Weekend at the beach.

First of all I wanted to say "Thank you"for your concerns about us during the Tsunami warning.  I'm sure you all heard that we are safe.

I was lucky enough to get a call from one of the wife's from Andrew's work or otherwise I wouldn't have even known it was happening.  Andrew was away and I couldn't get ahold of him.  So I called a friend, Louisa who told me the kids would be evacuated from the school up to the hill behind it.  She said if I went quickly then I could collect the kids.  So down the big hill I drove to drive 500 meters from the water to be with the kids.  I was pretty sure that we were safe because Honiara normally doesn't get hit by big waves, but I did keep an eye on the water to see if the water was going to get sucked out to sea before the big wave hit.  When I got there Alex was crying and said to me "Is the earth going to open up and swallow us?" and Elijah was cool as a cucumber recalling all the facts he knows about tsunami's.  At the end of the day they think it is a story they will be able to tell back at St. Agnes. As for me, it is a terrible feeling to think your children may be in danger.  Although I know the chances of it hitting were slim, I had a terrible pit in my stomach until I saw them. 

 After 6 weeks here, I don't have much new to report.  The kids have made some new friends and are getting invited over to their houses for plays.  After seeing other people's homes, I realise that most people come much more prepared than we did.  They have brought many more supplies from home; such as Wii's, kayaks, surf boards, toys, cooking gadgets, etc.....  Most people are staying much longer than we are but it does make our house look really empty when those kids come here.  Some of the families work for High Commissions or RAMSI and are well taken care of.  Big house with swimming pools, mod com's and entertaining space.  I'm not complaining because our house is fine for our family but when you want to have people over for dinner it is a tight squeeze. Because there is not much more to do on the weekends people tend to entertain a lot.  

On Sundays we go to the beach and meet some of the families that go to school with the kids.  They have a great time hanging out and take turns of the kayaks, surf boards and other beach equipment.  This weekend while snorkelling Andrew spotted some clown fish with 3 babies.  He told me they were quite aggressive but I dove down for a look anyway.  The adult fish decided I was a threat and started banging themselves into my mask.  They then did the same thing to Alex.  We took their warning and left them alone after that.  On the way home we stopped at one of the stalls on the side of the road for prawns and rice.  They serve them on a woven bamboo plate and they are not bad.  They also serve chicken and fish.  I have never heard of anyone getting sick from eating there but you will still have your expat's that refuse to eat anything that isn't cooked in a Western style sterile kitchen.  

I hope the picture and updates aren't getting too repetitive.  Please send me updates on what is happening in Melbourne. 

I took this picture for Patti.  Freshly painted virgin Mary's on the side of the road.  $25 Aus dollars if anyone wants to put in an order.  

The bell at Woodford school. 

Elijah and his new friend Ned. 

Alex with prawns from roadside stall.  About 5 minutes before this was take the ice cream truck had come and she had a chocolate cone.