Canada

A few weeks ago I got the sad news that my Nani (Grandmother) in Canada had passed away. Mum was going to travel to Vancouver for the funeral and I decided to join her. This meant some hasty arrangements to get me from Samoa to Vancouver in time and some dramas with my passport and visa here in Samoa, but everything fell into place and I left Angela behind to look after the dogs while I set off for Auckland, then LA and onto Vancouver.

Although it was a sad occasion, it was also a rare gathering of the family, and a reminder for me of just how big the family is! I got to see all my uncles, aunts, cousins and of course Nana (my Grandfather) many of them I hadn't seen for almost 20 years. It was really good to see Nana, he is still so strong and alert and he kept us entertained with lots of stories from his days back in Fiji. I also enjoyed catching up with my cousins. Even though we don't get to see each other very often it is always great fun to hang out with them, as if we see each other all the time.

The funeral preparations, rituals etc were all new to me as this was the first time that I had ever been part of a Hindu funeral. Although it was a tough time I am glad that I was able to be there to share that time with Mum and the rest of the family and I was pleased that I was able to say a few words about how special Nani was to Anita and I.

The funeral also coincided with the Stanley Cup (ice hockey) finals and the local team, the Canacks, were in the finals for the first time for many years. The day I flew out was the first game of the best of 7 game final, so I was fitted out with Canacks cap and shirt before heading to the airport. Everyone at the airport was glued to the tv screens until the game finished, a last minute goal sealing a dramatic 1-0 win for the Canacks. Fortunately I was well away from the city a couple of weeks later when the Canacks lost the deciding 7th game and the city reacted by rioting!

Samoan 49th Independence Day Run

A couple of weeks ago Adam and I took part in the Samoan Independence annual Marathon /Half Marathon/10 km run. We have been training for this since the start of the year on and off, Adam more seriously than I. We rose at 5 am (yes this is true, even I!!) and headed to the start line in the pitch black of darkness. Bumped into a few other people we knew including some netballers who were running for Rotaract and a few touch rugby players. It was a cool day with a few clouds about which was a good thing and we hoped the torrential rain of the night before would hold off. At 6.30am on the dot the race began. I had to laugh at the two girls who got about 500 metres down the road and then discussed how much they didn't really like running and whether they should stop and walk!! 10km is a long way, made even longer if you feel this way.

The route started near the wharf and followed the main road up past Apia Park and around the coast line to the Head of State's residence and then back. Adam’s goal was to run it in under 55 minutes which he managed to achieve with 51:37 time and about a 5^th place which was only seconds behind the 3^rd and 4^th place getters. Not too bad considering he had only just got back from Canada and hadn't run for more than a week. My goal was to plod the whole way and not stop to walk. I did manage to achieve this and slowly passed many of the other girls along the way. At the turn around I had noticed I was coming about the 4^th girl and surprise, surprise I passed number 3 within a kilometre of the finish line as she seemed to slow down her pace a lot. So I made it home in 3^rd place and won us a voucher to our favourite Italian restaurant – Giordanos!! Yippee. Have to say this is the first and probably the last running award I will win in my lifetime. It’s taken 40 years and it seems that if you want to get a place it’s a good idea to pick the right race to run in!!!

We hung around after this as knew Adam’s friend Slava from Russia was running in the marathon. Low and behold he blitzed the field and came in first, in 3 ½ hours looking fresh as a daisy and as if he could go further!!! Good one Slava very well done. Slava works for the Animal Protection Society in Samoa and it’s good to see him back in the country. After the race and the prize giving we found him jogging home which admittedly was not far, to Aggie Greys, however is the guy mad?!!!!

Homeless Old Man

Our dog, Old Man, has recently taken to sleeping in a card board box and if that is a little uncomfortable he likes to re-arrange it to suit. Never mind the mess that ends up all over the car port!!

Unfortunately he also recently got a bite to the bum and had to be taken to the vet to have it drained. This turned into a 2 person job – one person trying to keep the dog in the back of the car while the other drove. We partly succeeded. Old Man ended up sitting on Adam’s knee on the back seat after climbing over the seats with car in motion! The vet trip was also a little traumatic for all involved what with getting anaesthetics into the dog and draining the abscess then waiting for him to come back around with is tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Pleased to report however he’s back to his bouncing self and shaved butt is looking much healthier!!

A Date Change for Samoa?

Not only is the side of the road we drive on changed, a change in date and shifting of the international date line is also now in consideration! There is some debate going on about this with regards to tourism and other benefits however personally I think this will be a good thing. Samoa does much of it’s dealing with New Zealand, Australia and for us at USP, Fiji, all of which are a day ahead meaning we are operating when it’s their weekend and vice versa. To me it will be a whole lot simpler and far better to be on the same day as family, friends and colleagues. I still can’t promise to get birthday wishes out on time however and oh dear I won’t have that excuse any more after December when the date change is meant to come into being! So will this mean I lose a day of my life????

