Phew it’s been a while. So, I am now a Fiji sensation. Lol, kinda, sorta, really. Everywhere I go people are stopping me and asking if I am the one on Close Up. You should be able to check it out at FijiTV.com then the icon Close Up. It was aired on July 4th which in Fiji numbers means 4/7/2010. Also on the 4th was our big Independence Day celebration with pecan pie coming in as the winner and a quarter shaped cake as the creative winner. Definitely amazing American food and American friends.
After my TV premiere we conducted a fireworks war, to say the least. Good times. You should have been there!
Since then I have gone to Nausori/Suva for the new volunteers’ swearing in ceremony.
Staff at swearing in.
All of them made it through training! 35 newbies! I have really been enjoying their company this past week. I don’t have one complaint about the new group. They are all extremely mature, intelligent, and enthusiastic about getting started.
I just hope they don’t get their hopes and dreams busted at the seam when they realize living in a rural village is much less “work” than they are expecting. There is lots of down time.
While I was in Nausori I attended a music festival (if you can call it that) twice. It had two ferris wheels and three rides for the kids, plus about 15 stands selling BBQ. I didn’t even have to read the menu at each one, I had the ‘to go’ box memorized. Every single one offers fried egg, lamb flank, two “scrap meat” sausages (sometimes fried), some stir fry, and a slice of cucumber. All of this for just 6 F$ (3 USD). I mean, there is no better deal out there for a heart attack in a box. Anyways, the music was good enough. One night was an Indian pooftah (transvestite) dancing around half nude and the next night was island music which included lots of acoustic gospel songs. Oh yes, Fiji is predictable.
Random festival game
I also had the opportunity to stay a night at the Westin in Denarau, only 400 F$ a night, but absolutely worth it if you have money to waste. I went with Lydia, my best PC friend in Fiji (probably because we are always stuck in the same boat…) and we ate at The Hard Rock Café and hung out at the wharf. She is now with her mom and dad in Taveuni. Oh so jealous!
Speaking of down time, I have been waiting on National Planning/Integrated Human Resources Development Program to come to my rescue on this Virgin Coconut Oil business for about 7 months now. I have been promised economic and technical assistance since December.
The TuragaNiKoro and I at the IHRDP meeting.
Well, the first sign of hope came just two nights ago! On Tuesday, during a wedding ceremony, I was whisked away to speak to some military officers in another house. What? I was so confused. Then I was told that the police and military were here for something to do with Virgin Coconut Oil. Lol, because the current government is run by all military officials it was simply a few prestigious military gentlemen, one police officer, and one lady who works for IHRDP. They were really here! We discussed the possibilities and my business plan and I am now satisfied that someone out there is able to help us. Yay! Hopefully our village leader has been writing good reports in the past few quarters or else we are doomed.
The kids during the wedding ceremony.
Other exciting news: I have finally decided the reason I am so content in Fiji. I have lots of friends! Well, they feel like friends to me. I guess because when they pass my house they always say “hi” and “what are you doing?” Then, when I walk around the village I am always invited for tea or a meal. My greatest gift though is my namesake, her husband, and their child. They are the root that holds me up. If I am ever upset, wondering about a Fijian tradition, trying to figure out how to run a village, wanting to learn how to cook, fish, put a napkin on a baby’s butt, or just want to hang out, they are ALWAYS there for me. Without them I would not be near as happy as I am. I know you may never get to read this Yaca, Sio and Papa, but thank you for everything you are to me!
Another thing on Wednesday, July 14, the LOWEST tide I have seen in Fiji. Look at the reef, it is suffocating above water. A few of these corals have expelled (bleaching) the tips of their polyps who were stranded. They will recover pretty quickly. It was really neat to see the reef without wearing a snorkel and mask!
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