New Caledonia Today

We've just landed in New Caledonia again after 5 years in Europe. This blog recounts our adventures in New Caledonia from 2005 to 2007 - a wonderful time. It is full of fantastic photos, tales of sea snakes and island life.

For more up to date information on life in New Caledonia, see New Caledonia Today. We hope to keep you as entertained and informed with our new blog as we did just years ago! 

Sojourn in the South Pacific Blog: How to Find What You are Looking For

This blog is about life in New Caledonia. I lived there from 2005 to 2007 and wrote about the experience whenever I could. Here you will find information about daily life in Nouméa; visits to Lifou, Maré, Ouvéa and Ile des Pins; and tales of the early childhood of our son, Pablo and the teenage years of his sister, Sophie.

If you are looking for something in particular about New Caledonia here, you can:

• Type keywords into the search box at the top left of your screen; the search will return anything I've written about your topic.
  
• Browse the categories under "Labels" on the left-hand side of your screen.


• Send me an e-mail at julie.harrisguiader@gmail.com.

I am a writer/editor/webber who now lives in Paris, but who would most likely jump at the drop of a hat at the chance to return to Nouméa. We spent two magical years there and would recommend a visit or a move to anyone who has the vaguest interest in trying life on a tiny South Pacific island.

Hoping you enjoy your visit, be it virtual or real. Drop me a line and tell me how it went!

Setting up House in New Caledonia

Are you wondering what it is like to move across the world and set up house on a remote island in the South Pacific?

Do you have specific questions about moving to New Caledonia?

It's been a couple of years since we did it, but our friend David and his family are just now moving in in Noumea, and David is doing a marvelous job describing the process on his blog at Trekking Greener Grasses.

Take a look at his tales and see his photos of market life, hiking in Noumea and the trials and tribulations of transitioning into a life of palm trees, early mornings and things going right - and wrong!

Bienvenue en Nouvelle Caledonie, David and Gang. Welcome to New Caledonia!

Writing from Across the World

I was so used to writing to you all from the edge of the planet, from a tiny island in the South Pacific, hours before you awoke (9-10 hours ahead of Paris, 18-19 hours ahead of Los Angeles).

Now I am writing to you from Paris, about life in New Caledonia, having left it a month ago. I feel as if I am hovering above it, as if our two years in Noumea were a dream.

I am back on Paris time and wishing at times that I were ahead again, in New Caledonia, walking the beaches, enjoying the spring, planning our summer outings.

Alas. Life moves on, and so do we. But the good news is that I still have things to finish up on New Caledonia and will be posting them here over the next few weeks ... (so if you have any questions about life on this little island, now is your moment!).

And then ... a new blog ... from Paris, about life in Paris, among other things. When the blog is up and running, I'll post its link here.

In the meantime, wherever you are, I hope you are happy and living your dream.

Trekking Greener Grasses: A New Blog on Living in New Caledonia

Photo by David Giustizia, 2007.

"Trekking Greener Grasses" is a great new English-language blog on moving to, and setting up life, on a tiny island in the South Pacific - yes, in New Caledonia. Authored by Canadian, David Giustizia, with input from his wife Alana and sons David and Nathan (and technical expertise provided by son David), this little blog promises to be an interesting look at what it is like to leave the snowy mountains of Canada for the coconut trees and breezy bays of New Caledonia.

David and his family will be living in Kone - which is about half-way up the island - and is home to about 2000 inhabitants. Their adventures will differ from those you have read here (life in a capital city is far from life in the outback!) ... I wager they will be much closer to what living on a tiny island is really like.

Thanks, David, for taking over the reins of "Sojourn in the South Pacific" - and have fun, everyone, reading about life in New Caledonia, from a different angle.

Blogging: A Home Away from Home

Photo by Julie Harris, 2007.

This blog has brought many unexpected pleasures. When I started blogging almost 2 years ago, I did so to try to provide a service for those looking for information on New Caledonia - in English. A secondary (and no less important!) reason was to keep family and friends abreast of our little adventures half way around the world.

Today, this blog has brought me many new friends. I have spent time with them on line and off. My friends Jo and Sean generously hosted us (as well as our friends Anne and Melissa) in New Zealand. Jo and I came to know each other through our blogs. What a marvelous person she is!

I have really enjoyed coming to know the Lucie Agez family, descendants of New Caledonia, living in the United States. Again, marvelous people. Very kind, generous and loyal readers.

I have enjoyed hearing from readers such as "Le Cagou" (Marc) in Liverpool and Dave Thompson in the United Kingdom as well as many others.

I have come to know David and his family from Canada, who will be moving to New Caledonia (Kone) in the fall. They are currently visiting Noumea and it is an immense pleasure spending time with them.

