Somebody help me change the look of page already. It's so ancient it's depressing. I mean it was nice for awhile but now I think it's time to move on. Until I make time to discover how to widen it and add another background it will stay this way for now. I will have to beg another blogger out there to help me out here.
Eid
It's Eid again here in Oman and wow everyone is in relaxing mode. So if one didn't get pressing office related work done then hold your horses until after Eid. Oman is having a whole week off for Eid which is great for a lot of people. I just love it because the roads are empty and one can drive with ease rather than the usual highly stressful maneuvers one has to dodge or do to avoid getting bumped!
Which reminds me...
when I first got back to Oman in September and I was driving along the desert road towards the other side of town; I was hit with this nostalgic feeling of being back. And I thought how nice it is to be back as I sped along the desert road all open and liberating in a way. I was tugged back to reality when I realized there was a car tailgating me at such a close distance that I could only see half of it! And I thought: Welcome back to Oman:) open roads, crazy drivers and all!
Daboon
This morning after breakfast my son sat in front of the TV which was turned off and pointed to the TV and kept saying daboon or something that sounded like that. He was determined as he kept gesturing to me and to the TV and saying this word over and over. I finally understood he meant CARTOONS!!! I was so happy that he could say a new word or at least try but not so proud of the fact that he wanted to watch cartoons instead of playing with his toys! That's it when we return from the Christmas holidays Master Tau will go to nursery to play with his age group and learn(for the life of me I can't think of the word I want to use instead of learn) crafts and more useful things. I feel he is bored and I don't do enough to (here's the word) STIMULATE his growing brain:)
Off to bed to get my beauty sleep or at least so I can look human in the morning:)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
boo hoo
So I took Tau to play group at my friend's whose nanny takes charge of Tau and her son for about an hour and a half this morning. I went to the hypermarket to buy some groceries and stock up for our visitors N & R coming from Dubai. Luckily I had doubts that they would make it so didn't buy too much and thought I'd do another trip when they get here. Poor R had just returned from a business trip and thought it far fetched that they would be able to get away.
N was determined and was positive they would make it. Poor N poor me, we were so looking forward to this week-end.
Unfortunately I got the call at around 3.30pm when I got back from the gym that they couldn't make it:(
I had to put the bed and things away before Tau extended his playground on to the fresh sheets.
I went to the gym at 2.30 as today was my last day and the instructor from the other gym was doing the session. I was the only one there today so I had a one on one with the super instructor who was about the size of one of my legs. Well hullo it was hard core. She really worked me to the ground and it was fantastic. During pilates she actually came next to me to correct my poses and hullo the others never did that. I always wondered if I was doing the correct moves and it was good to have this lady show me exactly what to do. Let's say at the end of the hour I was well worked out! Ha! Just when I thought it was getting easy. Tomorrow I go back for my end of the month measurements. I'm not holding my breathe as I was eating like a 300 lb man before I tried to eat properly. I feel fitter and feel a lot better which is the up side!
Which brings me to cooking...
I get into it and try to cook healthy food and then I get sick of it all and just eat what I can be bothered to prepare. Whoever said cooking is fun needs to have their head checked. I am trying to learn more meals by cooking for my son but I dread the day when he becomes a fussy eater and he realizes mummy just throws whatever together to make him a MEAL. I feed him a lot of veges. My theory is kids go off veges if they think it tastes funny which means they weren't eating it for a bit. For example macaroni and cheese meal has no veges in it, spaghetti bolognese is pasta and meat ok it's tomato based but still there are no visible veges in it. So if my son eats these sort of meals for a few days and I try to serve veges he'd obviously go off them as it would then be strange! These are the thoughts of a first time mother so don't hold me to it!
Hubby_dearest is in Dubai for a week for work and it's sonny_boy and I until Saturday. We're off to NZ in two weeks and I can't wait. It's my mother-in-law's 60th and we're flying over for her birthday and have Christmas in Wellington. We're looking forward to it. My sister and family will be there which will be great. And I'm hoping that my mom can come over for Christmas too. Am I asking too much? maybe but well life is all about dreaming and making those dreams a reality. On that note I better get bid adieu, play a few moves on scrabble and head off to bed. I plan to buy Tau a tricycle tomorrow as he jumps on one when-ever he sees it.
On the villa side, we just have to find someone to move into our current apartment and we're home free...okay not really free we still have to pay rent ..
N was determined and was positive they would make it. Poor N poor me, we were so looking forward to this week-end.
Unfortunately I got the call at around 3.30pm when I got back from the gym that they couldn't make it:(
I had to put the bed and things away before Tau extended his playground on to the fresh sheets.
