15/06/15

My birthday was different this year.  It occurred while I was in Tuvalu, and on the day that Tuvalu had a public holiday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.  Nice of them to have a holiday on my birthday. 

The day started with Susan and I briefly skyping before she went off to work, which was a really nice way to start to the day and left me with a smile. Despite it being a holiday for the locals I still had some work to do, and so spent the morning on the computer.

I had let slip to Kat over the weekend that my birthday was on Monday, and so she decided that as a minimum a group of us should have lunch together.  That’s how Tom and Katrina, Clara, Kat, Uschi, Liam, Rob and I all ended up having a lunch by the lagoon that was full of laughter and good company.  Kat even made me a couple of cakes.  After lunch I opened up the couple of small presents that I had brought with me.

Thank you all for making contributing to the uniqueness of the day, in a great way.

Unbeknownst to everyone, that lunch happened to coincide with the time that some ignorant arseholes decided that they would break into our home in New Zealand, and help themselves to some of our possessions.  Susan discovered the break in went she got home from work and saw the back door smashed open. 

Somehow I knew, when Tony popped up in facebook asking if I could call them on skype, that something had happened.  This was around 7 in the evening.  I’m not going to go into any of the details here, for many of reasons, one of which is that I suspect it would still affect me some.  What I would like to say here though, is that I am very very grateful for the way everyone rallied around to help Susan until I was able to get home.

Thank you Susan

Thank you Tony

Than you Fran

Thank you Debbie, Mark and Ellie,

Thank you Simon, Simon, Ray and Paige

Thank you to all in Tuvalu that understood and helped me go

Thank you to the Police who stayed on the line and helped Susan enter the house and be sure she was safe and no one was there, and for all the advice and support they gave her

Thank you.

Dinner is served on the island

It is Tuesday here in Tuvalu, and normally it would be a quiet night, but tonight the outside area is full of people celebrating a 21^st birthday.  I was going to do some work and so decided I would have my dinner in my room. (don’t tell, but I decided I had done enough work for this day and so read my ‘book’ instead)

I do enjoy how my mind wanders sometimes.  Where it wanders, I know, is often influenced by the environment around me, what I have been up to previously, and what I am processing underneath at the time.  That is for another post though.

Today, I was just going to write about my dinner, and describe how much it means to have something other than chicken in black bean sauce with rice.  Tonight I chose the option of sweet and sour chicken with chips and vegies.  Bit of a treat to have so many recognisable and desirable flavours on the plate at once.  The sweet and sour was just that  :) , the vegies were in fact a coleslaw and the chips were freshly out of the frier. Soft in the middle and crisp on the outside. 

While I was eating I realised that yet again I was saving the best till last.  The chips.  I always do this.  I will always save the ‘treat’ on the plate till last. 

When we have a roast, the last thing left if the roast onion.  So sweet and sometimes crunchy. 

It led me to wondering, does everyone save the best till last?  And if not, are those that do and those that don’t somehow different as groups in their personalities?  And amongst each group, are there common personality traits amongst their individualities???

See what I mean about how this mind sometimes meanders.  Food for thought for the future?  I sense some interesting research or dinner party questions coming on…

Oh and I liked the chips so much, there is a new bowl of them sitting next to me as I write this.  enjoy

Return from a hiatus

This has been my first post in more than a month, mainly due to the non birthday events that occurred on my birthday this year.  I’m not going to go into those now, or why the hiatus, but may do some time in the future.  Suffice to say that the arseholes who broke into our house while Susan was at work and I was in Tuvalu, probably have no idea of the knock on consequences of their actions!

Some of my posts in the near future will be about while I was back in NZ, so it’s useful to capture here, when I left Tuvalu and when I return.  Mind you, it should be fairly obvious from the posts.  So, I flew out of Tuvalu on the 16^th June (a week early due to the break-in) and flew out of Auckland to return to Tuvalu (where I am posting this from) on the 24^th July.

I remember when I started this blog that my intent was just to capture bits n pieces of happenings, observations, thoughts and the likes that I thought might be of interest to me in the future, and as a way of staying ‘in touch’ with the world from Tuvalu.  I think I mentioned also that I would post when I did and not to a set routine, well at least that was in my mind at the time if I didn’t write that.  It may be, that I post a bit more this trip than I have in the past, in part because I have been slack and tardy on staying up to date, and partly because I think it will be useful to me to do so. 

Anyway, this is the first post for a while, and as I like photos if I can, I thought I’d share what the full moon looked after rising here in Tuvalu on the 30^th July.

Hope you find something of interest in the posts to come if you are following or come across bits n pieces, and welcome to Isobella. The latest member of the Henricksen and Morgan families, who arrived just a bit early but is doing fine and will no doubt change us all in some way. :D

Steps to a 'feel good lunch'

Step 1.  Be back in New Zealand after 5 weeks in Tuvalu

Step 2.  Go to the local butcher, choose some nice mince.  NOT too lean because there is flavour in that fat.  Make sure there is plenty for dinner plus lots for left over.

