Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I wish I could crush those tiny oysters to pieces

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2009 is almost over, and Fiji will be one of the first countries to see the year end and the new year begin! That is pretty neat. Although, I have a feeling the celebration will not be near as interesting as it would be in Times Square or Australia. We do what we can over here.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I had plans to go stay in a nearby resort today, but the boat captain went to a nearby village for a fundraising event and got drunk on grog and decided not to go to town today. No problem, besides I told Megan I would talk to her on Skype. So sorry Megan. Hopefully you will still be in town when I go tomorrow.

Today I ended up going to a nearby settlement to go fishing with my namesake, her hubby, and their baby.


Ulamila

I was supposed to help fish, but before the fishing began I stepped on a rock covered in small oysters and gashed my big toe to pieces. Well, it isn’t quite that gruesome, but it is bad enough to stay off it for a few days. Mother’s always know best. My namesake told me to wear my water shoes and I went in flip flops, then I took them off before I reached the kids I was going to play with. Man, never take your shoes off in Fiji!



The entire day I rested, ate dhal soup with breadfruit grilled on the hot stones, made with tender loving care by the boys.


Yes I ate this. It is breadfruit grilled on coconut leaves and coconut husks. Mmmm.


Then we took naps off and on and I visited with everyone. I even taught one of the boys about the universe and other galaxies, planets, stars, moons, and suns. He was stunned that there are more suns and moons than Earth’s. Although, he did understand evolution and explained to me how things do evolve and when God created the animals he planned for them to evolve naturally. It was all set in motion and plays as God directs. Well, I appreciate his view. At least he recognizes that some science is true.


Do you see me taking the picture? Look closely!


Eventually the sun began to set, I went on a short bamboo raft ride to pick up a couple of dozen coconuts and then we hopped in the boat and came back to the village. Overall the day was extremely relaxing with good conversations!


My most recent bilibili ride at sunset!

Monday, December 28, 2009

That same Bubu that asked me not to hike on Sunday and is always preaching the word of God to me hinted at me to give her money for the fundraiser tomorrow. I would not be offended if she hadn’t just scolded me for not respecting the Sabbath Day. Needless to say, I do not give villagers money for any reason. I do not believe in the kerekere system (borrowing, more like “can I have”) when it comes to cash. There has to be a limit on what all you give away. Bananas from your plantation or limes from my tree is one thing, hard earned cash on a volunteers budget is another. She said she was praying to God that someone would give her that $10 for the fundraiser. I told her that if she did not have the money, do not give it.

After that, I went up to my namesake’s house and played with the baby. Then I took the baby down to a nearby settlement and gave them a rake and some plastic bags I had been saving. We told stories for a while and then my baby and I headed back to the village.

Upon reaching my house I asked my Ta for the measurements for the footpath. He handed them over and I started to analyze where the footpaths are to be built and how much it will cost. There are a few places I think I will cut out of the measurements to save on money. Because I am writing a Peace Corps Partnership Proposal for the purchase of the supplies, I do not want to ask for more than absolutely necessary.

The rest of the evening I read Brisingr and walked around the village visiting each kava kava (grog/yaqona) circle. Most of the yaqona drinkers were in a nearby village for their fundraising event. Apparently it was a big party and most people got drunk on yaqona. It was probably fun up until the point when people were slurring their words, closing their eyes, and spilling coconut shells of yaqona. I was told Lydia was there so I can get a run-down of the events from her on Thursday!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Oh Siga’abu. I really am not a fan of Sundays around here. We are not supposed to do anything as I said before, and today I got in trouble for hiking up the river.

The water is not running again, so the whole village went to the pool of water in the river to shower. There were way too many kids in the watering hole and I felt like exploring so I went up river. While I was taking in the breathtaking view of a waterfall a few of the boys passed by and told me to come with them. We went up a little further to another waterfall and I lathered my body and washed my hair. For some reason, I was still not content. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I had my senses alert and felt adventurous. So, I continued up the river, finding green moss laden volcanic rock, swinging Tarzan vines, boulders not even Indiana Jones could budge, and glowing spiders inside a cavernous waterfall. Time passed quickly and before I knew it I was to the big waterfall; one of my favorite places to be near the village. Here and my rock on the beach facing the wide open crystal blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. So this waterfall cascades off rocks about five different times, ending in a pool of water that flows through a cave. It is quite easy to rummage around on the falls. I found a good sitting spot about halfway up and almost within the same moment a torrential downpour came heaving down from the Heavens. I was lucky in that I was sitting under a cliff of stone and was able to just enjoy the scenery and sporadic rain.

Finally I began my ascent a little further into the forest following the pipe line to the dam. I searched for over an hour for the end of the pipe and an end was nowhere to be found. I should bring someone who knows where exactly that crazy spring is that we get our water from. I was able to do a lot of research on the current pipeline system. I was hearing plenty of water flowing through certain spots and a trickle through others. This led me to believe that the pipes are either clogged or constricted (from melting) in several different locations. Again, hire a professional!

So, I never found the end, but I do have lots of proof of my tribulation. Nice scratches to add to the ones I received climbing up the craggy cliff last Monday. Wara na leqa (No worries). Well, I say no worries, but apparently a very religious Bubu in the village was worried about me and said she was praying for me while I was gone. I think what she was praying for was for me to be more respectful of the Fijian’s Sunday rituals. As in, if I am not going to church service, then sit in my house and do nothing. That is the respectful way. Honestly, I am just being really stubborn, but how is that respectful towards me. What if I do not want to be confined to my house? I am not hurting her any by getting out of the village. I can pray just as easily sitting by a waterfall as I can sitting in my bure, even though I don’t. Whatever. Times are changing and several people are oblivious to it. I will try harder to respect their wishes, but not if it hinders my experience or happiness. Period.

After I got back some boys stopped over at my house and fell asleep on my floor. I do not blame them. When the sun is excruciatingly hot, the floor of my house is the coolest place in the village. While they slept I wrote my application for Alternative Livelihoods training through Peace Corps in February. It is ready to be emailed for review! Next, we watched a little bit of Saving Private Ryan, and then I headed up to my namesake’s house to make a phone call and they just happened to come home while I was trying to catch a signal. I rested with them and played with the baby until they were ready to go down into the village for a grog session. We visited with them and two other houses trying to put in some face time. The grog sessions are really the best time to socialize… it unfortunately also involves inhaling a lot of secondhand smoke. Finally I was ready to go to bed and came home by midnight. Blah, good night.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day out. Thank you Fiji, for being so accommodating to my pleasures.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Today is the day after Christmas in Fiji, but Christmas Day in America! So Merry Christmas! I headed to town today to talk to mom and sis on Skype. I waited on Kate and Teresa hoping they might get on, but I should have just called them. Sorry guys. I love and miss ya’ll and hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Town was empty today so I got a lot accomplished (besides food from the market… the market was empty too). Since the cyclone we have had unripe tomatoes, no cucumbers, plenty of bananas, and discolored cassava. I am starting to wonder how long it will take for the crops to recover. This is supposed to be an active cyclone year, but the harm they do on crops within the village is devastating.

So I finally finished the business plan for our virgin coconut oil business. I am currently contacting several people within the government for economic assistance. Everyone has been extremely interested and supportive so far. I am told that they have been getting business plans for farming, but no other form of alternative income generation, so our project will surely be funded. Yes!