I went to the gym at 2.30 as today was my last day and the instructor from the other gym was doing the session. I was the only one there today so I had a one on one with the super instructor who was about the size of one of my legs. Well hullo it was hard core. She really worked me to the ground and it was fantastic. During pilates she actually came next to me to correct my poses and hullo the others never did that. I always wondered if I was doing the correct moves and it was good to have this lady show me exactly what to do. Let's say at the end of the hour I was well worked out! Ha! Just when I thought it was getting easy. Tomorrow I go back for my end of the month measurements. I'm not holding my breathe as I was eating like a 300 lb man before I tried to eat properly. I feel fitter and feel a lot better which is the up side!
Which brings me to cooking...
I get into it and try to cook healthy food and then I get sick of it all and just eat what I can be bothered to prepare. Whoever said cooking is fun needs to have their head checked. I am trying to learn more meals by cooking for my son but I dread the day when he becomes a fussy eater and he realizes mummy just throws whatever together to make him a MEAL. I feed him a lot of veges. My theory is kids go off veges if they think it tastes funny which means they weren't eating it for a bit. For example macaroni and cheese meal has no veges in it, spaghetti bolognese is pasta and meat ok it's tomato based but still there are no visible veges in it. So if my son eats these sort of meals for a few days and I try to serve veges he'd obviously go off them as it would then be strange! These are the thoughts of a first time mother so don't hold me to it!
Hubby_dearest is in Dubai for a week for work and it's sonny_boy and I until Saturday. We're off to NZ in two weeks and I can't wait. It's my mother-in-law's 60th and we're flying over for her birthday and have Christmas in Wellington. We're looking forward to it. My sister and family will be there which will be great. And I'm hoping that my mom can come over for Christmas too. Am I asking too much? maybe but well life is all about dreaming and making those dreams a reality. On that note I better get bid adieu, play a few moves on scrabble and head off to bed. I plan to buy Tau a tricycle tomorrow as he jumps on one when-ever he sees it.
On the villa side, we just have to find someone to move into our current apartment and we're home free...okay not really free we still have to pay rent ..
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ia ua lelei
We got up eeeaaaarrrly this morning, more like sonny_boy woke up at 6.23am(I looked at the clock) as he does every morning came into my room and woke me up. Normally I pull him on the bed and he rolls around and plays on the bed while I squeeze in another short snooze but lately Mr. Bossy hits my arm and pulls my hair and makes funny sounds and pointing to the kitchen. He also tries to say susu(milk) in the process. So not unlike a dragon I rise up with steam coming out of my nostrils, hair all over and puffy eyes(not going to bed early enough) I proceed to stomp to the kitchen as I'm still half asleep and it's too much effort to lift my legs, I realize sonny dearest is screaming from the bed for me to bring him along. Sometimes I run as fast as my little legs can take me to the kitchen to fix his bottle but others I give in and pick him up and bring him to the kitchen where he waits impatiently and watches me like a hawk as I prepare his milk. When I try to take him back to my bedroom to have his milk so I can snooze again he does a little twist in my arms and points to the lounge...This means "mommy it's wake up time, not bed time" So he wins as he's right and we come into the lounge where he has his milk and then starts playing with his toys. This morning I made us breakfast then got ready to go to the beach by 8am. We went with a friend here on the compound who also has a little boy two months older than my son. We made it to the beach and it was a fabulous morning. Did I mention I was really tired and just wanted to be back in bed really. Anyway we got the mats out and then the kids proceeded to play on the beach. Tau had a ball using his truck spade and things. Then both boys got into wandering mode and that was the end of any relaxation as we chased the two kids along the beach. They had a great time running along the beach. It's too cold to swim(I didn't even attempt to) but little Tau_man gets quite brave and proceeds to walk towards the ocean which sent shivers down my spine not only due to the chill in the water but fear of him being engulfed by some freak wave!! Anyway he just likes to test my blood pressure by running towards the sea then at the last second he turns around laughs and runs back towards the shore. Cheeky little monkey he is.
After the beach my friend said that we should go have breakfast at Archies on the beach front which was on the same beach we were at. We'd had breakie already but I didn't mind a cup of tea while they had theirs. So we're all in the car and I drove out of where we were towards the restaurant, it's now a real effort for me as I'm just really tired. As I drive out my friend(whose English is very challenging a lot of the time) says to me oh the restaurant is not here! So I hop out and made sure my son's seat was secure as I had originally thought we were just going to park by the cafe. So I strap sonny_boy in properly and proceed to where-ever we were going and then she pipes up again and said that the restaurant was back where we'd just come from!!! Imagine my blood boiling at this point and felt like yelling at this woman to be f*&^ing exact! Anyway the restaurant was D'Arcy's but she pronounced it Archies! like wtf!!! Talk about lost in translation. So the rest of the morning was me trying to keep Tau on my lap and play nice until we went home!
