Beautiful Frangipanis from the experimental gardner!

18kg of Rice and a Bag

So what do you do when you win an 18kg bag of rice in a raffle and it would take 2 of you until next Christmas to eat it all??? Split it up and give it away of course then give the bag to the dog to play with!! Loving the cooking instructions on the bag especially the bit about foreign smells!!

Clea salavert . . . In memorandum

Had been out with friends celebrating the 100% all kiwi samoan influenced achievement but still managed to get up today at 6am ready to head to lalomanu with the library association of samoa. 25ish samoan librarians today helped set up the clea salavert memorial library which has been built by her family at lalomanu primary school in memory of a young australian avid reader who sadly lost her life in the tsunami while in samoa on holiday. We unboxed books sent by cleas school in australia, labelled, shelved and made pockets, cards and date dues for them. Yes it is a manual library as there is no computer or internet there yet. A terrific amount of work got done over a period of 6 hours but there is still plenty more to do. I spent a bit of time trying to crash course train someone to be a librarian and teach them in the space of a few hours what has taken me years to learn! Struggled a bit with the samoan lunch provided as i still have not got used to umu food and the taro sat heavy in my stomach. Thanks to those for preparing the meal however. No time for a swim unfortunately but checked out the tsunami rebuilding. Taufua is looking great and restored to former glory. Cant quite say the same for the neighbours who have built a great concrete monstrosity on the beach that ruins the landscape and loses the whole purpose of a samoan fale holiday. There are still remainders of destroyed buildings strewing the coastline and the place has turned into a ghost town now all the families are living inland but the vegetation is returning. I was hoping i could stick my head in the sand and avoid the 29th anniversary but that is pretty unrealistic especially as we will be remembering our dear friend peter from netball. The clea salavert library opens on the 5th october and i am looking forward to meeting her family though expect it will be a painful time for them. Photos of this event can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryassociationofsamoa/sets/72157624929943355/

I DID IT!! White skirt brigade here I come!!

Apia Town Clock

Speaking of time-related matters, the Samoa Observer reported yesterday that the town clock is going to be repaired.

For those of you that know Apia, this is the clock that is only right twice a day. It hasn't worked for 10 years or so, but it is now being repaired to coincide with the start of daylight saving.

Apparently the clock also has some impressive bells that will ring again once the repairs are complete.

Daylight Saving

Daylight Saving is coming to Samoa!

I don't know if this is a good thing, but like it or not next weekend (Sept 25) we will be putting our clocks forward for the first time ever.

Since we have been here we have experienced a few major changes, particularly the road switch and now we have this to look forward to. I am not 100% sure why they want to do this one - I have seen some wacky claims that this is going to "...improve Samoa's health system." (Samoa Observer 24/9/10). One of the ideas is that this is going to give people and extra hour in the evenings to exercise, but somehow I don't think it will make a difference. For me personally it will be an inconvenience because I like to run after work just as the sun is going down, now I will have to wait and hour longer (or work and hour longer?!).

The other argument is that it will reduce power consumption because we won't have to turn our lights on so early in the evenings, but for me it will mean I will now have to turn the lights on in the morning while I have my breakfast!

I wonder how many people will turn up late for work on the following Monday?!

Winter in Samoa

This last week has been the coldest since we have been here and we have been getting some really heavy rain too. Angela took this photo of the rain at work the other day.

On Wednesday morning it was only 21 degrees when we were going to work and it has been so cold that we have had to put the duvet on the bed! Well, just the duvet cover actually, but this is the first time that we have done this in more than 2 years here. Maybe we are getting acclimatised!!

I know I shouldn't complain about the weather here - we have been watching the news from NZ and can see that you guys are having to put up with some really rough weather too right now. At least we haven't had any snow here!

Teuila Festival

Last week was Teuila Festival over here. During the week they have a number of cultural performances, the fautasi boat race and other events. This year one of the events was a fashion show that was put on by the big fashion label here - Mena. Angela went along to the show (I stayed home and wacthed the rugby on TV!) and here are some of her photos.

The first picture is Miss Samoa 2009/10. The models in the next few pictures play in Angela's netball team.

The other highlight of Teuila Festival is the Miss Samoa Pageant. I didn't get to stay home watching rugby this time - I did promise Angela that I would go along with her. They have a habit of making these things go on forever, but this year there were only 6 contestants so I was hopeful that it would all be over quickly. Actually, they put on a good show this year and I don't think I complained too much! It still took 4 hours though, but I did get home in time to see the All Blacks beat the Wallabies. For the record, the winner was Jolivette Ete with Miss Samoa New Zealand the runner up. Jolivette was also a model at the fashion show Angela attended earlier in the week (that's her in the picture above).

