In the last few days, my belly has expanded even further thanks to the little she or he (still dont know) who is growing a mile a minute in there:)
I have hunted the whole of Savaii up and down for Root beer (craving ) There are only 1 or 2 stores on the entire island that have a decent variety sporadically throughout the year, and they are all out of root beer, they did however have apple flavoured fizzy tea from somewhere in Kansas or something....something different for a change I guess!!
I have been holding interviews for new staff at the hotel cos just when we thought we had trained our current lot to the point of dependability and reliability, number ones family relocated to Apia (sorry I have to go) number 2 is on indefinite maternity leave (kinda saw that coming) and number 3s mother is "very ill" overseas and has to leave immediately...leaving me with nada in the restaurant this week
( heres me hoping that business remains quiet for once otherwise I am the cook the receptionist the waitress hahahaha how terrible would that look ! (just while the hubby is In Apia - today- back tonight)) Anyways, so interviews are always entertaining if anything (I know, thats almost mean but seriously you should come try it)
So the ad said , vacancy for a person to work in a hotel , duties bla bla, you must be 21-35yrs, you must speak good english, past experience a bonus but not absolute, you must be able to work weekend and evening shifts.
So interview-ee number 1) can you answer this question in english "what time does you church start and is it ok for me to come to the service??"- reply- blank stare
again ök , what time does church start- reply - blank stare
ok- then an admission that they cant speak english. 70% of our interview-ees did this, they can speak some but they are sooo terribly shy and afraid and embarressed re- broken english (which really is not an abosolute problem, as long as you can give one word answers and appear helpful you are ok)but its like they can even try, i try to encourage them to attempt because its not as hard as they think, but again, blank stare, I can just see a guest asking a question to one of our staff and they get the locked up wide eyed frozen stare reply, nice, welcome to Savaii!
interview-ee number 2- can you work weekend shifts- well actually no laga o aú le lead singer number 1 i le makou aufaipese i le loku....ok
number 3- had his mother phone, she said her son was 21yrs old spoke good english was an outgoing person who would be an asset to our business- was slightly annoyed with the mum ringing to apply but claims her son was somewhere else and had no credit when he heard the ad so 'please call me-d"his mum to please ring us from her phone and secure an interview. Person that showed up was a 45yr old fafafine who upon questioning in english "how do I catch a bus into town" went "BUS?!....ahhhhhh"and then started shaking nervously while frozen and wideeyed for 10 minutes (really uncomfortable) and then cried
i mean seriously, its like no one heard the requirements asked for in the ad, age, english, etc.... one girl who spoke no english ( or so she claimed) never had a job before, looked presentable enough, when asked what sort of work she would think suited her at our hotel (ie cleaning, serving etc) answered, in Samoan, "well actually I dont know if anything would because I am 3 months pregnant"....What the????? so are you applying for a job or what?? sounds to me like you are saying you cant work but you are here????ehhhhh, anyways, people here seriously need some advice on how to apply for a job. most people think that because they rang, they 'got'the job. then when they get here and get interviewed and asked about how they would contribute to the business, all say, i really need money so just give me anything to do ....thats it. shaminbadash.
anyways, we've chosen 2 of the lot and much to their dismay and doing training today (they look like nervous kids sitting exams) but so far all going good.
thought i would share my 2 cents for the day from my rural location!!
just another day in paradise!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
going insane...lol
Hallllooooo everybody! Yes I know, I haven’t blogged in yonks...funny, because I used to work a very busy hectic 9-5 job which I thought wasn’t a 9-5 job because I took all my work home and stressed about it and tossed and turned in bed about it...but I had time to blog so that must say something about “those “days...now, if I’m on the computer its pretty much work related, apart from maybe a 10 minute sneak peak at the oh so faikakala world of facebook! (That keeps me sane when you live in the bush!!)
But oh so many blog worthy things to write about, on Sunday I was driving somewhere in the morning, and it was sooo peaceful in the village with umu-mist settling lightly over the whole place...and I felt good vibes and had this very optimistic blog idea...today, my husband and I are looking for 2 pieces of plywood, that he recently shaped into a triangle shelf, and left in a partly open building in the middle of our fenced compound which has a security guard at night...and its gone. Zilch disappeared nada...so I’m therefore, in a very not so optimistic mood, in fact I am fuming and in a very pessimistic mood...I mean seriously, we leave a dinky old scrubbing brush on our deck, in a bucket...and both disappeared overnight, now a piece of wood, I guess its a new piece of wood so someone now has a nice shelf or chair or tabletop in their house, gone. What eggs me the most, is, do I think its people from 2 villages down that are sneaking into our compound at night taking things?? No, I think it’s our own neighbours and villages, because if one really thought that an outsider could get past all the people and homes in our village to get to us, you’re crazy. In fact there are 3 annoying spots in our surrounding fence where there are man made, bent over, climbing pathways, in the fence....that we see people, our neighbours, stepping over to come ask us to borrow our weed eater etc. I feel like saying (yelling) are you crazy?? Why can’t you use the gate?? That’s what the entrance is for?? Can you even afford to fix my fence that you have so nicely bent into a u shape to suit your activities? No of course not! You came and asked me to aikalafu bingo money last night !arrrrghhh....This village....that is meant to be our family, our roots, apparently they look after us, they say (uhmmmm ) sometimes i feel more like they threaten us, be good or else...eh.