Sonny_boy fell asleep in the car on the way home so I was rejoicing as I would get a snooze as well. I brought him upstairs and put him in bed and he wakes up ready to go! So sleeping went out the window as we made our way to play group. Caught up with some friends there and some other ladies I hardly see came along with their carrots up their behinds as well.
Needless to say Tau had fun. The sitter came later and watched him while I went to my gym class. I've taken up pilates and it's been great. I feel a lot better and it's good to do something about the weight gain that's been creeping up on me! So the class started off with just me and then the other brash friend came along. So the new instructor is not the greatest as she likes to do dance moves which we think just doesn't do it for us, exercise wise! Anyway we were doing some kicking thing and I sort of lost sync with the music and I started laughing. The instructor saw this and was laughing with me and the next thing I knew the other patron(friend) was half shouting at the instructor with a look that could kill saying "what's the problem?"!!!
I was shocked at the woman's outburst but wasn't happy when I saw the instructor's look of horror. I felt sorry for the instructor as they don't earn much and if the patrons aren't happy and say something to the boss it might jeopardize their work. So after a few laps I reassured my mate and told her to calm down the instructor only laughed cos I laughed and it was me she was laughing with/at and not her. The poor woman is quite uncoordinated and normally doesn't care but I guess today she just wasn't having a good day and thought we were laughing at her. I cracked a few jokes during the session and at the end all was well and the two were in okay terms. Good thing diplomatic relations rep was there to fix things ha! Ok I better go to bed now and get a GOOD night's SLEEP.
After the beach my friend said that we should go have breakfast at Archies on the beach front which was on the same beach we were at. We'd had breakie already but I didn't mind a cup of tea while they had theirs. So we're all in the car and I drove out of where we were towards the restaurant, it's now a real effort for me as I'm just really tired. As I drive out my friend(whose English is very challenging a lot of the time) says to me oh the restaurant is not here! So I hop out and made sure my son's seat was secure as I had originally thought we were just going to park by the cafe. So I strap sonny_boy in properly and proceed to where-ever we were going and then she pipes up again and said that the restaurant was back where we'd just come from!!! Imagine my blood boiling at this point and felt like yelling at this woman to be f*&^ing exact! Anyway the restaurant was D'Arcy's but she pronounced it Archies! like wtf!!! Talk about lost in translation. So the rest of the morning was me trying to keep Tau on my lap and play nice until we went home!
Sonny_boy fell asleep in the car on the way home so I was rejoicing as I would get a snooze as well. I brought him upstairs and put him in bed and he wakes up ready to go! So sleeping went out the window as we made our way to play group. Caught up with some friends there and some other ladies I hardly see came along with their carrots up their behinds as well.
Needless to say Tau had fun. The sitter came later and watched him while I went to my gym class. I've taken up pilates and it's been great. I feel a lot better and it's good to do something about the weight gain that's been creeping up on me! So the class started off with just me and then the other brash friend came along. So the new instructor is not the greatest as she likes to do dance moves which we think just doesn't do it for us, exercise wise! Anyway we were doing some kicking thing and I sort of lost sync with the music and I started laughing. The instructor saw this and was laughing with me and the next thing I knew the other patron(friend) was half shouting at the instructor with a look that could kill saying "what's the problem?"!!!
I was shocked at the woman's outburst but wasn't happy when I saw the instructor's look of horror. I felt sorry for the instructor as they don't earn much and if the patrons aren't happy and say something to the boss it might jeopardize their work. So after a few laps I reassured my mate and told her to calm down the instructor only laughed cos I laughed and it was me she was laughing with/at and not her. The poor woman is quite uncoordinated and normally doesn't care but I guess today she just wasn't having a good day and thought we were laughing at her. I cracked a few jokes during the session and at the end all was well and the two were in okay terms. Good thing diplomatic relations rep was there to fix things ha! Ok I better go to bed now and get a GOOD night's SLEEP.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Life as I know it
Okay so I was a bit too excited last week about the Samoan in town. I went along to meet Mr Samoa guy's wife and ummm don't know if it was me but there was no enthusiasm there. Ok the guy is from NZ and half Samoan moved to the UK and married a lady there. So the lady pretty much summed him by saying he just happens to be Samoan. That's okay I know a lot of Samoans/palagi with identity issues ha! Anyway not fair I haven't met the Samoan dude. I met the gate keeper instead who prefers to keep things the way they are it seemed. choo hooo. Need I say more it was not a warm meeting and we didn't exchange numbers and I didn't even feel like asking for her numbers as we were just NOT gelling(is that a word). So bye to any prospective Samoan toonai soon lol. My other friend checked out the other supposed Samoan that worked with her husband and it turned out that they're from Papua New Guinea! I still asked for their numbers so they can join our Pacific Island community if they want some Pacific vibes in Oman.
