Monday 25 April 2016

Breadfruit Chips...



Pale and Lihe kindly lent us a deep fryer, so we have had some fun learning how to make breadfruit chips:) and yummy donuts.
Here is the Breadfruit, just off the tree.

After peeling off the skin with a knife (covering my hands with oil first as the sap from the fruit is super sticky) you slice thin strips of Breadfruit until you reach the firm core, there are tonnes of pips/seeds all the way through.

All sliced and ready to fry:)

Starting to look good...


bubbling away


All ready to go, add some salt....


Tokelauan goodness!!

Sunday 24 April 2016

Goodbyes...warning graphic chicken content

Sadly we lost Snowbell...there were tears,flowers and a funeral but this is the only photo we got.





So Ez went hunting, in fact spent a good couple of hours stalking his new pets...but his patience and determination paid off:)
Phoebe-named by Meli & Ru....friends influence...

Little black and cream one is Pingu:)

Cute little buddies


Wednesday 20 April 2016

If I had to take 11 things with me to a desert Island what would they be......


Fan's bought these in Samoa, so good to have!!

These bring me much sanity!

Thanks Paula and Manuel for sending this from Samoa
Lego!

Cold water and food lasting, got this in Samoa before we came, Thank goodness.

Yes I'm a little bit anal about cleanliness...but so so helpful!

Sweet Dreams without the mozzies-we scored this one $3 from save-mart in Porirua of all places!
Go Save-mart:)

Yes a Laptop, we are very spoilt but this has been a life saver with us all 7 in one room,
 a nice little bit of escapism and contact with the outside world:)
Thanks also Jenni for the hard drive full of awesome watches! Ru and Meli indulging their new addiction to "Friends" here:)
(Also should have our E readers on here....they are awesome-Thanks again Paynes and Dove-Londons for so many E books)

Monday 18 April 2016

Zumba- Chrissie


March 20th

Just had the most fun time at Zumba Island Style…
Tonight after walking back from the beach where we had watched the sun set and seen amazing cloud formations and colours I’ve never seen in the sky (including one cloud that looked like a rainbow) we passed our neighbours sitting out on their doorstep enjoying the cooler temperatures (as it dropped to near 30), as we passed and chatted briefly one of them asked if we knew about Zumba at the school most nights, she let us know it was at 7pm and invited us to come.  For me in the first month and a half here in Tokelau, I have often felt isolated, lonely and at times left out, but this felt like such a lovely way to be with my neighbours and friends, our village, a way to be a part of something, the beginning of belonging. So feeling excited and eager (especially Nga, it was past her bed time:) and she has always wanted to come to Hot Hula in Porirua) we walked from our Fale at dusk, just as the moon was beginning to glow, down  to the park (netball/volleyball court) at the school. There we sat on the still warm concrete and waited chatting quietly until 7pm when the dull thud of the drum sounded and curfew was over. Then the park came to life, a laptop was set up with speakers and a projector onto a sheet, Zumba video clips had been saved off YouTube onto a flash drive and were loaded up for us to follow along to., Music filled the air and drew us in together,
Everyone got into it from the grandparents to the pre-schoolers in nappies and all in between, with lots of laughing and dancing. The sun had set but Mahina (the moon) is almost full so gave us enough light. Meli and I giggled a lot especially as I was particularly un-co! By contrast Ngaremu and Ru were awesome and especially Nga was in her element. The second song was “Bang Bang” which is banned in the Crawshaw household. After having spent most of a year explaining to Nga that we didn’t listen to this song in our family, she finally got to groove to it like she has been dying too. Of all the places I thought she would get to hear it, Tokelau wasn’t top of the list - I imagine the English is probably a bit subtle to pick up in translation…..ah well she loved it!!
Then Taylor swift, Bruno Mars and other popular music (All the Zumba videos as opposed to the actual music videos…phew). It was so much fun to dance; I’ve been missing music heaps. I love songs in the supermarket and can’t help but sing along and I crank up the sounds at home when everyone is at school and I’m doing housework. I love music, it is a place of real fullness of joy for me, so it was a real breath of life to be singing along and dancing. The relief I felt was palpable, tears gathered, brimming, as I was filled with gratitude at Gods provision, the gentle welcome of others and the rich privilege of being able to live here….
The wind picked up and the sounds of the waves crashing increased, suddenly in a burst of refreshing delight the warm tropical rain came. Quickly people scampered about grabbing the computers and technical gear and Zumba was over for the night, but as everyone dispersed, kie’s over our heads, tofa ni ringing out across the few dusty streets as we ran home, the belonging felt even deeper…
Looking forward to tomorrow night :)


NB: This has been posted so late as I was wanting to take some photo's to go with this post but as things roll here, sadly we have not had a Zumba night again.......anyways just how it is, hopefully it will happen again sometime. :) Chrissie








Sunday 17 April 2016

A picture says a 1000 words....

