Part 11 - Nature's beauty

25.04.2013

Hello friends and loved ones,

Happy Wednesday! How the devil are you all today?

It seems like a busy month for birthdays - much love to Luise, Isabel, Melissa, and Andrew! Also, wishing Steve a safe journey to Papua New Guinea to finally start is ODI placement. And thanks to everyone that wrote to me.

7 months into my placement now J

Dive, dive, dive

Without any contest, the highlight of the last couple of weeks has been diving. Last Saturday, for the first time since Lukasz and I passed our open water diving course, I went diving in the deep blue sea with Carlos and Sophie. My goodness – I was absolutely terrified but after much persuasion, I eventually pulled myself together and entered the wonderful world of the Pacific Ocean…and boy was it a wonderful world. Let me take you there…

As I slowly descended underwater, I looked around to see what can only be described as paradise. The visibility was about 25 metres that morning. Laid bare in front of me was a coral version of the Grand Canyon with the vibrancy of colours and weirdly shaped objects of a Star Trek set (the Captain Kirk era as opposed to the Captain Picard era of course). There must have been thousands of fish in all shapes and sizes, from the tiniest neon blue ones dancing around their anemone home, to huge tuna fish that were about half my body size that darted through the canyon’s deep valleys and illusive caves.

Swimming cautiously further into the deep, the WWII wreck was rapidly approaching on the left hand side. I saw two divers swim through the hull of the old ship (don’t think I’m that confident yet) chasing after this flash of orange that sped passed me. Above my head, there were huge waves of fish busily swimming among one another yet minding their own business and being occupied by what seemed to be their usual morning routine. Watching them reminded me of the equivalent hustle and bustle of the London Tube or the Manila’s transit system – buuuuuuuuuusy!

The wreck is massive although I can’t recall the dimensions of it. So many parts of the ship have remained as if Japanese vessel only sank yesterday...sad really. In fact, I remember seeing Carlos peering down into the ship’s main gun. When it was my turn to look, it’s fair to say I was a little apprehensive at the thought of a shell blowing out of it. What actually happened was that a small clown fish poked its body out…look at Nemo being such a joker!

When I wasn’t spending my time constantly checking my dive computer for depth and air (21.1 metres – take that Mr. Tobiasz!), I was able to catch a glimpse of this strange black ball of mass, matching the size of my head, and bobbing through water. The creature looked a spaghetti junction marble, which grew and shrank and wobbled like a jellyfish – so much mystery in one entity. In terms of other beauties, Carlos also saw and poisonous lion fish and Sophie spotted a giant clam.

The great thing about the diving that day was that Carlos and Sophie brought their underwater camera so I have a few pics to share with you. Unfortunately, we videoed quite a lot of the creatures so not so many actual pics.

Exercising the mind and the body…

With the imminent arrival of the Inter-Bank Tournament, a day of sports for CBSI, commercial banks, insurance and pension companies, it’s sport mania at the Bank at the moment. We’re now up to two evenings of netball training every week and the other sports are also gearing up – the netball team are coming along nicely. What’s more, the organising committee have agreed to allow men to play in the netball tournament – yay!

It’s not just physical sports though – the organising committee has announced the inclusion of chess. As a result, the Bank is hosting training sessions for chess too so lunchtimes are now being taken up by chess…reminds me year 8 playing against Dr. Street. Just like then, my skill level remains at ‘beginners’ status! Lots of fun though.

The Onesie arrives in Honiara

In addition to sporting activities, I’ve been keeping myself fit by dancing. Caroline and Cid recently hosted Honiara’s very first onesie party. And before you ask, yes I did wear a very hot cotton onesie (Polska crew – notice anything familiar?) and yes I did have a costume change. In my defence, this was due to ripping a modest size hole while demonstrating the full extent of my Filipino-Singaporean dance moves – arguably the hottest moves in town ;) Jokes! Puja – it was like being at a Destiny’s Child concert…but better!

                                                                                                        

So long, farewell…

Over the last fortnight, my friends and I said goodbye to Ben (that’s right – Lamington Cake Ben from my last blog entry), who has finished his programme and is now back in Melbourne. And yesterday, Jesse (Frisbee Jesse who lived in Camberwell when I lived there – small world – just saying), announced he is cutting short his volunteer placement by a couple of months to start a new job in Melbourne (I know – Melbourne is obviously the happening place, dear friends.)

