Wednesday 30th August
Bonjour!
It's weird sitting down at this time of the day to write the blog! There is no school on Wednesday afternoons so everyone has gone home - a practice our kids all think TIS should adopt!
The day is cooler today and overcast, so walking around the big forested parc was great. Before we left school though, we had the first period in a classroom. It's always so interesting to hear in detail about what they've done, heard and eaten! Emma has truly 'discovered' cheese! She's tried a variety and last night a particularly smelly one! She couldn't get over how something could smell so bad and yet taste so good! They all agree that the french LOVE chocolate because there is so much of it flavouring so many things.
We then caught the bus with the billets to the Parc Zoologique et Forestier. This is a large area where we wandered along a network of paths through gardens of native shrubs and trees. Intermingled through them( in cages or just roaming free) were native species such as flightless cagou ( which is the symbol of Noumea), les rousettes (flying foxes/squirrels), the natou pigeon, and various parakeets, along with some exotic animals too.
Arriving at the Park
Our welcoming party!
The rear end of a blond peacock!
The Cagou
These birds are flightless and their call sounds like a dog's bark! Traditionally they make their sound at sunrise and sunset. They are very territorial and they do this to advertise or reinforce where their area is. Some of our kids have been lucky enough to see them in the wild when they've visited the Riviere Bleue, a beautiful National Park about 90 mins drive from Noumea. Alana visited it at the weekend.
The Riviere Bleue
We were all taken on a guided walk through the Park first to have species explained to us and then everyone could walk freely, taking photos etc. I shudder to think how many photos some of them have taken! No moving creature, scenic image or unusual sight for example has escaped Connor's attention. Be prepared for a very long slideshow when we all return!
The kids were in two groups so Baz stayed with one and I was with the other so I'm sorry these photos were with the same kids!
When we all arrived back at the main gates we took a group picture and then our boys taught the haka to the french boys - they have been chanting the words together but didn't know all the actions and were busting to know how to do it properly! I don't know how culturally appropriate it is to have a frenchman perform the haka, but we're sharing our culture and that's what it's all about over here.
Haka training!
The bus drove us back to school at 11am ready for host pickups at 11.30. There were many things planned for them on their afternoon off so it's good they can enjoy activities without getting too hot today. It's just under 23deg so feeling cooler - we are acclimatising though. We'd think it hot back home right now with that temp, wouldn't we? It is a drop from the 26-27deg we've been having!
As our time here draws to a close, I always reflect on the impact the trip has had on our kids. How great a culture shock have they experienced, how have they adjusted to the life with their billets etc and what will they take back home with them. Every year some find it harder to adjust than others but I hope that they are just that bit more tolerant and understanding of differences between people when we return.
Many aspects of life here are very similar to our own though. Nouméa, was always envisaged as the French Riviera in the South Pacific and this vibe lives on in the architecture of the city, the lifestyle and the profusion of French products available everywhere (they have about 40% import tax on all products, except if it happens to come from France and then its reduced to 20%). Nouméa is so developed that there are few items that are unavailable to the locals and the standard of living is high, roads are good, public transport (mostly) works, people are (marginally) more punctual than in the rest of the Pacific, and most people speak at least a very little bit of English with musicians often singing in English in bars.
But then along side this you get struck with just how different it is, from the palm trees and the parrots to the crazy fish you find in the market, to the profusion of tropical flowers growing on every hedge, to the prolific sunsets, the lack of anything that could be described as a winter, the general unusual way the country is run, the outside lifestyle and the fact that the stock of any supermarket changes daily. On the way over I sat in the plane next to a young guy from Hamilton who was a rigger, usually working on oil rigs, but he was part of a crew, along with two other crews, who had been called over to Noumea to help float a container ship off the reef. They had to sleep on the ship and each day were to off-load the containers onto waiting smaller boats in the hope that they could float it. Businesses onshore were screaming out for their supplies of course, because they all rely on their supplies that are imported and arrive by container ship. Apparently the ship was only 3 months old so I guess that captain was due to have an awkward conversation with his boss at some stage!
The hill behind Anse Vata beach looks stunning in parts with bouganvillea cascading down the slopes. It grows like a weed everywhere.
Well, another day draws to an end and we are three sleeps from home! Sort the weather out before we reach NZ please, so we can cope with the temp drop a little easier!
Au revoir,
Colleen