Step 3. Go home and try and find the recipe to make mince for dinner, give up and wing it based on what you feel like and things that wouldn't be available in Tuvalu, like leeks, tomatoes, beef stock, celery and as much garlic as you fancy plus a dash of pinot noir

Step 4. The next day make coffee

Step 5. Spread left over mince and awesome homemade tomato relish on multigrain bread

Step 6.  Toast till golden brown

Step 7.  Consume deliberately and savouring the taste, while sitting on the porch in the late Autumn sunshine reading the latest hot rod magazine

transitioning to the other civilisation

Last night I slept in a soft bed

The windows were open and aircon off 

The noises of the night insects and the coolness of Fiji air a pleasant change

Woke this morning to birds in the coconut trees outside chattering away

After breakfast I took my light weight trousers and short sleeve shirt down to iron

Twas nice to take the time to iron the wrinkles out and put some creases in, letting my mind wander as I did

Transitioning from Tuvalu to Auckland

Dalek and sunsets

Every evening in Tuvalu the sun sets over the lagoon.  Taking the time to pause and watch it, or glance up at it while reading a book or talking to people, is a nice way to transition from day to evening.

Every now and then the clouds form shapes that are recognisable, and then they change again and the shape is gone.

14th May 2015

Today is the day.  The day I depart Tuvalu and head back home for a couple of weeks. I have been wanting to do this post for a few days now but the internet connection and speed hasn't been up to doing it.

A couple of weeks ago my departure date was confirmed. I was looking forward to going home and being with family and friends, but I wasn't quite expecting the effect that having a confirmed date would have.  I found that as I talked to others about my departure, I started to become more and more aware of things that I was missing, which I wasn't as fully aware of before.

As I have all the clothes I need in Tuvalu already (in fact i am taking some home that I don't need) I started to let people know that if they wanted something brought back and I had space and it was easy, I could bring things back for them. Important things like plunger coffee and chocolate and kids movies were the requests that started to come in.  

These conversations triggered my own thinking about what I miss, and while on Skype with my son last Monday the following list came to be....

some of the small things I am looking forward to when I am home:

• hearing birds (the mainly sea birds in Tuvalu don't seem to break into song the same as at home)
• going to the supermarket and having lots of choice and lights and people, 
• hearing dogs bark and sirens,
• planes flying overhead every day and not meaning it is Tuesday or Thursday
• brushing my teeth using the tap not the boiled water, 
• not boiling the jug in the morning and then pouring it into the re-cycled water bottle at lunch time after it's cooled
• not having flickering lights because the ceiling fan is underneath the light bulb
• not having to turn the air con on in the middle of the night to take the edge off the temperature so I can go back to sleep
• reliable internet that works when I want it and is faster than I can type
• being easily able to talk to those I love and friends
• being cold
• cooking bacon so it is nice and crispy.......

Last night a group of us went to the Filamona for the Wednesday buffet.  It was on because we worked out who could come and, as there were more than 10 people, there would be a buffet that night. It wasn't a going away thing or any big fuss, but it was really nice to mark my last night for three weeks amongst the people that I have come to count as friends on the island. What made it even better was that the Kiwis outnumbered the Aussies for a change.  

And then finally the day was here. Departure day. A day of  last conversations that needed to be had, and saying "see you in 3 weeks". The plane was late and then delayed in departing, but I found that it didn't matter.  It would come when it did and leave when it did. I didn't get wound up or anxious by it, particularly the late arrival, which tells me that I am adapting to the Tuvalu approach of 'it will happen when and if it does'.

I made it to Suva and after an hour or so layover, flew into Nadi in the dark and checked in.  As we were waiting for the flight out to depart Funafuti, I felt myself getting more and more weary. Not tired, just weary. The weariness has continued through right up until now as I write this post after my first hot water shower in 5 weeks.  

I didn't realise until tonight, how emotional it is....

To be leaving the place I have been for the last 5 weeks, the place which now has a familiar pattern to it and where I am someone who is 'there' not just visiting for a week.  

To be going back to the place that feels right and safe and familiar; where those I care about and love and who care and love me are, where my friends are; where I can experience again all the little things that I took for granted and didn't notice, but whose absence from Tuvalu speaks loudly to me.

To be going back home.  Home.  Home 

Growing vegies in the warmth of Tuvalu

One of the things I miss from New Zealand are fresh veggies, and although my vegie garden has been a bit basic in its crop and neglected over the summer, I particularly miss the pleasure of growing my own.  There is something about the process of planting a seed and seeing the first shoot then leaves form and watching it develop (sometimes over many months).  It's therapeutic for me.

When I was looking at renting a place for my stay here, one of the things I noticed was that hardly any places have gardens.  I was very pleasantly surprised when, on my return in April, I discovered that raised beds and vegetable seedling had appeared at the hotel.  One of the staff had developed them and tended them every day.  He had 'made' the soil out of old coconut tree trunks and pig manure, and imported the seeds.

The thing that surprised me most was the speed of their growth.  As you can see from the photos below, you could almost stand there and see them physically growing.  The first photo was taken on the 11th April and the last on the 10th May, the day after the first were harvested and served in the Hotel restaurant.