Library Association of Samoa AGM 2011

You are looking at the new Vice President of the Library Association of Samoa!

Mt Vaea and the Tomb of Robert Louis Stevenson

We recently took a walk to the top of Mt Vaea in Vailima which is near the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. Even though the walk sounds hard is not too taxing! It took about an hour and 15 minutes to complete the 3km walk to the top. There are two tracks known as the long and the short! We took the longer and less steep track up and the shorter, steeper track involving steps back down.

At the top you can visit Robert Louis Stevenson who was ceremoniously buried here, as a mark of respect, by the local people after his death in 1894. As is customary and accepted in Samoa you can climb onto his grave and sit while you think about the great literary work he produced. From the top you can also see down to the township of Apia and spot other landmarks such as SPREP and the US Embassy.

Savaii, Sunsets, Snorkelling and a Spa

The 3^rd set of visitors in as many months arrived in April for the celebrating of another birthday. A T-shirt gifted to Adam in January again came in handy and summed up just how I felt about it all, however with the help of the parents and the lovely resort Le Lagoto we were staying in on the big island of Savaii the day turned out great. Well not too much can be wrong with starting the day with presents (and Happy Birthday sung in Samoan), swimming with turtles and finishing with a large chocolate cake and icecream?!

The holiday itself incorporated many nights of fantastic sunsets, many happy hours, a lot of swimming and snorkelling, a little bit of running (but it was a bit hot and far too much effort for this really J), a fair bit of reading and relaxing, far too much good food and a handstand that was perfected in the water (by one of the over 60’s!!)

We also discovered another great location in Savaii, the Satuiatua beach fales. We were well looked after and extremely well fed here and enjoyed some days of relaxing in our beach fales. This is also the location of the best ever snorkelling to be found in Samoa. As the area is a protected marine reserve the coral and fish are amazing. No where else have I managed to get 13-15 Moorish Idols in one photo. The coral is also very close to the shore so if you are not a confident snorkeller you can stand on the edge and still see some great fish life.

In addition the BIG 40 was brought on in by friends and a few drinks at YNot where I bumped into Dev who first contacted me via this blog back in 2009 before coming to Samoa and who I seem to see in all manner of drinking spots around town. Nice to know Dev and what a small world we now live in brought closer by technology!

I was also treated to a very nice afternoon in a day spa for a manicure and pedicure with a friend. Many thanks to all for making it so special!!

Stages of a Coconut

Over here we sometimes get a bit 'nutty' about our coconuts. Here are few photos that show the development of a coconut.

Flowers

Nuts Form

Coconuts Grow

A Samoan Wedding and another Tsunami Evacuation

In March we were pleased to receive our second visitors for the year not only for a holiday but also for their wedding! We really enjoyed showing friends from Palmerston North around Upolu starting with a swim at the Piula Cave pools on the north coast and moving on to Lalomanu beach were we stayed for the first time since the tsunami. At the Taufua Beach Fales we enjoyed a great Fia Fia night put on by their staff. It was a bit freaky hearing the waves break during the night from our fale on the sand however Taufua has recovered well and now has an escape route up the hill in case another evacuation is necessary. We stopped again at the Togitogiga waterfalls which were looking a lot more normal than the previous raging torrent so managed to have a very refreshing swim in the cool fresh water. We also stopped at the To Sua ocean trenches and admired their garden (several flower photos and plenty of ribbings later!!) as well as the blow holes.

It was an eventful wedding eve night at Samoana as this coincided with the massive earthquake in Japan which triggered a tsunami warning in Samoa. A knock on the door at 11.00pm warned us we might be evacuating which was something we didn’t need to be told twice. With hearts thumping and a bit more time to hand than in 2009 we bundled everything including bedspreads and pillows into the car and made our way inland and uphill to where the guests were allowed to stay the night in the church fale. This was our first experience of the concrete fale floor and I somehow managed a little sleep on a mat woven from coconut leaves with the bedspread keeping away the mosquito’s which were still buzzing around my head. For our friends however this was a bit much and they took refuge in the car!!

We were able to carry on to the wedding destination the next day, Le Vasa resort, having survived our tsunami evacuation experience and coming to no harm. Well what is a wedding without a little drama?!! Here we were greeted by friendly staff who were ready and waiting to set up the wedding arch where requested and who got busy with decorating things in flowers, weaving fronds around the coconut palms, making the bouquet and a cake. With the “wedding aisle” of palm trees selected we were ready for the day to dawn.

