Showing posts with label Living in Samoa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Living in Samoa. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Gardening
After Christmas I managed to import back into Samoa (having been waved through the security check at the airport) 6 packets of seeds which I have been growing. We now have tomatoes, broccoli, thyme, basil, lettuce and celery. Adam has dutifully built me a raised garden and while I'm at work today he is dutifully shovelling sh*t (whoops I mean dirt!) through a sievve (to weed out the rocks, rubbish and bits of plastic pipe) into the garden. Very exciting. We had to have a load of dirt delivered as around the property it is very rocky and hard. Apparently the truck pulled up, they brough the biggest truck they could find for our little 1m3 of dirt so had to do a 3 point turn to get in the gate. The clowns then had fun backing around the house and dumped the dirt as close as possible without bowling over the clothes line! These guys are about to help out on one of Adam's bridge projects so now he is seriously wondering how the project is going to go!! Photos on flickr soon of our progress - once my email is back up and running. We had a power cut and it's still down.
The "Big" Island of Savaii
Today (Thursday 26th March) I went to Savaii on a mission to deliver 10 boxes of children’s books to a needy school. After having got up at 5.30am I was eventually picked up by the USP van and a couple of other colleagues who were coming to Savaii with me. They were late! But the drama unfolded. Someone left behind the tickets to get the van onto the ferry across to the “Big” island of Savaii. A mercy dash had to be made back to campus where they apparently proceeded to break into the administrator’s office using, in lieu of the keys, a kitchen knife! I’m glad I wasn’t an accomplice to that!
We drove out near the airport where the ferry goes from and pulled the van up at quarantine where we were meant to get the wheels washed to ensure no African Snails (a big pest) were imported into Savaii. We promptly got waved through, no washing took place, so, so much for quarantine regulations! What a hard job that guy has.
The 2 story ferry as an old but purposeful boat. All cars were parked underneath and passengers had to make their way upstairs to the seating area. We got going right on the dot of 8.00am (Palagi timing - impressive!) with the sun shining and the sea looking like glass (well almost). After pulling out of the shallow waters of Upolu we passed Manono Island and Apolima Island before cruising past the Tafua Peninsula and into the port of Salelologa, Savaii. Even though the water was glassy the boat had a distinctive sway about it so I spent the 1 ½ hour journey standing outside by the rail with the wind in my face.
Upon arriving at Salelologa we jumped back in the van and headed for the Public Library where I met the Librarian who shares her time between public and USP library services. Along the way we stopped at a bakery for some fresh loaves of bread, tinned spaghetti and spam and the essentials for a nice cup of tea. I was introduced to the USP Centre Office which is the main enrolments and support office for any USP students from Savaii. Ruby (my colleague who arranged and made this whole trip happen) has worked very hard to set up the Centre with furniture and computers of which one is connected to dial up internet. Don’t groan - it actually works better than my satellite broadband connection back on the main campus!!
After morning tea, where they tried to tell me I had to eat everything on the table in front of me (Samoan custom!), we headed off to the Sasa’ai Primary School with our 10 boxes of books to help them start up their school library. I met the principal and was delighted to see the children willing and eager to help carry the boxes of books upstairs to their library room. Upon entering the ‘library’ I noticed it was not much more than a small room with 2 shelving units, 1 of which was empty. There were piles of books on the floor but these were donated adult titles and not very appropriate for a primary school. I was pleased the books we were bringing were going to make a difference, help to start up a new school library and were suited to the ages of the children in the school.
Thankfully no one had given prior warning of our visit. I say thankfully as Samoan tradition also dictates that when gifts are received, you give something in return. This can be food or other presents. I would have been extremely embarrassed to have had an official ceremony and been presented with anything. I had to assure the principal not to feel bad that she didn’t know I was coming but to allow me to make the gift this time!
The children were great. Dressed in their bright orange shirts and cobat blue dresses and shorts they looked very smart. When invited to, they pounced on the books and promptly started to read them aloud. After the formalities, I had to make a speech (so I just told them where the books came from) the children sang their thank you (faafetai) song which had me grinning from ear to ear.
All in all it was a brilliant day. Savaii seemed fresher, newer and cleaner than Upolu. We drove by the newly opened food and craft market which looked very swish and I was shown where the new town centre is meant to be built, one day soon when someone has the money and the inkling to do it! The trip home on the boat was a bit rougher than in the morning but survived that OK propped up again by the railing with the wind in my face. I spotted some flying fish. I’m serious. I was not hallucinating! They would pop up out of the water and fly just above the surface for a fair distance before diving back under. I also thought I had spotted a turtle and proceeded to announce this to the strangers in the near vicinity, while frantically reaching for my camera, only to find it was just a bit of seaweed or something. I wondered why it kept its head up for so long.
So looking forward to taking Mum and Dad back to Savaii with more time to explore in 2 weeks time when they are over on holiday - providing Air New Zealand do not mess up our plans with their current scheduled strike action.
PS books were also donated to St Mary’s College and Solosolo Study Centre in Upolu. There were not enough to go round. I need more!
We drove out near the airport where the ferry goes from and pulled the van up at quarantine where we were meant to get the wheels washed to ensure no African Snails (a big pest) were imported into Savaii. We promptly got waved through, no washing took place, so, so much for quarantine regulations! What a hard job that guy has.
The 2 story ferry as an old but purposeful boat. All cars were parked underneath and passengers had to make their way upstairs to the seating area. We got going right on the dot of 8.00am (Palagi timing - impressive!) with the sun shining and the sea looking like glass (well almost). After pulling out of the shallow waters of Upolu we passed Manono Island and Apolima Island before cruising past the Tafua Peninsula and into the port of Salelologa, Savaii. Even though the water was glassy the boat had a distinctive sway about it so I spent the 1 ½ hour journey standing outside by the rail with the wind in my face.
Upon arriving at Salelologa we jumped back in the van and headed for the Public Library where I met the Librarian who shares her time between public and USP library services. Along the way we stopped at a bakery for some fresh loaves of bread, tinned spaghetti and spam and the essentials for a nice cup of tea. I was introduced to the USP Centre Office which is the main enrolments and support office for any USP students from Savaii. Ruby (my colleague who arranged and made this whole trip happen) has worked very hard to set up the Centre with furniture and computers of which one is connected to dial up internet. Don’t groan - it actually works better than my satellite broadband connection back on the main campus!!
After morning tea, where they tried to tell me I had to eat everything on the table in front of me (Samoan custom!), we headed off to the Sasa’ai Primary School with our 10 boxes of books to help them start up their school library. I met the principal and was delighted to see the children willing and eager to help carry the boxes of books upstairs to their library room. Upon entering the ‘library’ I noticed it was not much more than a small room with 2 shelving units, 1 of which was empty. There were piles of books on the floor but these were donated adult titles and not very appropriate for a primary school. I was pleased the books we were bringing were going to make a difference, help to start up a new school library and were suited to the ages of the children in the school.
Thankfully no one had given prior warning of our visit. I say thankfully as Samoan tradition also dictates that when gifts are received, you give something in return. This can be food or other presents. I would have been extremely embarrassed to have had an official ceremony and been presented with anything. I had to assure the principal not to feel bad that she didn’t know I was coming but to allow me to make the gift this time!
The children were great. Dressed in their bright orange shirts and cobat blue dresses and shorts they looked very smart. When invited to, they pounced on the books and promptly started to read them aloud. After the formalities, I had to make a speech (so I just told them where the books came from) the children sang their thank you (faafetai) song which had me grinning from ear to ear.
All in all it was a brilliant day. Savaii seemed fresher, newer and cleaner than Upolu. We drove by the newly opened food and craft market which looked very swish and I was shown where the new town centre is meant to be built, one day soon when someone has the money and the inkling to do it! The trip home on the boat was a bit rougher than in the morning but survived that OK propped up again by the railing with the wind in my face. I spotted some flying fish. I’m serious. I was not hallucinating! They would pop up out of the water and fly just above the surface for a fair distance before diving back under. I also thought I had spotted a turtle and proceeded to announce this to the strangers in the near vicinity, while frantically reaching for my camera, only to find it was just a bit of seaweed or something. I wondered why it kept its head up for so long.
So looking forward to taking Mum and Dad back to Savaii with more time to explore in 2 weeks time when they are over on holiday - providing Air New Zealand do not mess up our plans with their current scheduled strike action.
