New Place Version I

Middle Years Program Course III

Middle Years Program Course II

The following pictures include maths, physics, English, science, and business studies teachers (and me). Can you guess which one is which?

Middle Years Program Course

This blog starts off on the topic and then, as is always the case... I randomly go off the topic.

I sacrificed 3 days of a precious 3 week holiday to do some professional development in sunny Nadi (West). And at a moment not too early, I now know what I am meant to be teaching and I’ll get straight onto that.

The gang at International School Suva, bonded especially well in the evenings at the bar and it was noted that I was like a dog with a bone during a few debates on Middle East politics, Jungian philosophy and falling in love. It turns out that there is someone who would prefer to have the last say, other than myself. Perhaps even more so than myself! How annoying! Worse… he’s my new boss and although I don’t have as many letters after my name, I’d like to think I gave him a run for his money… though the evening’s conversations are all a bit of a blur due to copious quantities of red wine, Fiji Gold and Gordon’s and soda.

Have a peak at the mad hatters I work with in the portraits below and don’t worry, I snuck my way into a couple, with my favourite Science teacher couple. Who help me out with the big questions: Why can’t I see oxygen if it’s all around me? What does photosynthesis have to do with rainforests? Why do my bicycle tyres go flat if I stop using my bike? Dr Karl is helping me out with these questions too. He is one of a couple of regular podcasts I download.

I am still listen to Fr. Bob Maguire and John Safran every week. I miss having Father Bob as my parish priest. The podcasts for this show go for 1 hour 24 mins. It’s a shame that they don’t include music … it’s just the nattering of Bob and Safran and whoever they drag in for a chat. Don’t know why I didn’t get onto podcasts earlier. It took me to not be in the same country to download them… but it takes the pressure off being home to listen to a radio show. And in the case of Dr Karl, I was never home to listen to that quirky little science lover geeky show.

Australian High Commission Ball

One of the many things that makes Australians special is the fact that our High Commissioner has not had to flea Fiji for his own safety…. Unlike New Zealander, Michael Green. I am not making light of the situation… it’s just that in the Tri-Nations our Wallabies were defeated by the All Blacks…. so it’s my come back. What makes matters worse, is that the Kiwi High Com residence is right next door to Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama (AKA Frank). Did Mr Green throw his rubbish over the back fence into Mr Bainimarama’s house? Am I speaking metaphorically here…. I’ve been teaching way too much poetry lately!

Not that Australia’s rated highly in Frank’s book at the moment… he’s still upset about the eight Australian soldiers who managed to clear customs at Nadi airport straight after the coup. Did Australia pose a military threat… if that is true… why have we seen no action? Hmmm… maybe nobody would have bought the story that Fiji had Weapons of Mass Destruction…. not that anyone bought Johnny Howard’s WMD story for Iraq. Speaking of… how silly did Dr. Condoleezza Rice look when interviewed during the APEC talks in Sydney last week? Very silly indeed, if you ask me. Her name means “with sweetness” in Italian… so maybe … just maybe… with sweetness she can work on fixing up Iraq.... no evidence of that yet.

The Australia High Commission ball raised funds for Lautoka Hospital… a worthy cause. The Fiji Police Band got a lot of people up and dancing and I I was certainly “mending the tiles” (Jamiorquai).

SPG (South Pacific Games) has just finished on Sunday.. the closing ceremony was an extravaganza but there was some serious air time given to the ceremonially dressed Samoan Police force folding up the flag. Fair enough if they accidentally dropped it… that would be a disgrace and a bit funny.. it was kinda interesting when they couldn’t untie it from the flag pole… but meanwhile there was some great New Caledonian dance going down on the stage and we have 6 minutes of watching 10 grown men fold up a flag. I don’t understand. I fold up my laundry every week and I don’t think that would make good television airtime… so I am wondering what made the broadcasters think we needed to see this flag being folded up by a bunch of cops in hard hats… what is it with those hard hats?

Robb's birthday

Robb's bithday was celebrated with delicious Japense @ Daikoku. Highlights of the night included Robb's tiara and the chef (that Alex tried to palm me off to). Oh, and the black forest cake. Oh, and I liked Kim's cool necklace too!