Recently I read a blog owned by a Peace corp teacher who was living at Lalomanu when the Tsunami struck. Luckily she was ok but her house collapsed in on itself, on the first day she could see all her belongings stuck under pieces of iron roofing and had wanted to go to try to recover her things, but she was still in shock and her village convinced her to return the next day, to go rest for that day. Upon her return her house had been torn apart, ransacked and every last item stolen...she felt so betrayed, betrayed by the very people she had lived with for 2 yrs trying to help and make a difference, who she had grown to call her family, as the very villages she had served had looted her house. Do i think this is an isolated incident or behaviour, no , because i know it happens to us, on a daily basis, and it makes me so bitter. Especially when people come asking us to help them financially... i just feel like laughing hysterically and pulling out my hair and dribbling saliva out one side of my mouth, to show them how insane they make me. You steal from us, yet you also want me to hand you my money on my own accord?? Admittedly it is surely not everyone, but its a lot of them. I was looking at a relatives digital camera recently flicking through photos of an outing, and this relative had gone to someone in the villages’ house to pick one of the village youth up to go out with, and low and behold, in the pics on the camera, of someone in our villages’ house, someone who is living very very nearby one of those bent portions of the fence, is a picture of one of our outside chairs from the hotel, which have mysteriously decreased in number over the years, in someones house. Now this is not a chair you can buy in Savaii OR Apia, infact these chairs are quite unique I doubt they are even manufactured any more. Yes, there laughing at me from this digital pic, saying “look at me! You thought my lifespan would be limited to your little 2 acre property!! But i am going to travel the world!!”
Yes, so i have serious issues of trust with this place. And i am trying hard not to let it make me terribly upset or miserable, what i want is to figure out ways to overcome these..behaviours shall we say. Problem is, i don’t even trust the security, cos they are the village as well..sheeezle...i think i stand a better chance at actually morphing into the lady laughing hysterically with drool dribbling out one side of her mouth trying to pull her hair out!! Mm, fa laia!!
But oh so many blog worthy things to write about, on Sunday I was driving somewhere in the morning, and it was sooo peaceful in the village with umu-mist settling lightly over the whole place...and I felt good vibes and had this very optimistic blog idea...today, my husband and I are looking for 2 pieces of plywood, that he recently shaped into a triangle shelf, and left in a partly open building in the middle of our fenced compound which has a security guard at night...and its gone. Zilch disappeared nada...so I’m therefore, in a very not so optimistic mood, in fact I am fuming and in a very pessimistic mood...I mean seriously, we leave a dinky old scrubbing brush on our deck, in a bucket...and both disappeared overnight, now a piece of wood, I guess its a new piece of wood so someone now has a nice shelf or chair or tabletop in their house, gone. What eggs me the most, is, do I think its people from 2 villages down that are sneaking into our compound at night taking things?? No, I think it’s our own neighbours and villages, because if one really thought that an outsider could get past all the people and homes in our village to get to us, you’re crazy. In fact there are 3 annoying spots in our surrounding fence where there are man made, bent over, climbing pathways, in the fence....that we see people, our neighbours, stepping over to come ask us to borrow our weed eater etc. I feel like saying (yelling) are you crazy?? Why can’t you use the gate?? That’s what the entrance is for?? Can you even afford to fix my fence that you have so nicely bent into a u shape to suit your activities? No of course not! You came and asked me to aikalafu bingo money last night !arrrrghhh....This village....that is meant to be our family, our roots, apparently they look after us, they say (uhmmmm ) sometimes i feel more like they threaten us, be good or else...eh.
