Day seven

Day 7 sees us continuing to settle into our home at Vaitele and work through the myriad of things we need in order to live and study here for the next five months.

My list of things to do today:
1. Work out how to set up a regular laundry service as the unit does not have a washing machine. In the villages washing is done by hand, with clothes laid out over a bed of lava rocks to dry (often the grave for a family member which sits in front of their fales/houses). Coincidently, it also doesn’t have hot water which is quite common for Samoa, particularly in any outlying area. With an average temp of 30 degrees it isn’t really a problem. The washing by hand will be unless that is sorted out quick smart!

2. Set up a cost effective broad band service. Most services here are pre paid and very expensive- I saw a monthly rate for 15GB of internet advertised at $2,037 tala. Internet is typically sold in 50MB lots for 60 tala. I used 4 MB after spending 5 minutes on facebook so it gets used up pretty quick.

3. Calculate how much electricity we have used. As another pre paid utility, electricity may also prove to be significantly more expensive than we are used to. It isn’t helped by the fact that no one told us that when you buy electricity you have to type a number into the meter - god only knows where the receipt with said number is.

4. Work out if it is better to buy or rent a car. Taxis are plentiful here and there are rental companies everywhere, but as with all things in the pacific it is bloody expensive. At least if we buy we will get a small return. The road switch from right hand side to left hand side driving late last year means there are an increasing number of cars coming into the islands from Australia and New Zealand as opposed to the significantly more expensive freight from USA. On the other hand the people who own the accommodation place are happy to rent us a car long term and allow us to swap over to bigger cars when we need to accommodate visitors at no extra cost.

Other bits and pieces:
Paul has met the most creatively named (or in some cases nick named) Samoans including Hobart, Navy Collins, Banana and April (a man). I on the other hand have only met Ricky, Sam and Eddie.

The only TV channel we get with any clarity is the Church channel. The kids are enjoying their cartoons with a strong moral message. The choir interludes between shows are also very entertaining and uplifting! Samoa is a very religious country and as we speak I can hear one of the staff singing a hymn like song outside.

School doesn’t start for the boys for another week and a half. They are attending a private school which teaches in English, has many other expat students and a strong Samoan cultural curriculum as well. In the mean time they are entertaining themselves swimming, exploring the complex grounds and playing with other kids staying here.