Hubby dearest said the other night that he was going out to the local rugby club for a few. I didn't mind as I'd be on scrabble or read my book anyway. 5 seconds later I changed my mind because I hadn't been out in a while so I called our darling baby sitter and decided to crash the boys party ha! Funny thing, I was like a little kid I was so excited when we were just going to the good ol' boring rugby club!!! There were lots of rugby games on that night. NZ vs England and then Samoan played France later. I ate dinner earlier in the evening and by the time we went out my tummy was empty and a few drinks later I don't even remember seeing the ONE try Samoan scored against France 40 something points! Anyway as we do in Samoa we say "well at least they crossed the try line" ha ha! So there's always a positive. But I wasn't feeling positive when I woke up in the morning. I was so hungover and felt awful yesterday. Anyway today is a new day and hopefully I won't be doing that again any time soon. bahaha! Ce la vie!
My beautiful boy is a star. This is my blog so I'm going to brag about my son as much as I like. He's very active and knows what he wants. Lately he comes over and grabs my hand or his daddy's to pull us down to the floor to play games with him. It's just too cute. He likes one of us to roll on the floor with him and he has this habit of jumping on me which hurts like heck but he seems to think it's funny!!! He also knows to point to the fridge where his drinks and yogurt are and he points to what he wants. He's quite bossy I must say. He's starting to fend for himself though still not fast enough when his bestie who's 6 months older pushes him to the ground and tries to ride on his back. I get so pissed off when I see this so I've become more pro-active and actually tell the other child to stop it or no hitting if the parent won't. At first I almost taught my son how to push or fight back and then luckily I had an epiphany(big word just wanted to use it) that I'd be teaching him violence. He'll learn to deal with that sort of situation in his own way which he is already. He tries to get away or just pulls his hand away. The thing is it won't be long before he can give as much as he gets so I don't want to encourage any violence in my little gentle boy.
He loves to talk on the phone, when he sees me on the phone he wants to talk on it too which he does quite well. He walks around with the phone like he's all grown up. Very cute. He loves to blow kisses to his nana when we skype and today he got so enthusiastic with his bye byes he was marching real fast with hands in the air. It was just comical I was laughing so hard. Lately he discovered he can climb on the back of the couch and tries to stand up there too which just about gives me a heart attack. He loves balls, he throws and kicks 'em. He's been learning to pass and scrum with his dad using the rugby ball. He loves the tackling thing and driving daddy meaning his holding on to hubby's legs. So cute. When one of us reprimands him for doing something naughty like playing with the wall socket he then ignores the disciplinarian for a while. He likes to go outside and push his big tonka truck around.
We're off to New Zealand in 3 weeks and I can't wait. I hope Mommy dearest can make it over for Christmas.
Hubby dearest said the other night that he was going out to the local rugby club for a few. I didn't mind as I'd be on scrabble or read my book anyway. 5 seconds later I changed my mind because I hadn't been out in a while so I called our darling baby sitter and decided to crash the boys party ha! Funny thing, I was like a little kid I was so excited when we were just going to the good ol' boring rugby club!!! There were lots of rugby games on that night. NZ vs England and then Samoan played France later. I ate dinner earlier in the evening and by the time we went out my tummy was empty and a few drinks later I don't even remember seeing the ONE try Samoan scored against France 40 something points! Anyway as we do in Samoa we say "well at least they crossed the try line" ha ha! So there's always a positive. But I wasn't feeling positive when I woke up in the morning. I was so hungover and felt awful yesterday. Anyway today is a new day and hopefully I won't be doing that again any time soon. bahaha! Ce la vie!
My beautiful boy is a star. This is my blog so I'm going to brag about my son as much as I like. He's very active and knows what he wants. Lately he comes over and grabs my hand or his daddy's to pull us down to the floor to play games with him. It's just too cute. He likes one of us to roll on the floor with him and he has this habit of jumping on me which hurts like heck but he seems to think it's funny!!! He also knows to point to the fridge where his drinks and yogurt are and he points to what he wants. He's quite bossy I must say. He's starting to fend for himself though still not fast enough when his bestie who's 6 months older pushes him to the ground and tries to ride on his back. I get so pissed off when I see this so I've become more pro-active and actually tell the other child to stop it or no hitting if the parent won't. At first I almost taught my son how to push or fight back and then luckily I had an epiphany(big word just wanted to use it) that I'd be teaching him violence. He'll learn to deal with that sort of situation in his own way which he is already. He tries to get away or just pulls his hand away. The thing is it won't be long before he can give as much as he gets so I don't want to encourage any violence in my little gentle boy.