Finally, most recently, a fellow blogger in the United States named Anthony has featured "Sojourn in the South Pacific" on his blog, "The Lives and Times of ... Anthony McCune" (Do go see his blog - it is full of interesting posts and beautiful photographs). Anthony scans literally hundreds of sites and took a generous liking to this little space.

I'd read recently that blogging is about community - connections, linking, commenting, forming a world on line. I have to say I agree.

Thanks to all of you out there who have made this funny online world a "home away from home".

RFO Radio Debate on Blogging in New Caledonia

RFO Radio hosted a short debate on blogging in New Caledonia at noon today. I was lucky enough to be included on the five-person French-speaking panel (thanks to Sébastien of "5 minutes en Nouvelle Calédonie").

We spoke live on the radio here in Nouméa about who visits our blogs, why we do them, how they have changed our lives - and if we should be censored/regulated. The debate was hosted by Thierry Rigoureau, whose questions were pertinent and thought-provoking.

To hear the fifteen-minute debate, click on the file below. Warning: it is in French. Warning number 2: I make a number of silly errors in French! Alas. My thanks to Franck and Denis for recording this and making it available on the web.

My panel members were:

• Franck of Calédosphère (one of France's top 20 blogs, Calèdosphére has up to 15 000 visits on a given day).
• Calou of Les essais culinaires de Calou.
• Eric of NetWizz Jungle Blog.
  
• Sébastien of 5 minutes en Nouvelle Calédonie.
  

They were all very well spoken - it was a privilege to be seated among them.

New Caledonia's Top Blogs

Some weeks ago, New Caledonia's top blogs were named following an online survey conducted by a local blogger called "le mouton". 36 blogs were nominated by 29 Internet users. The top five winners, all Francophone, were:

1. Margouillette - Life in New Caledonia told with a sense of humour and exquisite presentation.
2. Calédosphère - A regularly updated smorgasbord of content on subjects as diverse as politics, New Caledonia, the Internet and love.
3. 5 minutes en Nouvelle-Calédonie - A beautiful blog full of stunning photos, videos and sound.
4. Le Cri du Cagou - A collective blog that blends techno with underground art and life in community.
5. Katuali - Expats talk about daily life, good shopping, activities, etc.

For all 36 results, go to http://lemouton.canalblog.com/archives/2007/03/p40-0.html and scroll to "Et le Calédoblog d'Or revient à..."

Speaking of blogs, this little blog, "Sojourn in the South Pacific" will soon come to an end. We received official notice yesterday that we will indeed be returning to Paris on 21 August 2007 (via the States and the United Kingdom).

If any of you are looking for particular information about life in New Caledonia, do post a comment or send a note. Four more months ... let me know what you'd like to know.

World's Greatest Blog on New Caledonia

"Kalendécran" from 5 minutes en Nouvelle-Calédonie

If you are interested in New Caledonia in any way, shape or form, I heartily recommend "5 minutes en Nouvelle-Calédonie", a French-language blog that contains the most beautiful photos of our fair island, videos, podcasts, free screensavers (as pictured above) and electronic postcards. The blog aims to give you a daily five-minute dose of life in New Caledonia - from the sun, the bright skies, the amazing blues to the breathtaking views. For my French readers, this will be a haven for you. For my English readers, do go take a look at all the photos and videos and postcards. Truly wonderful stuff! Bravo to the team behind "5 Minutes in New Caledonia".

100th Post and a 40th Birthday

Here we are, 100 posts later. I started this blog upon landing here in August 2005 with the aim of sharing some of our adventures in New Caledonia - with friends and strangers both. I had had a devil of a time explaining where New Caledonia was when we learned we would be moving here. Most people thought it was in Canada. Others' eyes simply glazed over. Some asked if we had running water, electricity, hospitals and grocery stores. I hope this blog has answered some of those questions - and will continue to answer more!

I've reached my 100th post on 17 November, which is also my 40th birthday. What a thrill! I've had the most magnificent 40th birthday a person could have! On a tropical island with a wonderful husband, an amazing daughter and a hilarious son. My husband took me to Ilôt Maitre, a tiny island 25 minutes away from Nouméa by boat, for an exquisite lunch and a leisurely afternoon. Afterwards, we went to dinner (Japanese) with Sophie. It was wonderful to be out to dinner - just the three of us (Pablo stayed at home with his "Tata Gali" and slept through the whole outing). I received the most beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers from Laurent, good news about my friend Ben, a million and one wonderful birthday greetings from friends and family in France and the United States, and the most wonderful posts and e-mails about Lucie and her family.

Thanks so much to everyone - for all your wonderful words and your encouragement for my work on this blog.

