Away from camp

Well, camp is done, and we're on the bus on the way home. Once we had done the first 24 hours we had the hang of the place for the most part, and the rest went reasonably smoothly. Last night they had a bit of a party to wrap up, and everyone seemed to have fun. I really enjoyed the constant seabreeze, and at times even chose to sit under a tree rather than retreating to the air con in the room. I have decided that I *really* don't like not understanding what is going on, especially if someone is expecting something of me, and I dont know what they want. There were a few people who spoke English apart from Kim and Mary. In particular there was a couple, Chris and Sarah with a toddler Rebecca who have been missionaries for about five years. They were really nice, and helpful too and I was able to help them a few times in return.

We also managed to get some shopping in, I got a (much needed) fan and some jandles, and Gayle picked up some souvenirs as well. We did go for a bit of a wander one morning before it got too hot, we saw a Double Dutch cafe and a Kangeroo something or other, clearly plenty of catering to the foreigners. Also lots of places to get a massage or a tattoo, I should reassure you we got neither.

A few practical updates. Some of you will know I have been having some pretty significant leg pain from a back issue over the last few months. I'm very pleased to say it hasn't been an issue on this trip. The pills prescribed by the doc are doing the trick, and hopefully it is also on the mend, either way that's quite a relief.

Another topic dear to my heart is drinking water. Dad commented after my last post about being careful what I ate if it had potentially been washed in non-safe water. At home I have for a long time been conscious of and grateful for the fact that in New Zealand we have hot and cold running water and such luxery they we can afford to flush our toilets with water that is safe to drink. And yet I see people buying bottled water all the time. Not only does it seem like a waste of money to me, but the plastic bottles take about three times as much water as the bottle holds to make, and then of course the plastic has to go somewhere. Even if it's recycled that's still more resource use, and for no benefit that I can see. Here, the tap water isn't safe to drink, and so of course buying bottled water is a lot harder to avoid. Fortunately there are some filtered options which I've mostly been able to use, and so with a bit of planning (something at which I'm quite good :-) ) I've mostly been able to avoid buying any.  If that means carrying four litres in my backpack for a day I'm ok with that.

I've also been struck with just how much rubbish there is around, in the street, on the beach, in the water and in empty lots and building sites. It's a lot more than we see at home, but I do wonder if there is actually more here, or if we generate the same amount in New Zealand per capita, and we're just a) much less densely populated, and b) much better at tidying it away out of sight out of mind. At the camp there was a brief conversation about having the kids do a beach cleanup, but nothing came of that, and I'm not surprised as that sort of thing takes a bit of prep and planning. I am going to send an email to Kim and Mary to send to the organisers to consider incorporating into the program for next year's camp.

I'll write again soon.
Sarah