He loves to talk on the phone, when he sees me on the phone he wants to talk on it too which he does quite well. He walks around with the phone like he's all grown up. Very cute. He loves to blow kisses to his nana when we skype and today he got so enthusiastic with his bye byes he was marching real fast with hands in the air. It was just comical I was laughing so hard. Lately he discovered he can climb on the back of the couch and tries to stand up there too which just about gives me a heart attack. He loves balls, he throws and kicks 'em. He's been learning to pass and scrum with his dad using the rugby ball. He loves the tackling thing and driving daddy meaning his holding on to hubby's legs. So cute. When one of us reprimands him for doing something naughty like playing with the wall socket he then ignores the disciplinarian for a while. He likes to go outside and push his big tonka truck around.
We're off to New Zealand in 3 weeks and I can't wait. I hope Mommy dearest can make it over for Christmas.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Samoan alert in Oman!!!
Two weeks ago I decided to be gung-ho and go out there and meet more people to make life more interesting. I met up with Molly again at play group and both were interested in beach walks so we went for our first walk on the beach two weeks ago and when I got there there was another woman with her baby in tow ready for the walk. So there were three of us with our little ones in tow all ready to face the sun rise on the lovely Shatti beach. So off we went. Nice quick steps and quicker with the chin as we chatted away. So the lady I'd just met asked my nationality and I said Samoan. We talked about NZ and she mentioned that she lived there for three years and her husband was from there. She asked if there were other Samoans here and I said not that I knew off. The only other one I knew left earlier in the year. Anyway as we kept walking and they mentioned a mutual friend of theirs and then Jane exclaimed that she's married to a Samoan!!! Imagine my excitement to discover that there's another Samoan in town! So this week Molly informed me that she'd arranged a coffee meeting with Samoan guy's wife on Sunday so I'd meet her first before we can all meet up with the husbands. So I can't wait to meet her this week-end.
Anyway I went around to Molly's house for a play date and she mentioned that another friend Erika has said that her husband worked with a Samoan and they immediately thought of me so they'll hook us up some time soon!!! So exciting.
Anyway I went around to Molly's house for a play date and she mentioned that another friend Erika has said that her husband worked with a Samoan and they immediately thought of me so they'll hook us up some time soon!!! So exciting.
Life in Muscat
Moving
I've been scouring the papers looking for a good priced villa for us to move to. We currently live in a two bedroom apartment complex which is really nice but feel we need more room for our little son to run around in. I've found one within our budget and am happy with it. It's now a waiting game to see how long it takes for our sponsor company to sort it out and if the landlord is happy with our offer. I'll just hope for the best.
Spa break
Last week-end hubby dearest booked us in a spa resort out of town for the night. It was such a lovely break from town. Beautiful green gardens and grounds. The hotel was spread out and used bikes and carts for people to get around on. It was very nice. I got a deep tissue massage which was so good I didn't want it to end! The pool was big and one side was very shallow that my son enjoyed immensely and it was easy to enjoy as he did his thing and we were just nearby to make sure he was safe. Later we went and played pool at the games room while the bar man was happy to play with Tau!! The staff were superb and the rooms were huge. We'll definitely go back there when we can!! It was fantastic and truly relaxing.
Parental abuse
I was quite concerned when I saw my sister's blog dishing it out to our PM a few days ago. So I called her up to enlighten me on the situation and was pointed to the Samoa Observer website that published our Prime Minister's letter addressed to my Mom who is President of SUNGO which stands for Samoa Umbrella of Non-Governmental Organistations and the CEO of SUNGO Mrs Roina Vavatau. The letter was almost hilarious in it's childish accusations that it's hard to believe that the writer is the man that is leading our poor country. He was accusing my beloved mom and the CEO of SUNGO of self-promotion using SUNGO and saying that this is the first time SUNGO is not working with the govt. I'm not sure where in the NON-governmental organisation he missed the point! The current building that SUNGO operates out of was given to them by the goverment to use. Well as one reader pointed out it's paid by the tax-payers who are also represented by SUNGO in many ways. I was alarmed by the vicious letter but also digusted at the nature of this man that leads our country. In the letter the PM said to SUNGO that the building was given to them by the government so they should keep up the good relations. So the PM thought that giving SUNGO a building would ensure their silence and cooperation! He shoots people down like no one has a right to say anything to him and his government. Well I'm comfortable in the knowledge that my Mom stands for the rights of the people that the govermnent prefers to turn a deaf ear to.