PS books were also donated to St Mary’s College and Solosolo Study Centre in Upolu. There were not enough to go round. I need more!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sa'Moana Resort
We have just returned from a lovely relaxing long weekend at Sa'Moana resort on the southern coast of Upolu http://www.samoanaresort.com/ Yes very sorry to rub it in!! It was a great weekend and one of the best spots we have found in Samoa yet.
Firstly we were staying in "Frangipani 2" a fale with inbuilt toilet and fridge (for the Jack and Coke) and an outdoor shower surrounded by tropical garden and succlulents growing over the rocks. All quite private I can assure you and it's quite nice to have a shower outside when it's so hot. Saves that "steamy" feeling ;-)
We divided our time between lazing in the lounger chairs or swinging in the "air chair" hammock reading, snorkelling, swimming, practicing some rugby passing or eating and drinking!
The snorkelling was fabulous. Even compared to Lalomanu this place was pretty good. We saw some excellent fish and coral that we hadn't seen before. This was also a great spot for "Nemo's" as there were many anemonies around. There was a bit of a swell and a few waves washing over the reef at times which made staying still for photos difficult but still managed to get some good ones.
The pool also has to be mentioned. I've always wanted to swim in one of those pools where the water cascades over the edge and you look out to sea - and this weekend I got to! The pool was full of sea water and the view out to sea was magical. Aqua blue water .... You get the picture! I was fast not wanting to leave this place.
In addition to relaxing, Sa'Moana also has activities you can do to keep yourself amused. I saved up hiring the jet ski until next time and also you can go out fishing if you want to. Sunday's you can observe the preparation of the Umu and then eat it for dinner and the other good thing is they have local rates for those of us who live here!!
It was difficult to drag ourselves away and head home back over Cross Island Road. In comparison to the weather at the beach, which was brilliantly fine and sunny, we found it to be pouring down with rain at the top of the hill and torrents running down each side of the road. No matter though as by the time we reached Apia it was sunny again.
It was McDonalds 13th Birthday so as a treat (don't make a habit of going to the golden arches) we had a Happy Meal and gifted the toy to a passing Samoan child.
And when we drove down our street home we found that the house next door had burnt down in our absence!!!!! This was in the paper but with no clue as to what caused it but we missed 4-5 fire engines who turned up to put the fire out.
Firstly we were staying in "Frangipani 2" a fale with inbuilt toilet and fridge (for the Jack and Coke) and an outdoor shower surrounded by tropical garden and succlulents growing over the rocks. All quite private I can assure you and it's quite nice to have a shower outside when it's so hot. Saves that "steamy" feeling ;-)
We divided our time between lazing in the lounger chairs or swinging in the "air chair" hammock reading, snorkelling, swimming, practicing some rugby passing or eating and drinking!
The snorkelling was fabulous. Even compared to Lalomanu this place was pretty good. We saw some excellent fish and coral that we hadn't seen before. This was also a great spot for "Nemo's" as there were many anemonies around. There was a bit of a swell and a few waves washing over the reef at times which made staying still for photos difficult but still managed to get some good ones.
The pool also has to be mentioned. I've always wanted to swim in one of those pools where the water cascades over the edge and you look out to sea - and this weekend I got to! The pool was full of sea water and the view out to sea was magical. Aqua blue water .... You get the picture! I was fast not wanting to leave this place.
In addition to relaxing, Sa'Moana also has activities you can do to keep yourself amused. I saved up hiring the jet ski until next time and also you can go out fishing if you want to. Sunday's you can observe the preparation of the Umu and then eat it for dinner and the other good thing is they have local rates for those of us who live here!!
It was difficult to drag ourselves away and head home back over Cross Island Road. In comparison to the weather at the beach, which was brilliantly fine and sunny, we found it to be pouring down with rain at the top of the hill and torrents running down each side of the road. No matter though as by the time we reached Apia it was sunny again.
It was McDonalds 13th Birthday so as a treat (don't make a habit of going to the golden arches) we had a Happy Meal and gifted the toy to a passing Samoan child.
And when we drove down our street home we found that the house next door had burnt down in our absence!!!!! This was in the paper but with no clue as to what caused it but we missed 4-5 fire engines who turned up to put the fire out.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Valentines Black Sox
Happy Valentines day all!
Unexpectedly pancakes were on the menu for breakfast on this day which was very nice. Mind you there wasn't much time before Touch Rugby trials to enjoy them so we postponed until luch (which also gave us a chance to raid the lemon tree at USP!)
Touch trials went well. I answered an ad in the paper and turned up to find a club supporting womens sports. There was an organiser, a coach and an assistant coach so things were looking up. This club also supports women's 7's, union and shortly league so we were divided up into the "rugby" girls and the "other" girls!! I was quite happy to be an "other" as I am certainly not interested in tackling or being tackled!!
Ended up playing a few games. It was overcast and even rained during the morning but this did not stop me from getting sun burned. Note to self: wear sun block and a hat in all weathers! They seemed to notice that I had played before and even though my skills need some serious work I am ever hopeful of getting into a reasonable team that will be fun.
After Touch I went to the car only to find the driver absent! After scratching my head for a few moments I figured he would probably be over at the Softball diamond watching some of the Pacific Cup Softball matches. Sure enough that is where I found him. Tanifa Samoa were playing Japan to decide who would play the NZ Black Sox in the final in the afternoon.
We headed home for the pancakes but decided to go back to the diamond to watch the final. Armed with NZ flag to pin over the balcony we arrived just in time for the national anthems and to see the Haka. The game was very exciting with some big hits, strike outs, home runs, fumbles and good catches. The Black Sox ended up beating Japan 6-4 and the game finished just in time for us to head home and get ready for our Valentines dinner out.
Roko's restaurant is lovely. This is the first time we had been there but it has outside balconies that jut out over the valley and look down on native flora. The tables were decorated with red and the Valentines menu was ready to go. After ordering a fresh strawberry margarita and daiquiri, for $10 each, we were served starters of tempura prawns, seafood brushetta, sashimi and sushi. Adam was in his element with all the sea food. Mains were 1/2 lobster each, calamari rings, prawns, masimasi and salmon served with salad and a baked potato. Very yummy. For me though dessert was the main affair and what I had been waiting for. Chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and icecream. Unfortunately a serious lack of strawberries, only 1 each, but as I got to eat both of them I was happy.
A thoroughly wonderful day.
Unexpectedly pancakes were on the menu for breakfast on this day which was very nice. Mind you there wasn't much time before Touch Rugby trials to enjoy them so we postponed until luch (which also gave us a chance to raid the lemon tree at USP!)
Touch trials went well. I answered an ad in the paper and turned up to find a club supporting womens sports. There was an organiser, a coach and an assistant coach so things were looking up. This club also supports women's 7's, union and shortly league so we were divided up into the "rugby" girls and the "other" girls!! I was quite happy to be an "other" as I am certainly not interested in tackling or being tackled!!
Ended up playing a few games. It was overcast and even rained during the morning but this did not stop me from getting sun burned. Note to self: wear sun block and a hat in all weathers! They seemed to notice that I had played before and even though my skills need some serious work I am ever hopeful of getting into a reasonable team that will be fun.
After Touch I went to the car only to find the driver absent! After scratching my head for a few moments I figured he would probably be over at the Softball diamond watching some of the Pacific Cup Softball matches. Sure enough that is where I found him. Tanifa Samoa were playing Japan to decide who would play the NZ Black Sox in the final in the afternoon.
We headed home for the pancakes but decided to go back to the diamond to watch the final. Armed with NZ flag to pin over the balcony we arrived just in time for the national anthems and to see the Haka. The game was very exciting with some big hits, strike outs, home runs, fumbles and good catches. The Black Sox ended up beating Japan 6-4 and the game finished just in time for us to head home and get ready for our Valentines dinner out.
Roko's restaurant is lovely. This is the first time we had been there but it has outside balconies that jut out over the valley and look down on native flora. The tables were decorated with red and the Valentines menu was ready to go. After ordering a fresh strawberry margarita and daiquiri, for $10 each, we were served starters of tempura prawns, seafood brushetta, sashimi and sushi. Adam was in his element with all the sea food. Mains were 1/2 lobster each, calamari rings, prawns, masimasi and salmon served with salad and a baked potato. Very yummy. For me though dessert was the main affair and what I had been waiting for. Chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and icecream. Unfortunately a serious lack of strawberries, only 1 each, but as I got to eat both of them I was happy.
