A DiAmOnD in the Rough: Respecting the Dead, Welcoming Life, Brushing our Teeth, Pacing the Sun-Drenched Sands, and Exploring the Ocean’s Secrets

Respecting the Dead
100th Day Celebration

The Fijian culture has a ritual of feasting on the 10th day and the 100th day after the death of a loved one. Everyone in the village gets together to help hunt for the meat (usually pieces of a cow carried from the far depths of the rainforest), climb the tallest trees and dig the deepest roots (lol, to gather breadfruit, cassava, and dalo), gather the firewood, prepare the ingredients, cook, feed over 100 people, clean their dishes (usually two plates per person), and clean up the table spread. So much work, but because they are working together each group has their own job. Men collect meat and root crops, youth collect firewood and help cook, women prepare, cook, do dishes, and clean up. Sounds like women got the raw end of the deal right?! They always do.

This week we celebrated the death of my Bubu Livia. She was only in the village for about a month after I moved in, but I did visit with her a lot in that initial “getting acquainted” stage of my service and she was always a kind, gentle, and animated elder.

Pictures are from the day of the celebration/remembrance feast.

Before the feast

Preparing the food.

During the Feast

My namesake eating a huge, nasty pig bone.

Sio, my namesake's husband.

Hell yeah! Santa does rock!

Our Catholic Church

My favorite boy, Niko

10th Day celebration for my Bubu in a nearby settlement

Welcoming Life

My good friend Tokasa finally had her baby! A healthy, beautiful baby boy! She got pregnant a month after I arrived in Fiji and ever since I moved to site I have been keeping watch over her and becoming good friends. She was placed in a village near the hospital about a month ago and while I was away for the cyclone she had Joji! These pictures are of him at one week old.

The mom and the baby.

Joji!

Brushing our Teeth

I have been doing this small, yet effective workshop with people/groups around the village for a few weeks now and I finally got around to the kindy. The kids loved it, although, there was a 15 minute video that I could not get my computer to play. Oh well. First, the teacher and I read them the large Colgate book, then I demonstrated how to brush their teeth with a large scale set of fake teeth, and finally, we all brushed our teeth together.

Sisi teaching the children how to brush their teeth.

Go time.

Pacing the Sun-Drenched Sands

When I wake up at the crack of dawn (or before) I get the urge to go watch the sun rise. This morning was a 5:45 AMer and I could not get back to sleep for the life of me. The stars were brightly shining and the sun was set to rise late within the six o-clock hour so I started off along the beach towards my favorite rock. I stopped several times to enjoy the stillness in the air and the brilliance in the sky above. Upon reaching my rock the sun was just breaking. The sunrise was nothing to be excited about but as it came up higher and higher I was able to see all kinds of purple jellyfish, crabs, shells, corals, sea stars, and breathtaking scenery. I started snapping pictures revealing the suicide attempts of these beautiful jelly creatures (Upside-Down Jellyfish, non stinging).

Crown-of-Thorns

Exploring the Ocean’s Secrets

I got a 3 hour snorkel excursion in yesterday. The reefs just in front of my village are sparse until you reach the edge of the coral where it drops into the depths of the deep blue. The wall of a reef has always been my favorite area to snorkel and dive because it is 3 dimensional as the eye travels down. As soon as I reached the lip of the summit I spotted a minute, yet vivid nudibranch.

Traveling on were schools of tiny fish as well as game fish that any fisherman would be proud to pull in. My ultimate prize was this cowry shell, of course I had the arduous task of allowing the snail to die so that I could keep his marvelous home.

Earlier yesterday morning is when I spotted the upside-down jellyfishes’ attempts at suicide on the beach. As I was snorkeling I passed one of their kinds, a giant, purple jellyfish that was stunning in the afternoon sun.