I am also in the process of measuring for footpaths and getting an estimate on supplies, plus environmental education, health awareness, waste management, no smoking campaign, life skills, kindergarten lesson plans, teeth care, and alternative income generation.

The village will also be needing seminars on the importance of education. A RPCV who served in Fiji about 22 years ago has retired and he and his wife have moved between my village and town. He was conducting a program back in the United States called “Choices”. It is a 3 hour workshop held in 9th and 10th grade classrooms revealing the raise in salary and choices of careers if you get a higher education. It will be perfect to integrate into the Fijian school system around class 7 and 8 (last grades in primary school) because most students drop out after primary school and never make it to what we call ‘9th grade’. The main reason they do not attend secondary school is because of the cost to go. The children coming from a village must move closer to the schools and live with other family members or board at the school, which is quite expensive for a Fijian pocketbook. There needs to be more awareness on why to receive at least a high school education and why they should attend university.
In the next year the village wants to replace many pipes in our water system. We get water from a dam in our mountain fed river. Several of the members of the village set their land on fire to replant vegetables and the fires get out of control melting the piping. At the present moment we have water off and on. One person is saying we need larger pipes to supply more water to the water tank. The problem appears more of a wasteful water situation plus melted pipes. Think of a clogged artery or constricted arteries, less blood travels through them, thus, less water will be refilling the tank at any given moment with concaved PVC pipes. With the taps on even when people are not using the water, plus pipes being restricted as to how much water can flow through them equals a water problem. There are people in the village who just want to replace the whole system, but before we fundraise for thousands of dollars I would like to get a professional opinion. So today we got quotations for new pipes, but I hope to find a much cheaper solution.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Tree of Paradise


A Christmas Tree Worm







Soft coral












NEMO!

December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!!!

It’s like Christmas never happened. I do not know what I expected, but I am not sure it is really Christmas Day. There was one church service, not everyone went, a lunch with family, no presents exchanged that I ever witnessed, and no one dressed up or playing Christmas music. So different. I know next year to go out of the village for Christmas to get more of the holiday cheer and traditions that I am used to.


Giant Clam






So, because there wasn’t much going on in the village for the birth of ‘Christ’ I decided to give myself a Christmas present of snorkeling in crystal clear waters just outside my door. Going away from the village I was fighting the current, so the trip felt very tiring and good exercise. I took a rest at my favorite rock before heading back with the current, making the trip much more enjoyable. Below are several of the things I saw right outside my village’s coast. I am so lucky!


The beach I took a break at. My rock is up ahead!


December 24, 2009

I spent Christmas Eve in town. Go figure. The biggest shopping day of Fiji (and America) and I head to the nearest town. Great! Too many people, too much pushing, too many PA systems, and no good veggies in the market because of the hurricane equals ‘I didn’t get anything accomplished’. Oh well. I am going again on Saturday to talk to family on Christmas Day in America. Other than that, I spent the entire day in transportation to town or from town. Waiting on the wind to die down so that we could take the boat out or waiting on the bus to leave town, either way, learning patience. Good news! I got a new National Geographic in the mail today… and… a 5 page letter from my Bestie… AND a present from my Bestie! A much needed and appreciated disc man plus things for the kindy, candy, and tissues (I use the bathroom in public restrooms a lot and I think she has figured out how often I need tissue)! Thank you so much Kate! You are the bestest friend ever!


My koki (parrot) that ran away.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Dawn Rose With Her Rose-red Fingers

Wednesday, December, 23, 2009

No signs of Christmas, just lots of people asking me if I am staying in the village for it. Really, I do not think it is going to be much different than any other day.

I woke up this morning to the water running! So I quickly took a shower and soon after the water ran dry again like the intermittent showers in a desolate desert. Oh man. I wanted to do laundry, so, again, I searched the village over for running water. I got almost all of my laundry done before my new source started the loud war cry of air emitting out the nozzle. Whew. I just want clean running water and electricity. Is that too much to ask?

This morning while I was doing laundry I overheard my little brother talking about a ‘koki’. My parrot has disappeared, so I looked up to make sure it wasn’t my injured baby. I saw a magnificent green bird attempting to take flight, but continuously getting dragged down by a string tied to its leg. It took me a deep breath to contemplate how to handle the abuse. I stopped what I was doing, went over to the boy, gave him a good knock on the head, and picked up the bird. Untying the poignant sole, I could tell the boy was ashamed for getting in trouble. Good, hopefully he is learning that it is not ok to torture animals. I took the bird over to a tree and allowed him to set sail into the clear blue skies. Turning to the boy, I told him “abu”, not allowed. He sat there for a complete ten minutes thinking about what had just happened. I feel like tying a string to his leg and telling him to run, watching him fall down, and asking him how he likes it. I do not want to blame him. In all honesty it is wholly the parent’s fault, but somehow I have to get through to these grommets.

Next it was lunch, start my dictionary, so brightly named “The Next Fijian Dictionary” because the only dictionary in Fiji is titled “The Fijian Dictionary”. I read a little of the Iliad, took a four hour nap, collected my clothes from the line, took some naproxen sodium, and now resting my tummy from the monthly pain. Urg!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Today was quite uneventful. I spent most of the day in my house writing letters, telling stories with visitors, finishing up the Odyssey, and cooking. Resting from yesterday’s escapade.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Woke up, made French toast, and started to work on collages of all of the people in my village. While I was cutting and resizing pictures, Sio stopped by and asked me to go with him and a few other people on a boat ride to a nearby village with a hospital. So, I packed up a few things, grabbed my machete, and headed off to the boat. We boarded, road to a nearby settlement, picked up a few people and headed to the other village. It turns out we were taking two boys around age 10 to get circumcised. Ouch. I was speaking with one of their mothers and she told me that they do not do it when the children are born only because they are behind other countries in health care. This was a surprising reason to me. I would think it would be just as easy to do it when they are a few weeks old as it would be at age 10. Anyways, the boys received a shot, then the cuts, and it was all over. They have pain killers to last a few days and I think they aren’t feeling much pain. Thank goodness, sounds dreadful.

After the hospital I walked around the district police post, visited a few policemen, and then walked up the road to overlook another village. They truly have a piece of property in paradise. I was told that there used to be a Japanese man that lived in the bay and was the first person in Fiji to start cultivating pearls. He was very successful and eventually was shooed away. I then stopped over at a Bubu’s house and spoke to him about virgin coconut oil. He used to be a primary school teacher and he knows English very well, so of course I really liked him!

Finally everyone was done at the “hospital” (a third world country hospital consists of a three room building with four hospital beds and a cabinet of supplies). I asked the boat captain if he would drop me off at the beautiful beach in the bay between the two villages. As I got out of the boat on pristine white sand I trekked up to the woods and found two papayas and a coconut. I immediately ate one papaya and stashed the other away in my bag along with the husked coconut. Walking along the beach, in search of the tall, rocky mountain, I was dodging mud hornets and scurrying crabs. I was in search of a rocky mountain that I had visited once before. As I got closer I could see the colossal cliff which loomed over the surrounding land like a black dagger thrust out from the bowels of the Earth (Brisingr). Very soon the plantations at the bottom of the mountain were in view and I was determined to find the trail leading up to the plantation. Soon I was on the right path and back-tracked a little to reach the starting point of my new trail. I was not very prepared in the fact that I did not sharpen my machete before I left so I was dependent on hacking the grass and ferns as hard as I could and then stepping on the reeds that were breakable with force. Finally the trail had begun and I was fighting off thorns, tall grasses, tangled ferns, and sharp volcanic rock. About 45 minutes later I was successfully out of the grasses with beads of sweat dripping off my face. I could see the rocky crag up ahead, but still far in the distance. I heaved my way up the rocks until I could spot the tree that was to be my destination. Slowly but surely I stepped from one stone to the next, with my sights set on one wall of rocks that used to serve as a barricade in tribal wars. The tree was set just in front of the fighting arena. As I tiredly brought myself up to the wall, I took a heavy seat on a flat rock, in search of shade. Whew. It was time to replenish myself. Reaching into my bag I found the husked coconut I had stowed away earlier at the beach. I cracked it open with my machete and drank as much of the coconut water as possible, pouring the rest into my water bottle. I enjoyed a small snack of fresh coconut meat while I rested my aching body and enjoyed the breathtaking view.

