The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

Often a lot of the schools we visit put on a big morning tea for us that includes a variety of fresh fruits (mangoes, paw paw, star fruit, bananas, guava, grated coconut etc), home baking, fish and so on.  It is excellent and we have now learned to time our visits specifically around morning tea time!  Well I say morning tea but in most schools here the break at 10:00am is there big break of the day and goes for 40 odd minutes.  This is the time they do all their eating. They then have another short snack break around 1.00pm.  Remembering that they start school at 8.00am and finish around 2.00pm.  I think it's an excellent idea and would instigate such a timetable in my next school in NZ!  I also like the teeth brushing routines they implement in schools here.  I would go further and have hand washing and toilet time too, although not necessarily in that order!  Another custom here is that when offered food to take away you accept, regardless of whether you want or like the food or not.  At a wedding or other such function you will find guests piling up their doggie bags before tucking in themselves.  I guess it's a compliment to the chefs and hosts, as well as a neccessity with the food prices here!
Anyway, at this mornings morning tea, opps I mean school visit, one teacher was heard to say "Have a banana - a banana a day keeps the doctor way" to which I replied "That's because apples are so expensive here!"  Much hilarity was had by all as I tucked into another banana (and we were given a bunch to take away with us!) so I don't expect to see a doctor anytime soon.  Although, a couple of mozzy bites under my right arm are giving me grief and the roll-on deodorant stings like crazy.  Janine wonders what all the grunting and groaning is coming from the bathroom in the morning!  I dare not go without though as the heat and humidity means that sweating is a national sport here!

Noted in the front of the set of Thorndike dictionaries that a Year 8 class were using at a school I visited earlier in the week "St Michael's School, Remuera."  This is typical here with a lot of their resources coming from donations.  Where a certain sized school may get $3.5million of funding in NZ, an equivalent school here would get $150,000.  You can see the problem they have - and teacher's earn half as much here as well.  A similar situation exists with the national library here.  I joined up and had a discussion with the librarian - a woman who volunteers here time, like all library staff.  She stated that all the books in the library are from donations.  A lot of tourists leave their reading material with the library on their departure - a nice touch.

I was almost knocked off my scooter whilst riding home yesterday by a lot of over hanging tree branches dangling from the flat bed of a truck coming the other way.  I was travelling on the 'Back Road' which is much narrower than the Main Road and perhaps was going a little faster than I should've but I did have to take evasive action.  I had my ipod on listening to music so they may well have been shouting a warning at me but I didn't hear, nor do i suspect this was the case.  They certainly didn't have a white rag tied to their overhanging cargo!  They have a very 'everyman for himself" approach to road rules, which I like.  I see it as a commonsensical approach.  No helmets needed on pushbikes or motorbikes at 40km (yes for speed limit of 50km).  No seat belts needed.  Kids standing up in the back of utes.  Everyone is aware of the risks and everyone is responsible for their own safety.  Given the low levels of traffic that makes sense to me.  We use a baby seat for Milly but not George.  He sits up the front with the passenger.  I wear a motorbike helmet, when I remember, for three reasons - to help block out the road noise so I can hear my music better, help to keep the sun from my eyes as I ride into it both to and from work, and probably most importantly, so I don't end up a dribbling mess, eating through a straw and going toilet into a bag IF I should ever come off, be it my fault or not!

It's also humorous to see the things people carry on their scooters.  Gas bottles, weed eaters, spare tyres, their groceries, boogie boards.  I want to build a trailer I can tow behind the scooter but I fear anything I attach it to may come off when I pull away, given that my scooter appears to be currently held together by plastic ties and best intentions!  I guess that's a fourth reason to wear a helmet - that one day I may see either of my tyre's roll off into the sunset as I tumble down the road after them!

Attended my first of eight Cook Island Maori lessons after work this afternoon at the University of The South Pacific.  The lessons started at 5.00pm and as we finish work at 4.00pm a colleague and I went for a swim in the harbour beforehand.  Very refreshing and some beautiful fish to be seen but the pull of the tide was quite strong.  Think I'll look into doing a dive course.  Anyway, as to the Maori lessons - I can now sing 'Head, shoulders, knees, and toes' in Maori, or 'Kuta, pakuivi, turi, manga vaevae' as it's now known!

Until later, ka kite akaou