Meli's birthday morning Pancakes cooking, 6:30am- opening her present, small bottle of moisturiser and a spray deodorant , some chewing gum and a packet of biscuits. Limited options, but she was happy:)

Special birthday afternoon tea:)-Cheezles, Cornchips and a Chocolate biscuit-a cup of juice and water 50/50 too:)

Ez's efforts at water collection, 16 different containers-kept him busy for over an hour and a half.

My boys styling their hair.....Ez modelling the soft mo....

Rainy going for No Curls!
Refining his look







Rainy learning to float on his back-Go Ru...teacher in the making.
Some cool fish

Ez looking stunning,put this in the 21st collection:)

Playing with our underwater camera trying to get everyone in:)
Got everyone,hard to open your eyes in the really salty water! (only got Rainy's chin.)

Ez diving

Mum and Ru trying to open our eyes...I just look terrified!

These guys have got it down

7 is a few people to squeeze in and coordinated dive and breath holding:)

Lots of laughs

Rainy growing in confidance

Diving down to the bottom and picking up coral sand!
Easter Monday, having a fire by the beach and cooking fish
like Jesus and his disciples.
Having a bible reflection in Paradise

More Gecko's we love these guys!!

Look at their cool feet.



Don't even know what this bug is but it's BIG and I just about stood on it inside our house one night.
about 10cm long!






















Lego.... by Chrissie & Rainy



The face says it all!





Big shout out to the Payne Family and the Sawrey-Grenfell Family, both who have spent time in the Pacific with their young families and recommended we take our Lego, 

THANK-YOU!!

from all of us but especially Rainy and I:)


Creations-very vehicle oriented boy! 

Rainy showing me the jet engines!
Pondering the Digger (Front end loader Mum, he tells me!)

All made by Rainy, played with by us both:)- yay we have a reef shark!

In his happy place.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Some ponderings about Island Time

When I was younger, I used to run my paper run route as fast as I could in a race against my stopwatch. When catching the bus, I’d wait until the last possible moment before leaving home, sprinting down the hill to the bus – timing it to perfection so that I’d arrive at the perfect moment to board the bus with not a moment lost. Maximally efficient use of time! Not only did I maximise the time for other things at home, but also killed two birds with one stone by completing the required task and also getting in some exercise!

I think I come from a family context that is somewhat obsessed by time. I am realising that I’m obsessed by time. I've been reflecting on the attitude (my attitude which is normally dressed up in piety and other good things) that time is a ‘thing’ I can ‘own’ or ‘possess’ for myself, use for maximum benefit. The way I use time shapes my identity, speaks to the sort of person I am. I take pride from being admired or praised for how I use my time. I am offended when my time is wasted or misused.

From our first couple of months in Tokelau, it is fair to say that my view and conception of time is not very “Tokelauan”. The concept of time in Tokelau almost doesn't exist at all – at least not in any form I'm familiar with conceiving of it. If the idea of time is driven by anything – it’s probably most closely linked to the rise and fall of the tide – something you wait for, and submit to. It’s not to be controlled or optimised. It’s never a quantity of scarcity – it’ll rise and fall again. The analogy of the tide of course is pertinent because the people of Tokelau are a fishing people, and good fishing depends significantly on the art of reading the tide. Every Tokelauan is very tuned in to what’s happening with the tide – but it’s not something you control and use up.

As I watch and observe people in their daily life here I become aware that they have not “commodified” time as I think we have in the “palagi world”. People are content to sit, and be, for hours at a time. Even if they are ‘waiting’ they’re not so much waiting as just ‘being’ and ‘belonging’.

For example, if the almaga (the village workforce of able bodied men, which I join in with a few days a week) lack the equipment or materials required for a job, or some machinery has broken down (all common occurrences in this remote place), they are all quite content to sit, in silence, or chatting, or joking and laughing – without a question of “What next?” or “How long” ever seeming to occur. On days the ship from Apia is due in, it’s frequently later than expected. No one ‘waits’. If you asked when the boat is due – you really only get a shrug of the shoulders. Everyone just ‘be’s’.

On Thursday a couple of weeks ago my ability to cope with this totally different approach to time was tested to its limits! Chrissie was sick at home so I was on Rainy. After a few hours at pre-school – which if you know me you’ll understand I found testing – I had the task of taking Rainy over to Fale (the main village) to pick up some cash from the finance office and a few things from the store. During the day it emerged that both places would be closed the following day – and I thought “Good at least I’m getting it done today!”. Arriving at the store at 11:45am, I found a large que extending out the door. I decided to go for the Finance office first – its queue was similarly long. It turned out everyone was getting ready for a long weekend. We settled down to wait – yes I still think of it as waiting. Rainy played with some of the other little kids and knowing that I had at least until 1pm until the next return school boat and only a few things to get I was fairly ok.