I wonder if sustaining a temperature range of 26-32 deg 24/7 would result in the same growth rate.....

Open

It is surprisingly easy just by taking the time to do so....

To stop, pause and notice

To see be aware of how I go about the 'normal' daily things here, which I tend to do without even thinking about back at home

To adapt to actual necessities

To wake up early and go for a run in the morning

To finish a cup of tea after breakfast and not rush into the day

To talk to others who I don't know, and discover or learn as a result of a simple conversation

To be open to new experiences

A simple pleasure shared

Pleasure is.......

Looking at the cuppa tea on the desk in Tuvalu having just posted in here,

and thinking yes, it would be nice to have a couple of krispies from the packet I brought up three weeks ago,

that I have been rationing carefully and keeping fresh in the sealed container,

and then taking three, dunking them and smiling 

an observation about temperature

Back in the mid 80's I went to the antarctic for 7 weeks or so.  One of the things I remember from that trip was how it was bitterly cold when we arrived, but after a time we acclimatised to the point that on a still day, we were playing volley ball outside on the helicopter landing pad area in shorts and tee shirts.

It rained here on Sunday.  A fantastic tropical electrical storm, and then the wind came up and it was grey and raining most of the afternoon.  An observation that a number of us made when we ere talking about it the next day was how cool it made the afternoon and night.  It dropped the temperature in the afternoon to around 24 degrees.  Positively refreshing.

What that tells me is that my body, and mind, is adjusting to the heat that it experiences here in Tuvalu (34 deg today and a bit hot but not uncomfortable). But what I have also observed is that it must be on the edge of it's temperature tolerance.  Not in a way that I am on the edge of collapse of course, but on the edge of the body not having to react to cool itself.

I have noticed, as have many of the other palangi's I have talked with, that the very slightest exertion will result in a flooding sweat.  Even to the point of after a meal in the middle of the day, you start to sweat.  I am assuming that it is because the body is processing the food and so expending energy.  At home or in colder climates, I have not been aware of what my body must be doing as and after I eat.  

Here, i have taken the time to observe, and be aware.  It is nice to be aware of the normally hidden things in me

25th April 2015. Anzac day 100 years on

Just before 5:00am in the dark of pre-dawn and a little light rain, a small group started to gather at the accommodation of the Australian Navy detachment here in Tuvalu.  It was a simple low key ceremony overlooking the lagoon with people from Tuvalu, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, England, Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world.  

Many of us are visitors to the island for varying lengths of time and as such, are part of that loose group who look out for and are friends with each other while they are here. Being a part of this small group on Tuvalu, and doing a reading as part of the ceremony made this ANZAC day a moment I think I will remember for a good length of time to come.  

who needs tide charts?

I have never really thought about what is below me when I am stand on the ground. Sure when I was a kid digging the garden you sometimes came across bits and pieces the builders kindly buried under the topsoil for kids to discover and imagine it was buried treasure. Or when you dug in the sand at hot water beach you could make your very own private hot pool.  But I have never really thought about how solid the ground is.  

I guess I have always just taken for granted that it is all either solid rock or dirt under me as I walk along in my daily life.  Turns out that this assumption was slightly incorrect.  

I had been told before I came to Tuvalu that there are times an places where water (also known as the pacific ocean) bubbles up through the land.  Turns out one such area is outside the power station where I go to work each day.  and it's not really every now and then, but going from the past few days, most high tides.  I assume it happens every tide, it's just how much that varies depending on the tidal height.

  

 entrance to the power station note the ground looks like ground

(trees in background are on the edge of the island)

 what I came across when I was leaving work one evening

"Tide's in"

sea water bubbling up

Where am I starting this from

One of the prompts to start this blog, is that I am not where I normally live, which is Auckland New Zealand.  I am currently on Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu where I will be for the majority of the middle half of the year for work.

Tuvalu is an interesting spot in the pacific some 2.5 hours north of Fiji by a small but not tiny aircraft twice a week.  The flights are on Tuesday and Thursday and I learnt pretty quickly that gathering outside the airport to meet the planes is a good way to get to say hi to the expats that are here and arrange social get togethers.

The people are friendly and everybody seems to know everybody.  It is one of those spots on our planet where things are still kept simple and the focus is on the important things like food, water, community and family.  Oh and leave your eftpos, credit cards and 'pay wave' expectations at home.  There is only good old cash used here.

There is no choice if you are going to be here for more than two days but to slow down and adapt from the hectic place we tend to call 'normal' at home and with views like this  an hour before sunset, it's not too hard to do. 

Welcome

Welcome to my first ever blog, bits n pieces.  

Like the name suggests, I expect to just be popping up bits n pieces as they come along and catch my attention or thoughts.  Sometimes a common theme might appear for a while, and other things might not have any context that you can see.  But that's okay, because this is my blog and it is here just to be, nothing more and nothing less. 

Feel free to comment or send me messages if you want to (I am assuming that you will be able to and if not I will find a way to tweak the settings eventually), just bear in mind that others may be able to see what you share with me, and so I get to choose if things are left visible or otherwise.

I hope you find bits n pieces that follow of interest for as long as you happen to follow

now to begin....