It’s Friday and that means sausage sizzle day at Takitumu Primary School. So my first chore after peddling to school this morning was to place a boiled hot hog and splat of ketchup on a slice of white bread, and roll it up in a square of paper. Repeat 190 times. Each student pays $1NZ for the treat and the baskets of weenies are delivered to each class. The lunch bell sounds at 10 a.m., but this being the Cook Islands, it’s drumbeats from a wooden drum played by a different kid each day. I spent most of today in the library, a converted classroom. The principal has waited 3 years for a pallet of donated books which finally arrived last week and so it’s up to us to number and stamp them all and glue ... read more

Everybody's a critic, it seems. The sound system here at Mac's Cafe is playing Muskrat Love, and every time Toni hits a high note, the rooster in the parking lot crows. It's hilarious. I am settling into a rhythm of life here and it is glorious and so different from life in Toronto, especially cycling to work along the two-lane road (on the left side). To my right are small houses and palm trees and jagged, green-draped mountains in the middle of the island, very close since the whole thing is barely 15 km across. To the left is the sea, the waves bashing against the reef. It's just magical. Last night's dance class was great fun and humbling. It was held in the auditorium in town. Fiver drummers kept time and a girl in each ... read more

Yes indeedy blog-watchers, I promised photos. What I didn't know was that Internet service here makes Ted Rogers look like Buck Rogers - it freezes as often as Stephen Harper's heart and crashes with the same frequency as Courtney Love. So let's stick to words for now and hope that one day I'll get a secure enough connection to let me send pics. Meanwhile, picture this - Copacabana is playing on the tinny sound system in Mac's Cafe as I write this to you and traffic putters along narrow 2-lane road that circles the island. The bus runs hourly - clockwise and "anti-clockwise." So I've rented a banged up old bike - and yes, a helmet, mom - and I'm using it to get into town and to and from work. Always with a flower tucked ... read more