Jan goes travelling

Mr Fish and the fish scaler

Yesterday at Suva's colourful fish market I found myself a beautiful big White Snapper. I was a discerning customer; asking to see the gills, inspecting the eyes, checking the prices and it wasn't until I walked the entire length of the fish market that I decided upon Mr. Fish. A spear gun was used to deliver a precision shot to the brain (see close up of Mr. Fish's head). Mr. Fish had a quick death. I am not sure what the bullet was made from. It looked like a little tooth or piece of coral.

Mr. Fish later became my first ever scaling job with my crafty new fish scaler (see photo). Neighbour Tim taught me how it was done and took a picture of Mr Fish and I. The fish scaler made the job delightful easy and as my first ever scaling experience I could even say it was great fun! Mr Fish was stuffed with chilli, lime, mint and basil and was cooked in the Webber for Saturday night BBQ... after his innards were removed...

I cut a 10 cm slit in Mr. Fish's underside and when I got a sniff of his innards, I had to tell neighbour, "here is where I draw the line.” Couldn’t bring myself to pull out Mr. Fish's innards with my bare hands, so neighbour obliged. To do that, in future I'll need gloves and a bit more practice at breathing in through my mouth.

Mr. Fish was definitely the highlight of yesterday (highlight was definitely not correction and report writing) and I was pretty excited about the whole thing so I called Tom, AKA King Fisherman, and we talked fish and I assured him of some great fishing when he comes to Fiji. Oh, and another thing Tom... it was $AU17.50 for 5 fresh water crays... they went well on the BBQ. Might take them on next week.

Bula! Dress!

Today was a fundraiser... you had to wear bula. Since I had no bula, my kind neighbour, Nyna, leant me one of hers.

Bula is fun! I think bula for me today was what fluro was to me in the 80s.

Only problem was I couldn't get the camera to focus on the self timer if I stood away. Hence two shots... one to see the style... the other for a close up of the print... pretty pink palms!

Elsie and her bula dress

Elsie has a lovely new bula dress. Bula shirts are very popular here among most Fijian men. Bula dresses seem to be popular only with older women or women having to look "Fiji" for tourist jobs or traditional goings on.

I've included a picture of my mad year 8 English class. They're really lovely. A little indifferent towards homework, but lovely. One of my students is from Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas), which is expected to be completely underwater within 50 years' time. They will not be the world's first global warming refugees. New Zealand has made a commitment to some Pacific islands in terms of providing refuge for the nationless. Hope Australia commits in a similar fashion. Perhaps Australia already has? Does anyone know? I am not aware of it.

Thanks to the man in black and white, Ratu Sakuna, I have a holiday on Monday. French Foreign Legionaire in WWI, barrister and Chief. Love a long weekend! Yay for Ratu!

My new swizzle stick and bilum

My new swizzle stick has been busy stirring G&Ts. So much so that my 2L supply of Bombay Sapphire has come to a sorry end. Swizzle stick, AKA letter opener, was procured at the local Suva craft market for a small price and is dark in colour because it has been buried in mangrove mud.

Signora Bianco: “I love your new swizzle stick, but NOTHING beats the Banana Discoteque, especially when it's probably not even standing any more!”

NB: Banana Discotheque is located in Phuket, Thailand, hit by 2005 Boxing Day tsunami. It’s a relief to finally have someone realize the value of my previous swizzle stick (see 30th March blog posting for picture) which came from the discotheque.

Elena is very excited about her new litter. Does the world need so many cats? Does the world needs cats at all? And did you know that guitar strings were once made from cats’ guts? Useful piece of trivia and explanation as to why Stings is the name of my neighbour’s cat. He’s not a very handsome cat but for some reason he doesn’t seem to pick up on the fact that I don’t like him….cats never do… and they sit on my lap and purr and I feel obliged to pretend I like them (don’t read this Celeste or Moses, RIP Whiskey).