A thoroughly wonderful day.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Samoan Ava Ceremony
Talofa all
I have just attended my first Ava ceremony in the Samoan Fale here on Alafua campus. The ceremony was to welcome the new Vice Chancellor for USP and our new Dean to the campus. We were once the Faculty of Islands and Oceans but have now been moved to the Faculty of Business and Economics hence the reason for a new Dean. We are hoping for great things out of these 2 for next year!
I have put some photos on Flickr for you to see. I am wearing my traditional Puletasi today just for the ceremony and I'm glad I did as everyone else was also dressed traditionally. When I arrived I was ushered to sit with the other female senior staff on woven mats on the floor. Shoes had to be removed and legs had to be covered. I am not used to sitting like this any more so my feet went numb!
The guests of honour were given leis and shown in. The orators then spoke (in Samoan so I cant' tell you what they said). Then the mixing of the Ava took place. The "Taupo" for the ceremony was none other than Gwendonlyn the current Miss Samoa. She looked lovely dressed in her fine woven outfit with elaborate head gear. A lot of mixing of the Ava (with stringy stuff from a coconut I think) goes on but the best part is when she squeezes out the stringy stuff and throws it over her shoulder without looking! It is up to the person behind to catch it and shake it out.
Once the Ava was mixed it was served up to the guests in a 1/2 coconut shell with lots of shouting and "Manuia's" (cheers) going on.
The new VC himself spoke and thanked everyone for the warm welcome to campus. It sounds like he has good plans to take USP forward in the future so I look forward to a meeting with him tomorrow to find out all about it.
I have just attended my first Ava ceremony in the Samoan Fale here on Alafua campus. The ceremony was to welcome the new Vice Chancellor for USP and our new Dean to the campus. We were once the Faculty of Islands and Oceans but have now been moved to the Faculty of Business and Economics hence the reason for a new Dean. We are hoping for great things out of these 2 for next year!
I have put some photos on Flickr for you to see. I am wearing my traditional Puletasi today just for the ceremony and I'm glad I did as everyone else was also dressed traditionally. When I arrived I was ushered to sit with the other female senior staff on woven mats on the floor. Shoes had to be removed and legs had to be covered. I am not used to sitting like this any more so my feet went numb!
The guests of honour were given leis and shown in. The orators then spoke (in Samoan so I cant' tell you what they said). Then the mixing of the Ava took place. The "Taupo" for the ceremony was none other than Gwendonlyn the current Miss Samoa. She looked lovely dressed in her fine woven outfit with elaborate head gear. A lot of mixing of the Ava (with stringy stuff from a coconut I think) goes on but the best part is when she squeezes out the stringy stuff and throws it over her shoulder without looking! It is up to the person behind to catch it and shake it out.
Once the Ava was mixed it was served up to the guests in a 1/2 coconut shell with lots of shouting and "Manuia's" (cheers) going on.
The new VC himself spoke and thanked everyone for the warm welcome to campus. It sounds like he has good plans to take USP forward in the future so I look forward to a meeting with him tomorrow to find out all about it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Diwali
Tuesday was the Hindu Diwali Festival, or Festival of the Lights. Part of the Diwali celebrations involves lighting candles or lamps to signify the victory of good over evil. Our neighbours are Indians from Fiji and they were celebrating Diwali. When we arrived home and saw their house was all lit by candles we assumed that this was for Diwali, until we went into our house and found that the power was off!! This power cut lasted from about 5.30 until 8.00 – not very convenient when you are trying to cook dinner.
Anyway, we had our own Diwali candle lighting and then proceeded to cook and eat dinner by candle light. Fortunately we have a gas BBQ and were able to cook outside, then enjoyed a nice outdoor candlelit dinner.
Thanks to our neighbours for sharing some of their Diwali sweets with us.
Unfortunately the following night we had another power cut of about the same duration. The novelty of our own version of Diwali was OK for one night, but it isn’t much fun to be in the dark every night. Lets hope that the power is on tonight.
Anyway, we had our own Diwali candle lighting and then proceeded to cook and eat dinner by candle light. Fortunately we have a gas BBQ and were able to cook outside, then enjoyed a nice outdoor candlelit dinner.
Thanks to our neighbours for sharing some of their Diwali sweets with us.
Unfortunately the following night we had another power cut of about the same duration. The novelty of our own version of Diwali was OK for one night, but it isn’t much fun to be in the dark every night. Lets hope that the power is on tonight.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Vavau
As it was a long weekend last weekend we decided to go away for a few nights of R&R. Picking another spot out the Lonely Planet guide we decided on a place called Vavau on the south coast of Upolo. The guide promised tranquil beaches and top class fale accommodation with a good restaurant supplying a range of meals. Sounded great.
Upon first arrival our impressions were that the place was really nice. Beautiful gardens and big secluded fales. The fale however had seen better days! Although this was more upmarket than other places we had stayed, the fales had walls, a kitchen and a bathroom, we found that the place was dirty, with holes in the mozzie nets (and hence a room full of mosquitos), a cockroach on the floor and a resident rat! Not much to my liking I must admit. It was raining on the Friday night when we arrived also so I was hoping for some sunny weather so we wouldn’t have to spend too much time inside.
Adam inspected in the kitchen cupboards and wasn’t too impressed therefore I did not bother to follow in his footsteps. There was an electric jug and a fridge (the fridge turned out to be the best part of the room for keeping the Jack cold!!) but no mugs or tea bags so no chance of any tea. I’m not sure when the last time was that the bathroom got cleaned and the funny smell in the pillows turned out to be mould!
We headed for dinner soon after we arrived and were served a piece of steak with rice and a slice of pumpkin. Skirvy coming as no greens in sight! The meal was also cooked by what looked like a 12 year old boy. Granted he did do a good job though. We did however find out when we paid the bill that this gourmet meal cost us $32.50 each – about double what it should have been!!
The next day, Saturday, I discovered I’d left some very important medical supplies behind in Apia so we had no choice but to drive home to get them (nothing like an after hours pharmacy in Vavau!) Only an hour each way luckily! While back in Apia we (aka I) decided it would be a good idea to soak up some of the sights and sounds of the White Sunday markets!! Adam told me he had been tricked!! We did have a great time though looking in the flea market and in the special markets set up selling all the white gear you could need for the weekend celebrations. Everyone was well stocked and we managed some good bargains.
After a bit of lunch and the retrieval of the necessary supplies we headed back to Vavau again. In our absence 2 large samoan busses had arrived full of – USP students!!!! My peace was shattered! They were all very friendly though waving out and saying “Hello Ma’am”. I am getting used to answering to this. It was also Fiji Day during this weekend so the Fijian students had decided on a day out in Vavau with their families.
Adam and I took to the water for a bit of snorkelling. Everywhere we go it’s slightly different. At Vavau the underwater world was pretty interesting with loads of coral peaks and troughs in lots of different colours. The fish were generally the same but you always spot something you haven’t seen before. After an afternoon in the water we figured we had earnt a Jack on our deck watching the sun set and decided to head up the road to a posh resort for dinner in their restaurant .....
Dinner was very nice until drama number 3 happened!! Somewhere along the line the key to our fale dropped out of Adams pocket. We could not find it anywhere in the car, on the ground in the sand or back at the restaurant. Don’t think the old samoan guy (who didn’t speak any English) was too impressed with us when we mimed having lost the key and not being able to get into our room!! All manner of suggestions followed, how about removing some mesh so we could reach in and unlock the door or taking the pins out of the hinges? Easier said than done however when all you have for tools is a kitchen knife and a spade!!! In the end the spade and lots of jiggling got the door open which I was very pleased about.
The next morning guess what Adam found on the beach????????????
Sunday we finished up with some more snorkelling in a small bay protected by a couple of offshore islands. At low tide there was still a deep channel that we could swim in. Tried our luck at going around a rocky point but got “beached” on a platform of coral when the water got a bit shallow. Adam wondered why I wasn’t moving and my legs and arms were up out of the water!! Lots of slimy sea slugs round there anyway so I didn’t want to be touching them!!
Also managed to get out for a bit of kayaking. We picked 5.00pm when the tide was high and off we set. Some of the waves rolling in drove us home though, not til we had had to surf some! The inflatable kayak held up well and the view from the boat looking at the fish and coral below is always fantastic.
And that’s about it for this times adventures. Speak to you again very soon.
Upon first arrival our impressions were that the place was really nice. Beautiful gardens and big secluded fales. The fale however had seen better days! Although this was more upmarket than other places we had stayed, the fales had walls, a kitchen and a bathroom, we found that the place was dirty, with holes in the mozzie nets (and hence a room full of mosquitos), a cockroach on the floor and a resident rat! Not much to my liking I must admit. It was raining on the Friday night when we arrived also so I was hoping for some sunny weather so we wouldn’t have to spend too much time inside.
