Tradition carry basket.......made from frons of coconut trees. There are 2 paw paws and a variety of banana no one one liked much!
Getting fruit down from a tree........fruit trees are big!! Its a Vi tree.....hard to explain the flavor, Maleina say sour, Texture stringing.....over all, either you do like them or you don't no half way on these. Maleina loves em!!!
Fish of Samoa
Shellfish of Samoa

Leilani's Story

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN SAMOA SO FAR!!!!
For the first five days we stayed at the Insel Fehmarn Hotel. We rented a car from caroline rental cars wich is just up the road from the hotel. When we where at the hotel we where looking for a house to live in! When we where at the car rental place the person that works there helped us find a house even though she’s actually a car rental worker. Later on in the day we went to look at the house with her. The people who own the house are called Nalani and Martin. On Saturday we moved out of the hotel into our new house. Our house is next to Rita’s Lodge. On Sunday we went to the Peace Chapel church. We got to play on the playground while we were waiting for another service to finish. We went in a taxi there and back home. The day after that we went to town, we went by bus. We had lunch in town at the café. For lunch we had chips and pizzas for our drink we had a bottle of water and a banana smoothie to share. When we were having lunch Mum sorted out the money that we got from our neighbour, we got $10 to spend each at the market. We all bought lolly necklaces and I brought another necklace with an ‘L’ cut out of coconut shell. After going to the market we went to famer Joe and got some pineapple pies, two smile face biscuits and three sausage rolls for after noon tea. When we got home we went to the public swimming pool.
By Leilani.

Latia's Story

We went a round the other half of the island. We went swimming at Lefaga Bay. It was fun and a lovely clear white sandy beach plus it didn’t cost us anything.
By Latia
Well done Latia, you have written a good story about our day out. I’m sure the children will be envious of you getting to swim at such a lovely beach.

Talia's Story

To Mrs Kemp and children of room 4
We went to Palolo’s fale (house) for lunch and had soup and rice. We watched Ratatouili.
By Talia.
Talia wrote this story all by herself, I gave her a sticker and said “Super Work Talia”
Palolo is Dad’s cousin so we had lunch at the family village and meet some other family members.

Our Saturday around the from the West and our Village sunday

I'm sure there's a conspiracy....I LOVE PUKEKOs!
Cousins and Family before lunch in Luutuanu'u
Another village shot.....Its the way I grew up!

Lefaga Bay
Virgin Cove beach

Thought of Dan and Amy straight away
An odd Flower
Poser
Enjoying Lefaga Bay

Here are some photos of our Saturday Travels around the other half of Upolu. Meaning we left heading west and then back through centre of the island back over to Apia, via Vailima. Apart from the usual village scenes that we have gotten use to which really consist of Fales (Far Lez), A compound called a Malae, (Ma Lie) and then a fale fono, (for nor) Meeting house. Traditional meeting houses are oval in shape and each pole represents a seating of a particular matai or chief. The Malae is the area in front of the Fale Fono and used both for informal village gatherings and games and formal fa’alavelaves. (Far a Love air Love airS) I only saw 2 traditional shaped Fale Fonos whith the 2 centre poles(Don’t knoe what they mean yet. We were following the map……which was very inaccurate however we spied an ideal spot for a swim that cost nothing. This was at the Savaia Biodiversity Project. It was awesomely clear sea water. We had quite a few of the local lads around swimming in the shaded pool, that was cool! Smiles, fun and Samoan humour!! Ya can’t beat that!!
We stayed had lunch and had fun! We did take a picture of an unusual flower that Elizabeth noticed on the side of the road…Red into white. We also learnt thanks to the worker at The Robert Louis Stevenson Parks and Officers office in Valima, she gave us some awesome posters of native Birds and trees and guess what……There are Pukekos here in Samoa!! The Samoan name is Manuia Li’I (Mun new a li eee) English name Purple Swamp Hen.
Highlight for the day knowing the friendly islands do exist and you can have a good time with the locals!! Obviously the further away you get from Apia, suburbia and the hustle bustle the more laid back people are! The Samoa I remember!!
We’ll I’ll let the pictures do all the talking now! Maleina is holding another Sea Cucumber. Appreciate the texts, emails and calls! Thanks!!!
From the Grey Tribe
PS: Penny M……What village is the pool in again?
Don't forget our Sanail Mail address is PO BOX 9503 Apia, Samoa
Sunday came along quick and since we had the rental we went over to my village Luutuanu’u to have Sunday “Tona’I” (Tore nah eee) We had a wonderful lunch and it was great catching up with family!!

Samoan History....from Samoan Museum for those interested

Papaseea Rocks (Sliding Rocks)

On the way down
Go Maleina!!
Maleina again!
Travel Samoan Style!