Recently I read a blog owned by a Peace corp teacher who was living at Lalomanu when the Tsunami struck. Luckily she was ok but her house collapsed in on itself, on the first day she could see all her belongings stuck under pieces of iron roofing and had wanted to go to try to recover her things, but she was still in shock and her village convinced her to return the next day, to go rest for that day. Upon her return her house had been torn apart, ransacked and every last item stolen...she felt so betrayed, betrayed by the very people she had lived with for 2 yrs trying to help and make a difference, who she had grown to call her family, as the very villages she had served had looted her house. Do i think this is an isolated incident or behaviour, no , because i know it happens to us, on a daily basis, and it makes me so bitter. Especially when people come asking us to help them financially... i just feel like laughing hysterically and pulling out my hair and dribbling saliva out one side of my mouth, to show them how insane they make me. You steal from us, yet you also want me to hand you my money on my own accord?? Admittedly it is surely not everyone, but its a lot of them. I was looking at a relatives digital camera recently flicking through photos of an outing, and this relative had gone to someone in the villages’ house to pick one of the village youth up to go out with, and low and behold, in the pics on the camera, of someone in our villages’ house, someone who is living very very nearby one of those bent portions of the fence, is a picture of one of our outside chairs from the hotel, which have mysteriously decreased in number over the years, in someones house. Now this is not a chair you can buy in Savaii OR Apia, infact these chairs are quite unique I doubt they are even manufactured any more. Yes, there laughing at me from this digital pic, saying “look at me! You thought my lifespan would be limited to your little 2 acre property!! But i am going to travel the world!!”
Yes, so i have serious issues of trust with this place. And i am trying hard not to let it make me terribly upset or miserable, what i want is to figure out ways to overcome these..behaviours shall we say. Problem is, i don’t even trust the security, cos they are the village as well..sheeezle...i think i stand a better chance at actually morphing into the lady laughing hysterically with drool dribbling out one side of her mouth trying to pull her hair out!! Mm, fa laia!!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tsunami again
For the second time within 6 months Ive found myself in Apia on a short trip, only to be caught out by a huge tsunami warning/drill/debarkle.
It all started with several phonecalls from mums worker yelling "TSUNAMI" the call was at 3am so I heard the phone rining and thought it would be one of those Chinese weirdo salespeople calling (somehow our number is popular in china) but no, about 2 mins after someone in the house answered, i could hear traffic, loads of traffic, and people talking and yelling, and then followed by bells and sirens. Ok, time to wake up, something serious going on.My sis Tash explained - earthquake in Chile, Tsunami heading our way, I cracked up cause she was telling me how we were in its direct path being in Apia cause the wave would obviously come from the North west???? uhm, Chile or CHina Tash?? anyways, after 2 secs of arguing (because we are both real stubborn and think we are smarter then each other) the Blackberry saves me as I am able to show her exactly were Chile was!!lol!
Anyways, the warning was for 9am , we did try for half a minute to go back to sleep and evacuate at 6, but the phonecalls were non stop, Nana, aunty, mum (who had gone to the airport to take my bro due to fly out to NZ at 5am) none would let us go back to sleep so off we went, apparently to 'beat the traffic'
what went through my mind this morning -
1) there is something exciting about natural disasters, not that I enjoy THEM but i enjoy the thought of heading off somewhere to camp with the whole extended aiga and drink hot coffee and eat pancakes and chat and talk and worry together.Something about this gathering is calming and reassuring that all will be ok. Often we joke that if worst came to worst, we have a doctor a nurse a midwife a carpenter a baker a fisherman, a farmer, a cook, in amongst us, so we would kinda be self sufficient!
2) as we drove up to Aleisa,There were so many people on the road, walking, in buses, on the backs of trucks, everyone seemed relaxed and sensible, Thank god circumstances allow us to be this way, and not running for our lives with panic...
3) I couldnt stop thinking about how those who were already affected by sept 2009 were handling this, would they be going "sh*t, not again, give us a break" because I can not see how they wouldnt be doing that very thing...thank god this was not another repeat of last years events. I was wondering though if anyone would think twice about businesses in those susceptible areas??kind of a hard one aye
4) I missed my husband and home and wished we (me and bubba) were there with him, or he with us
Thank goodness for the last time that the events of the day panned out to be less then was expected.Samoa does need a break so I am glad things turned out the way they did:)
It all started with several phonecalls from mums worker yelling "TSUNAMI" the call was at 3am so I heard the phone rining and thought it would be one of those Chinese weirdo salespeople calling (somehow our number is popular in china) but no, about 2 mins after someone in the house answered, i could hear traffic, loads of traffic, and people talking and yelling, and then followed by bells and sirens. Ok, time to wake up, something serious going on.My sis Tash explained - earthquake in Chile, Tsunami heading our way, I cracked up cause she was telling me how we were in its direct path being in Apia cause the wave would obviously come from the North west???? uhm, Chile or CHina Tash?? anyways, after 2 secs of arguing (because we are both real stubborn and think we are smarter then each other) the Blackberry saves me as I am able to show her exactly were Chile was!!lol!