Adam inspected in the kitchen cupboards and wasn’t too impressed therefore I did not bother to follow in his footsteps. There was an electric jug and a fridge (the fridge turned out to be the best part of the room for keeping the Jack cold!!) but no mugs or tea bags so no chance of any tea. I’m not sure when the last time was that the bathroom got cleaned and the funny smell in the pillows turned out to be mould!
We headed for dinner soon after we arrived and were served a piece of steak with rice and a slice of pumpkin. Skirvy coming as no greens in sight! The meal was also cooked by what looked like a 12 year old boy. Granted he did do a good job though. We did however find out when we paid the bill that this gourmet meal cost us $32.50 each – about double what it should have been!!
The next day, Saturday, I discovered I’d left some very important medical supplies behind in Apia so we had no choice but to drive home to get them (nothing like an after hours pharmacy in Vavau!) Only an hour each way luckily! While back in Apia we (aka I) decided it would be a good idea to soak up some of the sights and sounds of the White Sunday markets!! Adam told me he had been tricked!! We did have a great time though looking in the flea market and in the special markets set up selling all the white gear you could need for the weekend celebrations. Everyone was well stocked and we managed some good bargains.
After a bit of lunch and the retrieval of the necessary supplies we headed back to Vavau again. In our absence 2 large samoan busses had arrived full of – USP students!!!! My peace was shattered! They were all very friendly though waving out and saying “Hello Ma’am”. I am getting used to answering to this. It was also Fiji Day during this weekend so the Fijian students had decided on a day out in Vavau with their families.
Adam and I took to the water for a bit of snorkelling. Everywhere we go it’s slightly different. At Vavau the underwater world was pretty interesting with loads of coral peaks and troughs in lots of different colours. The fish were generally the same but you always spot something you haven’t seen before. After an afternoon in the water we figured we had earnt a Jack on our deck watching the sun set and decided to head up the road to a posh resort for dinner in their restaurant .....
Dinner was very nice until drama number 3 happened!! Somewhere along the line the key to our fale dropped out of Adams pocket. We could not find it anywhere in the car, on the ground in the sand or back at the restaurant. Don’t think the old samoan guy (who didn’t speak any English) was too impressed with us when we mimed having lost the key and not being able to get into our room!! All manner of suggestions followed, how about removing some mesh so we could reach in and unlock the door or taking the pins out of the hinges? Easier said than done however when all you have for tools is a kitchen knife and a spade!!! In the end the spade and lots of jiggling got the door open which I was very pleased about.
The next morning guess what Adam found on the beach????????????
Sunday we finished up with some more snorkelling in a small bay protected by a couple of offshore islands. At low tide there was still a deep channel that we could swim in. Tried our luck at going around a rocky point but got “beached” on a platform of coral when the water got a bit shallow. Adam wondered why I wasn’t moving and my legs and arms were up out of the water!! Lots of slimy sea slugs round there anyway so I didn’t want to be touching them!!
Also managed to get out for a bit of kayaking. We picked 5.00pm when the tide was high and off we set. Some of the waves rolling in drove us home though, not til we had had to surf some! The inflatable kayak held up well and the view from the boat looking at the fish and coral below is always fantastic.
And that’s about it for this times adventures. Speak to you again very soon.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Frangipani Update
Hello All
Well Adam and I are both feeling a lot better now although Adam is still suffering from the Dengue side effects a bit. He gets pretty tired but is definitely on the mend which is great. I played netball yesterday and WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I know. That was like a minor miracle really especially as we had only 6 players on the court! Means we get up off the bottom of the table though and with a bit more luck we will beat one of the other teams too before the end of the season (in 2 weeks time) so will end up about 4th overall.
Anyway I wanted to give you an update on my frangipani. I have uploaded a couple of photos for you. My bare sticks that are stuck in yogurt pots and are sitting on the kitchen bench have begun to sprout much to Adam's amazement!!! He did not believe that bits of stick would grow. Anway I have been talking nicely to the sticks and now we have results!! When they get a bit bigger I will transplant them to pots outside on our verandah. I have managed to score a maroon colour, pink with orange centre, another pink from the tree at work and the traditional white with yellow centre. Can't wait for them to start flowering. I'm eyeing up a yellow one but so far haven't plucked up the courage to go raiding bits of stick from in someones front yard - will have to wait til the dead of night!!
Oh yes and just to finish off with I've put up a picture of a bloody big spider that went running into the bathroom from our bedroom (hate to think what happens when I'm asleep) the other night and freaked me out!! (Photo for Virginia!!)
Well Adam and I are both feeling a lot better now although Adam is still suffering from the Dengue side effects a bit. He gets pretty tired but is definitely on the mend which is great. I played netball yesterday and WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I know. That was like a minor miracle really especially as we had only 6 players on the court! Means we get up off the bottom of the table though and with a bit more luck we will beat one of the other teams too before the end of the season (in 2 weeks time) so will end up about 4th overall.
Anyway I wanted to give you an update on my frangipani. I have uploaded a couple of photos for you. My bare sticks that are stuck in yogurt pots and are sitting on the kitchen bench have begun to sprout much to Adam's amazement!!! He did not believe that bits of stick would grow. Anway I have been talking nicely to the sticks and now we have results!! When they get a bit bigger I will transplant them to pots outside on our verandah. I have managed to score a maroon colour, pink with orange centre, another pink from the tree at work and the traditional white with yellow centre. Can't wait for them to start flowering. I'm eyeing up a yellow one but so far haven't plucked up the courage to go raiding bits of stick from in someones front yard - will have to wait til the dead of night!!
Oh yes and just to finish off with I've put up a picture of a bloody big spider that went running into the bathroom from our bedroom (hate to think what happens when I'm asleep) the other night and freaked me out!! (Photo for Virginia!!)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Netball, Netball, a bit of Mountain Biking a Party and all the rest ….
Just adding a post script to the post script below …. So did you see the bit about getting up to 40kms an hour!!!!!!!!!! Only the hard core break spokes by the way and what Adam doesn’t know is that I was hoping and preying (must have been in Samoa too long!) and muttering “Oh My God” under my breath as it was a pretty fast descent but I figured jamming on my breaks on a gravel road at this speed would probably not be a good thing. Thankfully I made it to the bottom with only broken spokes and no grazes to the knees!! Next time Mum I’ll go a little slower I promise.
Anyway Netball, Netball, Netball seems to be about all we are doing these days so apologies for the lack of white sand beach and blue sparkling water stories to tell. The netball season has now started and so we are at training twice a week and play on a Saturday. By the time we work around Adam’s game, my game and when I have to umpire there is not a lot of Saturday left. Speaking of umpiring, little white palagi legs starred on Samoan TV3 this week during the Shield match!! Think I did an OK job (still trying to upload a video to YouTube so watch this space. Most worrying of all is that this weekend we will be playing and I suspect we are going to get beaten. How embarrassing. Of course Sunday is spent catching up on the “house work” and preparing for the next week of work so we do little more than eat, sleep, work and play netball at the moment! Situation normal right?
Mind you this said we did manage a Pina Colada on our deck in the 29 degree heat as the sun set on Sunday afternoon this week. Even managed 40 winks in the lounger chair …………………. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Us old farts get worn out by the lifestyle mentioned above!! Now the highlight of the past weekend for Samoa was that Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, was visiting. She was here for…… wait for it ……. All of 3 hours! We know someone who works at Aggies at the airport who had been told to cut his hair as it didn’t look very traditional Samoan. This was just for Condoleezza’s visit. I hope she noticed. I saw on the news though that she did a bit of shopping while in NZ so good on her.
Adam has reminded me to mention that we have averted the Jack Daniels crisis!! Yes the 2 bottles we brought in duty free ran out and the bottle store (THE bottle store as in the only one in town) had run out too so it has been a dry week or so. Never fear though as we now have a 1.75lt bottle to keep us going until Latika and Hedley arrive in September (I’ve put in an order for some more!)