Photo’s of our trip to Papaseea (Sliding rocks) today Thursday 22. Had a great time! It’s only up the road 5 minutes but very rough road. We had to pay a minimal charge of 1 tala and it was all on! Maleina and Dad got into the sliding down the rocks and Dad even noticed the effects of 2 weeks off bike ha ha!! Maleina was brave and keen to take the plunge as usual. Even for me, the first time is always the worst! Lovely clear water. The others and mum waddle or paddled in the pool and did a girly jump here and there while Maleina and Dad got into the serious side of things! I surprised family with a double cab rental hilux which the girls travelled in the back. Talia enjoyed the front seat but then she hasn’t been 100%........yesterday spewing in public!! Not a great site but hey….who gives a toss when ya have a sick child, you have a sick child! I’ve obtained evidence that I did live in Samoa and even have a NPF number, equivalent to IRD number, So I can work!!! Nice receiving emails and photos!!! The snow looks…….wonderfull…y COLD!! The temp here has been cooler but 27 or so probably means we’re acclimatised so when we get back in October we’ll all be in out thermals! Enough waffle, Appreciate the emails and support from you guys at home! Missing ya all heaps……but not missing the cold!

Above the Clouds........

For those who have not been above the clouds this is how it is!! Spectacular!!

Somewhere out in the waps on our way to Lalomanu

Talia's Post

At the museum today I saw the skull of a whale and a painting of a whale. I also played on the wooden drum that had been carved out of a tree. It made a loud noise! I took a photo of the drum for my book. Talia

My B'day in Samoa

What a view!!

B’day boy had a wonderful evening out with the family. We went to the Apia Yacht club in Mulinu’u all of 5 minutes from Apia. We got a table out on over the sea, (Must make reservation for those spots) and the food was good old deep fried tucker! We all had either had fish and chips or chicken nuggets, B’day boy got a sea food basket which was……all deep fried with fries, not flies J It wasn’t long before the place filled up and evening drew upon us, it was a great inexpensive evening. All up it cost us $75:00 NZ including desert for the 6 of us! I’ll have to bike it off tomorrow and check my sugar levels to see the damage done but hey……only one day! The service was great tho they did have a system of paying straight after ordering the meal which was odd, we thought. Again a great spot to have a dinner out to cool off once the sun has set. Highly recommend!

Leilani's Story. At the old Parliament building.

Leilani our future polititian
Inside the building
The old Parliament building.

The current Parliament building

The current Parliament building
Today we went to town. We went to the old parliament building. We got to go inside the building. There isn’t any cushion on the chairs apart from up the front. It is a very old building. It also has a weird roof. After that we went across the road to the beach. The water was nice and calm. We didn’t go swimming in the sea. We saw some, crabs, star fish, and lots of fish. There where some chickens there. I took some photos of the wolf. There was a man fishing in between these sticks that are sticking out of the sand under the water. Then we started to walk back to town. On the way we stope din the shade and had a banana and a drink of water. Then we carried on walking. We started walking through the garden to get some shade. We finally got to a tree that we could sit under. We sat under a tree and had a biscuit and some water while mum was writing down what she needed at the market. Then we went to the molieses super market to get some donuts for lunch and we got some ice blocks and smile face biscuits. After going to the super market we went to the market. We got some taro as well as palusami and this other thing for tea. The last thing that we did was go to famer Joe. We got four pineapple pies, two smile face biscuits, sausage rolls, three of them, crackers and corn beef that is also for tea. We went home in a taxi. When we got home we had our pineapple pie. The twins had a smile face biscuit. We had a very long and busy day and we stall had the chicken pocks.

Emile's quick update

We would all like to thank all those who have emailed us!! We really appreciate this!! Unfortunately because we are unable to get internet at home we wont be able to respond to every email but we do read every one!….Thanks ya all heaps for thinking of us!!The girls are slowly getting over their chicken, pox all be it the Samoan version!! When they blister they blister!! Which is why there haven’t been any photos lately. We have decided to home school at this point in time and are on the look out for private Samoan tuition. It’s been 3 weeks now and it’s getting better. Being off the tourist track slightly we are often confronted with people asking for money or wanting to sell us something. It’s hard yacker here for the locals I know! The cost of living has gone up from food prices to fuel. The average income remains at about $5,000.00Tala per year NZ around the $2,500.00 mark.
The government have just banned the importation of LHD vehicles which have really upset a lot of the local businesses. Dodge Rams, Chevy utes, Mustangs, and a lot of other V8s. If ya interested and making a quick dollar come over here and by them up for a dime or 2 or maybe even 3 J
The highlight of this week is Elizabeth texting back and fourth to her mum, Dad and sister, technology aye! As they say in Samoa……….Fa’a molemole iaso lima tala e porrow mai pleeze. Remember if ya want the "Friendly Islands" take a holiday package and stay on the tourist track J
Samoan customs and tradition are not that visible as they use to be. There’s a hustle and bustle through town….in a hurry to get nowhere or what ever. The irony for me and I can say this is that Samoa is supposedly a Nation found on Christian values and beliefs yet one looks around notices the lack of work in local communities to improve hygiene and remove poverty. The village life has changed so much, make shift garages for cars taking up valuable space for crops or homes because the owner cannot afford the parts to keep the vehicle running or the rivers and streams strewn with plastic bottles and rubbish. Is this where I want Samoa to go? Or is this just another step toward progress?
Only 3 weeks and one asks where does one start to begin to educate the government of the downside of progress! Coconut oil is hard to find and expensive because a staple diet is now abe to run a diesel vehicle. That’s a good thing that a local scientist has been able to supply the local market with an alternative that is slightly cheaper then the diesel from the pump. It’s a sort of trade off. How many mouths are not being fed for the sake of not walking or cycling?
Samoa is lush and green and surrounded by an abundance of flora and wildlife that I am stumped to even begin to learn names and medicinal purposes. Breadfruit, Pau Pau cost around NZ $2.00 is fresh and all the kids love it! Bananas are many, With differing varieties galore. We have a bunch of bananas hanging outside out backdoor that I brought green and over time we have observed how fast they have ripened. They don’t have to be yellow before they are able to eat!! And the freshness of the fruit is great. Streets are lined with people selling perfume through to hair ties the thing…….all for money.
Regards
Emile Grey

