Visitor MS0505 
| Visitor |
| Sex? |
male |
| Profession/occupation? |
medical student |
| Home country? |
Australia |
| What made you want to go to
Solomon Islands? |
reading an article |
| Arriving in Solomon
Islands |
| When did you arrive in Solomon
Islands? |
November 2005 |
| Did you encounter any
bureaucratic difficulties? |
no |
| What was your first impression
after arrival? |
Airport is nice and casual. Honiara is very hot and
dusty. |
| Living in Solomon
Islands |
| What did positively surprise
you? |
How happy and generally friendly people are. Everyone
will say hello and chat. |
| What did negatively surprise
you? |
Lack of national pride for Solomon Islands, although
local pride is strong. |
| What took longest to get used
to? |
Solomon Time. It is not a time scale, it is a
philosophy. |
| What did you miss most in
Solomon Islands? |
book shops |
| What should you have brought
along? |
a transistor radio |
| What did you do to prevent
malaria? |
Doxy 100mg/day + mosquito net + religious repellent
use |
| Place and province where you
spent most of your time? |
Kirakira, Makira-Ulawa |
| Other places/provinces where
you stayed? |
Honiara, Honiara-City |
| Where did you stay? |
Kiwi House - Honiara; Freshwind guest house - Kirakira;
Starbeach Guest house - Starbeach |
| How long did you stay at each
location? |
Kiwi - 2 weeks; Freshwind Kirakira - 3 weeks |
| How much did you pay for
each? |
Kiwi approx. SBD 25/night. Freshwind SBD 85/night |
| Where did you usually eat? |
At home. Food is so fresh - why eat out! |
| What did you typically pay for
a normal meal? |
SBD 10 |
| What local food/beverage did
you like most? |
Makira soupsoup - can't believe bananas can taste so
good. |
| What local food/beverage did
you like least? |
6 month pudding. Never tried it as the idea repelled
me. |
| Mobile
phone services |
| Comments? |
SIM card must be bought from Solomon Telekom. Rates are
outrageous! Competion is needed. |
| Money
matters |
| What did you use to get cash
at banks and/or automatic teller machines (ATMs)? Have you
been able to make cashless payments for certain
goods/services? |
| Travellers Cheques in AUD
issued by ANZ to get cash |
| Debit/Bank Card issued by St.
George (Visa debit) to get cash, cash at ATMs, and to pay for
goods/services |
| Credit Card issued by Visa to
get cash at ATMs |
| Comments? |
Honiara is plastic friendly. Provinces are not. |
| Working in Solomon
Islands |
| How did you usually go to
work? |
walk and by bus |
| Where did you work? |
NRH - A&E+GOPD. Kirakira-
everywhere |
| What was your occupation? |
medical student |
| What were your working days and
hours? |
8am - 2pm, then returned for night shifts (more action
then) |
| What was particularly difficult
in regard to your work? |
Adjusting to different cultural models of sickness and
disease. |
| Did you feel accepted by the
locals? |
yes |
| What did you usually do in your
spare time after work? |
Read books, hang with new friends etc |
| Leaving Solomon Islands and
looking back |
| When did you leave Solomon
Islands? |
December 2005 |
| How long was your stay? |
1.5 months |
| How do you judge the length of
your stay? |
just about right |
| What did you learn from the
locals? |
Humans just want to be happy. The things we think are
important vary. |
| Your advice to prospective
visitors? |
Bring a radio. Get involved, go to church, watch soccer
etc. |
| What did you miss most when
back at home again? |
Uninhibited friendliness of Solomon Islanders. |
| What did you enjoy most when
back at home again? |
music |
| Would you go back for another
stay? |
yes |
| Estimated total cost of your
stay (including travel costs)? |
AUD 2,200 |
| Additional comments? |
I loved my time in the Solomon Islands. I feel it has
certainly given me an altered outlook on the world and has
stimulated me to reassess some of the things I feel I require
to be a happy person. It also illustrated how fundamentally
similar humans are. Despite living in vastly different
conditions with different expectations of longevity and
quality of life, most people want simply to be happy and
co-exist with their neighbours in peace. Coming to the
Solomon Islands and getting involved is a life changing
experience, it has certainly made me think a lot about my
future. |