Anyways, the warning was for 9am , we did try for half a minute to go back to sleep and evacuate at 6, but the phonecalls were non stop, Nana, aunty, mum (who had gone to the airport to take my bro due to fly out to NZ at 5am) none would let us go back to sleep so off we went, apparently to 'beat the traffic'
what went through my mind this morning -
1) there is something exciting about natural disasters, not that I enjoy THEM but i enjoy the thought of heading off somewhere to camp with the whole extended aiga and drink hot coffee and eat pancakes and chat and talk and worry together.Something about this gathering is calming and reassuring that all will be ok. Often we joke that if worst came to worst, we have a doctor a nurse a midwife a carpenter a baker a fisherman, a farmer, a cook, in amongst us, so we would kinda be self sufficient!
2) as we drove up to Aleisa,There were so many people on the road, walking, in buses, on the backs of trucks, everyone seemed relaxed and sensible, Thank god circumstances allow us to be this way, and not running for our lives with panic...
3) I couldnt stop thinking about how those who were already affected by sept 2009 were handling this, would they be going "sh*t, not again, give us a break" because I can not see how they wouldnt be doing that very thing...thank god this was not another repeat of last years events. I was wondering though if anyone would think twice about businesses in those susceptible areas??kind of a hard one aye
4) I missed my husband and home and wished we (me and bubba) were there with him, or he with us
Thank goodness for the last time that the events of the day panned out to be less then was expected.Samoa does need a break so I am glad things turned out the way they did:)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2010
Death, Such a morbid subject. A Subject of which you hope, that the only thought you would spare for it, is that one day it will catch up with you. Hopefully when you are old and have a brood of kids and grandkids and you have most certainly lived a life you loved. And you hopefully die in your sleep of old age. Anything other then that picture perfect fairytale description and it’s something that will at least make you flinch for a second. This year draws to an end with two subjects that have been on my mind a lot lately. Death and Life.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot of death. I keep hearing sad stories of people who have died, to what I feel, was unnecessarily. A young man with a septic knee who dies of septicaemia. And it reminds me of the hospital and all the masses of people and patients with huge suffering from small infections. All because they prolonged seeking medical treatment from the hospital and chose instead to go to a fofo. Again, my objection to their (fofos) treatments are only because they do not all, seem to see when something is beyond their control, and their treatments serve only to delay our medical help and prolong and perpetuate the patients suffering. Sure there will be stuff that they’re good at. But is knowing and not knowing which, reason and just enough for the causalities caused??
It’s easy to get frustrated and think- these people are all stupid!! What the hell were they thinking! When someone lies in front of you on the brink of death, can you not see it? (Thinking about kids walking round with huge infections) do you not value their lives and want to do everything in your power to help??? But benefit of doubt graces them with the excuse that perhaps it’s a lack of education and simply not knowing, that better help is there and available to them. Perhaps they feel that they are doing all they can. I can not stop thinking about my sister. I get these flashes of having to tell my siblings in NZ to come home quick. And their questions of “is it serious because we have exams etc etc” hoping that she had just broken a leg or something, and my head going all fuzzy with the knowledge that I knew she was going to die. Instead of yelling that out I just rattled off the list of her injuries, and that was all it took to convey the seriousness of the situation.
Next year, is a new year for me. And I’ve been really emotional about it lately because next year brings my family new life. I am carrying and expecting in July. Ironically that is the same month of Luanas’ unveiling and I am sad that I might miss it. I will fly to NZ for the sake of my future child’s’ dual citizenship and because of all the trouble I had with my first birth, and it will be hard because the last time I did this, Luana was my right hand man. My run around girl who did everything for me in my last month of pregnancy. And then when Adria arrived she was right there like a second mum to her. I have photos with the two of them eyeing each other up, and you can see in my sister’s face a fascination and awe and immense love for my daughter likened only to the expression you would see on a new mother herself.