1sta day at school!!

Hello there. Our new school is Lepea primary school. It's a 15 minute walk from home. It starts at 8:30 and finishes and 1:30 It gets hot in the class. It was and still is a culture shock for us all!! There were a few tears but mu,m and Dad hung around!! We did not go to school today because Mum and Dad are concerned at how the children are treated by teachers....some teachers and some trainee teachers. The kids are smacked with rulers on their heads and our first assembly we saw 2 girls getting smacked across the face! Yesterday the trainee teacher made Maleina cry and growled off Latia for hugging mum. It is a Government school and Dad is not very pleased at how the children are treated!!

Lapea is just west of Apia. We will have some more photos later. Leilani now has the Chicken Pox.

Love and miss you all!! The Grey Clan.

Our day is nearly fininished and we are still smiling!















Our first night in our bed room!






































What's Latia holding? It looks like a Cucumber....hint hint and it comes from the sea. I dont think it'll taste like a cucumber!










Our day out in town setting up home. It first started with a bus trip to town from where we are staying. 5 or so minutes away. All the girls enjoyed the bus ride, as rough as it was! Nothing cushioned here!

Arriving in Apia, the bus terminal was chaotic! We’re not too sure whether there are any road rules but we are getting use to the, "If there’s a gap? Gap it" Maleina, Leilani, Talia and Latia are getting use to the heat but not enough that they could start school today. I had to visit the doctor today as I have had and allergic reaction to something around my neck, (Constant sweat) that is infected. We were told by the doctor to boil our drinking water….but since we’ve arrived we have accumulated antibodies so I hope it works! Our day out shopping was getting the basic requirements to survive, cleaning products 1st! then food and pots and pans and stuff. There is one thing that we have noticed is the dirt and dust! Even though we get down pours every night or during the day, it doesn’t seem to clean anything. Don’t believe what you see in the travel brochures because you will be very disappointed! If you were here for a week or so…..that’ll be enough but anytime longer and you will see that Samoa has even more social problems than New Zealand. Just the other day a fight amongst youth involving knives and Molotov cocktails, if you hadn’t already heard! I’ve added a picture of the girls first night in our rental house! Yes all 0n the one mattress on the floor! Mum and dad have it slightly better We’ve got the bed base with a Samoan mat covering it! Yes we want to come home to our own beds, kitchen and lounge suite……but yes we want to see this through! Why…..We are learning how much we really have in New Zealand by the little we have now. Oh yeh……if ya ever decide to come over, the best sand only taxi driver we know is Tau Cab 14 Falelata Taxi stand…….His English is getting better while my Samoan is improving as well! "Car therapy" The internet is by way of Flash Drive and off to local internet café!This is the easiest and least expensive way. ……. Catch ya all later!!

Elizabeth’s First Contribution:

It’s a bit hard to know where to start, guess I didn’t really know what to expect and I keep hearing Emile’s Mum saying are you sure you have told Elizabeth what Samoa is really like….. I don’t think you can really know until you are here!! All and all though we are having a good time, I’m sure some of you would not believe the condition of the 5 bedroom house but you just make do and it is 1000 times better than what a lot of the locals live in. A lady just knocked on our door today and offered me a job, I explained I had no work visa and she advised none of her workers do. It was in a clothing, printing come craft shop just up the road and she had heard we had just moved in… at this point I have declined her offer. We need to sort out girls schooling and get ourselves established first. Guess word gets around quick aye! The bus was truly an experience, very rough and ready, all 5 minutes worth. Then, at the end of the day, the extreme opposite at the 2007 Pacific Games Swimming Pool, flash as… The other facilities include a basketball stadium and the weightlifting venue, again only 5minutes from our house, so it seems we have picked the right part of town to stay in.