Jesus in the background...

I write this with the blokes of the house sitting outside doing their singing practice of their really cheezy Jesus songs... "... Its all about you, its all about you Jesus..."

A few days ago, on the 16^th of June, was mine and Carls 8^th year anniversary since our first date. That night, over a bottle of red and a picnic basket up on Mount Cootha in Brisbane, was the very first time I ever heard about this place called Rotuma. I remember Carl telling me all about his family and ancestors, the culture, the food, the language, it all seemed like such a faraway reality. Who would have imagined back then that one day that will be my reality. And here I am.

I’ve been wanting to write for a few days now but I couldn’t, as the computer power has been dead as  there has been no generator power for 3 nights because some people haven’t payed for their diesel. They take it in turns to pay for the diesel to run the generator, once a fortnight we buy 5 Litres of Diesel. If someone doesn’t pay, everyone else loses out too. I was able to send my phone to other villages to be charged a couple of times, but not the computer. It made me realize how, even in a place where life is so simple, we live off the land, in tune with the elements, how dependent we are on fuel. I felt a bit lost and disconnected not having my laptop and phone at hand for 3-4 days... not to mention the washing... I do the laundry at night when the generator is on, but the past few days was all hard labour. Scrubbing the filthy clothes with a brush on a piece of wood, and when I say scrubbing... every r ub made me think of most of the women here who don’t have washing machines, who have to hand scrub their huge family’s clothes every day. 6 children, 10 adults, whatever- its bloody hard work!!! At least I got the clothes really clean, a much better job than what the prehistoric washing machine does. When I get back to my world, the first thing I will do is run and kiss my supersonic washing machine really hard, and tell it how much I appreciate it!!!

I’ve got to say, I am working so damn hard here!!!! You’d think I am living a life of bliss and relaxation on a tropical island.... NOT!!! Between cooking massive amounts of food for loads of huge hungry Rotuman men, cleaning up after them, massive pots in a tiny kitchen with no air in it, trying to keep it as clean as it can be, when it will NEVER be clean, always have sand on the floors, grease on everything, constantly sweeping, chasing the kids making sure they’re not playing with anything dodgy, constantly chasing Saulei to do wee’s and poo’s, as I am trying to get him out of nappies, to save me the work of washing nappies, but in the process still having to wash soiled undies and pants all day..., washing and more washing... by the end of the day, after feeding the kids, bathing them and putting them to sleep, I am absolutely F****D!!! And I thought I worked hard at home. When all I did was press bottons to make things work, buy things from the shop all ready to cook, how easy. Over here, with the added heat, humidity, constant fly swatting and mosquito slapping, it really takes it out of me! Most days I don’t even leave the house, either too busy or too tired. I make a point of taking a long walk up to the government station once a week, there is a little stall there where ladies from around the island come there to sell their goods, usually vegetables, coconut oil, Roti and curry parcels, coconuts to drink, or cooked food they sell to the people that work at the government station. That is my weekly exercise. Not much, but its nice to get out of the house and go off on my own for a bit.

The kids are having such a great time! What an experience for them! Noah is talking to me in Rotuman these days, and I have to make him translate to English or Hebrew, as I don’t always understand him. He is also my translator when other kids talk to me in Rotuman, especially little Shannon (or “Shemen” as Noah calls her), a gorgeous little girl from a couple of houses down the road, who blabbles away to me in Rotuman, giggling her head off telling me stories, and I have no idea what she is saying to me, but cant help but giggle along at her cuteness! Saulei is talking Rotuman too, copying everything Noah says and does, its really cute.

They are learning a bit of foul language here too, there’s this thing here that all the adults and kids are calling my boys “Poofta” and teaching them to say it to others... Anywhere else in the world, especially my world, that would be very un-P.C, but over here it is very amusing. Amusing to see how the locals are so amused by my kids calling them Poofta’s...  There’s nothing I can do about it here, its too deeply ingrained in them already. I will just need to make sure they un-learn it when we get back home...

Every few days I do “ABC School” with Noah, we sit and sing the Alphabet and learn each letter and what words start with that letter. He loves it, and is really keen. He is the one nagging me to do it with him, rather than the other way around... He practices writing his name in the sand (as well as drawing love hearts and funny faces), at the moment he is really good at “H” and the “O” part of his name, usually writing them one after the other... is that a bit weird that the first word he has ever written is “HO”???

Another favourite activity is music and dancing. I bring out the ipod and speakers and play music for the kids and they go nuts dancing and singing. Noah has become quite a performer, his dance moves have improved dramatically from the spastic look to the uber-cool moves, with facial expressions, pole dancing, Capoera moves and even a few Ballet moves I taught him. I am so proud!!!! His favourite song in the whole wide world is Queens “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and his second favourite is “the girls with the fat bums that rock’n’roll all night” (Queen’s “Fat bottomed girls”...). sometimes other kids join in, other times its just me and the kids dancing and singing away, we love it!!!

 Carl is getting really good at his fishing skills, and the other day he came home with a load of fish and a huge Octopus!!! i must say, it was very decadent and really delish, i cooked half of it in coconut cream, and the other half in loads of lemon, garlic, Thyme and Oregano. So fresh! SO delish!!!

 

My Octopus hunter

Tommorow, FINALLY, the Government boat that has been holding all our cargo we sent from Australia, should be arriving here, and I cant wait, because in it, are loads of little things that I am dying to have... my own clean sheets, decent knives, wound healing creams, batteries for Noahs little computer game, Essential Oils and incense, and a big parcel my mother and sister in laws sent with  vitamins and supplements, nice soap,  and lots more! I cant wait!!! Also, Mua, my lady of the house who went back to Suva a few weeks ago is coming with loads of groceries and a FREEZER!!! The whole freezer thing here is a bit dodgy, as the generator power is only on for 3 hours a day, which means the freezer might freeze in those 3 hours, but then for the rest of the 21hrs a day, everything defrosts. Its really bad for whatever is stored in there, in terms as defrosting and refreezing everyday, but for some things its ok, like cold bottles of water, butter and leftover foods. It should be nice to have.

Another REALLY EXCITING thing is that my gorgeous and brave neighbour Robby is coming over here!!!! The first of so many friends that have threatened to make the journey over to have booked his flights and I am SOOOOOO Happy! The whole boat departure thing is a bit dodgy, no one knows when the thing will leave, so he might be waiting around a bit in Fiji, but he will get here eventually, and I will have someone to talk to! Someone who understands my language, my humour, my heart, someone to hang out with, go for walks with and share my whole experience with. I am super excited!

I keep meaning to mention, that I really really appreciate any emails and stories coming back from you. Life is pretty lonely for me here, and when I get emails telling me about what’s  going on in your lives, really makes me feel connected, and if you know me well, you know how important that is to me. So PLEASE write to me, tell me anything – gossip, dreams, work life, the weather- anything!!!

Oh and some of you have been asking for my address here, to send me care packages, which I would always be happy for, its simple, (and a bit funny)-

Nadine and Carl (Gilsenan)

Itumuta

Rotuma

Fiji Islands

So thats all for now, Carl will probably write and update about the building process, hope youre all well and happy wherever you are, enjoy, live simply, its so simple...

xxx