(Can you tell I am reading The Odyssey?)

The most important task of my trip was carving my name in the tree, next to a few other boys’ names. I would be the first girl to reach that trialing destination. Finally I was rested and began to set my sights on a trail around the craggy cliff. As I began to travel down, I was soon sliding on my butt more than walking upright. The trail was covered in leaves and branches that had fallen from the cyclone last week, so it was impassible on foot. I was grasping every tree and vine in sight to make sure I did not break a bone out in the middle of nowhere. As I safely arrived at the bottom of the mountain there was a house in view. I found small goat trails that led to the house along the beach. Walking down through the mangrove infested shores I finally reached the settlement of choice, a good friend of mine, Espli. He was nowhere in sight, off collecting coconuts to sell in the market. I dropped off the papaya that I had collected at the beach earlier in the day and began the coastal walk towards my village. My legs burned in the salt water from the cuts I received while walking through the bushes. About an hour later I arrived at another settlement where they graciously gave me 14 large, ripe bananas. I accepted with a big smile and then was off to the village to cook some lunch/dinner. It felt so good to reach the village knowing that I could have food and a good shower. Although the water was not running when I reached home, I was smart enough to keep a bucket of water for emergencies and I ended up taking a sponge bath just to hold me over until the water was running.

I cooked my favorite dish, except I was out of carrots. I improvised by using potatoes, cucumbers, and onions in soy sauce. I had tortillas and refried beans left over from yesterday so my meal was complete. Mmmmm. After dinner I rested, told stories with some of the boys, and then went to a house nearby to speak with the district officer who was in the village evaluating the damage from the cyclone. Fiji really does not appear to be too third world. They are very adamant about keeping to their old traditions and culture, thus keeping them behind in some ways. At the same time, they have all of the necessities, including health care and governmental assistance, at their fingertips. I feel that my service here is to guide them in such a way that they become dependent on themselves instead of handouts. Peace Corps Fiji is awesome!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Oh Sigatabu. The day of everything prohibited. We hopped on bus around 7:00 AM and headed back to the boat dock. Bus ride was uneventful accept for one of the older men smoking right next to me and me having to tell him it was not allowed and that he was being very disrespectful. Then a few of the boys were hung over from drinking grog all night and I had to put a few of them in their places. Oh man, that grog/yaqona has got to go - very bad for their health, mentally and physically. Their hangovers are more obnoxious than a drunks’.

We finally arrived back at my village. Thank goodness. The trip was only one night, but honestly seemed like eternity. When I want to sleep or eat I get sooo cranky. I took a much needed shower, then chopped all of my hair off. For one, I have way too much dandruff from my hair staying wet all of the time. Shorter hair should dry faster. Two, I wear it the same way every day, up, and I am ready for a change. Three, too many people have mentioned it lately. It must need to be done.

I cooked up some cucumbers, carrots, and onions in soy sauce, some tortillas, and refried beans from America! Oh my goodness, it was just like being at Amigo’s in Hoover. Yum! Then it was nap time – like a 3½ hour nap. It was glorious. When I woke up several boys came over wanting to see the pictures from the wedding. As soon as they were done the electricity shot on and I put on Point Break. A little action, a little love, surfing, stealing, and they use the word grommet. Doesn’t get any better than that! After the movie a Bubu stopped by for tea. She is from another Peace Corps Volunteer’s village, but spends a lot of time here. She was hilarious. Everytime a boy passed by she would holler at them not to pass by my house. That my footpath was private and they needed to go around. She is pretty upset that things have been taken from me. Go Bubu! Around 11:00 PM she left and another friend came over to tell stories. Most nights in the village are late nights because everyone takes naps and then they are not tired at the end of the day. Good night!

Saturday, December 19, 2009



Six days to Christmas and in Fiji you would never know it.


The Choir

Today I hopped on the boat around 6:30 AM to head to Suva for my Turaga Ni Koro’s brother’s wedding. He is in the military and has been serving in London, so for him to be back in Fiji was a big deal! As soon as we arrived at the boat dock there was a chartered bus waiting on us. We boarded, rode, and arrived in Suva. Tea was served, we changed clothes, and then headed to the church for the wedding service. I was quite surprised to see that it was a very traditional wedding. The bride and groom were dressed in a masi/tapa fabric that has been made in Fiji since forever ago. It is a paper material pounded from plants and then painted with a tribal design. They were decked out from head to toe in paper! I sat in the choir section for a little while and sang with the choir, then focused on taking pictures and staying awake.



After the wedding we headed to the reception where yaqona was served, a few whale’s teeth were exchanged, and then we ate. The cake was to die for, go figure. By 8:00 I wanted to go to bed, but there was absolutely no where to sleep without lots of commotion and light. During dinner I was visiting with some friends/family that live in Nausori and they were kind enough to invite me to stay at their house. Of course I took the invite and we were back at their house and in bed by 11:00. Thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. Thank you family!



Friday, December 18, 2009

Lots of small things today. The visitors for the funeral are all still in the village so I stayed around to say bye to a lot of them. Around the time the tide was going out a few boys and I dragged my bamboo raft out into the water and I retied it with rope instead of just vines. It’s like a new toy! My little sister and I played cards for a while, she helped me attempt to build a house for my parrot (Did I ever say anything about my koki that had a broken wing? I was keeping a bird in my house for a few days trying to see if she would heal, turns out she jumped down out of the rafters and left the house while I was napping the other day. Hopefully she is ok.). Hopefully the house will become a chicken coop and I will have lots of free eggs soon. Then we went up to the community hall and she ate with everyone while I got more nails for the house. When we went back down I decided it was time to head out on the bamboo raft to collect sand from a nearby beach for the floor of my kitchen.

My little sister and I headed out on the bilibili.

Wow, the wind was quite strong today, and I forget my water shoes, so I ended up dragging my sister on the bamboo raft through coral, rocks, sand, and strong currents. Thank goodness I could reach the whole time and I never got any cuts. We arrived at the beach and as we were collecting sand a young strapping lad came up offering to help load the sand onto our raft. Fijians are so sweet. After the bags were full and loaded, my little sis and I played in the sand and built a sand turtle! It was so much fun to feel like a kid and not worry about Fijian rules. As soon as I leave the village I am always rebellious, just because I am not under strict rules of a dress code and actions. I would have been one of those kids that acts out against my parents if they were strict on me. Thank you Mom for raising me right, with some slack!

Ways you know you have adjusted to the Fijian lifestyle:

When you are leaving the house, you look down to see if you are wearing a skirt/sulu.

When you are drinking your tea you do not remove the floaties, particularly the ants.