Kitchen Experiments - Part 2

Still inspired from the weekends efforts I decided to add a bit of pacific flavour to last nights dinner.

Instead of our usual BBQ fish, I decided to cook our fish wrapped up in banana leaves with coconut cream, lemon and tomato - the tomatoes were homegrown too. I still had some coconut cream left from Sunday, but needed to get some banana leaves. No worries there - there are some young banana plants growing next door, within reach of the fence. So, armed with my machete I reached over the fence and harvested a couple of leaves. I only ended up with one scratch from the barbed wire!!

I used the banana leaves instead of tin foil to wrap up the fish, coconut, lemon and tomato parcels. All you need to do is peel the thick rib off the back of the leaf then heat it quickly over a fire (or the element on the stove) to soften the leaf and it is ready to use. This is a much more environmentally friendly version of tin foil and it gives a great flavour to the food.

Kitchen Experiments - Part 1

Last week during the Teuila Festival a new pacific cookbook was launched – Me’a Kai by Robert Oliver. It is a really nice looking book, full of great photos and pacific style recipes, so we decided to get a copy. Inspired by looking at the colourful photos I stopped in at the market on my way home from my Sunday morning run and stocked up on pawpaw, breadfruit, coconuts etc. While Angela was diligently studying for her netball exam later in the day I started experimenting in the kitchen – with mixed success!!

First up I decided to make a warm coconut breakfast drink. There is a Samoa version that I enjoy (Vaisalo), but have never made – you can just by it from the market or roadside stalls. There was a Tongan variation of the recipe in the book, so I decide to have a go. It involves using the juice and soft flesh from green coconuts and boiling this up with a bit of lemongrass and vanilla to make a thick, warm coconut drink. I couldn’t get hold of any lemongrass, so threw in a wedge of lemon instead. It turned out really yummy, but I seriously underestimated how much juice I was going to get out of the coconuts and ended up making a huge stockpot full of this drink, only to realise that Angela doesn’t really like hot coconut drinks!! I drunk several mug fulls over the day, but still had a pot full left!

Next I made some breadfruit dumplings with coconut caramel sauce. These were relatively easy to make, after I had grated the coconuts to make the coconut cream. But again this was not a hit with Ang. She doesn’t enjoy the stodgy starchy foods – the only way she likes breadfruit is when I make breadfruit chips! So, I decided not to make anymore breadfruit dumplings and used the rest of my mashed breadfruit to make a breadfruit loaf. This was much more successful – we both enjoyed this one!

By this stage Angela was wanting to prepare for her exam and I had made a total mess of the kitchen, so it was time for a break!

After lunch (boring sandwiches) I went back to the kitchen. I still had some grated coconut, coconut cream and lemon to use up and found a recipe for Coconut Lemon Cream Pie. This sounded good – a pie with a coconut layer, a lemon cream layer and topped off with meringue! While Ang was sitting her exam I had a go at this pie. The crust was no problem and the coconut filling came up good, but when I got to the lemon cream filling I found that I had no condensed milk! No panic – now that I can get internet access on my phone it was just a quick trip to Google and I found a recipe for a condensed milk substitute! This seemed to come out alright and after a bit of fun separating the eggs the lemon cream layer was done. I was running out of patience by the time I got to the meringue, so it wasn’t the lightest, fluffiest meringue ever but it was getting late and I wanted to get the pie in the oven! Well, as the say ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’ and this one definitely passed the test!!

By this stage the major drawback of my day experimenting in the kitchen became obvious - a mountain of dishes and no dishwasher!!

Samoa Perimeter Relay

While Angela was away in New Zealand the second Samoa Perimeter Relay was held. This is the same event I participated in last year as part of the New Zealand High Commission Team. We all had a good time last year and vowed to do it again this year, but since then 3 out of our team of 6 have returned to New Zealand including Caroline, the High Commissioner and our team captain. Her replacement isn’t a keen runner, so not only were we looking for 3 new runners, but we also needed a sponsor!

This year Darryl took charge and pledged the support of National Pacific Insurance so our team, the NPI Flyers, was created. Joining Darryl, Jenny and me form last year were Paul (Jenny’s husband), Slava (the new volunteer vet at APS, all the way from Russia) and Saxon (at 18 years old he was the ‘fresh legs’ of the team).

The NPI Flyers (l-r Darryl, Slava, Adam, Saxon, Jenny, Paul)

The organisers made a few minor changes after last year, but basically the event was the same – teams of 6 running 104 km around the coast of Upolu, starting a Sinalei and finishing in Apia. The route was divided into 24 legs that ranged from about 3km to just over 5km – so each runner had to run 4 legs an a total distance of about 17.5km.

