Excitement! People are coming here to visit me! I could not be more pumped, and please ANYONE take this opportunity to discover vauatu, it is amazing and I can give you the total insiders tour :) Also pumped because yeaterday i went shopping and brought things i WANTED instead of things i need. Very cool. I bought two chairs and a candelabra! I realise that a candelabra seems quite excessive, but in fact, when you have no electricity, its quite a fancy version of practicality!

Oh and BTW for those of you who occasionally call or message, my number now has an extra two 7's so its 00116787764386.

Hey kids! sorry about the absense of updates here, i have just done a five week stint in the village and have only just got into Villa and got access to the net. All is well. Its fantastic to have running water and electricity again as well as being able to talk english and eat western food. I had an episode of homesickness about two weeks ago and Im continuing to recover. While on the island I made a top five of things that I miss about Australia, in no particular order they were a. wearing jeans b. swearing c. drinking/talkingabout red wine d. philisophical conversation / freedom to hold an opinion different to that od the majority e. sitting on the couch. So there it is, and on top of all that is, of course, family and friends. Im really greatful to those people who send messages, call and write, because even though i can not alwayse read or respond quickly its really nice to hear news from home. As far as news on the island is concerned, it is getting "col-col" which means that the weather has become quite mild and dry, and thus everyone complains of the cold. I personally think it is perfect. My little brother has head lice, and refuses to cut his fro, my 2 year old cousin has come to live with the family for a month, and my Papa has decided that he loves my cooking and randomly invited me to come for dinner (to cook dinner) which i secretly love. I have introduced to the family the wonders of garlic, pasta, tomato and hamburgers as well as vietnamese cold rolls. My mama continues to trust me wih increasing amounts of responsibilities around the house (culturaly, quite and honour) I help make Lap-Lap, scratch the coconut to make milk and fry bananas. Im not yt allowed to boil the rice or go to the garden to collect things. She must be sure that i can do it without messing it up before she can hand over chores.

At my own house, I have dug out and built a garden, built a fence around the garden to protect it from the wind off the sea, and planted seeds. As i dont have any pots i have taken to rolling down the sides of doubled up plastic shopping bags and filling them with soil. Some of the seedlings like corn and beetroot were quick to sprout so i have transplanted them to the garden. Everyone watches with great amusement as i faf around in the garen digging and getting dirty. I have very little idea what im doing so it's all an experiment for me and all very amusing to the villagers!!