Well it was a bit of a weekend of losses wasn’t it? First the AB’s on our Friday night. Many jokes were made at the party we had at work on Friday night as to whether I’d still be talking to my Australian friend on Monday morning – she is actually not that interested in the rugby so I got off lightly there. Speaking of the party – it was a leaving do for 2 of the senior lecturers. The culture around contributing to these sorts of things has blown me away. A list came around where we could all “pledge” how much money we were going to give to the party fund. Not wanting to look miserable I dutifully followed the lead of the other senior staff who had gone before me on the list. This meant contributing WST$50.00. The party was held outside where tables and chairs were set up. A massive cake was delivered (chocolate mud cake – very delicious). There was Vailima beer provided and red wine neither of which I drink so I stuck to the soft drink. Lots of lovely food, chicken, pork, palusami, taro, breadfruit, salad etc all cooked in the umu. Anyway not wishing to outstay my welcome we left at about 7.00pm. Low and behold I get to work today and an email is sent out to all staff with a spreadsheet outlining what everyone contributed (yes we were named) and a breakdown of the budget that was spent. Of course this then erupted into an argument over who’s contributions were left off and how the totals were added up wrong and how the balance was “demanded” to be deposited into the Senior Staff Social Group fund immediately!!! Well firstly I was astounded that everyone now knows how much I contributed and secondly that there would be an argument over the totals!! I then actually found out that some of the “boys” were still there drinking at midnight (long after the guests of honor left) and that the extra money not accounted for had been spent on more beer and CIGARETTES for them!!! Well oh well next time we will have to get our money’s worth right?
Anyway back to the losses, so first the AB’s, then Adam and I both lost our netball games (very depressing), the NZ Women’s 7’s team lost to the Aussies in the qualifying tournament for next year’s world cup and the Magic lost to the Swifts so not a good weekend all round for sport. Actually we weren’t even sure if the rugby was going to be shown on the TV as they started a movie 45 minutes before the game was due to kick off but in true Samoan style, the movie was cut off in it’s prime just in time for the game! (It resumed after the rugby of course).
We have been up to the new and improved supermarket on the corner of our street to look for Tim Tams! 1 packet polished off now. Sad to say though they are not like at home. These ones were made in Indonesia. They are thin and small in comparison and of course the chocolate does not taste the same but hey some chocolate is better than none right? I miss the double chocolate coated ones in the blue packet. This supermarket will be very handy when I’m having a Tim Tam crisis in the future.
I’m trying to grow some Frangipani. According to my trusty friend Mr Google you cut a piece off an existing tree (the ones by work sufficed here) and then starve it for a week. When I broke bits off it leaked a sticky milky stuff which I wasn’t expecting. I had to swiftly find something in my bag to wrap them in, all the while trying not to look dodgy hanging around on the street corner and breaking bits off people’s trees! I put these bits of stick on the table on the deck for a week until they looked suitably shriveled up. They are now planted in yogurt pots with Samoan dirt and a bit of water. Well this is supposed to be the recipe so I’ll let you know how they get on. Hopefully lovely fragrant and beautifully coloured Frangipani next time you visit ;-)
Anyway Netball, Netball, Netball seems to be about all we are doing these days so apologies for the lack of white sand beach and blue sparkling water stories to tell. The netball season has now started and so we are at training twice a week and play on a Saturday. By the time we work around Adam’s game, my game and when I have to umpire there is not a lot of Saturday left. Speaking of umpiring, little white palagi legs starred on Samoan TV3 this week during the Shield match!! Think I did an OK job (still trying to upload a video to YouTube so watch this space. Most worrying of all is that this weekend we will be playing and I suspect we are going to get beaten. How embarrassing. Of course Sunday is spent catching up on the “house work” and preparing for the next week of work so we do little more than eat, sleep, work and play netball at the moment! Situation normal right?
Mind you this said we did manage a Pina Colada on our deck in the 29 degree heat as the sun set on Sunday afternoon this week. Even managed 40 winks in the lounger chair …………………. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Us old farts get worn out by the lifestyle mentioned above!! Now the highlight of the past weekend for Samoa was that Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, was visiting. She was here for…… wait for it ……. All of 3 hours! We know someone who works at Aggies at the airport who had been told to cut his hair as it didn’t look very traditional Samoan. This was just for Condoleezza’s visit. I hope she noticed. I saw on the news though that she did a bit of shopping while in NZ so good on her.
Adam has reminded me to mention that we have averted the Jack Daniels crisis!! Yes the 2 bottles we brought in duty free ran out and the bottle store (THE bottle store as in the only one in town) had run out too so it has been a dry week or so. Never fear though as we now have a 1.75lt bottle to keep us going until Latika and Hedley arrive in September (I’ve put in an order for some more!)
Well it was a bit of a weekend of losses wasn’t it? First the AB’s on our Friday night. Many jokes were made at the party we had at work on Friday night as to whether I’d still be talking to my Australian friend on Monday morning – she is actually not that interested in the rugby so I got off lightly there. Speaking of the party – it was a leaving do for 2 of the senior lecturers. The culture around contributing to these sorts of things has blown me away. A list came around where we could all “pledge” how much money we were going to give to the party fund. Not wanting to look miserable I dutifully followed the lead of the other senior staff who had gone before me on the list. This meant contributing WST$50.00. The party was held outside where tables and chairs were set up. A massive cake was delivered (chocolate mud cake – very delicious). There was Vailima beer provided and red wine neither of which I drink so I stuck to the soft drink. Lots of lovely food, chicken, pork, palusami, taro, breadfruit, salad etc all cooked in the umu. Anyway not wishing to outstay my welcome we left at about 7.00pm. Low and behold I get to work today and an email is sent out to all staff with a spreadsheet outlining what everyone contributed (yes we were named) and a breakdown of the budget that was spent. Of course this then erupted into an argument over who’s contributions were left off and how the totals were added up wrong and how the balance was “demanded” to be deposited into the Senior Staff Social Group fund immediately!!! Well firstly I was astounded that everyone now knows how much I contributed and secondly that there would be an argument over the totals!! I then actually found out that some of the “boys” were still there drinking at midnight (long after the guests of honor left) and that the extra money not accounted for had been spent on more beer and CIGARETTES for them!!! Well oh well next time we will have to get our money’s worth right?
Anyway back to the losses, so first the AB’s, then Adam and I both lost our netball games (very depressing), the NZ Women’s 7’s team lost to the Aussies in the qualifying tournament for next year’s world cup and the Magic lost to the Swifts so not a good weekend all round for sport. Actually we weren’t even sure if the rugby was going to be shown on the TV as they started a movie 45 minutes before the game was due to kick off but in true Samoan style, the movie was cut off in it’s prime just in time for the game! (It resumed after the rugby of course).
We have been up to the new and improved supermarket on the corner of our street to look for Tim Tams! 1 packet polished off now. Sad to say though they are not like at home. These ones were made in Indonesia. They are thin and small in comparison and of course the chocolate does not taste the same but hey some chocolate is better than none right? I miss the double chocolate coated ones in the blue packet. This supermarket will be very handy when I’m having a Tim Tam crisis in the future.
I’m trying to grow some Frangipani. According to my trusty friend Mr Google you cut a piece off an existing tree (the ones by work sufficed here) and then starve it for a week. When I broke bits off it leaked a sticky milky stuff which I wasn’t expecting. I had to swiftly find something in my bag to wrap them in, all the while trying not to look dodgy hanging around on the street corner and breaking bits off people’s trees! I put these bits of stick on the table on the deck for a week until they looked suitably shriveled up. They are now planted in yogurt pots with Samoan dirt and a bit of water. Well this is supposed to be the recipe so I’ll let you know how they get on. Hopefully lovely fragrant and beautifully coloured Frangipani next time you visit ;-)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Library
Hi all. Time for a bit of an update on what’s been going on at work I suppose considering I’ve now been here going on 8 weeks.
Well I started off slowly, had to cringe, ignore and bite my tongue over the cleanliness of the place but slowly we are getting there! As it happens the other ladies in the library are also keen for a clean place so now I’ve shown the cleaner the way, we are on to it! We have a male cleaner here so needless to say he doesn’t go near the toilet unless pushed – firmly! Seems we have also lost our full time cleaner so not sure what happened there.
I have tried really hard not to be cyclone Angela!! There has been a bit to catch up on and get my head around. I begun by trying to figure out what small amount is left in my very small library budget. A series of spreadsheets later and I think I have a grip on the situation but want a bet there are hidden things I don’t know about. Things seem to work pretty successfully in a manual way round here. Things get paid for by raising a cheque and the ladies in Accounts are very efficient about producing cheques, on their electronic typewriter.