When a huge cow is slaughtered and people leave the village with a thigh over their shoulder does not phase you.
When a Fijian asks you to eat with them you already know the course, fish and cassava, the answer is almost always “No thank you”.

When people pass by you call out to them “Somi Ti” (Tea at breakfast)? Another volunteer and I believe this saying is derived from when the Europeans arrived and asked them if they would like “some tea”.

Kids are walking around with a huge pig skull in their mouth, and all you can say is “kana vinaka” (tastes good)?

On Sundays nothing is allowed, no playing, no singing, no music (except gospel), no cooking, no cleaning, no loud noises, no cutting grass, no planting, no anything, but you get used to this and all you want to do on Sunday is sleep anyway – I still have not mastered this one, and never will.

Your excuse for being sick is “the wind was blowing in my face yesterday on the boat”.

When you are talking to your friends back home you accidentally speak Fijian to them. Oops, sorry Katers!

Thursday, December 17, 2009


Cooking for the funeral.

Funeral Day. I stayed out of the spotlight by watching a movie in the morning and sleeping all afternoon. We will just have to call this a day off. When there are a lot of visitors in the village I am required to meet every single one of them and hold a conversation in Fijian. I sometimes lose my mind in situations like this so I just removed myself for the day. Honestly it turned out quite lovely as I had a nice time on my own. A few people stopped by to tell stories, but overall relaxing. Tonight I went up to the community hall and hung out with the boys drinking grog. Good times.



There are a few things that have occurred that I try not to blog about, but because something minute has happened so many times I feel like blogging it. About three weeks ago while I was in town buying things to make banana pudding for the first time someone stole my three bananas waiting to go into my deliciousness. Well, the village was alerted… lol. No big deal. Well, it wouldn’t be a big deal if things weren’t stolen four more times after this incident. Two weeks ago I had one banana and three plantains stolen… then, a few days later, two bars of soap. Now, this past Wednesday, I put a new bar of soap out and took a shower. I headed up to the Turaga Ni Koro’s house and drank a bilo of yaqona, then went up to the community hall to visit with the boys. When I returned to my house, about an hour later, my new bar of soap was stolen. Now, there is no reason for a little kid to want my soap, they don’t care about being clean, so I am almost positive it was a youth (16-35 unmarried). The only problem, I am not allowed to go snooping around in their bathroom, even though I know who it was. Now, I will be putting locks on my bathroom and my kitchen. Not fair.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I thought I was going to get to rest today until I was woken up by a friend who informed me that no one would be going to town tomorrow so if I needed to go that I should hop on the boat with Ta. Well, Ta was already in the bay starting the engine. I grabbed my bag and letters to mail and ran out the door to catch him. I walked out into the water and my little sister brought over a boat for me to get in. They pulled me all the way to Ta’s boat so that I would not get wet! So sweet! The ride to town was glorious; only Ta and I in the boat, plus plenty of sun, and smooth water. I laid out to catch some sun and took a little nap. Oh, speaking of the word NAP, Fijians know a lot of English but for some reason they do not know the word nap. It is very interesting to me considering they take 1-3 naps a day. I am on a mission to teach the village the word Nap!

The entire day in town, with not too many things on my list to do. It was so relaxing. I was able to talk to my mom and Kate on Skype, plus do all of my shopping at a leisurely pace and walk around the town five times. We did not leave town until 5:30 because we hadn’t sold all of the coconuts yet, so I had plenty of time. Then, we headed back to the boat house and waited another five hours for the boat to leave. We are having a funeral tomorrow for one of my Grandparents (in Fiji) and so we were waiting on relatives coming from Nausori and Suva to meet us at the dock. Around seven o’clock the owners of the store invited me to have dinner with them! They are Kai India (so they were born and raised in Fiji, but are of Indian decent) and my dinner was authentic dhal soup with tea. Oh so yummy. They said anytime I am hungry just to ask for food and they will give it to me. I think that might be a little awkward, we will have to see, but I really want to try more authentic Indian food so that I can learn to like it!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The winds a blowin'

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Wow, last night was a scary site. My bure is covered in dust, posters, all kinds of things that I threw around before leaving, and very moist. Today is going to be the longest cleaning day ever.


My house is on the left. This is the yard I got to pick up.

First thing is first, picking up hundreds of mangoes from the tree above my house. I would have staying inside my bure if it hadn’t have been for this huge mango tree hanging off the side of the cliff waiting to fall on top of my house, oh, and Peace Corps would not approve. Given that it is made out of straw, the Three Little Pigs should have copied the Fijian Bure design. Yeah, they would have been cleaning dust 5 times a day, but that little wolf of theirs would never have blown down their house. I am amazed at how well it is constructed. There were just a few branches out of place from the roof. No leaks, no shifts in the frame, just lots of wind must have circulated inside.

I spent the entire day picking up mangoes, kura, leaves, branches, and tin, raking, cutting grass, pulling weeds, plus sunning my mats, cleaning everything off like there was a fire, and washing clothes and dishes (between the spurts of water). If I did not have the kids’ help there is no way I would have ever finished my yard. Thank goodness the children are disciplined in this country and are more than willing to help cook, clean, cut grass, do laundry, etc. Wonderful Fiji!

Anyways, today was the most work I think I have ever done in one day and I am ready to rest, maybe even beg for a massage! Goodnight.

Monday, December 14, 2009



The day of Cyclone Mick.

Wooo eeee! Today was exciting! There were torrential downpours, hurricane force winds, things flying everywhere, and overall happy people!

For some reason around noon the boys of the village decided to walk to a nearby settlement to go crab fishing. What? There is a cyclone coming in a few hours! Well, they went, had a great time, and played in the ocean more than they fished. I don’t think they even caught one crab. Boys will be boys. The wind was a good 35 km/hour at this point with the rain slapping your face if you turned the wrong direction, but still enjoyable for them.


A friends' kitchen after the cyclone.

The cyclone hit around 3:30 PM and brought an amazing show. The men in the village were worried about their boats and kept going down to the coast to haul water out and re-anchor. It was definitely something to see. I left the original house I was staying at because there were about 10 kids from 5 months to 8 years old crowding me every second of the day. I wanted to pull my hair out. The next house had a great view of the bay, but was very windy inside and leaking water. Not really a safe haven in a cyclone. So, the third house was just right. You know, just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I would be Goldilocks today. The third house offered me tea, pineapple, cassava, plantains, plus socks, a blanket, and a pillow. There were two Bubu, two Na, one Ta, and four good kids. The house felt very secure, no leaks, no wind, and even had a fireplace (well, the kitchen for making tea, but it was set up just like a fireplace without smoke)! I was able to get comfortable enough to take a nap, I read lots of The Odyssey, wrote my sister a letter, enjoyed telling stories, and played with the kids. They also had one of the doors open that faced the bay so we could see the storm rolling in. Perfect! The trees were blowing like you see on the news when a hurricane is hitting Florida. Actually being there instead of watching the screen is so much more fun! Again, thank goodness my village is on the side of a hill, I feel for the other volunteer near me who is one foot above the high tide mark. I want to know how she faired, along with all of her belongings.

