They will laugh at you. Most of the time you won’t know what you’ve done to make them laugh. Just roll with it and don’t take it as a personal insult – they just laughing. You’ll get used to it.
Category: Outer islands
A very Islander week.
I’ve had a very islander week this week. Well as much as one can while living and working in a city. Before I tell you about the two wonderful events I went to this week, I’d like to mention one thing. Obviously, we all have our own personality traits which make up our own…
Aren’t we all the same?
When I was in Kiribati last October, I also had a close friend of mine working for an Aboriginal community in the middle of Northern Territory. We met each other when we were both living in Manchester, UK in 2009 and our friendship began when she came up to me at work (we had started…
Surviving at sea Kiribati-style (without giving yourself an enema)
Once upon a time there lived two fishermen that got lost in the middle of the Pacific ocean without food or water. Five weeks later, they washed up ashore of a neighboring country 500 miles away in relatively good health. The chances of these men surviving were always going to be pretty slim…
Living among the ancestors (and people with no teeth)
As most of you know 11th November is Remembrance day. In Kiribati, it is also Remembrance day but they take it to another level. On the 11th everyone goes to the graves of their deceased family members and decorates the grave. They clean the area, decorate it with coconut leaves and balloons and then cover…
Harmonising and shaking my hips
Most people would know that when you return from a holiday or time spent away it’s usually life changing, inspiring, shocking, tough, challenging or heart-warming. If you strike it lucky, it’s all of these. Before I left to Kiribati, I wrote on this blog that I was going so I could ‘feel’ I-Kiribati. I wanted…
Bored with grandma
I know I rabbited on quite a lot in the last post and got a bit serious. I’ve been keeping a diary while I’ve been here and when I was on Marakei it was a close companion of mine. Days go by so slowly when it’s too hot to do anything and nothing to distract…
Marakei living and the simplest table of a political voting system ever
When I last posted, I was in Fiji waiting for my flight to get to Kiribati in time for the elections. Since arriving on Tarawa on the 11th October, I then made my way to the outer island of Marakei to join my Mum’s campaign as a candidate to be the local member of Kiribati…
The Little Island That Could 