Once I had the budget “under control” next step was to start to spend what is left! I managed to learn who the appropriate lecturing staff were, that I needed to be in contact with and I circulated 6 months worth of publishers catalogues to them (once I finished opening 6 months worth of mail!) I think they were very happy to have someone finally here to buy them new stuff as I have had quite a good response! Actually I’ve enjoyed doing acquisitions but I’m still learning as it’s a long time since I last did the purchasing for a library. I am also slowly learning about what areas we need to purchase in. Seems to be crops, agriculture, irrigation, soil, engineering, pests, cows, chickens etc etc.
I also had to allocate a part of the budget to “operating expenses”. So far we have managed to get some wooden chairs in the library recovered to replace the ripped orange seat covers with half their foam missing. We now have chocolate brown. Very nice! We have purchased a guillotine so we can chop up spine labels easily and straight! We also have a new heavy duty stapler which the students are going to love in the new semester. I am thinking about a laminator. The library used to have one but it broke. It would be good to make some new shelf signs and notices for the place and laminating them would help them last.
The main impact I have managed to have so far is the remodelling of the library counter!! It’s the semester break so the best time for making a mess – well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Last week we had the maintenance guys in here banging and crashing and breaking down the barricade! Luckily for me the previous librarian also mentioned how bad the desk was so it wasn’t too hard to get something done about it. We now have a nice gate and way out from behind the counter so we can help the students easier i.e we can get out from behind the barricade! We took a higher part of the desk away so now it’s low and flat and open. Very welcoming. We are all liking it. Along with this I managed to get a flat screen monitor out of IT instead of the huge heavy one we had before so that we can easily turn the screen around when we are searching for things for the students. See Flickr for some pictures of the new counter.
We have a new DVD collection that arrived in a box from Fiji. Very nice of them to send these to us. They have been a great hit especially during the holiday break. My next job is to try and get a TV and DVD player for the library (and the campus) so that the students and lecturers without laptops can make use of the collection. In conjunction with this we have an ancient but valuable collection of video tapes that are in all manner of conditions. Hit rate does not seem to be very good for cleaning and converting these to DVD so sadly we might be losing some very good titles.
Have been doing some work on the library system – Athena. This seems to be a very stable and adequate system. Very basic but does what we want for now. There is no acquisitions module so orders are made separately in an Access database. Means no one knows what we have on order which is a shame. I have tweaked up some item types that control the issue periods and now need to do some global changes. Am working on exporting data out of the system, fixing it up and importing it back in. Not sure if I will be successful with this! There are rumours we might be moving to Koha here, the NZ developed open source software for library management, so watch this space.
So next tasks before the semester break is over is to brighten the place up a bit before the new students start. I have some ideas about covering boards with brightly coloured fabric or lavalava printed with frangipani or hibiscus etc and hanging these panels up on the wall. I think the locals think I’m nuts but hey I’m giving it a go. Am also going to work on the computers that are in the library and tidy them up a bit, make sure they are working correctly and make sure there is easy access to library resources oh and also remove everyone’s personal pictures that seem to end up as the desktop default! This might be a job that takes a while. The web site will also need updating and then there’s the web catalogue – you get the picture! Plenty of projects to work on.
The saving grace is that I have joined a few groups started by USP in Fiji to discuss Web 2.0 initiatives and have also been speaking to one of the librarians there about the use of Second Life in libraries and education. It’s a start – even though I can’t get in there myself at the moment! I am trying to keep up to date with things as best possible. I welcome any hints on what the next new technology for libraries is. The internet connection here sometimes stops me from being able to upload, download or even read my NetVibes page. Fridays are best as its Saturday in Fiji by then! Oh and also emails seem to disappear into the wild blue yonder of their own free will so if you don’t hear back from me it could be that it went poof!
Well it’s peaceful and quiet in the library today. No shhhhhhing required. One staff member on leave and another learning First Aid as she says – just in case I collapse one day then she can help me out!
Well I started off slowly, had to cringe, ignore and bite my tongue over the cleanliness of the place but slowly we are getting there! As it happens the other ladies in the library are also keen for a clean place so now I’ve shown the cleaner the way, we are on to it! We have a male cleaner here so needless to say he doesn’t go near the toilet unless pushed – firmly! Seems we have also lost our full time cleaner so not sure what happened there.
I have tried really hard not to be cyclone Angela!! There has been a bit to catch up on and get my head around. I begun by trying to figure out what small amount is left in my very small library budget. A series of spreadsheets later and I think I have a grip on the situation but want a bet there are hidden things I don’t know about. Things seem to work pretty successfully in a manual way round here. Things get paid for by raising a cheque and the ladies in Accounts are very efficient about producing cheques, on their electronic typewriter.
Once I had the budget “under control” next step was to start to spend what is left! I managed to learn who the appropriate lecturing staff were, that I needed to be in contact with and I circulated 6 months worth of publishers catalogues to them (once I finished opening 6 months worth of mail!) I think they were very happy to have someone finally here to buy them new stuff as I have had quite a good response! Actually I’ve enjoyed doing acquisitions but I’m still learning as it’s a long time since I last did the purchasing for a library. I am also slowly learning about what areas we need to purchase in. Seems to be crops, agriculture, irrigation, soil, engineering, pests, cows, chickens etc etc.
I also had to allocate a part of the budget to “operating expenses”. So far we have managed to get some wooden chairs in the library recovered to replace the ripped orange seat covers with half their foam missing. We now have chocolate brown. Very nice! We have purchased a guillotine so we can chop up spine labels easily and straight! We also have a new heavy duty stapler which the students are going to love in the new semester. I am thinking about a laminator. The library used to have one but it broke. It would be good to make some new shelf signs and notices for the place and laminating them would help them last.
The main impact I have managed to have so far is the remodelling of the library counter!! It’s the semester break so the best time for making a mess – well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Last week we had the maintenance guys in here banging and crashing and breaking down the barricade! Luckily for me the previous librarian also mentioned how bad the desk was so it wasn’t too hard to get something done about it. We now have a nice gate and way out from behind the counter so we can help the students easier i.e we can get out from behind the barricade! We took a higher part of the desk away so now it’s low and flat and open. Very welcoming. We are all liking it. Along with this I managed to get a flat screen monitor out of IT instead of the huge heavy one we had before so that we can easily turn the screen around when we are searching for things for the students. See Flickr for some pictures of the new counter.
We have a new DVD collection that arrived in a box from Fiji. Very nice of them to send these to us. They have been a great hit especially during the holiday break. My next job is to try and get a TV and DVD player for the library (and the campus) so that the students and lecturers without laptops can make use of the collection. In conjunction with this we have an ancient but valuable collection of video tapes that are in all manner of conditions. Hit rate does not seem to be very good for cleaning and converting these to DVD so sadly we might be losing some very good titles.
Have been doing some work on the library system – Athena. This seems to be a very stable and adequate system. Very basic but does what we want for now. There is no acquisitions module so orders are made separately in an Access database. Means no one knows what we have on order which is a shame. I have tweaked up some item types that control the issue periods and now need to do some global changes. Am working on exporting data out of the system, fixing it up and importing it back in. Not sure if I will be successful with this! There are rumours we might be moving to Koha here, the NZ developed open source software for library management, so watch this space.
So next tasks before the semester break is over is to brighten the place up a bit before the new students start. I have some ideas about covering boards with brightly coloured fabric or lavalava printed with frangipani or hibiscus etc and hanging these panels up on the wall. I think the locals think I’m nuts but hey I’m giving it a go. Am also going to work on the computers that are in the library and tidy them up a bit, make sure they are working correctly and make sure there is easy access to library resources oh and also remove everyone’s personal pictures that seem to end up as the desktop default! This might be a job that takes a while. The web site will also need updating and then there’s the web catalogue – you get the picture! Plenty of projects to work on.
The saving grace is that I have joined a few groups started by USP in Fiji to discuss Web 2.0 initiatives and have also been speaking to one of the librarians there about the use of Second Life in libraries and education. It’s a start – even though I can’t get in there myself at the moment! I am trying to keep up to date with things as best possible. I welcome any hints on what the next new technology for libraries is. The internet connection here sometimes stops me from being able to upload, download or even read my NetVibes page. Fridays are best as its Saturday in Fiji by then! Oh and also emails seem to disappear into the wild blue yonder of their own free will so if you don’t hear back from me it could be that it went poof!
Well it’s peaceful and quiet in the library today. No shhhhhhing required. One staff member on leave and another learning First Aid as she says – just in case I collapse one day then she can help me out!
