challenging Marist for the shield. This shield is a bit like the Ranfurly Shield and it was our chance to take on the current holders. We were keen to win and everyone was fired up before the game. It was a tough game and there was a big crowd cheering on each side so it was getting very noisy. We played well, probably well enough to win by 10 or more goals, but in the end we had to score a goal in the last moments to secure a 1 point win! Our attackers seemed to struggle to get the goals in, but us at the defence end kept us in the game. Still, must give some credit to our GA, Lavi, who very coolly slotted the goal to break the deadlock with just a few seconds to go. Very exciting for the crowd to watch, but extremely nerve wracking for us players!

Angela' s team won again that week, which I think is the first time they have won two games in a row (but she doesn't like me to mention that!). Of course the club had to celebrate and the shield found a new home at Ray and Mary's house. That weekend was also a long weekend, so as well as the Saturday night party there was also a BBQ on Monday afternoon, with the shield as guest of honor. I think the party lasted well into the night for some.

After winning the shield that meant that the next week we had to defend it against GM Bakery. They are one of the better sides in our competition and have a well earned reputation for being a rough team. We were quite disappointed to find out that our game, which we considered to be one of the key games that week, had been scheduled on court 2. Court 2 doesn't have a scoreboard or clock, so you can't tell who is winning or how much longer there is to play, and one of the goal rings is broken! For whatever reason (some people still hungover from all the celebrating?!) we started off slowly and were behind by 8 after the first quarter. We improved as the game went on and got to within a couple of goals at one stage, but we couldn't quite catch up. Again the goals just weren't going in, so after only 1 week we had to hand the shield over. Angela's team also lost, so there wasn't much celebrating that week.

Yesterday Angela's team played St Mary's again, and this time instead of a 60 goal thrashing their team played really well and stayed in the game. After being quite even over the first 2 quarters St. Mary's finally got in front and ended up winning the game by 10 goals. But it was a much better performance and it is the closest that they have ever been to one of the top 2 sides.

For the Men's team it was our last round-robin game before playoffs start next week. We had no shield to play for and had already made the top 4 so the result wasn't critical, but we were playing SCOPA. They are the only unbeaten team this season and were the only team that beat us last year so we were quite keen to knock them off and maybe claim top spot going into the playoffs. Again we had been put on court 2 and weren't happy about it. Not only had they still not repaired the broken ring, but the ring at the other end of the court is now bent too and the net is only just hanging on. The first quarter ended in confusion when the timekeeper brought the quarter to an end after 10 minutes (instead of 15). When several of the players asked what was happening the umpires realised that there had been a mistake so we had to go back on court and play the remaining 5 minutes! It was a pretty close game all the way, we were down by 2 after the first quarter, up by 2 at halftime and up by 5 after 3 quarters. But the last quarter didn't go our way. First, there was another mistake with the time keeping, apparently they hadn't stated the clock, or something. By the time they had realised we had already scored 2 goals to SCOPA's none and had possession, but the umpires for some strange reason decide to give 1 point to each team then restart the quarter with SCOPA in possession. No one can understand how they thought that was fair. Then we only played 10 minutes after the restart, no one can explain how they figured that one out either. Anyway, between all the confusion we let SCOPA catch up with us, again the goals just weren't going in, and at the final whistle apparently they won by 1 goal. I am still not convinced that timekeepers and scorekeepers got it right, but I guess they won't change the result now. So, we didn't manage to get our first win over SCOPA, but maybe we will get a chance for revenge in the playoffs.

Magic Circus of Samoa

It was with great anticipation we waited under the big top for the show to begin. Not often you get to go to this type of entertainment in Samoa. Like when other things are available I think everyone turns up with their kids which is great for supporting Samoan talent.

Anyway I resisted getting a blow up toy (!!!) A nemo, rabbit, snake, spiderman or batman (jeeze you people!) There was no icecreams just popcorn and candy floss so avoided that too. We took our seats on the wooden benches and waited for the show to start.