Soon, a mass exodus will be occurring what with Jarrod, Theo, Irene, and Ben finishing their placements too. Well, better to think about enjoying the remaining weeks than them leaving I say…We’re off to Mbeki in Central Province in two weeks – woohoo!

Solomon Islands Fact File (SIFF)

Finally, welcome back to SIFF. Today’s interesting facts are about the ethnic tensions.

1. Although more than 90% of the islanders are ethnic Melanesians, ethnic tensions between the Isatabus on Guadalcanal, the largest island, and migrant Malaitans from the neighbouring island, led to fighting in 1998 when the Isatabu Freedom Movement began to force Malaitans out. Fighting continued leaving around 100 dead.
2. Despite efforts of an Australian-brokered peace deal being signed in October 2000, lawlessness continued until the arrival of an Australian-led peacekeeping force in July 2003. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), as they are better known as, have been present since 2003 but are due to withdraw in the comings months as the country returns to peace and social and political stability seems to be returning.

Anyway, best go now as time is a-ticking and plenty of work to finish. Wishing you all a super day/afternoon ahead and looking forward to hearing your news very soon.

Much love and God bless.

Kennton xx

Part 10 - Making economic sense

09.04.2013

Ni hao, Guangdong/Greetings friends and loved ones!

I hope you’re all doing well. A big congrats to Clio on the birth of their little girl – Sephora.

Well, it’s that time again – you guessed it…no, not the new series of Made in Chelsea, silly. I meant an update from Kenn!

Time series analysis

Can you believe that it’s already been more than six months since I arrived here? Since I last wrote, the celebration of Easter (which was really nice in the capital – photos to follow) also marked six months in Solomons and it got me thinking (you conclude correctly, I think a lot) as to what have I achieved over the last six months. I had a slight panic about my initial evidence-based conclusions but the last couple of weeks have seen us complete our first central bank working paper on “Estimating the money demand function of Solomon Islands” – woohoo! (Available in all leading, non-bankrupt bookshops in the UK). Furthermore, I’ve been working with different departments within the Bank to develop Cost-Benefit Analysis techniques – hooray for knowledge transfer.

Degrees of freedom

I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom and opportunity over the past few weeks.

I am often easily frustrated about my options. Sometimes, just sometimes, I’d like to have some choice in my diet without having to take a personal loan to enjoy it. One other wish is that I have an internet connection that allows me to talk to the True Family without a 10 hour delay in the last question that my mum asked. Finally, is it a big ask to have just one cinema complex with a McCafe in it (curse you, Fiji). And now I hear that Vanuatu has 6 supermarkets in Port Vila with a patisserie…yes…a patisserie! Don’t even get me started on New Caledonia – Paris of the Pacific!

But on the days that I find myself smiling, which are most days may I add, I am very grateful for the opportunities and freedom that have been given to me. I love the fact that I feel safe and secure in this country, both at home and around Honiara/Sol. Also, the people here are extremely friendly and are always looking out for you. Just the other day, I dropped my Ipod nano and a guy  behind me shouted at me to come and retrieve it. What’s more, I’m always in good spirits when I hear the bus drivers calling out the stops in English – it’s the small things that count! Oh, and the other day, I ran out of gas and my neighbour built me a fire to help me cook my dinner – so much love in Sol.

I’ve also realised the joys of living on my own – I can come and go as I please, I’m accountable only to myself if the cash power is exhausted and I have to read in the dark with my Cladam lamp and most importantly, I can listen and dance to 90’s classics on Paoa FM all day long and not worry about the noise. Just yesterday, they played Blue – All Rise, Eiffel 65 – Blue, All Saints – Never Ever…amazing!  

One other observation is about gender. Being a white male (I know, I know – I say Asian, they say white man) means that I have significantly more freedom in what I wear, what I say, and my role in the society I live in. As much as I hate to admit it, it is nice, on occasion, to be given priority seating after waiting an eon for a bus home from Sunday service. Many of my girlfriends have shared their encounters in this very conservative, Melanesian culture, which tend to portray the very opposite experiences that I have faced. This brings me to my next topic…    

Animal spirits

Life in Solomons is very interesting. I don’t know why but there seems to be an underlying absence of entrepreneurship and drive in the society. Agreed that it is the Pacific but never is there an urgency to get things done. Nor is there a sense of using initiative. I think there are many factors at play but I attribute a lot of it with the wantok system.

