Birthday adventures in Rome

I turned 36 this week, and I have to say I'm rather chuffed.

My year got off to a flying start - I had the day off. (One of the advantages of my new improved contract. I get holidays!) Minor sleep in, wee bit of cooking, then off to the train station to meet the lovely Ms Heather, freshly arrived from London. There was shopping, in which I cheerfully told the checkout chum (in proper Aussie style) that it was m

y birthday so I didn't have to work today and my friend had arrived from England so I was very happy. Oh, and no thanks, I don't need a bag for my groceries. Heather was flabbergasted - you don' chat to shop staff in England. Especially not in Italian. (I was a bit chuffed. I remembered nearly all the words).

So, home, champagne, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon - the most perfect special occasion breakfast ever. Lots of chit chat. Phonecalls from teh folks. Walking adventure into town to prove that we really DO live right near the Colusseum, followed by coffee and cake. More walking, eating, drinking. (Heather is here for 5 days - there will be lots of that.) We found performers at the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Del Popolo... I felt like a circus had been turned on specially just for me!

Of course, this being Rome and Monday being my birthday, it all would have been a bit incomplete without a big ol steak dinner. And best of all, the weekend is nearly here... and then the celebrations will really begin!

Astrid returns...

It's been one of those weekends where you just can't wipe the smile off your face. Thursday saw the jubilant return of Astrid, one of my first friends in Rome (alongside her housemate Rachel. Two women less alike you could not meet: one tall, Danish and as liberal as they come, the other petite, Scottish and Presbyterian in all but name. What they share, of course, is fiersome intellect, utter gorgeousness and... they are friends with me!). So there was much rejoicing and there may have been a wine or two involved. Perhaps even chocolate shots.

Friday we trooped down to the Druids Den to see Ants play with his new group, the Coff Drops. Before you know it I'd been roped in too and suddenly there were half price drinks all night for performers. Saturday brought another gig, for both of us, this time at the packed and higher profile Finnegan's. There were more friends from work - Ash and a gaggle of girls (how does he do it, and yet stay single?) and my friend Antje with her husband and friends, to celebrate her birthday. The prosecco flowed, the crowd (about a hundred of them!) cheered, and we left there floating. We haven't shared our musical side with work friends here in Rome before, so the whole night had that slightly crazy chaotic air of worlds colliding, leaving me dizzy.

It was hard work to get on my bike the next day, but I'd promised Kate that if my house guest had other plans, I would go. Astrid was off to go catch up with a friend, and left looking very glam in a dress and high heels. I arrived at the meeting point and Kate said... we're waiting for some other firends,... Astrid and Geoff are coming too, do you know them?? We nearly wet ourselves laughing when we saw each other... the Rome expat community really isn't that big after all!

Anyway, it was a cracking ride up along the Tevere, and my wee legs felt well tested by the time we trundled home in the dark, still smiling!

Haiti - a tough job getting aid in

Once again I am in awe of my colleagues. WFP had 225 staff in Haiti on January 12 when the earthquake struck.

Virtually all of them are now homeless.

More than 90% have lost a member of their immediate family.

But the day after the quake, they were virtually all back at work (our country office has relocated to an awning in the middle of a cleared space, because the building itself is too damaged to use), trying to find out which of our warehouses are okay, what roads are passable, and putting in place plans that will ultimately see us providing food to 2 million people a month, for the next 6-12 months at least.

But it's not an easy job. This article from The Age gives a hugely accurate picture of why food and other support is only slowly getting in there.

My boss is over there now, and some of our engineers. There is no running water, no showers. You take in everything you will need: water purification tablets, tent, sleeping bag, wetwipes, loo roll. And, with the rainy season closing in fast, a shovel and mozzie repellent.

Port au Prince, a city of 3 million, is devastated. Many of the country's leaders, heads of government service departments and emergency services, lost their lives. A city already the capital of the poorest country in the region did not need fate to deal a hand like this.

And yet, people are starting to put things in place, and the world is responding on a massive scale. This is what the UN is for - to bring nations together in support of one another. And it's global responses like these that remind us of the power of our humanity.