It was pretty good actually. Quite funny. Had a good laugh. My favourite act was the dwarf conducting the bell orchestra. So hilarious. We also saw acrobats, trapeze, clowns, motorbikes riding in the globe of death, balancing, Samoan Siva, unicycles and contortionists. I have to say though that I also saw the most disgusting act ever. The vomiting woman aka Human Fountain. An Indian woman dressed beautifully in her sari who proceeded to swallow jugs of water at a time then regurgitate it as the human fountain. It made me want to gag! She also swallowed 4 goldfish whole and spat them back out into a jug - they were still swimming and mixed up a green cocktail and I won't even go into detail there.

So there you go a great night's entertainment in Apia. Harry Potter at the movies this weekend!

Little Lincoln

Just wanted to give you a quick update on our trip to Australia - Brisbane recently. We had a week with Raymond and Lisa and the new addition Lincoln. The time went so fast. Far too fast actually. Baby was really good. Started to sleep through the night just before we got there so perfect timing. He is quite a good shopper as long as milk and clean nappies are still at hand. Smiles and laughs away at you all the time which I thought was pretty impressive for a 7 week old. I'm not biased of course! Photos of us are on Flickr so check them out. Lincoln is like a chip off the old (my brother) block and raised much attention when out and about with his Dad.

We also got to catch up with some family and meet some we hadn't met before plus a couple of friends and their kids. Adam was warming to the baby thing by the end of the week especially when he got put in charge as the rest of us were busy cleaning and baking for imminent arriving visitors! Did a pretty good job actually.

So did the feeding, nappies, playing, nursing and putting to bed thing. It was great. Also ate strawberries every day and marvelled at the amount of food choices availalbe in the food courts! Maybe we've been in Samoa too long?????????????

The case of the missing jandal.....

Talofa everyone. Yes we are still here alive and kicking!

The other morning Adam got up and ready for work when he discovered he might have to hop!! Yes 1 jandall had gone mysteriously missing from outside the door. He hunted high and low, around the property and up the road to no avail.

The jandal was however spotted by more trained eyes up by the shipping container. A puppy must have been the culprit! Jandal is now restored to it's rightful owner albeit a bit slobbered on and chewed.

Have a great weekend everyone. It's Father's Day here this weekend so we get Monday off. Off to Netball tomorrow and partying Saturday night in celebration of USP Business House netball team's 3rd place. The $50 tala on the bar won't go far! Hope those students behave ....

Netball Season

After the odd false start and the inevitable delay the new netball season has finally started. Things are very much the same as last year - the Men's team stated with a convincing win over the NZ Immigration Services team (45-15) and the Ladies A-Grade side had a loss to Viavase.

And like last year Saturday's main event wasn't necessarily the netball, but the after match drinks and BBQ. Although this year things might be a bit different in that area because a lot of the new players in the Ladies teams are under 21 and don't drink!

The club has new uniforms this year, so at least we all looked good on court!

Puppy Update

The puppies are now 5 weeks old. They are venturing out from under the shipping container now and even making a squeaky racket in the middle of the night to let us all know they are there! It has been interesting watching them grow from the rat like stage when they were first born with closed eyes, to the wobbly legged blue eyes open, to the strong playful puppies they are now. They crouch and pounce and bite and chew everything including each others tails and ears, with much protest from the bitee!! There are seven, 5 black ones that look like Lucky but with various patterns of brown and white, a golden one that looks a bit like Old Man and a grayish one.

Still have not figured out how many boys and girls as so far I’m having to look from outside the fence. Some Chinese people who run the Coin Save (aka $2 shop) that has just opened downtown are living in the house and so I haven’t ventured inside the gate onto their property. I have found homes for them all. Thing is that when I visited today there were only 5 so maybe some have been given away already?

Adam and I are off to visit Raymond, Lisa and Lincoln (new Nephew!!) in Brisbane at the end of the week so will see what the status is with puppies when we get back and re-home some then if necessary. Will also get the Samoa Animal Protection Society around again to perform the spaying of Lucky.

Old Man got the chop about 5 weeks ago and has recovered from his ordeal well after having a few nasty looking wounds probably from lying down in mucky places and dragging his tummy along the ground. I was on dog bollocks watch for a few days to make sure they did not get too infected. Lovely job that!!

