Another day of training. Today we covered Governance. It turned into a really good conversation between the volunteers and the Fijians. We learned a lot more about how the community meetings are run, how people are punished for breaking rules, and the ways that minority groups get their opinions heard. We also went over our trimester reports and how to fill in the computer program correctly. Since I was not in the system this past trimester report I had not seen the way we are supposed to fill them out, so I was glad to have the opportunity to play around in the program before the next one is due. Very productive this morning!
We were done at lunch time, so my counterpart and I went to The Uprising Hotel for a gander, The Pearl to meet up with Peace Corps volunteers and Pacific Harbour to shop. We found my favorite scent of Virgin Coconut Oil lotion and a small bottle of massage oil. Perfect for his wife!
Then we headed back to the Christian Camp for dinner… of which was fried fish with mashed potatoes, a salad, and bread, plus they made of special meal for the Fijians of fish in lolo and cassava. They had wanted fish and cassava since we arrived at training! It was sooo sweet of the camp to cook them what they eat everyday! After dinner I took an hour nap, woke up, and had a cartwheel contest among the volunteers. I definitely won with 22 cartwheels. The runner up (Lydia) did 15! Superstar! We all swung on the swings and talked, then headed to the beach for a few rounds of beer and story time.
My counterpart was struck by how different conversations are between Fijians versus Americans. He noticed how our conversations revolved around movie stars, sex, hydrogen atoms, and our childhood whereas the Fijians conversations are about what they ate for lunch or when they went to sleep the night before. Lol. Major difference! I am glad that he had the opportunity for the first time to sit with a group of “white people” (honestly, they call us all Kai-Valaqi, which is a white person or European) and see how we are different. Enlightening!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Last night, my counterpart ended up getting drunk (Good for him! The villagers never have the opportunity to drink. I hardly ever drink, but I am glad he had the chance to do something different!), going to bed at 2 AM, waking up at 4 AM for prayer service, then leaving at 6 AM to catch a bus back towards our village. Although he did not feel 100%, he was a trooper on the way home. Thanks Counterpart for an enjoyable trip!
So today we traveled back towards our village by going through Lautoka. I had plans of talking to Punjas who has a line of Virgin Coconut Oil products on the shelves. After calling them, I found out that they are not producing VCO products at the moment. He did tell me that if we have a few tons that we are willing to sell at the right price, then he may be interested in purchasing it from us. Until then he had no need to speak to me. Wow! We just have to get started and find the buyer after we have the product.
I also searched for coconut oil scrapers in the hardware stores because I was told Lautoka was the place for find those things. Nope. None in sight. The stores didn’t even know what I was talking about. So, we will look elsewhere. For us to produce a lot, we are going to need machines and electricity though. Hopefully the generator is getting fixed!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
So yesterday I decided to stay with John and Judy instead of going back to the village. I wanted to make paddles for my bamboo raft. So, I got dropped off on the King’s Road at their junction and had John come pick me up. What a sweet, sweet man. He is willing to help anyone no matter what he has to go through! Thank you John! Upon arrival Judy made my banana pudding and tea! We talked over tea and then she started making dinner and we ate. I fell asleep by 8 PM because of the long and hot bus ride. I have learned never to take the bus through Lautoka again unless I am staying over a night somewhere. The ride is much longer taking this route and costs more.
This morning we woke up, had yummy yogurt with muesli, pineapple, and banana, and headed out to the workshop to make paddles out of Dakua! John says that Fiji should grow Dakua to send to America because it is the best wood he has ever worked with. He says it does not split, is light, but sturdy. So, we got out the belt sander, rotary sander, jig saw, hand saw, and some cool wood chipper manly toy. We marked our paddle with a pencil, used a hand saw to cut it out, used the jig saw on the curves, used the cool wood chipper tool to thin the paddles width, then used a rotary sander (I do not think this is the real name. Made this one up and the cool wood chipper tool) to more neatly shape the curves. Between the belt sander, the rotary sander, and manually sanding, I have two beautiful paddles to take me out to the “off-limits” reef. Exciting! Thank you again John for all of your help and expertise! You and Judy teach me so much every time I visit!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I learned a lot today, but still took a three hour nap. How do I sleep so much? This is my work in Fiji!
Sio, this amazing beekeeper, has done all of the work for me for the Virgin Coconut Oil. He has found a market outside of Fiji, set up a system of selling 20 – 20 L containers each time, and spoken to a few of the families in the village with coconut plantations. He and his wife have begun the experimentation process and have almost perfected it! We will start producing it this week and in two weeks time have a good system down! There will be a monitor, probably me since I will not be producing it but I can oversee the process, that checks that each step is done sanitarily and efficiently. We also have an opportunity to borrow an electric scraper that will take off half the time it takes to scrape the coconut meat out of the shell. Also, we are going to look into a mechanical press to get the most VCO out of the coconut meat. It appears that we will be in business soon!
I learned that bees are being harvested for their venom. The juices they release into your skin when they sting can also be used in acupuncture to heal aches. Who would have thought more pain would cure previous pain? I believe that it works though, since the world is starting to lean on organic products and natural medicines, we will begin to find all kinds of unique cures in the wild! The research and findings have only begun.
Oh, also, when a Fijian baby is healthy and ready to be taken off of breast milk the mom sends the baby to a family member for a week who cannot breast feed. The relative must start bottle feeding the baby so that when he/she goes back home, he/she is off the breast. Why don’t Americans do this? I guess some do, but for the most part I have not heard of this genius idea before now. I guess the relative has the hard job.