I just did my own digging and it seems like SUNGO has been hindering the PM's plans for awhile now when SUNGO were the ones that stood strong against the switching of the road, that were against the land bill that will allow foreigners to buy Samoan lands. And the latest is the Samoan Americans sent lots of goods to help the villages that suffered from the tsunami and these organisations decided to go through SUNGO to ensure the quick distribution of the goods to those in need and avoid the bureaucracy these things go through if sent to the government.
I spoke to my Mom recently and as expected she's undeterred by the PM's words to them. They're doing their jobs by the people and nothing the PM does or says will stop them. SUNGO haven't been the only ones on the receiving end as the media have also been on the receiving end of these accusations. The PM wants to control the media so that they don't report negative things about the government. Sadly he is acting like a dictator. There is no opposition party at the moment and the ministers that tried to form an opposition party were almost forced out of government, and each time, the government draft a new bill to protect themselves who are in power. Well it will come back to bite them soon enough.
I've been scouring the papers looking for a good priced villa for us to move to. We currently live in a two bedroom apartment complex which is really nice but feel we need more room for our little son to run around in. I've found one within our budget and am happy with it. It's now a waiting game to see how long it takes for our sponsor company to sort it out and if the landlord is happy with our offer. I'll just hope for the best.
Spa break
Last week-end hubby dearest booked us in a spa resort out of town for the night. It was such a lovely break from town. Beautiful green gardens and grounds. The hotel was spread out and used bikes and carts for people to get around on. It was very nice. I got a deep tissue massage which was so good I didn't want it to end! The pool was big and one side was very shallow that my son enjoyed immensely and it was easy to enjoy as he did his thing and we were just nearby to make sure he was safe. Later we went and played pool at the games room while the bar man was happy to play with Tau!! The staff were superb and the rooms were huge. We'll definitely go back there when we can!! It was fantastic and truly relaxing.
Parental abuse
I was quite concerned when I saw my sister's blog dishing it out to our PM a few days ago. So I called her up to enlighten me on the situation and was pointed to the Samoa Observer website that published our Prime Minister's letter addressed to my Mom who is President of SUNGO which stands for Samoa Umbrella of Non-Governmental Organistations and the CEO of SUNGO Mrs Roina Vavatau. The letter was almost hilarious in it's childish accusations that it's hard to believe that the writer is the man that is leading our poor country. He was accusing my beloved mom and the CEO of SUNGO of self-promotion using SUNGO and saying that this is the first time SUNGO is not working with the govt. I'm not sure where in the NON-governmental organisation he missed the point! The current building that SUNGO operates out of was given to them by the goverment to use. Well as one reader pointed out it's paid by the tax-payers who are also represented by SUNGO in many ways. I was alarmed by the vicious letter but also digusted at the nature of this man that leads our country. In the letter the PM said to SUNGO that the building was given to them by the government so they should keep up the good relations. So the PM thought that giving SUNGO a building would ensure their silence and cooperation! He shoots people down like no one has a right to say anything to him and his government. Well I'm comfortable in the knowledge that my Mom stands for the rights of the people that the govermnent prefers to turn a deaf ear to.
I just did my own digging and it seems like SUNGO has been hindering the PM's plans for awhile now when SUNGO were the ones that stood strong against the switching of the road, that were against the land bill that will allow foreigners to buy Samoan lands. And the latest is the Samoan Americans sent lots of goods to help the villages that suffered from the tsunami and these organisations decided to go through SUNGO to ensure the quick distribution of the goods to those in need and avoid the bureaucracy these things go through if sent to the government.
