New Address and Update

August 3, 2009

I have been having a hard time finding places to charge my computer so that I can type a blog. So sorry the stories are so scattered! I finally got a P.O. Box!! My new address, which I promise works:

Jamie Reynolds
P.O. Box 338
Rakiraki, Fiji
Pacific Islands

Please feel free to send pictures and letters! Packages have proved to be expensive so padded envelopes or just letters are plenty! Thank you all so much for the care packages! I feel so loved!

So, today is Monday in Fiji and my village has three meetings today that I was/am required to be at! The first was the village meeting, which of course was all in Fijian and so I still do not know what came out of it. The next was the newly formed kindy committee, which we filled out the forms to get a registered kindergarten! BIG step! Although, now I am told that it takes 9 months for the school to be official... hopefully by May of 2010 we will have an opening ceremony. The village is definitely motivated! The next meeting, which is tonight, is the village development committee meeting. I am a member of this committee and we are planning on writing up a strategic plan tonight, laying out the next 4 or 5 years. Hopefully that goes well!

I am probably the luckiest volunteer out of the FRE-07s. I honestly feel at home here and everyone is so welcoming. I am given bananas or papaya daily by the Bubus (elders) and fed every meal by my Na. Such an easy life. Today, my Ta and some of the Bubus began building my kitchen. I am hoping to have it done by Thursday so that when I buy a gas cylinder I have somewhere to put it and my wrought iron stove! The Ministry of Fisheries also just came by the village and offered to take me on their dive tomorrow. If I didn’t have a committee meeting tonight I would have gone, but prior commitments always come first! It was soooo hard to turn down a free dive though. My Fijian is not coming along as I had hoped. My fault completely, I am not taking the time out of each day to study it. Soon, soon, I am running on Fijian time these days. Tomorrow I am going to Nei Sisi’s settlement to catch prawn and fish. She is an amazing woman (well 32, but we relate like best friends)! I cannot wait to get to know her better.

Well, it is dark and time for me to go eat, so I will write more before Thursday (town day).

August 5, 2009

So, now it is Wednesday and yesterday my new best friend (Sisi) and I went prawn fishing and snorkeling. She is 30 or so and yesterday was her first time to ever snorkel. What?? She lives on the coast in Fiji and has never snorkeled? Crazy huh!? Then she came and spent the night and Ta, Na, Sisi, and I watched Slumdog Millionaire on my tiny little screen! Lol, they still loved it! Oh, and I did not tell you all that I made my family French Toast Monday morning. They loved that too! French toast once a week now! Hell yeah! Today Sisi went home early to catch more prawn and make brooms to sell in the market tomorrow. So Na, Ta, Suli, and I went to the plantation. I studied and watched Suli while Na caught our lunch and Ta cut down lots of cassava so that he can plant yams. Craziness! Well, I have 20 minutes of power left on my computer so I better go! Hope to hear from you all soon!
Love you all bunches!