Coping with natural disasters in 2 days...

It's been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday morning waking up to news that some in our household had felt tremors at around 2am in the morning, as we live on the side of a dormant volcano (with a huge crater).

And then having a Tsunami warning for people living on the coast to evacuate and move inland to higher ground and especially those living up North.

Where we live is quite safe as it is near water but through an inlet rather than direct ocean, like our home in Samoa.

It was a sigh of relief to later get the Alert alarms on our mobiles with the message that the Tsunami warning was no longer in place and that people could go about their daily lives without fear.

Then yesterday evening we were told via our Prime Minister that as there had been 5 days of no positive COVID-19 tests in nationally (except for those who were already in Quarantine facilities) that we would be moving back to a level 2 on Sunday at 6am and I'm sure that many people sighed again in relief.

I'm just thankful to God that although these circumstances can be a little disconcerting to some, that it was good to see that there are systems in place if ever there was a real very serious threat to the general population.

Now I can go about my weekend and catch up on some studies with a pack that I received today, in the post, from my education institution 'Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi' that included a Student study guide, A guide to accessing their online library services, an M&Ms lil' packet, a Nescafe Caramel latte pouch and last but not least a Cookie Time cookie.

Now I'm set for some studies that are long overdue especially now that I won't be able to visit and do fieldwork at my beloved Samoan, and will have some R&R this weekend and may even throw in a little painting to start up this new year. Enjoy your weekend...