I am excited and joyful but at the same time heartbroken when I think of what next year brings. It’s like it will be a meeting of life and death, an occasion to celebrate and mourn at the same time. I would do anything in my power to have my sister back, anything. So it really gets to me when I see people who don’t seem to do as much or care as much about their ill relatives. We all live life recklessly, we might not think it but we all, don’t put our seatbelts on every once in a while, or jaywalk a crossing or go above the speed limit, or do something dare-devilish from time to time, and we do take a lot for granted. We do not realise how much we appreciate things until they are ripped out of your heart and dangled in front of your soul, and then you know. But as one of my friends wrote, do we change the way we live? Do we make sure we watch every step and drive slow and avoid hazard with extreme caution, don’t eat this don’t go there etc etc all to try to avoid and cheat every possibility of harm and hazard? No, most probably we make some small changes, but carry on the way we were mostly. I hope, we try to remember to show those you love and care for, that you do love and care for them. Rather then just settling for ‘knowing that they know’.
As for me, this year leaves me with some unwanted nausea dished out hand in hand with new excitement and anticipation; it leaves me with sad memories and a ‘watch this space’ eagerness for new ones to be made. It has been a year of blood, sweat and certainly too many tears. I guess in away 2009 will not fade into the mass of years and time which equivalate ‘my past’ it will indeed be a stand out year that I will never forget. If it has changed me in anyway I hope it has been for the good. Tonight we will celebrate new years over BBQ with friends and family (dang it I cant have a drink!) and I hope 2010 has only good and happy things dished out for all! Happy new years!!
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot of death. I keep hearing sad stories of people who have died, to what I feel, was unnecessarily. A young man with a septic knee who dies of septicaemia. And it reminds me of the hospital and all the masses of people and patients with huge suffering from small infections. All because they prolonged seeking medical treatment from the hospital and chose instead to go to a fofo. Again, my objection to their (fofos) treatments are only because they do not all, seem to see when something is beyond their control, and their treatments serve only to delay our medical help and prolong and perpetuate the patients suffering. Sure there will be stuff that they’re good at. But is knowing and not knowing which, reason and just enough for the causalities caused??
It’s easy to get frustrated and think- these people are all stupid!! What the hell were they thinking! When someone lies in front of you on the brink of death, can you not see it? (Thinking about kids walking round with huge infections) do you not value their lives and want to do everything in your power to help??? But benefit of doubt graces them with the excuse that perhaps it’s a lack of education and simply not knowing, that better help is there and available to them. Perhaps they feel that they are doing all they can. I can not stop thinking about my sister. I get these flashes of having to tell my siblings in NZ to come home quick. And their questions of “is it serious because we have exams etc etc” hoping that she had just broken a leg or something, and my head going all fuzzy with the knowledge that I knew she was going to die. Instead of yelling that out I just rattled off the list of her injuries, and that was all it took to convey the seriousness of the situation.
Next year, is a new year for me. And I’ve been really emotional about it lately because next year brings my family new life. I am carrying and expecting in July. Ironically that is the same month of Luanas’ unveiling and I am sad that I might miss it. I will fly to NZ for the sake of my future child’s’ dual citizenship and because of all the trouble I had with my first birth, and it will be hard because the last time I did this, Luana was my right hand man. My run around girl who did everything for me in my last month of pregnancy. And then when Adria arrived she was right there like a second mum to her. I have photos with the two of them eyeing each other up, and you can see in my sister’s face a fascination and awe and immense love for my daughter likened only to the expression you would see on a new mother herself.
I am excited and joyful but at the same time heartbroken when I think of what next year brings. It’s like it will be a meeting of life and death, an occasion to celebrate and mourn at the same time. I would do anything in my power to have my sister back, anything. So it really gets to me when I see people who don’t seem to do as much or care as much about their ill relatives. We all live life recklessly, we might not think it but we all, don’t put our seatbelts on every once in a while, or jaywalk a crossing or go above the speed limit, or do something dare-devilish from time to time, and we do take a lot for granted. We do not realise how much we appreciate things until they are ripped out of your heart and dangled in front of your soul, and then you know. But as one of my friends wrote, do we change the way we live? Do we make sure we watch every step and drive slow and avoid hazard with extreme caution, don’t eat this don’t go there etc etc all to try to avoid and cheat every possibility of harm and hazard? No, most probably we make some small changes, but carry on the way we were mostly. I hope, we try to remember to show those you love and care for, that you do love and care for them. Rather then just settling for ‘knowing that they know’.
As for me, this year leaves me with some unwanted nausea dished out hand in hand with new excitement and anticipation; it leaves me with sad memories and a ‘watch this space’ eagerness for new ones to be made. It has been a year of blood, sweat and certainly too many tears. I guess in away 2009 will not fade into the mass of years and time which equivalate ‘my past’ it will indeed be a stand out year that I will never forget. If it has changed me in anyway I hope it has been for the good. Tonight we will celebrate new years over BBQ with friends and family (dang it I cant have a drink!) and I hope 2010 has only good and happy things dished out for all! Happy new years!!
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