Cyclone Mika did not do lasting damage to the village. My bure on the other hand is a disaster waiting to be discovered. I know with all of this wind as soon as I walk inside I will want to begin cleaning. Ugh, I do not want to see it.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Oh Sigatabu… Sunday in Fijian means the day where everything is forbidden. When I say everything, I pretty much mean it. Absolutely no fun: no games, no laughing loudly, no skipping church, no walking around, no playing in the water, well, nothing… Absolutely no work: no laundry, no cleaning, no cutting grass, no pulling weeds, no planting cassava, no picking flowers (ok, an exaggeration, they pick flowers to put in their ears for church, but soon it might be banned as well). Most Sundays, they even cook the day before so that there is no cooking on Sunday. So, what is there to do on Sundays in a village in Fiji? Break all that’s forbidden! Well, I have stopped going to church, I go on walks, and the other day, my Bubu next door reminding me that it was Sunday and that I was not allowed to pull weeds. Oops! I can’t just sleep all day like they expect me to do. Crazy! Anyways, I wasted away the entire morning talking to the Turaga Ni Koro in my house. We had hot chocolate and peanut m&ms for breakfast, I cooked him some amazing vegetable stir fry for lunch, plus we shared lots of heart to hearts. I think at some point today I ended up falling asleep for an hour. The good part is “the phone call”.

While I was I cooking dinner I was alerted that Peace Corps was trying to get in touch with me. Apparently they had already called four or five phone numbers in the village. I rushed down to where the last phone call was. I rang them back and received a frantic voice on the other end. She was surprised that I had not heard about the cyclone that was headed our way. She said we were on steadfast and needed to be inside our designated, safe location, with fresh water, food rations, and important personal information. Just a side note, this call was given 24 hours before the cyclone was to hit. What was I going to do at someone else’s house for over 24 hours? Well, play lots of games, read, sleep, and eat.

Back at my house, I packed a bag, and headed over to my Nana’s house. The weather looked quite normal, and honestly was all through the night.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Lots and lots of rain. My garden is in a two inch flood zone apparently, so my seeds will probably float to the top before long. I slept in until about 8 AM, which a month ago would have been 7 AM so I don’t feel the least bit guilty. This time change thing is ridiculous for a country that only fluctuates from 12 to 13 hour days.



Today was a blast. On a whim, a friend and I took off to one of the settlements nearby for a visit. It of course was pouring down rain the entire time. We walked through the woods, the mangroves, the white-sand beaches, and of course waded through waist deep sea water. Upon arrival at the settlement nobody came outside. So we called our “Mai Na Vaka Yadua”. Still no answer. Oops, we ended up waking up my Bubu. He told us to check out the boys’ house and see if they were home. Only one of the boys, and we happen to wake him up too. We let them both go back to sleep and headed off to the most beautiful beach around. Through mangroves, the woods, and white sand beaches again, we arrived to find two women fishing, a man snorkeling, and several youth hanging out waiting on a boat. Now, this is quite an odd site, because the beach is at least 3 miles away from the village. Lucky for us we were able to catch a boat back around 3 PM (I was complaining of starvation at this point).
Back at the village I was able to cook and eat until my stomach was content. Later in the afternoon I went up to my namesake’s house and hung out the rest of the evening talking about the virgin coconut oil business plan and joking around. Good day!

Friday, December 11, 2009

I woke up at 5:55 AM today, wondering what time it was. At 6 AM there was a light tapping at my door. My Bubu Vesi had brought me a papaya and 8 bananas. How sweet and caring of him! This is what Fiji is made of! I immediately got to work on my garden. The friend that I stayed with Tuesday night gave me some basil, so I was excited to plant it! I got out my machete and baby shovel and began digging up dirt off of my hill and replacing it in front of my bure. Soon I had four kids helping me. They went and got their father’s machetes and were cutting the grass on the hill and beside my house. It was all done in about an hour. Of course I rewarded them for their help with chocolate and then began planting other seeds. I planted the basil, some butter beans, long beans, carrots, and cucumbers. We will see if any of them make it.

As I was taking my grass clippings to the designated dump site, my Bubu Paula called me over. He gave me 10 plantains, all ripe! Oh my goodness, I am a weakling when it comes to ripe plantains. They taste like big, sweet and sour bananas. They can be cooked all sorts of ways, or eaten raw.

For lunch I made the fresh vegetable wraps, but this time I cooked the veggies on the stove with soy sauce, my favorite dish in Birmingham, AL. Oh my goodness, it was heavenly. I want people back home to try cooking some zucchini, squash, onions, and tomatoes in soy sauce, like sauté, and then place them in a tortilla. Wow! I shared with the Turaga Ni Koro and he loved it! After lunch I promised Bubu Paula that I would make him something with his plantains. I made chocolate bananas foster, with Bounty Rum and all. It was amazing if I must say so myself. I think I like it better without the rum, but it was the idea of true bananas foster (Is bananas foster even made with rum, or something else?).

Next it was shower time, read book time, and make spinach noodle and tomato mac n’ cheese (with parmesan cheese). Pretty dank.

Tonight it was raining. I think the rainy season is here, so not many people were out and about. I stayed at home reading The Odyssey and fell asleep early.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Upon arrival at our docking village there was a newly built house! The provincial office in Rakiraki gave it to us as a waiting house for buses, but honestly our village and the surrounding villages wanted it as a waiting house for the boats. We have a new Boat House! I should name it. I am definitely going to decorate it with Alcohol Effects, Tobacco Effects, Marijuana Effects, Food Fish of Fiji, and HIV/AIDS posters. It will be a stylin’, educational waiting house! Very exciting!

I got a letter from my friend in Peru today. She has been having a rough time with Peace Corps. I am totally bummed that she has had to experience a few awful events. Hopefully she is recovering and turning to friends and family for support. I admire her courage and persistence. I think I would have already quit. She also sent me this beautiful cloth coin purse full of Peruvian chocolates! The cloth is used in the southern parts of Peru as a baby hammock and in their clothing. Thank you!

Today was a relaxing day in town. I talked to Mom on Skype, ate lunch with the volunteers, shopped a little, and bought veggies. The exciting part came while we were on the carrier back to the boat house. John C. had asked me to stop at his road to pick up a counter for my kitchen and a book shelf for the kindergarten. We stopped the carrier and I jumped out to help. The bookshelf is beautiful and the countertop is perfect! He is such an amazing handy man (along with all sorts of other talents!)! The bookshelf ended up in my house until the kindergarten starts again because it fit so perfectly under a shelf next to my bed. I always have junk on the floor so I threw it all on the shelves! I may have to beg him to help me make another one. I feel so bad, but his talents must be utilized! Hehe. Thank you so much John for your generous gifts! The kindergarten teacher might not know about it until the start of the next school year, so there will be a thank you note from her next year.

We finally reached the boat house, but the waves were pretty wild today. We waited until 5 PM to set sail, reaching my village without any trouble!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

What a gorgeous day! Her house is covered in mosquitoes unlike mine, but we burned a sandalwood mosquito coil all night and day. When we woke up we ate yogurt with plantains then we headed to the provincial office. Wow, Alfred, the man I spoke to, has so much hope and support for us! He said that there was a Fijian man that came to the office the week before for a training and that him and his wife had quit their jobs (in Suva and at Fiji Water) to make Virgin Coconut Oil in their village in Vanua Levu (the other big island of Fiji)! He was telling Alafareti (Alfred) that my district (plus Lydia’s) should be producing VCO and that he was more than willing to come help us get started. He and his wife in Vanua Levu are selling their oil at $80/Liter to Thailand. Honestly, this price sounds outrageous and impossible, so hopefully soon I will be able to speak to the man directly. Plus Alfred said that he would write us a letter supporting our project. Score!