This year we started 5.15am, an hour later than last year but my hopes of a better night’s sleep were dashed because I had to take Angela to the airport at 1.00am! We got to the start line OK, all decked out in our NPI hats and ready to run. Paul was our first runner and set a cracking pace that was keep up by Saxon, then it was my turn. The first leg is always the easiest, it is the coolest part of the day and you are still fresh. I had a good run, starting just before the sun came up and finishing as the sun rose.

By the time we got to my second leg the sun was up and we realised it was going to be a hot day. There was a bit of light rain around, but we always seemed to miss it! My run was along a flat part of the coast that had been hit by the tsunami last year. The buildings to my left in the photo above were damaged by the tsunami and have now been abandoned. I hadn’t been back to some of these areas since the tsunami and it was a little strange to be running through these places. Closer to Lalomanu a lot of the tourist accommodation has been re-built, but a lot of the villages have been abandoned with new settlements having been established further inland.

By the time we got to our last rotation it was the middle of the day and really hot, with no wind or shade. We all found it hard going but pushed on, keen to get to the finish. Later in the day we heard that some of the other teams had runners that couldn’t complete their legs, meaning that one of their other runners had to pick up the extra distance. I am glad this didn’t happen to us because I know I wasn’t keen to run any further than I had to by the end of the day!!

We got to the finish line just after 2.00pm in a time of 8 hours and 54 minutes – this was almost an hour quicker than last year and good enough for 3rd place!

Cracking and creaking in samoa

So dr rachel is currently visiting samoa and she comes highly recommended as a chiropractor by both adam and ray so i thought it was time i went to see if anyone could relieve the pain in my neck! Too much computer and mouse use and all that. After a consultation punctuated with many ohhhs, wows and ahs over the state of my spine and her ability to find every sore spot along it i was most impressed when an "adjustment" had instant effect. Since then there have been more cracks and creaks and slowly we are working through all areas. This is the first time i have been to a chiropractor and have to say it has been a positive experience and i now feel like i can move even if some days have been like a decrepit old woman while the body gets used to where it should be! Thank you dr rachel please visit samoa again soon!

Frangipani Flowering

The Frangipani that I planted from a cutting about a year ago has sprung in to flower while I've been in NZ.

UNISS – Upper North Island Secondary Schools Netball Tournament

Oceania Umpires from Left - Raijieli (Fiji), Jona (Fiji), Angela (Samoa), Mela (Fiji) and Punanga (Cook Islands)

I’ve just returned from the UNISS tournament which was in Glen Innes this year at the Auckland Netball Centre. The centre was built about 4 years ago and the area is still being developed around it. It is a fantastic facility. Over 20 purpose built courts and 2 indoor courts that can also accommodate indoor netball and soccer etc. The building has space for a cafeteria, physio room, control room and umpires facilities. I was invited as one of 6 Oceania Umpires to this tournament so there were 3 from Fiji, 2 from the Cook Islands and me and we were part of the 100 strong Umpiring team there.

The weather was changeable. Sometimes bright and sunny and other times raining with a fierce cold wind! The netball was fast and clean compared to what I’m used to and the girls have great skills. They were all as tall as trees and very competitive, I’m sure it wasn’t like that in my day!! For the first 3 days I ran up and down frantically trying to follow the protocols and keep up with the game but on the 4th day I received some mentoring from one of NZ’s top umpires and had a couple of “ah ha” moments where things dropped into place. By the last day of the tournament I think I had nailed positioning and anticipating/reading the game so as to be one step ahead. I started to see how it was meant to be and discovered umpiring is completely different to playing the game. I observed some of the top umpires in action and learnt a heck of a lot in a short space of time.

I was super impressed with the way the game was controlled during the tournament. All the umpires from A to C grade followed the protocols and knew the rules equally as well. I found that the 2 of you on a game really did need to work as a team and control things together from before match checks to starting the game, injury breaks, advancing penalties and warning players. One thing I did notice is that the umpires don’t tolerate any nonsense from the players or the spectators and think nothing of awarding a penalty to the opposing team if grief is given. This is something we could do a lot more stringently in Samoa. I did have an incident on my first day with a player being “punched” in the back of the head and ending up in hospital with concussion and I didn’t even see a thing!! Now how can that be possible???

I learnt about “doing hot and colds”!! Basically this is standing in a plastic rubbish bin up to your thighs in icy water for at least 30 seconds. I braved this a couple of times and yes could feel the difference to the aching muscles however it was more like torture than fun as I was sure my legs were going to drop off. I wonder who discovered that this was a good idea for tired muscles??

Now it’s back to Samoa to practice my new found skills and work towards my NZ Badge starting with the NZ theory on the 13th September. Fingers crossed to pass that exam.