The flight back to Tarawa was uneventful but I thought
the best part was when the co-pilot was going through the announcements coming
out of Nadi and got to "Smoking, let's not go there". I'm not sure whether they were for or against
smoking.
We have welcomed four new volunteers and farewelled
two departing volunteers. There are a
few others to come and go before it is our turn.
The Government of Kiribati has decided to direct
all Ministries to implement a cleanup plan for every Wednesday. I loved the idea, but I forgot to take my
hat, sunscreen, gloves, etc. Not a
problem I'll ring Denise. She wasn't
sure she would get down to my work, but would try.
A few minutes later out comes the following email
Subject: YOGA INTERNATIONAL DAY (compulsory attendance), also from the
Government and guess when it was planned.
Wednesday afternoon. I thought
cleaning up your country was more important, but apparently not.
Back on the phone to Denise to cancel my order for
cleanup gear. See, love honour and obey
were in our wedding vows - I remember it well. That is
the biggest load of BS I have ever heard! Just on the subject: He who thinks he should be boss has decided
that we need to renew our wedding vows. He believes this time around he will be
able to get me to say, Love, honour and obey. If I didn’t say it back, then I’m
definitely not going to say it now. NOTE TO SELF check the blog before he posts
it.
The email went on to say that there was a bus
leaving at 2pm to take us to the other end of the island, so out I go at 2pm
and no bus - no surprise there. The bus
finally arrived at 2.20, but in the meantime I discovered the departure time
had been amended to 1.30pm which was communicated in an email that I had
deleted as it was written in the local language. That's my normal response to emails in any
foreign language as I assume everyone knows I can't speak other languages, so I
have no hope of reading them. Plus it
clears up my inbox.
I have no idea what happened to Wednesday
afternoons being set aside for get fit programs.
As Wednesday is compulsory white shirt day, I
personally don't think it's a good idea doing any exercise or dirty work like
cleaning up, but again, that's just me.
The bus didn't arrive at the yoga venue until 3.10
for a 3pm start. The bus was definitely
speeding, but I am unsure why as nobody appears to like anything to do with
exercise. The start was delayed, first
waiting for the President to arrive, next there were speeches followed by a
video of a speech which I was later told was from the Indian Prime
Minister. This was followed by an
introduction by a yoga teacher from Suva in Fiji.
During all of this the PA system was terrible. I couldn't understand what was being said
even though some of the speeches were in English.
We finally started the yoga at about 3.40pm. The yoga itself was fun and according to the
email wasn't due to finish until 5.30pm, when in fact it finished at 4.30pm.
We then had afternoon tea at which time I got to
meet the President who had attended and participated in the yoga.
The early finish was no problem with me as I was
due back down the other end of island at 5.30pm for a farewell dinner and
drinks for another volunteer, so back on the bus again. This time I was smart, (yes I know it’s rare)
as I got off the bus at home, had a shower and changed before getting picked up
by Denise. We finally arrived for drinks
at 6.30pm. That was OK as I had already
told the organiser.
After dinner it was back home for State of Origin
score updates. No TV or radio, just
online updates. Not great, as the Blues
lost. Must find a TV for game 3.
Fun
Run
Yesterday, Saturday, the local telco sponsored a
fun run. The attraction, a free t-shirt
on registration. Registrations began at
8am, and was a few kms from home so I walked there arriving about 10 past. Surprise, registration was open and they were
getting ready for an 08:15 start. I
registered in the 60+ thinking I had a very good chance at this one. The run started at 08:20, and off went the
small kids walking in two lines first…what happened to the run but?
The group of imatangs (person of white race), who
for some strange reason gather together, were last to leave. We started off at a slow jog behind the last
group and then a few of us decided the pace was too slow so off we went. The run itself was only just over 3kms and I
had told Denise I would meet her at the library around 10 where she goes every Saturday
to read to the children.
After about 1.5kms there was a water stop do I
tipped a cup of water on my head – it was hot already. The run finished in the Bairiki Stadium, an
open soccer park with a shaded stand. On
arrival I quickly realised it was a fun run in the real sense as there was no
timing or prizes, although I did my own timing.