And dawn it did in beautiful sun shine. This was however to be short lived as the clouds rolled in and tropical rain began to fall. Despite this however we managed a break in the clouds and got through the ceremony before dashing inside for a drink and out again for some photos. The ceremony included a Samoan Warrior and traditional songs from the local resort staff. It all turned out beautifully well in the end and it was so fantastic to see our friends very happy with the day they have waited many years for. Congratulations Mr & Mrs!

Nicola Leaves USP

Sadly my good friend Nicola, our Accountant, has now moved on from USP and the place is just not the same without her. However, she is still “on the rock” and now working for Aliki’s so is not too far away. We couldn't let her go without a bit of a bash so it was to the local Thirsty Gecko’s we went!

USP Alafua Library Renovations

With one week to go until the start of semester 1, funding was approved to undergo renovations of the library at Alafua so we flew into action and got the builders, electricians and IT team on the job. At times like this it pays to have someone in the know and many thanks to Adam for his planning and demolishing skills and knowledge of engaging contractors. He even turned his hand to Auto CAD and produced some professional looking plans of the library and what needed to happen! Most impressive. He could not wait to get out the crow bar and sledge hammer and see what damage could be done to a partition wall that needed to come out however I drew the line at being the one to stand there and catch it as it fell. Fortunately for us the on campus Student Welfare Officer offered his hand and muscles for this job.

After creating a huge big mess of demolition and sawdust the walls and existing computer bank and library counter were removed and the builder began constructing new furniture from old. The results were fantastic and we managed to have the library ready for the new University year. The students have taken to the new layout and facilities as if they were always there and are using the computer bank (new computers to follow), DVD watching area, quiet study carrels and group study areas as intended. We have added a library catalogue computer which has been adopted without the need for training and a wireless router giving the students a better connection to the internet. More power points are also providing for students who wish to use their own laptops.

Garden Update

We have a guava tree in our back yard and despite being chopped back a couple of times by the people doing the garden it is still trying to bear fruit. We recently managed a bowl of tropical fruit with produce from the backyard and a little help from the market. See below for the guava (pink), abiu (white), papaya (orange) and vi (yellow). Very delicious.

We also have corn growing which looks fab but despite much TLC and plenty of watering is still producing cobs that are a bit shrivelled and dry. Hmmmmm need a bit more investigation into why, or does all Samoan corn come out like this?

Bird Brains

We have been having a few problems recently with birds of the feathered variety. Not only do they dare to come into our section they also dare to nest in our roof. Yes baby pigeons are chirping away up there as we speak!!

These birds however underestimate the laziness of our Samoan dogs who can spring to life in an instant. One day a mother chicken with her chicks in tow dared to come in the gate. Before we knew it there was much squawking from outside and a flapping of feathers. This resulted in us flying out of the house and me running around the backyard yelling at the dogs like a fish wife. Not sure the neighbours have even seen a palagi fish wife before as they looked quite startled to see this!! Don’t worry I gave them my best Cheshire cat grin J Adam had to grab a dog and then rescue said chicken and toss it over the fence while the chicks managed to escape through the wire fence. Phew, job done for one day.

Sad to say though that one of the parent pigeons was not so lucky. It in fact got caught by “Lucky” and met a dead end. RIP pigeon. I think I’ll stop encouraging the dogs to “get em” pesky birds as I’m not so sure I like the consequences or dealing with the aftermath!

Samoan Bus

This is the life, Vailima on the beach. This is what Samoa is all about right?!! Check out this graphic on the back of one of the new Samoan busses and remember to “enjoy responsibly” as it says!

Focaccia Bread

Inspired by the recipe in the NZ Gardner magazine we received at Christmas we made this focaccia bread.Yummy. Bagels – bread, what will we try our hand at next?!!!

Dragonflies

There have recently been huge numbers of dragonflies flying around our backyard. Very cool. Reminds me of that scene in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone where Harry, Ron and Hermione have to find the key to open the door to a chamber and the keys are all flying around their heads. Here is one of the dragonfly’s on a flower.

Samoa National Netball 2011 and NZ Umpiring Badge

In January 2011 the Samoa Netball Association held national trials to select the squad to compete for Samoa at the Netball World Championships in Singapore in July. Trialists from Australia, New Zealand and local Samoan girls fought it out on court for a place in the team. Cyclone Wilma managed to wreck some havoc on the netball courts at Apia park and caused many more leaks in an already leaky roof so trials had to be swiftly moved to one of the gymnasiums at Tuanaimato, Faleata. We were fortunate enough to have two visiting umpire coaches from New Zealand who worked with the Samoa Netball umpires during the week long events, coaching and mentoring to help us improve our skills. On the final day myself and “Joanne” sat our NZ Umpiring Badges while umpiring one of the trial games … and we passed!! This was very exciting and is an excellent achievement for us and for Samoa Netball as now we qualify to be invited to umpire at certain events in New Zealand and progress further.

