What a day, I was slow off the mark this morning after recovering from the red-eye flight from Perth and onto Brisbane and Honiara in the same 24 hour period, but after crawling out of bed and getting down to immigration it feels good to finally be legal.

After a quick line up and document stamping, it was on to my students graduation and the reception alone was almost worth all the trouble up to this point. Though it was out of my control, it was always in the back of my mind to be back in Honiara in time for the event but until yesterday, I thought I was going to miss it by just a few hours. The silver lining to my recent flight bungle was that I arrived a day early and as such was able to see the whole show. I crashed the party which suited me to a tee, as it was too late for anyone to involve me in the speeches and though it would have been good to tell the students of my pride in their achievements, sitting back and taking it all in was much more appealing. It was after the show, where embarrassed handshakes and stern looks of the ceremonies were replaced by a stampede of smiling faces and outstretched hands that I remembered what this venture was all about.

At the event I was also reunited with our adopted a dog "Gracie", who the guys at work agreed to foster while we were back in Australia. She's been spending her days at the nursery before riding in the back of the truck tray crammed with the crew for the afternoon drop off of staff. Owning the nursery, she strutted around the grounds at graduation like the top dog she now is, at times chewing on the presenting officials ankles and dresses or dropping at their feet for an inappropriate lick of the nether regions, in full view of the crowd. It was a reminder of the totally predictable, unpredictability and craziness of this place. Damn it is good to be back.