Before leaving there was a lot of people that were asking
about the sort of place that I would be staying in so in today's post I will show you my house and what normal daily life in Tuvalu is like!
This is my front garden (as it were!) I love this shot
because it shows a number of things that are used regularly and contribute to
the picture I’m going to paint of “normal” Tuvalu! The trolley is what my
family’s Dad, Elisala, uses every day to move the food from the house to go and
feed the pigs. The white buckets are
Breakfast Cracker buckets! These buckets are what Breakfast Crackers come in
and are also the storage device of every Tuvaluan and ex-pat house I’ve been
in! They have lockable lids to keep out bugs and the people here use
them for storing and transporting all sorts of things – including juice for feasts!
They are the epitome of waste being reused! What are Breakfast Crackers you may be asking... well they are like biscuits we have for cheese at home but not salty and in my house they put them in tea or milk and have them like cereal!!!
You can also see the traditional hand-made broom that most
households use every day to sweep the leaves away from the front of their
houses – just the leaves though they are not too bothered about the litter or
scrap cars!
There is also a fresh coconut on the bench… The people of
Tuvalu have found uses for virtually all the different parts of the coconut
tree. Obviously the coconut fruit, milk and cream is used regularly in food and the palms are
weaved into all sorts of useful things from hats to fans to plates! But they also have a use for the sap of the
coconut tree which is called ‘tody’ this sugary, syrup is used for making
donuts (which are delicious), a sauce for rice (which I’ve not tried) and some
resourceful fellows even make alcohol from it – which I’ve also not tried!
This is the front of my house…
That is my house! And this is my ‘sister’ Masi!!
Keep an eye out for her in photos or coverage of the royal visit next week as she has been chosen to serve them at the feast that will be happening in their honour!!! So exciting!!
Other daily highlights include ‘Mackensies’ this is one of two of the ‘big’ shops for groceries etc. as you can see, it has warehouse qualities and as with all the shops you never know what you will find from day to day!
And this is a petrol station Tuvalu style!! Health and Safety doesn’t really exist here!!!!
As always I like to finish off with at least one photo to make you all hate me a little and the show the best side of Tuvalu… this one is from a boating trip that we went on yesterday. It’s still in the lagoon of Funafuti but right down in the South! It was paradise!!
Next time on Lucy’s blog land… I’ll include a picture of the giant Coral Trout that I also caught that same “blessed Sunday” and possibly some shots of the 4 day outer island boat trip we are going on tomorrow! It’s going to be like a cruise except without any luxury J
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