10 Days Down

OK, so one week down and we are settling in to Kiribati.

First news is WE ARE OPEN FOR VISITOR BOOKINGS.  We have two spare bedrooms both with queens sized beds.

You don’t need to bring much except for supplies for us.  Just pack for sunny, hot and humid.  Dressed up is:

Men: collared short sleeve shirt, shorts and your best thongs or runners.

Ladies: Something covering shoulders, cleavage (for those who have it) and knees.

Bikinis and DTs should be covered if swimming.

Driving is quite easy in Kiribati as you either turn left or right on the Main Road and you can use your Australian licence for up to three weeks.  The Main Road has several smaller lanes going off it, but they either go towards the lagoon or the ocean.  The directions here when driving are head towards the airport (in the East) or Batio (in the West).  The same goes the side roads/lanes which head towards the lagoon (North) and the ocean (South).

I get into trouble for using compass directions as nobody understands them, and that is not just the locals.  Most of the volunteers don’t understand compass directions either.  I did try to teach them that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, but that was too difficult so it’s airport, Batio, lagoon or ocean.

The main population in Tarawa is along the Southern end of the atoll which is where the Main Road is.  See, you do need to use the compass, otherwise how do you tell somebody which part of the atoll you are referring to…The main Road has raised causeways between each island and this is where you can really test out your car as the causeway speed limit is 60kph.  There are also islands up the Eastern side of the atoll, but these aren’t connected to the Main Road and you need a boat or wait for low tide to cross.  Haven’t tried either yet.

House hunting has been interesting as my criteria was at least two bedrooms, one of which had to be air conditioned, and located close to work.  We soon added that our house had to be on the ocean side of the island.  Getting something close to work proved impossible, so we started looking further out and saw many houses.  We found a place that fitted our needs that was right at the end of the airstrip and looked East with ocean views.  After deciding to take it we found it had already been taken for $2,000 per month.  We were looking at $1,000 per month.  How much are you paying for rent Lisa?

We rationalise that we weren’t to go to that house as we would have been isolated from everybody and to get to the other end of the road would have taken 1-1.5hrs.  I haven’t measured it, but it is at least 35 to 40 kms.

During our search we had seen a big three bedroom house, but had decided it was too far from work.  This became our next target.  We organised to see it again and also see what else was available.  We quickly decided to take the big three bedroom house and then had to wait for the rental contract.  I read and made changes to it of course.

The house we have is located in Teaoraereke (no idea how to say that yet) and appears to have sea breezes coming straight through the middle of the house when the timber doors are opened.  It is fully screened and the main bedroom even has an ensuite.  Looking out the back door and the main bedroom window we have ocean views and there appears to be some surf (1-1.5mtrs).  The house is located down an extremely bumpy/potholed road behind the South Pacific University campus.  I am interested to see how we negotiate the road in the wet as some puddles will seem like swimming pools.  Stay tuned for that excitement.

Pics below are

1. Looking from the front door down the side of the house to the Pacific 
2. Looking at the Pacific from the back door.
3. Looking at the front door and Denise

 

Car hunting has also proved interesting as any cars from departing expats are usually already accounted for well before they go.  We are looking for a station wagon or twin cab for around $5,000 or less if possible so if you know of anything going in Kiribati contact the author of this blog.

There are apparently no nasty land animals here so you have to go into the water to find them, mainly stone fish.

I met my counterparts who I will be working with and it looks like this should be an interesting 12 months.  I only got to chat with them for about 30 minutes, but will know more when I begin work on Monday.  It looks like to are plenty of opportunities to be further investigated and determine which are achievable, sustainable and will provide the best value.  I may be bouncing ideas off some of you back home.

I was approached to see if I knew of anybody who knew about electrical wiring, otherwise known as an electrician.  So those electricians I know may get asked a few questions in the coming weeks and months.

As usual there are always things that can be done to improve the lives of others, and over here, the government appears to be doing the right things to improve the quality of life through education, health and sewage and sanitation.

The weekend just gone was spent in North Tarawa staying at a village.  Great experience, but great to get back to having the ability to use air conditioning if it gets hot, as long as the power remains on.  And it seems hot as every time I get up to do anything I start sweating.

Some question answered

Did you need to get any vaccinations to go there?  Yes, but nothing much after Tanzania.

Is the pub within walking distance and importantly the cost of a brew?  The pub is a lot further than The Hole in Tanzania.  It appears everywhere you can eat you can usually get a beer.  I’m not sure of the cost, but the other night we found 500ml Stellas for $3.80 at the local Chinese restaurant.

What are the people like?  Very welcoming and extremely friendly so far.

What’s the coffee like?  Not being a coffee connoisseur, I have been told it’s not brilliant (bring your own, including something to brew it).