Powering Up

I love EPC, the Electric Power Company here in Samoa.

 

Today they came for a drive up Hollywood Boulevade, admittedly they drove sraight back out again but then I saw................

 

 

him, a Knight in high vis, just beyond the tree split by the cyclone.

 

A courageous and hard working EPC man at the end of our road.

 

Tonight we continue to be without power, but much of the centre has power and it is quickly venturing up the hill to our house. 

 

Yippee EPC! Yippee Samoa!

Evil Evan

A Quick Post while I have internet access.

 

We are safe and now living without power or running water.

 

 

Cyclone Evan was frightening and terrorised Samoa for 24 hours, it reached category 3 at 3am, then hovered off the coast threatening to return as a category 4.

 

We bailed out our house for hours trying to keep the last two rooms dry, one for sleeping the other for storage.  At 12pm we set up a cyclone shelter in a bathroom, with matress, passports, food, water, medicine and bag with change of clothes.

 

 

 

We lost a small part of the carport roof and along with the rest of Samoa prayed that the roof of the house would hold and it did.

 

 

 

The boy's cubby was destroyed.

 

For many Samoans the cyclone was 100 times worse and continues to make life difficult.  Our friend BRoss down at Salamumu lost his house and accommodation fales, but he and his family are safe.

 

 

 

Yesterday I spent 5 hours at the National Hospital with a work colleague of the Domestic Surf God.  He had recieved a nasty cut while helping DSG to secure the roller doors which were blown completely off his plumbing workshop. 

 

 

 

Trying to reach the hospital was difficult as we encountered several roadblocks, bodies were being retrieved and bridges cleared of massive logs.

 

At hospital two people died in emergency and a dead body was brought in the space of 5 minutes, while we waited to see a doctor.  Two doctors were on duty we were assigned number 146 and they were up to number 30.  I quickly sent a text to DSG to secure the boys with heavy duty tape to avoid any injuries or hospital visits.

 

In the waiting area locals taught me how to count to 146 in Samoan so I would know when our number was called.  I held sick babies and listened to stories of survival, one man told me how he dislocated his shoulder when a tree hit him in the river as he saved another man.  He had an electricity line tied around his waist and had severe lacerations around his waist, with scratches all over his body from the trees and debris rushing down the river. 

 

A hospital orderly made fun of me being with a man who was not my husband and shouted to the men in the waiting room that I was available for marriage.

 

Our thoughts are now with the people of Fiji as nasty Evan moves towards them as a Category 4 beast.

 

 

 

 

I'm Hungry

Smiley's favourite phrase is "I'm Hungry".

When he walked out at the Parade of Nations practice for the Judo World Cup holding this sign I had to smile.

This week our wonderful Samoan doctor decided Riley might need to see an ENT specialist to investigate what is going on with his ears.

He was brave when she said he might need grommets, he saw what Bunny went through and he knows what might be install for him.

Monday he got his yellow belt at Judo, he actually passed the grading three weeks ago, but we had to leave Judo in a hurry so he missed out on the presentation of the new belt.

We celebrated with a yellow belt burger at Apia Yacht Club, well done Smiley.

Going Viral

Sometimes living in Samoa is like living inside a large petri dish of disease.

Over the past two years we have experienced a range of viruses and the like, if we were living in Australia DOCs would be becoming suspicious!  

Recently Smiley was stung by a nasty orange wasp, these big fellas agressively defend their nests in October and on our first year here one attacked Bunny, chasing him into the house and stinging him five times.  The welts are nasty and Bunny still has some scars.

The next day Smiley came to show us his red shoulder and I observed some other small red spots on his torso.

His mate at school had just been diagnosed with Chicken Pox although he had been immunised in Australia.  Smiley has also been immunised but these Samoan viruses are strong and Smiley ended up with some red spots sans blisters, fever and pain.  Little did he know he got off lightly.

Bunny happily ended up having three days off with Smiley, with a mere three spots compared to Smiley’s 30 or so.  They spent most of the time practicing for wheels day at school.  

Bunny’s happiness was short lived, when two weeks later both boys began to complain of new ailments.  Bunny also sported some nasty looking red spots.  The doctor diagnosed stomach flu for both boys and an added extra bonus for Bunny - ‘Chicken Pox'.  Bunny has also been immunised, but he got slammed with a skinful of painful blisters, which over four days filled and burst and filled again.

This nasty pox came just as we were preparing for the Judo World Cup in Samoa. On opening night the spots were new, Bunny bravely donned his Judo Gi and some heavy duty concealer, to proudly carry the flag for French Polynesia.