I spoke to my Mom recently and as expected she's undeterred by the PM's words to them. They're doing their jobs by the people and nothing the PM does or says will stop them. SUNGO haven't been the only ones on the receiving end as the media have also been on the receiving end of these accusations. The PM wants to control the media so that they don't report negative things about the government. Sadly he is acting like a dictator. There is no opposition party at the moment and the ministers that tried to form an opposition party were almost forced out of government, and each time, the government draft a new bill to protect themselves who are in power. Well it will come back to bite them soon enough.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Mourning
The past week has been one of the saddest in my lifetime. When I heard about the tsunami I spent hours glued to the news on TV and also news from family and friends online. Video after video and story after story unfolded the horrific extent of the damage the tsunami had done to my beloved people. It felt wrong sitting in my nice apartment eating well with my family when across the oceans my fellow Samoans were fighting for their lives let alone looking for their toddlers, wives or parents. Each story seemed sadder than the last and I end up crying harder. Just when I think I'm okay I see yet another sad video and the loss is so endless I crying again. But the amazing thing is or what warms me in a way is that I know I'm not alone in this. I think anyone who is Samoan has been like me in the past two weeks, just a wreck and with puffy eyes from crying so much. I never thought I could cry so much in a week. I would find my husband with red-rimmed eyes by the computer and then I'd see he's also been reading up on the events back home. I'd show him a video I found online and again I'd cry with him as I watch the sad tale again. And then the survival stories trickle through that lifts the spirit only for a while before you come across another heartbreaking story. Yesterday was White Sunday in Samoa and my sister FJ shared the Tagata Pasifika online link which covered more from Samoa. And one young woman who has lost both her toddler and baby, clearly very distraught in her distant grieving voice and face that hid nothing she said that God gave her the most beautiful children and He had taken them back. Just when I think I'm on my recovery journey I see something like that and I'm back to square one as I cannot fathom what it's like to lose your family in an instant like that and in such a tragic way. I pray for that woman and her pain, I pray for all of them that suffered so much loss. I pray for their recovery from deep emotional wounds. I pray they find a way to move forward amidst the loss and devastation.
I busied myself along with many other Samoan brothers and sisters by finding ways to encourage people to donate what you can to Samoa to help feed, clothe and house them for now and later to rebuild. When I spoke to my youngest sister who is in Samoa and was at the devastated areas from the start she told of how they finally found our relatives in Saleapaga. Sadly our aunty that we all know died in the tsunami but the rest of the family were thankful that as sad as it was they lost ONE person as opposed to all their neighbours who lost at least three members of their families. It's amazing that in the midst of their grief they see the bright side as well. This is an amazing story that my sister told me of our cousin Paneta's experience. Paneta told my sister that when he saw the wave heading towards them after his father who first saw it and alerted the neighbourhood to run for the hills. Paneta ran back to the big fale(house) and grabbed his 4 year old son Seti and nephew Lailua. With both boys in either arm he tried to run as fast as he could up the hill towards the cliff like most of the neighbourhood. He said he didn't get far before the wave hit him from behind. He said it was so powerful he realised he'd lost grip of his son Seti. He was trying to stay afloat hold his nephew and get to the cliff before the wave receded. He saw his son a few metres from him, out of his reach. He said he thought there is no way he can get to him now and save them all so he said a silent prayer to God and said God if this is your will, then so be it. So he yelled out to his son: 'Fa Seti' meaning 'Goodbye Seti' as ge watched his son's head bobbing in the wave. He managed to get on the cliff with the help of others who were already there and his nephew due to the roughness suffered a minor head injury. As they stood on the cliff and watched the devastation and the water receding, they heard a little voice yelling out to help him. And when they looked towards the stream which the water had now receded towards, there was his 4 year old son Seti hanging onto a banana tree trunk trying to swim to the river bank. Seti escaped without a single scratch on his body. When my sister asked little Seti how he survived. Seti said he just kept swimming then he saw the banana tree trunk and hung on to it and kept swimming. I see this as a miracle. Maybe God hearing Paneta's prayer decided his will is that Seti must survive! I don't know what it was but that is one of the most beautiful stories that came out of this devastation.
People ask me how my family are and how Samoa's doing and I find myself fighting back tears as I try to answer them in a composed way. It's been a terrible terrible week for Samoans around the world but mostly those that were affected directly. However the united front that our people have put up in order to fundraise and donate to the victims has been downright amazing. The reaction from our neighbours New Zealand and Australia have been nothing but just incredible. I had applied for NZ citizenship a couple of months ago and I commented to my husband that I would accept that citizenship with much pride and appreciation even more so considering the outpouring of support and assistance from New Zealand to Samoa. Thank you to everyone that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers and those that have given things to help our people. Your help is always welcome. Ia faatutumuina e le Atua mea ua faagaogaoina ona o lo outou alolofa.