Now, for a little about my bilum (traditional PNG bag). This unique bag was hand made in Paupa New Guniea and is sure to receive a lot of attention upon my return to Australia! It already has the Suva market women gasping in admiration. Gasps which are closely followed by enquiries (“where did you get that?”). It’s a bag for a lover of art and tradition, completely handmade of natural materials. Flaws may appear in the weaving and variations in the fur, but this merely ensures that my bilum will be a one-of-a-kind item, adding to its authentic quality. My new bilum is made from durable, expanding, tightly woven, scratchy grey and brown possum fur. The weaving technique is called string looping. Although already distinctly PNG, my bilum features the PNG flag (the PNG flag was designed by a 15 year old girl in a national competition in 1971) in red, black, white and yellow cotton. The Southern Cross on my bilum is quite a random, artistic representation of what’ll you see when actually looking at the night sky’s version. The handle is strong, long-lasting and thick for a more even distribution of weight. Bilums are perfect for market shopping and carrying babies. Like a possum, the bag expands to provide room for its content. So, really, I am just a possum (as opposed to a cumquat), now that I have a little pouch for carrying things in. Though you now know it’s much more than a little pouch!!

Speaking of all things PNG… I chewed my first betel nut a couple of weeks ago. After a good chew, I was meant to feel mildly euphoric (high levels of psychoactive alkaloids - stimulating, mildly intoxicating and appetite-suppressing effects on the mind). Betel nut chewing is definitely an acquired taste and one that I don’t actually expect to obtain. The finest thing about the whole chewing scene is that when you chew betel nut along with some lime (calcium oxide… not the citrus fruit I put in my gins) at the same time it creates a bright red colour in your mouth and a superb bright red spit. I am not very good at spitting, but I had a fair crack at it. You’re meant to chew a nut for about 20 minutes and I think I lasted 5… so unfortunately no euphoria for me. Like all good mind-enhancing products, they’re carcinogins and those who regularly chew have a much higher chance of oral cancer. I am sure if the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria looked into it, they’d declare I had a high level of carcinogenicity to humans (especially to those of the teenage, students-of-English-with-outstanding-homework variety). They’re good for your teeth (reduce cavities) but bad for your mouth and gums. In fact, so bad for your gums there’s a good chance your teeth’ll fall out altogether! So, not sure I’ll be in a hurry to get addicted to betel nuts. I am considering marketing them in Australia as the new weight-loss fad.

Speaking of marketing… I was aspiring to enter a business partnership with a couple of Israelis I met on the beach last month, importing a superior sun block cream into Australia. People make fun of me because I use SPF 30. Well, these two olive-skinned Israelis had SPF 100!!! So, I figured Australians, especially ones with white pastey complexions like mine, would love this and I was ready to go into business and retire from the whiteboard. (Enter: some smarty pants science teacher who tells me that SPF 30 was the maximum required for complete skin protection.) Doh! Back to the coal mines for me.

One last picture to refer to… I tried to explain to somebody yesterday that the bruises on my wrists were due to a lover going overboard… but sadly they knew me (and my non-existent love life) better. The truth is volleyball is a deadly contact sport. Contact between the volleyball and my wrists is simply excruciating. However, since it was I who chose to begin a staff volleyball team at work and I thought it’d be pathetic to abandon ship so soon. So, herein lies photographic evidence of volleyball being a dangerous and unforgiving sport. This shot was taken today, two days after my second training session and after much complaining, with little sympathy expressed, it was decided that training needed to occur twice weekly for a toughening up. I am saddened that I have to use my blogspot as a last-ditch attempt to extract sympathy. Anybody?
PS Must change my blog’s links from the political Fiji blogsites to something less controversial… as the military have shut down most of the sites… in particular one that was titled Resist Frank’s Coup. The shutting down of these sites occurred a week or so after an interesting forum held at University of the South Pacific on Freedom of the Press Day. The forum was financed and organized by the Australian High Commission and heated up towards the end. The military spokesperson, spin-doctor, whatever you wanna call him, was asked some pertinent questions about deaths of individuals that had occurred in military custody. A day later I was eager to see what the Fiji Times reported… a total pro-military white-wash…. Disappointing! Needless to say, after attending this forum, I’ve not been such an avid reader of the Fiji Times, which (if the forum is anything to go by) is doing copious amounts of self-censorship. It’s too reminiscent of Winston in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four… or Bad Boy Bubby: (same director as Ten Canoes. Both great movies… see them if you haven’t already) “If the poison doesn’t get you, then Jesus will”. Bad Boy Bubby does offer a final solution to the issue of cats: cling wrapping. Though, I am against animal abuse…. Apart from that one time that Julie and I killed huge quantities snails on the front lawn after a down pour of rain. The crunch sound was music to my ears…. And anything that moves at 1mm/s has it coming to it, if you ask me. Don’t even get me started on sloths!