I think Lucky will be more of a handful when it comes to muzzling and injecting her etc. APS basically back up the truck, unload a portable operating table, inject the sleepy drug then a painkiller, antibiotic and anesthetic then get to work on the dog. I couldn’t look at the surgery as it was making me feel queasy! Anyway we don’t want any more puppies and I think after 2 litters in the last year she might like to enjoy a life free of motherhood!! Maybe the APS can check on any puppies left when they come but I think they are looking pretty healthy. We are still feeding Lucky and Old Man daily which I hope is helping. Lucky is so very bony and skinny now and it doesn’t seem to matter how much food she gets she is still bony and skinny! The puppies must be taking it all from her just now. It has been an interesting daily jaunt up the street to visit the puppies since they have been born and I’ll miss them when they go but we can’t be feeding 7 new mouths on the street so good homes are what is required!

Library Week Samoa 2009

Whoo wee (or Choo Hoo as the Samoan’s say)! Have just got to the end of one massive week that was Library Week in Samoa – well in Upolu anyway. We are off to Savaii at the start of August to do it all again! This is the first Library Week Samoa has had for 21 years!!!!! I could say it’s taken the executive 21 years to recover from the last one and that would be pretty close to the truth!No seriously it was a massively successful week just a whole lot of work for the 8 of us on the Executive Committee.

Samoa Library Association Executive Committee

It all began with a Library Week opening Parade through the centre of Apia on Monday 6^th July. The parade went from Aggie Grey’s along Beach Road to the Nelson Memorial Public Library. We were at first worried that no one would come and join us and that we would be walking up the street on our own but at the last minute found out that Robert Louis Stevenson school was planning to bring all 300 of their students and with a couple of other schools we knew about, including Amoa College from Savaii, we were suddenly expecting around 500-600 kids!! How to keep them all entertained and amused after the parade was the main worry. Luckily for us it so happened the US Navy ship was in the harbour and we had been asked if the US Navy band could join us in the parade and if some of the US Navy boys could come along and read. This was the perfect solution to our 500 or so kids and much appreciated assistance.

So anyway the parade began at 9.30am and was led by the US Navy and Samoa Police bands. The Library Association of Samoa followed next with their freshly painted banner (thanks to one of the Executive’s brother who did a fabulous job) and dressed in their uniform/puletasi/shirts. Walking along we sure did attract a bit of attention with people and tourists on the side of the road waving and taking photos. The TV cameras were also following. Looking behind it was great to see a huge trail of people following us in a big worm like movement. The children had been invited to dress up as their favourite book character so there were many inventive costumes including ghouls, ghosts, witches, Cindrella, Harry Potter, surgeons, army people etc.

At the Public Library we divided the kids and adults. Kids outside with iceblocks and packets of chips and adults inside for the speeches. The Reverend Lotu Uele blessed our ceremony and gave the opening prayer. We then had the Deputy Prime Minister the Honorable Misa Telefoni Retzlaff as the key note speaker. Our Patron Her Highness ????? said a few words and cut the ribbon to open Library Week. It was a very appropriate ceremony followed by lovely refreshments.

Throughout the week there were Movie nights at NUS and USP libraries, storytime at the Public Library in English and Samoan and Short Story/Poetry writing competition. There was much coverage of events in the Samoa Observer News Paper, Newsline and on Television 1 and 3. The President Avalogo Togi Tunupopo and myself were interviewed for Television 3 which was a nerve wracking experience. As was pointed out to me by friends my nervous wiggly foot twitching thing carried on throughout the whole interview but it was a great experience. First time I’ve been in a TV studio.

Prizes for the competitions were awarded at the end of week High Tea at Plantation House where a small select few people were invited to attend. The events were set up in the little fale with comfortable chairs, music, presentations, prizes and guest speaker Robin Yeager from the US Embassy who spoke on the importance of reading and literature and entertained the crowd with a children’s story telling. The evening ended with a glass of champagne to celebrate and lovely finger food by Marita who is a great cook!

Exhausting but fantastic. This time the Executive does not want to wait 21 years to remind the Samoan public how important literacy and reading is to life long learning and knowledge. In order to do this though the Association needs support in the way of book donations and funding. Membership fees are kept very low so that librarians and interested people around Samoa can afford to join so as a not-for-profit organization it is important for the Executive to identify sources of funding and support. If anyone out there is willing to help this important cause then please contact me!