Here are my two lads, Bunny is trying not to itch too much while standing in front of the Head of State and Smiley needed a helping hand to keep from swinging Hong Kong, China from side to side.

The next day the spots continued to pop and refill and Bunny was unable to volunteer handing out water bottles. Athletes can be funny about a kid with festering blisters passing them a bottle of water.

I was also involved in the Judo World cup, after only announcing three incorrect winners last year, they let me have another go at it.  Thankfully this year there were a few less countries involved and the names were all pretty easy to pronounce.  I only announced one incorrect winner this year so I might be allowed back.

We just found out we have another 12 months in Samoa, the boys and I are staying in Australia for the first 6 months, but will be back in Samoa in July, in time for Judo World Cup.  We are hoping a good dose of Australia will clear up the ailments.

Nine is Fine

A late post for Bunny's 9th Birthday.

We had arrived back from Hawaii the day before and Bunny decided he wanted to go to Hideaway Resort.

A beach resort with a constructed tidal pool, which includes a rolling log and water slides.

It was fun and the band in the fale above the rolling log played all the classics.

Bunny's friends were all dealing with a variety of viruses when we arrived back, so it was just us.

The boys duelled.......

wrestled.......

propelled....

lounged.......

and toasted our future.

Since Bunny got his ears fixed life has been excellent, he is back to his robust self, with improved balance.

I was warned that 9 was difficult but so far he is proving to remain our beautiful boy.  

Even if occasionally he answers us with the word "fine".

He really is fine.

A Most Bodacious Vaycay

More Hawaiian holiday moments

No images of the Domestic Surf God surfing were captured in the Hawaiian surf, as I was too busy watching the "grommets" and making sure they didn't get too "scubetubeular" (awesome underwater poundage).

DSG throwing himself into helping his "grommets" in the surf.

"Smiley Style"

"Boss" Bunny!

 Surf lingo was common to many of the people we met in Hawaii.

Granted we mostly spoke to people in surf shops, at the beach, by the beach, about the beach, leaving me feeling like I was in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dude!

The surf was sometimes "mushburger" and at other times "flushopolis", but there were days when it was "cooking", but it was never "epic".

I was no "Betty" but I managed to balance on a paddle board down a creek with turtles. Smiley hitched a ride on the front and trailed his own organic palm frond boat.   

At Waikiki Smiley danced crazily on the front of my paddle board, but I managed to stay on and look cool.  Until a wave "jacked up" behind me I completely "flailed", "freaked out" and fell off the back, leaving Bunny to ride the board backwards down the thankfully "mushy" wave.  I surfaced to find him and many fellow surfers laughing at my "kook out" moment.

DSG came and swapped my big stable table paddle board in exchange for his "pig" of a hired Mal and left me with the "Groms".  

I struggled in with Smiley holding on to the front of the board, when suddenly his mouth filled, he looked at me with big eyes and vomited a lurid orange spew which drifted by us and blended with the setting Waikiki sun.

In Haliewa the boys picked up a couple of skateboards.

And the locals got into some big wheel action.

Shaved Ice was a favourite island treat

And the waterslides were most excellent at keeping the kids entertained after an all-nighter flight.

It was a totally awesome Vaycay.

 Mahalo for reading.

Aloha Hey

This post is a bit like our holiday to Hawaii, a little rushed.

With one week too play with we decided to avoid lining up with the hordes of tourists to ponder the tragedies of Pearl Harbour, pretend to run from dinosaurs in the great valley, hula along to the swinging hips at the Polynesian shows or fall for the consumerist trappings of outlet shopping.

Instead we went with our usual holiday activities of surfing, swimming and a little souvenir shopping thrown in.

We swam with turtles most days, except at Sunset Beach, where the boys surfed within metres of a sun lounging Monk Seal, named White Spot.

This is the best photo of a turtle I could manage, eventhough they were in abundance.

That dark blob to the left is a turtle watching Bunny and DSG paddle out to the break.

Unfortunately a stomach bug caused sleepless nights and more washing than desirable on holidays. I will carry the guilt of chastising Smiley for not joining in on the holiday party just before he vomited in the garden bed, outside a surf shop. The little trooper downed a blue Gatorade (see mouth) and found a local Haliewa dinosaur to climb on. 

Bunny and I got the dreaded bug the next day and here we are enjoying an orange Gatorade to match the Sunset. 

Noice.