On reaching the end there was no water, but there were
two sheets, the first you dipped your hand in paint and left your handprint,
then wash it off in water (not for drinking).
The second sheet was to write your name in permanent marker.
After this we waited for everybody to finish, and
waited some more. Eventually the
organisers wanted photos on the oval in the Olympic rings. They had a drone and eventually used it to
get some video. After standing in the
sun for about 15-20 mins, it was back to the shade in the stands for more
photos.
At this stage it was 09:15 so as the others were
going back for a shower at a place with power (Every Saturday we have “scheduled”
power outages). I decided to wait at the
library for Denise as she would have my clothes.
At 10:00, I decided to walk back as Denise still
hadn’t arrived. I assumed she was stuck
in traffic as the police were doing a rego and licence check on EVERY vehicle –
nothing was getting through, so the traffic was banked up for over 1km. After about 500mtrs a car pulled over, it was
one of the runners with my free shirt and phone. I rang Denise and she informed me she wasn’t
coming to the library as she had seen the traffic and turned around. With one road, traffic block are quite
effective, especially when you have them on a causeway.
I called in to the place where everyone had gone
for showers and topped up with water before heading back to Denise who was at a
friends place who also had power. On
arrival I discovered she had left my clothes at home. What ever happened to the obey part… I took
the car home to get my clothes and then back for a shower. I forgot, he’ll live!
Bose
Speaker
We brought back a Bose speaker this time and today
I found it quite useful for when the pigs were squealing and the child next
door was screaming. I have found the
best music to block out the outside noise is AC/DC cranked right up. Not sure what the neighbours think,
especially on a Sunday morning, but for eight months I have had to listen to
all their noises. My turn…
Power
Outages
The power company in Tarawa is upgrading the
transformers along the road, so every Saturday they cut the power somewhere
between 6-8am and it can be out from three to 13 hours. This isn’t helpful when you have a freezer
full of frozen meat you have brought into the country.
I am not sure how much longer the Saturday outages
will last, but everybody is over regular power outages and just wants the work
to get finished. Can’t imagine how the workers are
feeling!
As we all know we had been home to our
cherished family. It was hectic and
tiring but lovely to be home. I thought
coming back to Tarawa would be a little quiet, how wrong was I. Peter dropped our friend back to the other end
of the island, he had been looking after the car for us, I unpacked the
packages of meat and food. We have not
stopped!
From there it was off to find the police
office regarding our damaged car, then to the insurance office to find out what
was going on. No surprise they were
still waiting for the police report. Beating your head, against a brick wall seems
to be more effective than talking to this Police Officer. Then it was off to get internet.
After that I was going for a swim.
Tuesday was finding out what was required
of us for the next couple of weeks. While
on the trip back from Dept of Agriculture I was contacted about Days for Girls from
UNICEF. I have had so many discussions
about Days for Girls this week, I think my harping is starting to pay off. From what I can work out there are at least 5
organisations that are keen for Days for Girls to be implemented in Kiribati. This is really exciting. So now the big question is, how am I going to
be able to relinquish control. Not good
at any of that.
Another of my initiatives has been
reading at the library with the children from Ruaoboa School. There are now 4 women including myself who are
listening to the kids read. On Wednesday
when we came back for the first time in a few weeks, the children were falling
over themselves to read to us. When I
first started it was like getting blood from a stone. Now they are very willing and pleased to read
to us all.
The next step is get them to practice
reading in front of a small group. These
children and e-Kiribati people are very shy people. So getting them to stand in front of a small
group will be a big deal.
So Finally, Church! I used to think that my Parish in
Albany Creek was the bees’ knees and the only church that I would feel that
way. Father Ron will always be my
favourite Priest, but the Chapel that I have been going to since arriving in
August last year is delightful. The
service has wonderful musicians and the congregation know when it is male and
female singers only. They have a sit
down morning tea where we are able to catch up with different people on how their
week has gone. Sometimes it is better
communication that the internet.
Well I’ll be off, He who thinks is boss,
needs to check my grammar. And I will be
checking that he hasn’t deleted anything.
Hugs Lovelies
Us