I busied myself along with many other Samoan brothers and sisters by finding ways to encourage people to donate what you can to Samoa to help feed, clothe and house them for now and later to rebuild. When I spoke to my youngest sister who is in Samoa and was at the devastated areas from the start she told of how they finally found our relatives in Saleapaga. Sadly our aunty that we all know died in the tsunami but the rest of the family were thankful that as sad as it was they lost ONE person as opposed to all their neighbours who lost at least three members of their families. It's amazing that in the midst of their grief they see the bright side as well. This is an amazing story that my sister told me of our cousin Paneta's experience. Paneta told my sister that when he saw the wave heading towards them after his father who first saw it and alerted the neighbourhood to run for the hills. Paneta ran back to the big fale(house) and grabbed his 4 year old son Seti and nephew Lailua. With both boys in either arm he tried to run as fast as he could up the hill towards the cliff like most of the neighbourhood. He said he didn't get far before the wave hit him from behind. He said it was so powerful he realised he'd lost grip of his son Seti. He was trying to stay afloat hold his nephew and get to the cliff before the wave receded. He saw his son a few metres from him, out of his reach. He said he thought there is no way he can get to him now and save them all so he said a silent prayer to God and said God if this is your will, then so be it. So he yelled out to his son: 'Fa Seti' meaning 'Goodbye Seti' as ge watched his son's head bobbing in the wave. He managed to get on the cliff with the help of others who were already there and his nephew due to the roughness suffered a minor head injury. As they stood on the cliff and watched the devastation and the water receding, they heard a little voice yelling out to help him. And when they looked towards the stream which the water had now receded towards, there was his 4 year old son Seti hanging onto a banana tree trunk trying to swim to the river bank. Seti escaped without a single scratch on his body. When my sister asked little Seti how he survived. Seti said he just kept swimming then he saw the banana tree trunk and hung on to it and kept swimming. I see this as a miracle. Maybe God hearing Paneta's prayer decided his will is that Seti must survive! I don't know what it was but that is one of the most beautiful stories that came out of this devastation.
People ask me how my family are and how Samoa's doing and I find myself fighting back tears as I try to answer them in a composed way. It's been a terrible terrible week for Samoans around the world but mostly those that were affected directly. However the united front that our people have put up in order to fundraise and donate to the victims has been downright amazing. The reaction from our neighbours New Zealand and Australia have been nothing but just incredible. I had applied for NZ citizenship a couple of months ago and I commented to my husband that I would accept that citizenship with much pride and appreciation even more so considering the outpouring of support and assistance from New Zealand to Samoa. Thank you to everyone that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers and those that have given things to help our people. Your help is always welcome. Ia faatutumuina e le Atua mea ua faagaogaoina ona o lo outou alolofa.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Samoa Tsunami
I had just hopped into bed last night when the landline started ringing. I ran out to the lounge to pick up the phone and my heart started pounding as late calls usually mean bad news. It was my mother inlaw calling to inform us that a tsunami had just hit Samoa and if my family was okay. The sick feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach was all I felt at that very moment. My mind raced as I tried to think if my family were in the danger areas. Poutasi, Falealili was mentioned and I felt even more sick as my sister J was in Poutasi to do her research there and now I was praying that she had left the area. I hung up the phone and started the marathon calls to Samoa to all my family's numbers. As I've just changed phones I didn't have all the numbers saved but these I have committed to memory. Amazing in the moment of stress and panic, I couldn't remember some of the numbers that I dial over and over. Panic rose as I could not get through to anyone. I was just not connecting. I then rang Nets(Samoan sister) in Dubai to see if she knew and she was the one that updated me that everyone in Apia were evacuated to higher grounds however Lalomanu, Falealili and Satupaitea received the wrath of the wave and suffered losses to property and loved ones! Netia was skyping with Utu in Geneva and we were conference calling as we tried to make sense of what was going on at home. My internet was down so I couldn't even be updated online or get to my family that way. Nets who was on facebook saw my my journalist sister(CJ) had just updated her status on the disaster then sent her a message from me if they were okay. Within 20 minutes my sister who was online sending off news returned the message that they were all okay and not to worry about our family. So I said my prayers of thanks my family was spared but prayed for others that were injured and lost loved ones themselves:( I tried to call again but to no avail.
I woke up this morning to more disastrous news that there were more deaths than anticipated. The beautiful beaches of Lalomanu and Falealili were washed away. A lot of the beach fales in Lalomanu were washed away so it is feared that many tourists may have perished in the tsunami as well. The female owner of Sinalei Resort is said to have died in the tsunami and her husband is in the hospital injured. They were friends of Mom's and very popular people in the community. So so sad and am praying for all the victims families and those who are suffering in Samoa.
I urge people to send what you can to help. They need tents, water, clothing and I say send money to the Samoan Red Cross if you can as they will be at the front helping people in the villages.
I woke up this morning to more disastrous news that there were more deaths than anticipated. The beautiful beaches of Lalomanu and Falealili were washed away. A lot of the beach fales in Lalomanu were washed away so it is feared that many tourists may have perished in the tsunami as well. The female owner of Sinalei Resort is said to have died in the tsunami and her husband is in the hospital injured. They were friends of Mom's and very popular people in the community. So so sad and am praying for all the victims families and those who are suffering in Samoa.
I urge people to send what you can to help. They need tents, water, clothing and I say send money to the Samoan Red Cross if you can as they will be at the front helping people in the villages.
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