Week-end

Last week we moved from Otin Taai hôtel to the Fema Lodge, it is much closer to the office and I don’t have to endure the 30 minutes car drive on a very bad road anymore. In the Fema Lodge, I live in a 4 bedroom apartment where I share the bathroom, the kitchen and the living room. It is a real pleasure to be able to have a real breakfast in the morning and if you don’t feel like cooking the hotel can cook something for you.



This week-end we went to buy a few things with my colleague in the few shops we could find around our hotel. As there are very few things to do here, it is always nice to go for a walk, you get to see how and where people live and it is very interesting. On the way I saw that there were small houses in courtyards, looking more closely I found out that those were tombs. It seems that people bury there relatives on family ground. There is indeed a cemetery on the island but I think that it is a local custom to bury your elders where they have lived all their life. I was not at all surprised as I have seen the same thing in French Polynesia on the island of Raivavae. It is possible that this is common to all the pacific islands, anyway it is good to have your relatives close to you all the time. It wouldn’t be possible in France but I like the idea, here it is possible because the families never move.



The people are really nice and welcoming, some said hi to us on the way or waved at us. We went out to get some minced mint in order to cook some spaghetti bolognese but we had forgotten that it is not possible to find everything on this island. In one shop we found some frozen beef and some bags with frozen chicken legs but no minced meat. We then went to another shop where all four freezers were full of frozen chicken legs. We finally bought some chicken legs as well as some cabbage which seem to be very popular on the island. I had hoped to find some cheese but was not lucky, thankfully my stay here is soon coming to an end and I will soon be able to eat anything I wish.