We left the Provincial Office and headed to a nearby village to buy eggs. They didn’t have any. Then we headed to the Ministry of Agriculture. They weren’t present. So we headed back home and I started to write the business plan for our village. It turned into an eight page, full-blown professional business plan with a few details from the budget missing. When I get back to my village later today I will ask Sio about the budget so that it will be finalized when I go to town next week! This project took me most of the day.

For lunch we had fresh vegetable wraps and chocolate bananas for dessert. Dinner was a chaana/Indian meal with garlic bread. I have never been a fan of Indian food, but the North Indian dishes really grow on me. This particular one was delicious, so I included the recipe below:
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Today I got two more Christmas gifts in the mail, and I am done shopping for Christmas! Sorry if you did not get a gift, money is tight, and there is not really anything worth buying in these stores. Mostly the things Australia didn’t want. I ended up doing all of my shopping at a place called Jack’s of Fiji which is the most popular tourist shop. I will start working on getting real Fijian handicrafts for birthdays. I got to eat my amazing hamburger at Hook and Chook today! I also went to see NEW MOON! I loved it. People gave me mixed reviews, so I was nervous to go, but because I had read the books I was determined to see all of the movies! It followed the book almost exactly. The characters were similar to what I had imagined, but the Cullens’ house in Forks was not what the book described, or at least what I expected. The acting wasn’t right on, but good story overall. It’s a good thing Jacob got cuter towards the end. His looks in the beginning were disappointing!

I got a helmet from the Peace Corps office! So, it turns out I am supposed to wear a helmet on a horse. I do not remember this rule from training, but apparently it says so in the Policies and Procedures Handbook. So I signed out a helmet for riding the horses in the village. I also got 35 toothbrushes from the office for teaching a Colgate seminar on tooth care! The people of my village know to brush their teeth, but they do not know how often, how to stroke the teeth, or to floss. So I feel like a seminar will be short and sweet and teach the kids the proper way as well!

Since my boat is not leaving until tomorrow I thought I would stay in Suva the entire time. When I talked to IHRDP and they told me to speak to my local Provincial Office I decided to head back towards my village so that I could pop my head in and speak to the Provincial Administrator. I caught a bus at 5:15 PM and arrived at a friends’ house at 8:30 PM. We stayed up about 2 hours talking! It was so good to catch up with her!

Monday, December 7, 2009

The original plan was that I was going to be going back to the village yesterday or today. Well, never plan on things to go the way they are supposed to here in Fiji. I am relying on some friends from the village, who are staying in Nausori, for a boat back to my village. So, they decided to stay through Wednesday, so I stay through Wednesday. No problem.

Today I headed to IHRDP at 10 AM for a meeting with the Virgin Coconut Oil executives (lol, a Peace Corps volunteer and his boss). My namesake came too with a sample of our oil from our village. IHRDP was very impressed that we had already begun to produce it without any training. I explained to them that we are very determined and that a lot of research has been done to start our business. They said that they work with the village for 2 years, do all of the training, business management, buy machinery, bottles, find the market, make labels, etc. What an incredible job they are doing to help Fijians get a business going. I admire their job. We are on their list for possible projects, so now what we need to do is go to our local provincial office, and then write a letter to the commissioner. As soon as I left their building I headed to the Peace Corps office to write the letter, print, and make plans to bring it to the Provincial Office.

At the Peace Corps office I made fliers for different workshops, including: HIV/AIDS, Noncommunicable Diseases, Waste Management, Money Management, Business Management, Smoking/Alcohol, and Virgin Coconut Oil Training. I feel like if they have a piece of paper in front of them with the time, date, and meeting place they are more likely to remember and show up. We will see how that goes. Also at the office I printed off my Virgin Coconut Oil Diagram and Instructions so that there would be a copy for most of the women and coconut plantation owners in the village. Everyone is so interested in the possibility!

Well, I couldn’t resist, I went to another movie! Armored. Not so good, but I was in a familiar place with a coffee dipped cone in hand. It was somewhat of an action movie, but at the same time you could predict what was going to happen, too many people die, and it is a typical movie where the characters had so many other options, but they take the stupid route. Like having a police car 10 yards away, but for some reason you never utilize it to escape. De De Dee. Oh well, Hollywood directors are running out of topics I guess. I am pretty excited about Avatar and Sherlock Holmes! I think Avatar will even be in 3D!

After the movie a few PCVs and I got things to make pineapple pizza and spaghetti. So, I bought my supplies and headed back to the house.

Sunday, December 6, 2009


Boats in the harbor.

Not a lot to do on a Sunday in the city. Slept in, played on the internet, made a Skype date with Mom at 4 PM, and headed to town at 2:30 PM. Lisa and I found the coolest food court known to man! Ok, the coolest known to man in Fiji. There are about 10 kiosks/restaurants, but each one serves something from a different part of the world. There was Meditteranean, Chinese, South Indian, North Indian (Maya Dhaba – YUM), Fijian, what they call American, Japanese, and an upscale bakery. The food looked fresh and different. I will have to go back and try a few dishes. At 4 PM I talked to Mom for about 30 minutes and then Charter cut her off so I left to walk around Suva until Lisa was done with the internet. It was such a relaxing feeling to walk around the city without hundreds of people pushing through you. There were no thoughts of anyone picket-pocketing me, I wasn’t running over little kids, and the shoe shiners weren’t stopping me every 5 steps (when I am wearing flip-flops). Very pleasant. Lisa and I had a dinner date, supposed to be at Hook and Chook, they were closed, so we ended up at Pizza Hut. Of course an American owned restaurant is open on Sunday. The chicken supreme is supreme! The Pizza Huts here are so much better than the US, but maybe that is because my expectations have been lowered.

On our way home we decided to pass our turn and check out a new restaurant down the road from our friends’ houses. It was a beautiful place on the water, with the first salt water aquarium I have seen in Fiji! Plus the bar owner supplied us with free beer for the rest of the night (we only had two each). He said they would be playing new release movies on the big flat screen as well as Utube videos. What a fantastic idea! I have never been to a bar with Utube videos! Plus there will be game nights and karyoke. Neat new place! He says that when people throw trash over the back deck he will give them a warning, the second time they throw trash they will be kicked out of the restaurant/bar. I hope he holds true to that! Trying to teach one person at a time that they need to change their ways is difficult. If you grew up throwing trash on the ground and thinking it was ok, you would do it the rest of your life too. It is hard to change someone’s habits since birth.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Most of the volunteers in Suva headed to the trash pick-up/tree planting event. It was pouring down rain, I didn’t sign up to help with any of it, and I figured playing on the internet would be more productive.

At 11 AM Catherine asked me if I wanted to go with her and her friend to Pure Fiji to shop at their outlet! Of course! I was planning on going there on Monday for a tour, but maybe just talking to them in person would answer my questions. Her friend came and picked us up and we went shopping! Wow, Pure Fiji really has a monopoly. They have so many more products than I see on the shelves of stores. Their factory is immaculate, their sales team is right on key, and their owners have been in the business for 12 years. So they pretty much control the virgin coconut oil products of Fiji. I asked the manager if they needed any more oil and where do they get theirs. He said they buy 4 tons from Taveuni each month, plus 2 tons of Class B oil from Lautoka each month. I asked further about the cost of transportation from Taveuni and if it is a village or factory. Low and behold it is cheap, but coming from a factory. I am disturbed by this fact because most likely that factory is owned by an American, Australian, or New Zealander. Hardly any of the profits are being kept in Fijian hands. I think my village will have to see how much they can produce and to what quality, then head over to Pure Fiji and make an offer.