First Fiji Haircut

Well. I went to the haircutters and got some hairs cut and I look all different.

And the hairdresser requested, "$20 please" and I thought... wow... that's the cheapest haircut I've had in ages. (AU$17)

Note that my hair isn't washed in this picture... so it's not really a good picture to publish.. but oh well. Can't be bothered doing myself up for you guys.... it's really only mum who reads this.

So, this is a Suva cut and it'll do me... because (I know you're not going to be happy to hear this, Elena... and Tash please don't tell the Milano hairdresser... what's-his-face...Mario?...Fabio?...Giovanni!! that's it) I asked the cutter to cut it in a way that meant I didn't have to do it in the morning. I just told her straight out... I don't do my hair... so cut it with that in mind please. Oh dear... I feel like Elena will arrive from Italy to hang me for that! Yikes! Please please... don't tell Giovanni... he thought ill enough of me after our little conversation at the end of his masterpiece cut this January (he thinks everything he does is a masterpiece!):
G: I'll just get a mirror and show you the back
K: No need to worry with that, I don't see the back
E: Porca! See! See what I am dealing with here, Giovanni! Kate, you will never be a princess!

How true, Elena, how true.
PS Oh! How could I forget?!! I forgot to mention that I found a new swivel stick! I'll put it in my next blog.
PPS And happy birthday to baby Elsie who turned one today! She had a TV remote control cake.... it's her fav toy.

Hindi wedding

Last Friday night was Joeteshyna's wedding. She was our French teacher but now she's gone to live in the States (something to do with the bride groom not being Fijian). The wedding ceremony was the last 1.5 hours of three days of preparation and started at 7:30pm. It's the first Hindi wedding I've been to and the first wedding that did not serve alcohol. It was also vegetarian. At the end of the ceremony we were fed by Hare Krishna.. lovely dahl and roti and vege curries with fruit juice and sweets. We ate with our hands too. So quite a few wedding firsts for me. Afterwards we went into old Suva town to hit the gin in our Salwahs! Jo (Head of English, soon to be living in same publess town as my brother and his family and my partner in all things criminal) put the finishing touches on me in the car park before going in.. a tikka in between the eyes. I thought I was quite dressed up but most of the women there were wearing salwahs with lots of beading and sequins. So, Jo and I were like the poor plain cousins.

Food and neighbours

The lovely neighbours (L-R): Nyna, Elsie and Tim. Elsie is delicious! She has approximately one hour of hyperactivity per evening which amuses everybody. Tim and Nyna call it Bean Hour. She's taking lots of steps on her own... but not confident enough just yet for walking to be her preferred choice of travelling.

Elsie was a great help last weekend with the gardening... well, actually she was a bit of a distraction because she kept eating dirt and we had to watch out for that! What is it with babies and dirt? I can't remember if I ever ate dirt.
I thought my mechanism for re-heating some spag bolg was interesting... I used an asian steamer, with a pacific leaf to heat an Italian dinner. The next photo down is my very successful Pineapple and Coconut Curry. That's a cinnamon stick you see. I can't take all the credit for the cooking. I invited a friend for dinner and then set them to task.