At ten minutes waiting – I was hot, but fine.

Twenty minutes – still fine.

Half an hour – still at finance office, water nearly gone, Rainy being plied with chewing gum and other treats people were giving him – still fine.

An hour – I'm not so fine. I'm hoping that the shop queue will have gone. By this point I'm inside the finance office, Rainy is running round outside – no idea what sort of havoc the ‘palagi’ boy is causing.

Soon after 1pm I get out of the Finance office. Sadly the queue in (out of) the store is just as ominous. I realised I won’t be catching the boat I planned too! Poor Rainy. He’s doing so well. I'm feeling grumpy. MY TIME is being WASTED.

Half hour in the store. Rainy is wearing thin. He’s hungry, he’s thirsty, he’s tired. And people are still giving him treats.

Finally at the front of the queue at 1:50pm. (Side note - in Tokelau you read out your shopping list to the staff, they write it down in a book, write down the prices, add them up, then collect the items from the shelves and put them on the counter for you and you pay in cash. Not the easiest way to shop for a family of 7!). Several of the items that I came for are not in stock. Eggs, Frozen veg, any veg, etc. “So will they come in the next boat?” *Shoulder Shrug* “Hmmmn!” I decide to load up with what I can get – which means I leave the store carrying nearly 30kgs, towing a very tired Rainy, fuming inside about – well about everything. Fortunately I manage to get the final school boat of the day at just after 2pm. That’s followed by ten minutes of ‘sweat-walking’ in direct sun (over 40oC and humid) with 30kgs and a sad, tired boy. I was over it. Completely over it.

During this unfolding ordeal and reflecting in hindsight – what struck me most was that while I ‘waited’ and became increasingly agitated – everyone around me appeared completely chilled out and at peace – hanging out together, enjoying the company, not caught up in their own personal needs and how much greater their needs were than the next person. Everyone is there for everyone else. No-one for themselves. This is all part of being community together, shaping the collective identity. I was struck by the arrogance and self-centeredness of my feelings… “My Time”, “Me”, “Now!!”

While I realise that the way I value time is not all bad – in fact there’s a lot of good about it, I think there’s room for an adjustment in how tightly I cling to “my time”. I was struck and challenged recently by this excerpt from Life Together by Deitrich Bonhoeffner talking about the call to serve one another in small and big things…

“Those who worry about the loss of time entailed by such small, external acts of helpfulness are usually taking their own work too seriously. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. We can, then, pass them by, preoccupied with our more important daily tasks, just as the priest – perhaps reading the Bible – passed by the man who had fallen among robbers. When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the cross raised in our lives to show us that God’s way, and not our own, is what counts. … [It] is part of the school of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service. We do not manage our time ourselves, but allow it to be occupied by God.”

I think there’s a very true sense in which people in Tokelau emphasise serving one another, rather than being preoccupied with their own time. My hope is that our time in Tokelau will be for me a “school in humility” where I can allow my time to be more fully “occupied by God”, receiving the good from both cultural approaches to time. For me that means being more at peace with Island time.

Matt

Monday 11 April 2016

A new family member by Ezra...intro by Mum(Chrissie)

Ezra is now looking psycho but He does want to introduce you to our newest family member, Meli was being an egg and ripped his dart so anyways…calmed down now, so here’s the story….




For school we had to take something we were interested in, so I caught a blue tailed Lizard and took that along, some of the boys brought baby chicks, the class were being rough with them and throwing them around, so at the end of the day my friend Timofia gave me one of his chicks because he had seen in the day how kind I was being trying to stop them all getting hurt and cuddling it in all my spare time cause it had a sore leg. So I took it home and Mum and Dad said we could keep it. I have called it Snowbell (we picked names out of a hat) Mum, Ru and Meli thought it could be chickwhite- Ha Ha, but snowbell it is. She is noisy; peeping all the time, loves being held and likes long hair. I n the mornings I have to go and get cockroaches for her to eat, I have to kill them and chop their heads off, she loves them. We’ve had her about a week and we hope we can keep her till the end of the year. If I tap on the floor or call tok tok tok she comes running to you. She sleeps in a box on coconut husks, next to my bed, here are some photos of her…..

NB: When Ez was four he called our white cat, Pusswhite....hense the chickwhite suggestions.

Snowbell

Stoked! 
Not to sure.
Happily hand fed:)

Sleeping on Meli

Cute:)