Later today I went to see 2012 at one of the only two movie theaters in Fiji! It felt like home. The Village 6 is kept in new condition with a Bose sign next to the entrance (I highly doubt they put Bose in the theater, but it’s the thought that counts). A movie costs 5.50 F$ which is like $2.75 USD, cheap! Plus they sell ice cream cones (this weekend it was coffee flavored) dipped in chocolate, like Dairy Queen! I do not know of anywhere else in Fiji that has dipped cones! A special treat! The movie itself, not so great, a new spin on Armageddon.

Friday, December 4, 2009

a WaLk To ReMeMbEr

Friday, December 4, 2009

We set up a booth with some Peace Corps flyers and posters and waited for interested persons to stop by. Honestly the rain scared people away. Not a big crowd. I ended up leaving to shop for Christmas presents. Got mom and sis’ gifts in the mail! Be watching out for them. Sis, yours is in the mail to your new address. At 1:00 PM I went to the dentist and got my bottom retainer re-glued. It definitely only took 5 minutes. More shopping, more work in the Peace Corps Office, then off to Catherine’s house for a potluck. Man, Peace Corps is a job of extremes. After dinner we all played a game of Pictionary on paper. The game involved ten of us. We each had ten pieces of paper. The first paper we wrote a saying, word, or phrase then passed the stack to the person to our left. That person would read the phrase, put it at the back of the stack and draw it. He would pass the drawing to the next person where they would write what they see and the next person draws what the person before them wrote. So, at the end of the 10 person circle the original writer could look through his stack and see where the story ended. Many were hilarious. Let me give you an example:

I wrote: Drinking water from a root
Next Person drew: A person with a tree and a cup of water
Next person wrote: Plant a garden and watch it grow
Next person drew: A person with scary eyes next to a square of squiggly lines
Next person wrote: Alien with crazy cat eyes
Next person drew: A square headed cat/person with a hat/spaceship next to them
Next person wrote: Spongebob Squarepants eats a cat.
Next person drew: Spongebob Squarepants and a cat with an arrow pointing into Spongebob’s mouth
Next person wrote: The cate attacks Spongebob Squarepants
Next person drew: Spongebob Squarepants with a cat reaching out with claws.

Must say, they got pretty silly, and we were really trying to follow the picture or saying. The next game was name three famous people, describe them, then describe them in two words, then act that person out. Three different rounds with two teams. Good games, good times!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

LOOOONNNNGGGG Day. Woke up at 5:20 AM to be ready by 6:00 AM. I head to the boat captains house and he was headed out to pick up coconuts from the nearby settlement. I ended up hanging out with the captains’ 26 year old wife waiting on him to come back. She is amazing! Another one of my best friends in the village! She has three adorable kids and a great husband. Cute, cute family. So he comes back about an hour later. I headed to the front of the village to hop on the boat following two small boys carrying a dozen coconuts each. I climb over all of the coconuts and sit at the bow of the boat. We head off for town. Low and behold we only get to the first settlement before we have to stop. Wow. We end up drifting through a river among mangroves. It was beautiful. My new destination on my bilibili at high tide. I can’t wait to take some good pictures!

The mangrove forest.

So two hours later we arrive at our boat docking village and I am forced again to climb over about 100 dozen coconuts to reach the beach.


All of the coconuts I had to climb over.

Next, wait for a carrier. I end up smooshing my body into the hole of a tire and riding 30 minutes with the wind blowing in my hair. Upon arrival I only had time to get on the internet for half an hour. I waited on mom, no show. I waited on Kate, no show. I waited on Teresa, no show. So, got nothing accomplished. The kindergarten teacher had asked me to go with her to a kindy luncheon and gift exchange. I was told to meet at 10:00 AM at the market. I get there dressed and on time and she is wondering around the market not dressed or ready to go. Typical Fijian time - I just get so frustrated with me being on time somewhere and then I find out we aren’t using a watch, just learning patience with every passing minute. I wait until after 11:15 before we catch a carrier to the village. We are greeted warmly, I am given the most important seat in the house, as well as I drink grog first. It is hard to decide if Fijians are doing this out of respect or more so to showcase you like a circus animal. I try and take it as a compliment either way. Other volunteers don’t always take a liking to the attention.



The party was supposed to end at 1:00. I had to catch the only bus after noon from town at 2:30. The party wasn’t over when I hopped on a bus at 1:45 back to town. The teachers drank some grog, had a meeting, exchanged gifts, then ate a feast. I escaped the feast. Lol. Oh Fijian food. So after I was safe on the express bus I was able to relax and read a little “The Sex Lives of Cannibals”. I got in Suva, dropped my stuff off at the hotel and went straight to my favorite restaurant for a hamburger. I walk in and hear my name. There are several volunteers just starting to eat! So I joined them. We decided to go see 2012 after dinner. Oh my goodness, one of the only times I have felt like I was in America in Fiji. The theatre was so much like theatres in America, although, theatres in Fiji offer cappuchino ice cream with the hard chocolate crust like Dairy Queen! So cool. The movie, not so cool. An Armageddon look alike. After the movie I headed home and went straight to bed.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Going to town tomorrow! I have been craving ice cream for days! I am also going to Suva this weekend. I was flossing earlier this morning and somehow I flossed my bottom retainer off a tooth. So, apparently Peace Corps wants me to get it fixed in Suva. I was planning on going down this weekend anyways for work leave. I have to meet up with IHRDP, Manjesh, and Sateesh. Lots of research on Virgin Coconut Oil. We are currently looking into a market in New Zealand as well as possibly markets in Fiji, although, to promise a certain amount of product, we must have the machines to reduce the labor and time. I am planning on touring a virgin coconut oil factory in Nausori and possibly a government housing based VCO company. We will see… Friday and Saturday are also International Volunteer Days. Friday is a parade/walk through Suva City plus booths and entertainment. Saturday is trash pick-up and mangrove planting. Not sure yet if I will be able to help out on Saturday, but I will be in the walk and sitting at the booth. Yay! Go volunteers!




My two sisters singing a meke at the concert.

Today I left at 9:00 AM to head to the nearby district primary school for their end of the year concert. Well, the concert/entertainment did not start until 1:00 PM. Also, Lydia did not appear until after 12:30 PM. Long day! The concert went well, the kids were adorable, and the company was good.





SUVA! Yes. I slept in a little, got up, ate everyone’s yogurt , then headed to the PC Office. We all gathered in our white shirts and PC sulus. Around 9:30 AM went down to the flea market to wait on the other volunteers around Fiji to get in line and ready to walk.


The police band.

By 10:30 AM we start the walk. Much bigger event than I expected! Very successful even in the torrential downpour.



Although, after the concert the school committee did not have any respect for all of the family waiting to take their children home after school. So the children, women, friends, and family all waited until 8:00 PM for this meeting to be over. Of course the men were drinking yaqona so they did not realize the passing time. I decide to ride with someone else around 7:00 PM but find out that he has gone to another village to drop his mother off (and buy diesel). Two more hours pass. At 8:00 PM the meeting is over and Ta is ready to go home, but he did not prepare enough diesel to get us back to the village. So, we wait on the man I was going to ride with to come back. He comes back without any diesel, the store was out. I still board the boat with the other man and get home around 10:00 PM. So my 6 hour day at school turned into a 14 hour event. Exhausted. Thank goodness this weekend is a work weekend in Suva.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009


The trophy with the winner!