New place Ver.2

new place and homesickness

It’s been awhile between blogs… so I thought I’d better write. Wasn’t going to send a picture of my new place until I’d had some time to fix it up… but it’s not really a high priority so you’re seeing it as it is. Must get onto getting a dining table and chairs. More importantly I want to cover the unsightly couches with some covers. The early 90s tartan doesn’t do it for me (sorry if I offend any Scottish readers). You’ll notice the high security bars everywhere… yikes! They are a real hazard. Just last month a family died when their house went up in flames because they didn’t have their house keys and they couldn’t escape from their windows because of the bars. They died next to exit points. There’s another story to be told about the graphic images that Fiji One (TV channel) showed on the news of charred body parts. I have two doors and hope to make a quick get away should I need to.
My place is small but apparently a good price for the area. My street is a no-through road which is fantastic because it’s pleasant and quiet. My place (see photo) has a black fence. My bathroom is smaller than I’d like (you can see how small it is cause I took a photo looking into the mirror). My kitchen is large… and that’s fantastic because I spend a lot of time in the kitchen! For instance, last night it took me 5 minutes to open a beer bottle lid using a butter knife (it was late and I didn’t want to disturb my trusty neighbours asking for a bottle opener). Today I bought a bottle opener.
My whole cooking device is simply two gas stove tops. They’re excellent! There’s a low setting perfect for my cafeteria (coffee maker) on work mornings and the high setting works a treat for cooking stir fries in the wok. I will soon be investing in a rice cooker though… I am too absent minded not to burn my rice. Tonight being a case in point. I could smell something burning… so I looked outside… thought my neighbours were cooking a lovo (ground oven) or getting rid of their rubbish (burning it, as you do in Fiji)… and after seeing no evidence of a fire outside.., I went back to whatever I was doing… Silly me though!!! It was my rice burning! Grr! I don’t have an oven… so no cakes, roasts etc. However, you don’t feel like a hot roast in this climate. The average monthly maximum temperature in Fiji varies from 27-30C. So, you don’t feel the need to eat or drink warm food.

I took these photos tonight… apart from the street one. So, I don’t have a back yard one because it’s too dark… but I’ll get onto that. I’ll be doing a spot of gardening this weekend so it’ll be a perfect opportunity. The decking photo was taken from my front door…which doesn’t face the street. It’s a good entertaining space but I wish there was a pool next to it. From the decking I’ve taken a photo of my place. My bedroom is kinda small but really, it suits my two needs: clothes storage and sleeping. Notice Lea, I have made a pillow case to match the quilt you made me, using the scraps you sent. That’s a story for another blog. The story involves using a historic UK Singer which belonged to Tim’s (neighbour) grandmother. It was lots of fun to use… bit tricky at first though. It doesn’t have the material feeders that modern day sewing machines have, you can burn yourself on the light, the electrical cord was designed to plug into a light to receive power (rather than a powerpoint), the bobbin goes in a different place and the accelerator is the funkiest thing. It’s not a pedal… it is a metal rod that comes down to knee height, from the machine and you push it to the side for action. It’s super cool. There is no backward, zig-zag or other stitch varieties. It’s a straight stitch at the one length. Tim is one mean sewer. Could do a whole blog on Tim. There’s nothing he can’t turn his hand to. He’s from Cairns originally… he can sew, fix engines, make wooden tables, cook, paint, write children’s story books and even tells me he’ll find me a nice guy! He’s such a super bloke to have as a neighbour!! Nyna, his wife, is a super chick too. On the holidays we enjoyed a few too many gins and shared tales about this and that. It was a pity I burnt the rice tonight, as I wasn’t just cooking for myself, I cooked for them.

The good news about my new place is it’s close to USP (University of the Sth Pacific) which is where I have a gym/pool membership. It’s also close to a few other handy shops and places. Tim and I catch a taxi together to and from work… very handy.

Speaking of work, it’s so good to be back. I was homesick on my holidays and really didn’t have enough to do. I enjoyed my time on the Coral Coast at the Beach House. It was relaxing not having to cook a single meal. Every day was the same: woke up, swam, ate, read, slept, swam, ate, read, slept, drank lots of beer, slept. Can’t drink gin at the Beach House unless I BYO… they have Regal’s Gin… the local brew… totally undrinkable and gives very bad headaches the next day. The highlight of my little holiday there was seeing some brilliantly coloured fish (purple star and a small school of little blue fish). The low light was an incident with a snake. We were frightened of each other and when we saw each other we swam in opposite directions. This snake, if it bites you, will kill you within 20 minutes. So, it’s a good thing it was frightened of me. I got to practice some Hebrew (met a couple from Tel Aviv) and did not fare so well against 2 Norwegians when playing poker. I am a great poker player when drinking… I am better at bluffing, take more risks and am completely unpredictable and never fold. However, when sober I am too conservative and my bluff is rather pathetic.