Monday, July 7, 2008
A Matai in my Library
The other day the library attendant asked me if she could have a day off for family business. Little did I know that she was actually attending the ceremony to be bestowed with the title of Mimisa Lina! The next day her picture was in the paper (see Flickr). As it turns out one of her family members is Eroni Clarke, ex All Black player, and he too was being made a Matai for her village so was over to attend the ceremony. Lina tells me that her Matai title means High Chief. Each village over here have the Matai’s who look after all the people in the village. Lina explained to me that now she is a Matai she will be responsible for collecting money for the village and dishing it out to those in need as well as for faalavalava or gifts for weddings, funerals and other family occasions. Her position is a non speaking one but she must attend meetings and listen. I think this is really awesome and I have told her I am proud to be working with a Matai in the library. Congratulations Lina.
Beach Hopping
Last weekend we also decided to have a day out on Sunday beach hopping. We headed off back towards the airport, a road we hadn’t driven on in the daylight, and found some beautiful spots. I have posted some pictures on Flickr showing the Main West Coast Road (airport road) and some of the beaches we found around the Western end of the island. It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful as you can see. Sparkling blue water and sun shining all day. I got a bit carried away with the beach, sea, sand with palm trees shots but everywhere we turned it was just so …. Beautiful. We stopped in at Aggie Grey’s hotel near the airport and found their water sports area. Nice little white sand beach there. From this spot we could also see the other islands of Samoa – Manono, Apolima and Savaii (in the distance). As we carried on around we passed where you go to catch the car ferry to Savaii. The further away from Apia you get the more friendly the locals become. Some of the villages are lovely and anyone walking along the road was sure to call out and wave to us. We passed through a place near to Faleaseela which was slightly inland and where we had to ford the stream to get through. What a beautiful spot though and they have fales there you can stay in so might be worth another visit some time. Safaatoa was picturesque. It’s not far from Paradise Beach and you can tell! I had to take a photo of the rugby jerseys drying in the sun at Savaia. No wonder all the clothes in this country look so worn and faded. That sun is pretty harsh.
Our final destination for the day was Matareva beach. We paid WST$10.00 to drive 3.5 kms down a bumpy dirt road to reach the beach. Stopped at some fales that were peaceful and quiet but was not too taken with the toilet facilities here I must say. Bit stinky and when I dared to open the door ………….. well enough said about that. The bushes nearby were looking mighty fetching! Anyway we decided to carry on a bit further down the road and found more fales and houses you can stay in overnight (another place to revisit maybe). The toilets here were much better in comparison! The sea looked very inviting so after a bit of lunch we decided to go in. Snorkelling was a bit much for me as there was quite a swell and a few waves (I need it calm!) This beach is quite close to the coral reef so the waves crash over and come pounding into the shore. Adam managed to do some snorkelling though while I mucked about looking at the coral and found a nice gentle little pool to have a swim in. I did manage to get myself sucked up by the backdraft at one stage though then picked up and dumped back on the rocks and coral which was just a little bit painful! No major injuries though. One of the locals warned us about the sharks and to stay one side of a rope in the water – yes just a rope, no net on there so not sure how that keeps the sharks out! It was yet again a beautiful spot. The mozzies drove us out as the sun set so we headed to Coconuts resort for a traditional dinner of fish with taro and breadfruit chips served on banana leaves. Very nice.
Our final destination for the day was Matareva beach. We paid WST$10.00 to drive 3.5 kms down a bumpy dirt road to reach the beach. Stopped at some fales that were peaceful and quiet but was not too taken with the toilet facilities here I must say. Bit stinky and when I dared to open the door ………….. well enough said about that. The bushes nearby were looking mighty fetching! Anyway we decided to carry on a bit further down the road and found more fales and houses you can stay in overnight (another place to revisit maybe). The toilets here were much better in comparison! The sea looked very inviting so after a bit of lunch we decided to go in. Snorkelling was a bit much for me as there was quite a swell and a few waves (I need it calm!) This beach is quite close to the coral reef so the waves crash over and come pounding into the shore. Adam managed to do some snorkelling though while I mucked about looking at the coral and found a nice gentle little pool to have a swim in. I did manage to get myself sucked up by the backdraft at one stage though then picked up and dumped back on the rocks and coral which was just a little bit painful! No major injuries though. One of the locals warned us about the sharks and to stay one side of a rope in the water – yes just a rope, no net on there so not sure how that keeps the sharks out! It was yet again a beautiful spot. The mozzies drove us out as the sun set so we headed to Coconuts resort for a traditional dinner of fish with taro and breadfruit chips served on banana leaves. Very nice.
Netball Tournament
Last weekend Adam and I both played in a netball tournament at Apia park. This was the grading round for the outdoor season that is about to start on the 19th July. We have 3 teams in our club, 2 girls and 1 men’s team (although that is debatable!) We are playing for Hyundai so our uniforms are blue and white! As it turns out Hyundai are the only club that have ex-pats, not that that bothered me but it was the first club I found. We have a nice mix of palagi and samoan people in the team/club. We have made some new friends which is great. I was a little disappointed with the uniform to be honest. Was hoping for some tropical design but alas no it’s pretty normal. I have put some pictures up on Flickr and one of them shows one of the men’s team outfits which is pretty snazzy with flowery shorts. I was hoping Adam would end up with something like this or something pink just to make his day! Some of the girls have actually managed to score ex-Samoa team dresses (from the World Champs etc) so they are looking pretty flash in those.
Anyway we turned up at 11.00am ready for our 5-6 games. The games were a bit spaced out throughout the day so we actually didn’t finish til about 7.00pm. By the time we either played or watched each other play though the day filled itself in nicely. Pretty knackering playing that many games in a day even if they were shorter than normal. We must be getting old! In the end the girls A team came 2nd and the boys 3rd. I have heard that we (girls) will probably be playing a shield match against one of the other teams who we bet during the tournament so who knows we may be able to take that off them. Shield matches might also be broadcast on TV so heck – better do my hair that day – famous in Samoa!!
So it was a pretty entertaining day. There were Fafa’s everywhere and boy are they full on. They take the game very seriously. They had us all in stitches with one of the games with their little comments to each other and the ref and also their pushing and shoving and the indignant facial expressions – “Who me?”! Bad news is that I have been roped into umpiring when the season gets started and I think it’s the Fafa’s I’m going to have to try and keep control of!! We have learnt a thing or 2 about the Fafa’s. Some are very feminine, limp wrists and all. Others are very ‘manly’ but with lovely complexions, makeup and flowers in their hair. Others just seem to be cross dressing – and that can be all wrong especially when the beer gut hangs out below the orange crop top with shoe string straps and lace! Seems though that none of that matters when there’s a game of netball to play and a ball to be got by whatever means – rucking if necessary! Limp wrists out the window then.
Anyway we turned up at 11.00am ready for our 5-6 games. The games were a bit spaced out throughout the day so we actually didn’t finish til about 7.00pm. By the time we either played or watched each other play though the day filled itself in nicely. Pretty knackering playing that many games in a day even if they were shorter than normal. We must be getting old! In the end the girls A team came 2nd and the boys 3rd. I have heard that we (girls) will probably be playing a shield match against one of the other teams who we bet during the tournament so who knows we may be able to take that off them. Shield matches might also be broadcast on TV so heck – better do my hair that day – famous in Samoa!!
So it was a pretty entertaining day. There were Fafa’s everywhere and boy are they full on. They take the game very seriously. They had us all in stitches with one of the games with their little comments to each other and the ref and also their pushing and shoving and the indignant facial expressions – “Who me?”! Bad news is that I have been roped into umpiring when the season gets started and I think it’s the Fafa’s I’m going to have to try and keep control of!! We have learnt a thing or 2 about the Fafa’s. Some are very feminine, limp wrists and all. Others are very ‘manly’ but with lovely complexions, makeup and flowers in their hair. Others just seem to be cross dressing – and that can be all wrong especially when the beer gut hangs out below the orange crop top with shoe string straps and lace! Seems though that none of that matters when there’s a game of netball to play and a ball to be got by whatever means – rucking if necessary! Limp wrists out the window then.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Photos are here!
Hi All
Having a few bothers one way and another with uploading photos to this blog and to Flickr so I've managed to get some up on Flickr and here is the link to them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9249618@N08/ (You'll have to copy and paste this into your browser. Seems there is also a problem with creating a link!!)
Enjoy!