In April 2011 we were invited, along with 2 others from Samoa, to attend an Umpires Training Camp in Auckland along with umpires from Fiji and the Cook Islands. This was a fantastic week of training and umpiring in local competitions and nice to focus time just to umpiring. We stayed in Henderson, West Auckland, right by the Waitakere Trust stadium where Adam and I had attended the World Champs in 2007 and got to see the Pulse vs Mystics game live. We have now been named in the OPUS – Oceania Pacific Umpiring Squad and I have been invited to umpire in October in Napier at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships, a tournament where a number of Silver Ferns have been identified in the past. I’m expecting this competition to be fast and furious and am beginning to see why I need to reach 14.5 on the YoYo test to be an umpire at this level! We appreciate the help we receive from Netball New Zealand with our umpiring and know we could not have achieved these results without. There has been mention of becoming an IUA (International Umpires Association) umpire for Samoa. This will require further testing and nailing of Postion, Vision and Timing including that pesky Advantage rule which is my next mission to accomplish. Maybe in October ……..

Visitors During Cyclone Wilma

Shortly after arriving back in Samoa after Christmas we had visitors from the UK. Friends from Bristol who I hadn’t seen in 10 years (am I really that old?!) and who hadn’t met Adam. It was of course excellent to see them, just like the good old days, and fantastic they made the trip to Samoa as part of their 3 month world tour.Unfortunately they arrived about the same time as Cyclone Wilma so maybe didn’t see Samoa at its absolute best however what can you do? No one can control these natural events. As it happens everywhere they went on their travels they encountered some sort of natural disaster, cyclones, earthquakes and snow storms so hmmmmmmmm!! The cyclone brought much rain and eventually some strong winds but nothing worse than a windy day in Wellington!! I had the interesting experience of trying to pick Adam up from downtown one day by driving through flooding. The water reached the bottom of the doors on the car and sploshed, sounding like the hull of a boat. The big Samoan busses coming towards me caused quite a bit of wake that I hoped wouldn’t swamp the engine.

Our friends did manage to get out snorkelling at Samoana before the worst of the storm so saw a bit of beach and sunshine. We picked them up and took them touring round the south coast of Upolu, past various sights. Lulled them into false security with a nice lunch at Sinalei resort before heading for a swim at the Togitogiga waterfalls but due to the rain they had turned into a torrential raging river like we had never seen before so we decided against the swimming idea! We arrived at our place of accommodation for the night at Hideaway, a new resort, and checked into a shared double fale with 1 room and 2 double beds side by side. Very interesting arrangement! All fine though. The cyclone decided to hit and they eye passed close by so we battened down the hatches and broke out the travel Rumikub game to while away some time. Before the trip everyone wanted to know why I was packing so many snacks and drinks however these came in vary handy during this time, especially as there are not a lot of shops to purchase things on this side of the island. On the Sunday we all partook in traditional to’ona’i Sunday lunch after dashing through the rain and holding down the table cloth blowing in the wind. That was an interesting experience for our visitors with octopus salad and solid pieces of taro which they say they could still taste several weeks later!! We finished off the trip with a drive around Lalomanu to check out the re-building after the tsunami.

Maniac on the Water!

After her short ride on a jet ski at our netball party Angela decided she has to get a jet ski. Unfortunately for her that is not going to happen, but for her Xmas present I managed to hire one for half an hour.

So, after getting our lifejackets and a few instructions we were let loose, Ang in charge and me hanging on not knowing what to expect. It started off OK, nice and gentle keeping to the speed limit while we got away from the beach, but once we were clear then the fun began! All of a sudden we took off and I was almost left behind, then we came to a sudden stop and I had my face mashed into the back of Angela’s lifejacket. At this stage I couldn’t tell if she was having a good time or not as all I could hear was a strange mixture of screaming and laughing.

Well, she was having a ball and the faster the better. The only problem was that the faster we went the harder it got to see where we were going. I just held on with my eyes closed while we charged up and down the beach, jumping off some waves and crashing into others. We also quickly realised that she was not that worried about (or very good at) turning, so our ride became a series of high-speed blasts along the beach, usually with a sudden stop at the end, followed by a slow u-turn then the next blast along the beach.

It was great fun, but after half an hour we were both a bit sore from hanging on so tight and being bounced up and down. I think she wants to go again, but maybe next time I will get to drive?!