On Melanesian culture, one finds that men are in control yet women are the true engines of growth. In my opinion, the balance is not quite right. It frustrates me to see so many hardworking women (of which many I work with) that then go home to cook for their families whilst having to find the time to do laundry and care for their various wantoks. That’s not to say that men don’t work hard too but in many cases, that money is spent on Solbrew beer that sadly often leads to negative consequences that are rife in the country, such as domestic violence and drink driving.

I see so many people loitering around betlenut stands and sitting in leaf hauses for what seems to be most of the day. Even when there are employment opportunities, many people seem to just want to get by and go home. Now, please don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with this. I’m just surprised to not experience at least a few cases of drive and enthusiasm. Perhaps this is also down to the timid and non-confrontational nature of the people that make it difficult for me to detect this.

I think “frustration” is a descriptor that seems apt for many-a-situation here in Sol.

An engine of growth

I was recently asked by my boss as to where should Solomons look to for further sources of growth. My conclusion so far is that this country has the potential to provide a truly unique adventure for all tourists but particularly for those who like the more raw experience that nature has to offer. Solomons is naturally stunning yet quirky.  

I recently organised a trip to Visale Beach with about 15 other friends. The setup of the beach is very interesting because the land actually belongs to the Catholic Church, and more specifically, a nunnery. “Nuns?” I hear you say. Yes, that’s right. While the nuns go about their duties and their daily prayers, their sea view is greeted with an array of skimpy shorts and bikinis. How very naughty! For us, it was a really great afternoon and much needed relief from the hustle and bustle of Honi-freakin-ara! Lots of laughs, endless picnic treats (tried my first piece of Lamington cake –  thanks Ben!), and plenty of water frisbee.

Last weekend, a friend of mine, Ryan, organised a tour of GPPOL, Solomons’ palm oil plantation (I know – get me for having been out twice in 2weeks – busssssssy). As I mentioned in the last SIFF entry, palm oil is the fourth largest export of the Solomon Islands after round logs, gold, and fish. The tour was pretty cool. We visited the pre-nursery and nursery as well as a plantation. Roger, the GM, also showed us how the palm fruit was harvested and prepared processing in the factory. We didn’t go into the factory but we saw from the outside what happens, including the treatment of bi-products – hard to believe but palm oil production in Sol is actually environmentally sustainable and almost economically enhancing (what with the bi-products used to generate electricity for the plant and both work villages).

Two excellent examples of quirky and beauty in Solomons. There are more impressive examples, don’t worry ;) I guess that’s what floats my dug-out canoe.

Dengue drama

Watch out! Dengue’s about! Over the past few months, the Dengue situation has been slowly creeping up on the people of Solomons. Since Lukasz's visit in March when Dengue was a minor concern, the Ministry of Health has been campaigning heavily whilst CBSI had a Dengue seminar taken by one of the doctors here. Things culminated with a national day – Anti-Dengue Day where everyone had a day off to clean their desks and offices in the morning and then clean up their homes and communities in the afternoon. The Ministry has just drafted in additional doctors to help deal with the increasing number of cases.

Unfortunately, the rise in cases seems to have continued unabated. Last week has seen the fastest rise since the first recording in January with cases now being confirmed in other provinces outside of Honiara. Confirmed cases have now reached 2,200. To top things off, there is no cure. Just panadol and lots of water and to fight the week long fever – sucks to be Dengueified right?

I’ve actually just returned from seeing my favourite doctor – all clear for both Malaria and Dengue and more likely to be a viral infection Doc says. A relief to say the least!

SIFF

Before I go, here’s your SIFF fix J

1.       Food - Like many Pacific island nations, the staple diet of Solomon Islanders consists mainly of yams, tarot, and panas. This is eaten with fish and seashells. More recently, imported instant noodles have become popular together with domestically produced canned tuna. There are no set meal times such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We eat when there is food available.

2.       Custom - It is custom that girls are not to show signs of friendliness to strangers, or even boyfriends, when they are with their brothers or relatives. Boys are mutually required to do the same as a sign of respect to their sisters and relatives. In summary – a very conservative but quite emotionally oppressed country (in my opinion).

3.       Land - Approximately 85 per cent of land in Solomons is managed under customary tenure, meaning that local clans and members of clan groups have control over it. From what I have heard and experienced, the use/misuse of this power is quite a hindrance to economic growth that land reform is a World Bank focus for this year.

Well, best go now as still a little sick and need to sleep. Again, no pictures but I promise to put some up soon. Have a great day all and don’t forget to send me your updates J

Much love,

Kennton x