Ang
Having a few bothers one way and another with uploading photos to this blog and to Flickr so I've managed to get some up on Flickr and here is the link to them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9249618@N08/ (You'll have to copy and paste this into your browser. Seems there is also a problem with creating a link!!)
Enjoy!
Ang
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Our first week in Samoa
This first week has been a bit learning experience for us. While I have been going to work Adam has been sussing out the supermarkets and shops. Unlike at home you can’t get everything you need in 1 place so you have to know where to go for what. Consequently we have been eating a bit of what resembles cat food out of a tin this week! Not too appetising! We have been reduced to what they sell at the supermarket just up the road. We dared to try the tinned Corned Beef and I’m sorry to say it’s not to be recommended. Nothing like Mum’s that’s for sure. It is full of fat that goes through the whole cut of beef in the tin. On the TV they show you frying it up which at least makes it look better as the fat dissolves but it still doesn’t taste that great. Once was enough for us. Later on in the week though we have managed to make some more normal meals such as tuna pasta and salad and have even dared to try some beef strips and mince from “Farmer Joes” one of the big supermarkets in town. We have had 1 stir fry and tonight Spaghetti with a side of Broccoli (my favourite). Would you believe though that the broccoli cost the equivalent of $NZ10!!!!!!!!! It was imported. Oh well don’t suppose I will be having that very often. One of my colleagues at work informed me today that Taro and Bananas are the staples that go with everything for a meal in Samoa. I’ve yet to try that. There are also huge markets for fruit and veges and fish down town so we will have to make a habit of going there. I was pleased to find lettuce and tomatoes at the market so we can still make salads.
This week we have had a few rainy days. I love the rain on the tin roof. As the louver windows are always open to let in the breeze you can hear the rain dripping outside. It rains with huge splotchy drops here but it is still very warm. The trees, grass and plants are a lush green as a consequence. When it is not raining the skies are a clear blue and the sun beats down with temperatures in the early 30’s. Palagi’s like me need to seek shade to avoid passing out! Another point with the louver windows though is that you can hear everything that’s going on outside and with your neighbours. This can be dogs fighting, babies crying, stereos and TV. The first few nights I really noticed the crickets chirping and in the mornings it was like living in an aviary only we were the caged animals!
We have also already experienced a power blackout. Things were pitch black while we scrambled around looking for our phones with a built in torch. As we didn’t’ know how long it was going to last for we walked up to the local shop to buy some candles and matches but ….. you guessed it, the moment we got these lit the power came back on!
This week we have had a few rainy days. I love the rain on the tin roof. As the louver windows are always open to let in the breeze you can hear the rain dripping outside. It rains with huge splotchy drops here but it is still very warm. The trees, grass and plants are a lush green as a consequence. When it is not raining the skies are a clear blue and the sun beats down with temperatures in the early 30’s. Palagi’s like me need to seek shade to avoid passing out! Another point with the louver windows though is that you can hear everything that’s going on outside and with your neighbours. This can be dogs fighting, babies crying, stereos and TV. The first few nights I really noticed the crickets chirping and in the mornings it was like living in an aviary only we were the caged animals!
We have also already experienced a power blackout. Things were pitch black while we scrambled around looking for our phones with a built in torch. As we didn’t’ know how long it was going to last for we walked up to the local shop to buy some candles and matches but ….. you guessed it, the moment we got these lit the power came back on!
Living in Samoa
We can’t believe we are actually doing it! Living and working here. It is warm, busy, laid back and beautiful. There are many coconut and banana palms around as well as tropical multicoloured leaved bushes, frangipani, hibiscus, ginger plants and taro. So far we have only found 2 streets with footpaths in the town of Apia and these lead to the Sports Complex where the South Pacific Games were held last year (the team from Guam actually stayed in our house during the games!) These are good streets for a walk after work or maybe a run once we dig out the running shoes. Other places you walk along the side of the road in the gravel. This is not good for your shoes! We have had a couple of cloudy days in our first week which have at least been less sweaty than the days of full sunshine. Being sweaty seems to be the accepted norm however. Ceiling fans operate constantly and shops and places with air conditioning feel like fridges. We have found it much easier to get up and running with normal life here in Samoa compared to the UK. In 1 day we managed to set up a joint bank account, connect to Digicel one of the local mobile phone networks and get a post office box for our mail. There are no street names or numbers in Samoa therefore where you live is described by your village. We are living in Vaigaga (pronounced Vaingunga). It seems everyone in the town knows our landlord and the 2 houses he owns down our street. Failing this we just describe it as the street in Vaigaga by the cake and video shops! When getting a taxi home it’s taken a few goes to pronounce the name such that the driver can understand where we need to go but we are getting there. Taxi’s are everywhere so it hasn’t been a problem getting to and from work. The other day I rode in a taxi with orange fluffy seat covers that the driver thought were “cool aye”! We have been for a few rides on the local busses which are definitely an experience and an education. They are big with open windows in bright colours and generally pump out Samoan and English pop music. You pay the driver when you get off so you have to know to climb aboard and just sit down. It costs $1 (Samoan Tala) for your journey. People are pretty good at moving over and making a space on the seat for you to sit down. We haven’t been on a chockker block bus yet but apparently the norm is to sit on each others knees for the journey. It freaked out our next door neighbour, a very slight Indian girl, when a big Samoan lady picked her up and plonked her on her knees for the trip!
Samoa is a very religious and family orientated country. There are churches every few hundred meters down the road which are usually elaborate with well kept grounds. Saturday is the day for all Samoans to do their housework and shopping in preparation for Sunday which is a family day and a day to attend church dressed in white. Shops are open until midday on a Saturday which makes down town pretty busy and manic in the mornings. I have been asked already which religion I am and I don’t think it is looked on favourably that we don’t attend church regularly.
A lot of the slow paced and laid back way of life is described as “We Samoans …..” or “The Samoan way is …..” It makes perfect sense when you are here in the country where it is hot and humid and moving about at a great pace just isn’t done. Although at a first glance it appears you can’t buy what you want or do what you need to, you actually can once you know where you need to go. Some dingy back alley place could be just what you are looking for to get a key cut or purchase one of the best meals in town. I am impressed at how efficiently things run in a so called backward and manual way. USP managed to process my starting allowance and refund on our flights within a few days of me starting work which was fantastic. We now have some Tala in our Samoan bank account.
People in Samoa are very friendly. Wherever we walk we get tooted at and waved to. The other night we were going for a walk after work and had a family sitting inside around their dinner table call out hello and wave! It means you have to go everywhere switched on and ready to be friendly back or risk being labelled as the ‘Pouty Palagi’! There seems to be a lot of smoke in the air around home time. I think some families cook dinner over an open fire and others burn their rubbish. Walking around as a little white girl seems to draw a bit of attention so I much prefer it when Adam is there to ward off unwanted attention. There is one benefit though, cars stop to allow you to cross the road! The most asked questions by everyone are whether I’m here with my family, where are we living and how many children do we have…….
Samoa is a very religious and family orientated country. There are churches every few hundred meters down the road which are usually elaborate with well kept grounds. Saturday is the day for all Samoans to do their housework and shopping in preparation for Sunday which is a family day and a day to attend church dressed in white. Shops are open until midday on a Saturday which makes down town pretty busy and manic in the mornings. I have been asked already which religion I am and I don’t think it is looked on favourably that we don’t attend church regularly.
A lot of the slow paced and laid back way of life is described as “We Samoans …..” or “The Samoan way is …..” It makes perfect sense when you are here in the country where it is hot and humid and moving about at a great pace just isn’t done. Although at a first glance it appears you can’t buy what you want or do what you need to, you actually can once you know where you need to go. Some dingy back alley place could be just what you are looking for to get a key cut or purchase one of the best meals in town. I am impressed at how efficiently things run in a so called backward and manual way. USP managed to process my starting allowance and refund on our flights within a few days of me starting work which was fantastic. We now have some Tala in our Samoan bank account.
People in Samoa are very friendly. Wherever we walk we get tooted at and waved to. The other night we were going for a walk after work and had a family sitting inside around their dinner table call out hello and wave! It means you have to go everywhere switched on and ready to be friendly back or risk being labelled as the ‘Pouty Palagi’! There seems to be a lot of smoke in the air around home time. I think some families cook dinner over an open fire and others burn their rubbish. Walking around as a little white girl seems to draw a bit of attention so I much prefer it when Adam is there to ward off unwanted attention. There is one benefit though, cars stop to allow you to cross the road! The most asked questions by everyone are whether I’m here with my family, where are we living and how many children do we have…….
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