The Beauty of Blogging

The beauty of blogging is in the people you meet. Some weeks ago Jo (above - who I'd never met before) submitted a comment on this blog with a few questions about our weather and such. She was planning a trip to New Caledonia with her husband, Séan, and was wondering if it ever gets chilly here (among other things). I responded and targeted some posts her way in the hopes of being able to help her out. Jo and Séan live in Dunedin in New Zealand - Jo works for the Dunedin Public Library as a Bookbus librarian and Séan is a museum curator at a social history museum, the Otago Settlers Museum. I was only too happy to meet up with them after they had been on the island a few days to show them some of the lesser seen sights (and help them find one of our only good bakeries). A few days later they came for lunch and we enjoyed a good laugh over a bottle of Sauterne and grilled tuna. Laurent and Sophie were happy to have them 'round for lunch as we learned that Séan is also a writer, Jo has run three women's triathlons and between them, they are a hoot!

Granny on the Road

A rather magical friend arrived in Nouméa on 11 July 2006. Her name is Anne Bercot. If you don't know Anne, you'll be fascinated by her. If you do know Anne, you'll be excited to learn that she has just begun another rather impressive project ...

Anne has begun a new life at the age of 63. She has just started a SEVEN-YEAR TOUR of the WORLD and we are lucky enough to have her start with us. Anne is planning to travel the world on her own, hopping from here to Fiji, Vanautu, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and then off to South America, the United States (by cargo boat, plane, foot, thumb, whatever!), and who knows where else. She has already stayed with two tribes here in New Caledonia, has learned more about the native culture than we have, has hitchhiked down the island, slept in a "case" (hut) on the sea, dined with a local TV presenter and has a list of New Caledonian contacts a mile long!

If you want to know more, see Anne's blog (which she is maintaining in English and French). You will learn more about her reasons for her seven-year journey, why she has started here, what she is experiencing, and where she is going next. I highly recommend http://grannyontheroad.blogspot.com.

7 Things

My cool blogger friend, JD Riso, tagged me recently. I'm finally getting around to doing my bit (i.e. post my "7 Things" or "7 Answers to 7 Questions").

7 Things I Plan to Do Before I Die

1. Try scuba diving.
2. Learn to speak Chinese.
3. Go to Kathmandu.
4. Get published in "The New Yorker".
5. Pay for two college educations.
6. Live happily ever after.
7. Look back when all is said and done and say, "WOWSER!"

7 Things I Can Do

1. Sightread, sing on tune and play my favourite piano pieces over and over and over again.
2. Consistently find the silver lining.
3. Read, speak and write French; fake Spanish and Italian (and I mean fake) and make people laugh when I try German.
4. Think outside the box; colour outside the lines.
5. Figure out how to do most things technological.
6. Birth a baby naturally.
7. Surprise myself and others.

7 Things I Can't Do

1. Cut or draw a straight line.
2. Ski.
3. Hold a snake, a spider or an alligator.
4. Do what everyone else is doing because everyone else is doing it.
5. Use violence to solve a problem.
6. Play basketball.
7. Go a day without reading.

7 Things that Attract Me to the Opposite Sex

1. Carriage, build, line.
2. How often he makes me and others laugh.
3. Kindness, compassion.
4. How often he smiles.
5. Body language.
6. Generosity, humility.
7. How he treats waiters and waitresses, animals and small children.

7 Things I Say Most Often

1. Honey!, Honey ... and Honey?
2. Little one.
3. Tjiba choo.
4. What are you doing?
5. Love you.
6. Sois positif ! (Be positive!)
7. Et voilà ! (And there you have it.)

7 Celebrity Crushes

1. Zinedine Zidane
2. Brad Melhdau
3. Einstein (no one said they had to be alive - or "celebrity" celebrity)
4. Malcolm Gladwell
5. James Blunt (for the moment - a couple of years back it was David Gray: these things change)
6. Cary Grant
7. James Stewart

7 People I Want to Do This:

1. Sophie
2. Stevie
3. Sheila
4. Tiffany
5. Alex
6. Laurent (I know you won't - but it's worth a try!)
7. You!

Tag! You're it!

About This Blog: What's Working?

I've created this blog for you. How is it working out? Are you finding photos or articles that interest you?

Photo by L. Guiader, 2005.

What would you like to see more of?

• More photos
• More description of the history, geography, population, politics in New Caledonia
• More information about daily life in New Caledonia
• More links to other sites about New Caledonia
• More information about the blog's main characters

What would like to see less of?

• Fewer photos, please
• Shorter descriptions
• Less personal commentary
• Fewer facts about New Caledonia

Finally, how is the frequency?

• Would you like more posts, more often?
• Fewer posts, less often?

Feel free to comment here (by clicking on "comments" below) or send me a note regarding these questions. Your input will help me know what you are most interested in - and will make the blog all the better.

Many thanks to all of you who have already sent in comments/feedback!