The amazing beekeeper I mentioned earlier is also going to try crab farming! I do not know if I mentioned it earlier, but as far as Peace Corps knows, there are no success stories of crab farming in Fiji. Noqu Yaca (my Namesake) is going to try it here in the village! She says that she has gathered information from a village near Pacific Harbour that is successfully raising the crabs that sell for $8+ each. This is a lot of money here in Fiji. She says that you must cover the inside of your crab farming hole with the linoleum/plastic floor covering. The crabs dig holes horizontally in the mud instead of down, so covering the sides prevents them from escaping. She is going to catch about 20 young mud crabs and place them in her crab hole and try a trial and error experiment. The people already doing it down south also told her to feed them coconut meat and the small fish that people catch but throw back into the water. She must let the fish rot for one day so that the crab will use its scavenger instincts and eat it. Really the whole idea sounds too good to be true! Good luck to Yaca! I am so glad that Fijians are willing to experiment and try something new. They have so many natural resources that are not being utilized, and therefore die or are eaten by animals. Use them! Make money!
One more thing they do… make candles from their bee wax! How cool is that! I have wanted candles ever since I came to my bure and realized how the mildew smell takes over. Mom sent me some “new car” trees, which are doing this trick for now, but candles are a must. The bee wax candles are brilliant!
Yaca is also going to start writing down recipes for my small income generating idea. Hopefully I am right about this! Sorry no details, I have to protect my inventions!
Monday, November 23, 2009
I am exhausted. It is only 10:00 AM and I have already made vanilla pudding, pancakes, macaroni and cheese (parmesan), cut my grass (which involves a machete, rake, a huge basin, and a dump site), made an area behind my house for a garden (cannot plant until March), and took a shower. No I did not eat all of that – I took lots to neighbors and saved some for dinner. Productive morning.
Wow, I just had Yaca’s Dahl soup and it is the best I have ever had! I think she said she uses coconut milk in it. She is definitely the right person for the recipes job!
The rest of today I made Christmas cards, collected shells for the cards, helped make the thank you notes for First Christian Church, and went on a walk to my favorite rock! Ok, the coolest rock around… it is shaped like a mushroom because of the wave action, but it has a dip in the side facing the ocean that is the perfect size for me! I sit there watching the waves roll in, study the reefs, great view of Ovalou, and there is an amazing rock structure that juts out just beyond my rock. It is on the tip of a small peninsula and overlooks a beautiful bay with a beach and coconut plantations. I will have to show pictures later!
I tried to make mac ‘n cheese with parmesan cheese. It worked but was way too parmesan cheesy, so I made some tomato and onion Italian sauce that I poured over the shells n’ cheese. Amazing! I think this recipe needs to be added to the Peace Corps Recipe book. I also made vanilla pudding by scratch with Maria. I have been using it as my yogurt and pouring granola on top with dried fruit. Thank you mom for the dried fruit! It comes in handy in all sorts of ways!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
So Thanksgiving is in two days! Yay. I would be more excited if I didn’t have several important people in the village telling me I am levulevu (Fat). The only thing saving me is that I know I have not gained any weight in 8 years so I know if I am gaining… and I am not! It is part of their culture to say that every so often, possibly even every day. One day I am fit, the next fat, and the next losing weight again. Hmmm, I just want to know how they can tell that I gained an ounce, then lost two ounces. Oh Fijians.
Anyways, today I spent all morning in the Kindergarten helping out with painting and fingerprints. The children are adorable, but not kept in a strict, “busy” routine. So, if they get too much sit and listen time, they tend to get up and run out of the room and then around the village. The teacher is getting stressed about it, but I try to explain that it is just the age of the children. They know their parents are close and the children know they will get away with it since they run wild through the village all day, every day. In time they will see that it is more fun in school. We only have three more days of class this year! The new school year starts mid-January! Sisi wants to save all of the supplies until then so next year will be a whole new Kindergarten experience! She really is the best teacher we could have asked for. She is fair, honest, does not raise her voice, respectful, kind, and is only teaching for the kids. A teacher most schools only dream of.
After a busy day at the kindy I came home to eat, do dishes, laundry, shower, and now type. This heat is exhausting. Today it is very windy and cloudy, so much more tolerable than yesterday! I am headed to Suva in two days, so make sure those of you who are available on Thursday (in America) get on Skype around 3:00 PM! I want to see all of your smiling faces!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Hmmm, woke up at 5:30, made breakfast, read some of Homer’s The Odyssey and fell asleep again. Lol. The good life. After waking up 2 hours later I went up to the kindy to help out a little, then headed to Noqu Yaca’s house. They were making their candles out of their beeswax as well as experimenting with virgin coconut oil. Sio is separating out every layer and placing it in the sun to see what happens when they heat up. Several are producing Class B oil (the kind the Fijians rub on their bodies) as well as more Class A oil (Virgin Coconut Oil)! So, we won’t have to waste too much of the by-products of producing the oil. I know I have mentioned this before, but until we did our own tests we weren’t sure how to produce useful products from our “waste”. Anyways, two more people starting making it today. The oil is working while they sleep!
Oh, the other day Bubu Moli invited me to lunch at her house today. So I cooked up some spaghetti and brought it over with me. She had a pumpkin, tuna, and noodle soup prepared as well as Sisi brought over some curry. Lots of food! I really enjoyed the company and trying new dishes! So sweet!
Early evening I went down to the beach were the boys were playing rugby and experimented with my camera a bit. I need some major help on the aperture and shutter speed settings. I guess the more I practice the easier it will get to manually set.
Anyways, time to go to bed. Headed to Suva tomorrow for Thanksgiving!!! Yummy, more food to make me fat!
No comments:
Post a Comment