So John got up this morning, hopped back on his kayak, and headed to Lydia’s village. A lot of the day I spent at my namesake’s house. We had a VIRGIN COCONUT OIL CONTEST! I bought a trophy piece of a man holding up a rugby ball (well, the coconut of course) and I screwed it to half of a coconut shell. See pictures below! The Turaga Ni Koro ended up winning! I told him he better display his trophy proudly. He just seemed to think the prize was silly. Oh well, I thought it was a worthy prize. The rest of the day I visited with some villagers.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Lots of laundry and dishes. Today John came to see me on his kayak. Well, honestly he was coming to check on the queen bees that he had brought a few weeks before. It turns out they had a normal success rate – about 80%. After talking for a bit about the challenges in Fiji – AKA Peace Corps – we went up to my namesake’s house. I watched their baby Ulamila while they checked the bees.


Ulamila

Then the boys drank grog while I made Zattaran’s Red Beans and Rice. Finally I offered for us to go to the big pool of water to cool off. After jumping off the cliff a few times we headed back, made dinner, and went back up where the men were drinking yaqona. Eventually I fell asleep by the grog bowl and was wakened to “Time to go to bed”. John and I headed down and passed out.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Well, Fiji’s daylight hours only range between 5:00 AM – 6:00 PM versus 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM, but for some reason they decided to respect daylight savings this year. So, the time went ahead an hour today, which is throwing me off for church. I actually moved my clock back, went to the water hole for a shower because the water wasn’t working, and I ended up swimming through church service. I get back ready to get dressed and church is ending. Oh well. Other than that, I just chit-chatted with the 18-year-old girl in the village who is 5 months pregnant and one of my best friends!


My namesake, her husband, and Ulamila.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Yesterday I was told that my blogs are written backwards and that people have to start at the bottom for it to make sense. Sorry guys, I can definitely start writing them this way if it follows a better order. I have never really thought about it. Today I woke up, caught a taxi with some friendly Fijians down the road headed to the Miss South Pacific Pageant to sell some corn, and headed to the market for last minute shopping. I picked up my new sulu jaba (the flower print shirt and skirt that is worn to any event, whether it be church, a funeral, or just everyday wear) and I absolutely love it! I paid out the butt for the material and for the seamstress, but I am proud of my new “suit” and will enjoy wearing it! I think my Yaca is going to have one made for me as well. Then I will have four! I also mailed the Chadwick’s Christmas presents and a small thank you to the First Christian Church.

I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get all of my errands done in an hour so that I could catch my bus. So, I made it with two minutes to spare. Wow, I am not sure I ever want to ride the bus on a Saturday again. Getting on in Suva was not a problem. We were full, but I thought nothing of it. We pull into Nausori and there are 30 or so people waiting to get on our bus. You wouldn’t believe it, but we smooshed every last one of those people onto our full bus. There were at least 20 people standing in the tiny aisle. I thought the bus driver was crazy. Apparently he was just trying to make money. I ended up sharing a two seater with three other people. So it was me, this 10 year old boy who ended up sleeping in my lap, a Bubu (grandmother) and her 6 year old granddaughter in the other seat. I did not feel like it was fair that I paid my way for a seat on the bus and I ended up getting ¼ of a seat. Tis is Fiji. So I, somehow, sanely made it to my boat landing and again, somehow, made it off the crowded bus with all of my junk. Then it was time to wait on the coast for about two hours until the people came from town. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked down to the beach and Asa, another volunteer from an outer island, was sitting on the sand talking to a few Fijians. He was going to visit Lydia to learn how to beekeep! Cool! So, at least for those two hours I had someone to talk to. Finally my Turaga Ni Koro shows up and we board the boat to head back to the village. Long boat ride, I am home safely, with the electricity on (but no extension cord or light bulb in my house). So, I continue to use my handy, dandy lantern. I really like the lantern better than irradescent light anyways! I’m content! I think I am going to head down to the house below where all of the men are drinking yaqona. Time to socialize a bit. Miss ya’ll terribly! Wish I could be there for Christmas!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Got up early, again, so that I could get to an internet cafĂ© and talk to family! I was really hoping to talk to the Hoseys, but they were not at Teresa’s house, so I missed out. We will schedule another time. I did get to talk to my mom, sister, Aunt Lisa, and cousin, Daniel! Always exciting! They had all just finished eating and were in good spirits. I think my sister could have used another glass of wine, but other than that they are all doing well! Thank you sis for talking to me so long! It made me feel like old times. You know, those days were we could hang out all day giving advice, telling stories, and goofing off. Sorry I am not around. The rest of the day was filled with running errands, doing work at the Peace Corps office, eating some amazing fish and chips (at Hook and Chook, although Peg Leg Pete’s in Pensacola, FL beats Fiji’s). Buying Christmas presents, watching the biggest Christmas tree in Fiji be erected, and shopping for a guitar. I found one! Although, the bad news, it needs new strings, and I left it in the office thinking I could go get it the next day before I left town, but low and behold, the next day is a Saturday. Dang it… I didn’t think this one through. It’s all good though. I will get it eventually. I searched and searched until I walked into this random pawn shop in Suva, the lady handed me the guitar, and I felt like I was holding my own child. Ok, maybe not that much love, but it felt natural for real. I am excited to see my love again!

The night consisted of bar hopping, eating dinner, hanging out with a cool Australian guy, and going to bed by 11:00 PM. I am such a party pooper. Thursday, November 26, 2009 Turkey Day! Got up early, took the boat to the landing and hopped a bus to Suva. Well, I ended up getting off in Nausori to search for a guitar in the pawn shops. No luck. Although, soon after getting off in town I saw Graham, one of my closest Peace Corps friends! So, we ended up hanging out in Nausori until we got our errands done, and then we hopped on a minibus together and headed to Suva. Upon arrival we stopped in the nearest grocery store and purchased beer, wine, butter and ice cream. What else would you need in Fiji? We hired a taxi to our friends’ house were all the volunteers were meeting up for our Thanksgiving feast!

Oh my goodness, people rolled in by about 5:00 PM and we had WAY too much food. The table spread included kumala yams, mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, ravioli, dips, chips, fruit salad, ambrosia salad, cranberry sauce, pizza dip, mango salsa, ferns, gravy, veggies, and what we like to call our chicken “turkey”. There are no turkeys in Fiji and so the ones that are imported are outrageously expensive, so we settled for a large chicken. I ate so much that I did not want to eat dessert. Although, the way it works in a volunteer setting with amazing food in front of them is more like a fight between a vulture and a hyena for the leftover skull of a lion. Pretty much, first come, first served, and often times, the only one served. So, I had to fill my plate with dessert (and ice cream) forcing me to start eating before my stomach was prepared. I ate waaayyyy too much. I felt like my stomach was going to expel itself. The worst part of it was we were playing a bag game where we sit a paper bad on the floor and you have to stand on one leg, bend down, and pick up the bag in your mouth. Each time the bag got shorter, a lot like the limbo. Let me tell you, it was not easy when my stomach was 5 inches bigger than normal. So, needless to say, I was unable to play past the third tear, and I needed to lie down to avoid throwing up. Yes, I ate until I was sick. So, I missed out on a lot of the fun. Oops! So, the day was eventful, good time with friends, and ended with a wonderful sleep.