Visitor MS0401 
| Visitor |
| Sex? |
male |
| Profession/occupation? |
medical student |
| Home country? |
Switzerland |
| What made you want to go to
Solomon Islands? |
reading an article |
| Arriving in Solomon
Islands |
| When did you arrive in Solomon
Islands? |
May 2004 |
| Did you encounter any
bureaucratic difficulties? |
no |
| What was your first impression
after arrival? |
wow, everything works very fine |
| Living in Solomon
Islands |
| What did positively surprise
you? |
the heat was quite bearable for me, not much
mosquitos |
| What did negatively surprise
you? |
that - after the first impression - not everything worked
very fine |
| What took longest to get used
to? |
the daily delays of many things; the occasional bad water
supply |
| What did you miss most in
Solomon Islands? |
my friends and familiy, Swiss cheese |
| What should you have brought
along? |
I can't think of something |
| What did you do to prevent
malaria? |
Lariam, repellent as soon as it got dark, mosquito
net |
| Place and province where you
spent most of your time? |
Honiara, Honiara-City |
| Other places/provinces where
you stayed? |
- |
| Where did you stay? |
Kiwi-House |
| How long did you stay at each
location? |
the whole time (11 weeks) |
| How much did you pay for
each? |
nothing |
| Where did you usually eat? |
at home in the Kiwi-House |
| What did you typically pay for
a normal meal? |
SBD 30 per day |
| What local food/beverage did
you like most? |
fish, pineapples, and coconuts |
| What local food/beverage did
you like least? |
yam |
| Working in Solomon
Islands |
| How did you usually go to
work? |
walk |
| Where did you work? |
NRH |
| What was your occupation? |
medical student |
| What were your working days and
hours? |
from 7.45 am until around 5 am (very variable) |
| What was particularly difficult
in regard to your work? |
The initial introduction to the working process was not
very good. |
| Did you feel accepted by the
locals? |
yes |
| What did you usually do in your
spare time after work? |
shopping, cooking, eating, laundry, internet, chatting,
reading |
| Leaving Solomon Islands and
looking back |
| When did you leave Solomon
Islands? |
July 2004 |
| How long was your stay? |
11 weeks |
| How do you judge the length of
your stay? |
just about right |
| What did you learn from the
locals? |
accepting what you get, patience, and some good
jokes |
| Your advice to prospective
visitors? |
try to learn some pidgin English and exercise
patience |
| What did you miss most when
back at home again? |
the friendly people and their humor, pineapples |
| What did you enjoy most when
back at home again? |
my family and friends, Swiss cheese and Italian
pasta |
| Would you go back for another
stay? |
yes |
| Estimated total cost of your
stay (including travel costs)? |
CHF 5,000 |
| Additional comments? |
It is not always easy to get out of Honiara, but
definitely worth it! Don't let yourself stop from
experiencing the real, amazing and wonderful Solomon
Islands! |
