The Final Path
Hear me roar
10 years ago
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hurricane to smash us
Cyclone Tomas - 
Some bad weather is a comin. Cyclone Tomas is estimated to hit us early Monday morning (Sunday morning for you folks in the Promise Land). It is at least 7 times the size of Fiji! I have found a new favorite website through the US Navy stationed in Pearl Harbor. The latest update by the Naval Oceanography Portal is as follows.
131500Z POSITION NEAR 12.6S 179.0W.TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) 19P (TOMAS), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 380 NM NORTHEAST OF NADI, FIJI, HAS TRACKED SOUTHWESTWARD AT 06 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS CONVECTIVE BANDING WRAPPING INTO A LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER AND A 130703Z SSMIS IMAGE SHOWS A DEFINED MICROWAVE EYE. THE INTENSITY HAS NOT INCREASED AS EXPECTED IN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AND REMAINS AT 65 KNOTS BASED ON PGTW, ABRF, AND CPHC DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES. UPPER LEVEL ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT TC 19P IS LOCATED IN AN AREA OF LOW VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS), BENEATH AN AREA OF DIFFLUENCE PROVIDING GOOD RADIAL OUTFLOW. TC 19P IS CURRENTLY TRACKING ON THE NORTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF A SUBTROPICAL STEERING RIDGE THAT IS WEAKENING DUE TO A TRANSITORY MID-LATITUDE, UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AND ALLOW TOMAS TO ROUND THE RIDGE AXIS BY TAU 72 AND THEN BEGIN TO RECURVE TO THE SOUTHEAST. TC 19P IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY THROUGH TAU 72, WHEN OCEAN HEAT CONTENT WILL DECREASE AND VWS WILL INCREASE AS TOMAS BEGINS TO INTERACT WITH THE BAROCLINIC ZONE. NUMERICAL MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE RECURVATURE SCENARIO, HOWEVER THE TIMING OF THE RECURVE DIFFERS SLIGHTLY. THE GFS MODEL IS AN OUTLIER WITH A SHARPER TURN AND A SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER TRACK SPEED THAN THE OTHER MODELS. THE CURRENT FORECAST IS BASED ON THE CONSENSUS OF AVAILABLE GUIDANCE, WHICH INDICATES A TRACK OVER VANUA LEVU, FIJI WITH SPEEDS SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN CONSENSUS AT THE EXTENDED TAUS TO ACCOUNT FOR GFS. MAXIMUM SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT AT 131200Z IS 19 FEET. NEXT WARNINGS AT 140300Z AND 141500Z. TWELVE-HOURLY UPDATES.
See that little speck of green land in the center towards the bottom, that is Fiji, the islands of Vanua Levu nothward and Viti Levu in the south.
Now isn't that a mouthful of oceanography terminology. A simpler report from the Fiji Radio website is as follows:
Tropical Cyclone Tomas is now 600km North-Northeast of Udu Point at of 3am this morning, and with average winds of up to 110km per hour.
In the latest special weather bulletin released by the Nadi Weather Office it says that Cyclone Tomas is moving west at 9km per hour and gradually intensifying.
Compared to the last special bulletin that was released last night at 9pm, Tomas has changed direction.
Before, it was moving southwest with winds of up to 90km per hour but now its heading West, growing more powerful and packing winds of up to 110km per hour.
However Cyclone Tomas has slowed down. As of mid-day yesterday it was moving at 10km per hour before picking up speed as of 9pm last night, moving at 15km per hour but now its only moving at 9km per hour.
But our weather forecasters are still wary and maintain the Cyclone Alert issued yesterday is still in force for the whole Fiji Group.
On this forecast track the cyclone may bring damaging gale force winds over most parts of Fiji in the next 36 to 48 hours.
People are advised that flooding of low lying areas and coastal areas is likely to occur within this time period as rain becomes frequent.
For all those who have boats out at sea, you’re advised that a strong wind warning is in force for all Fiji waters with speed of up to 35knots. Rough seas and damaging waves are developing and you’re advised to take the necessary precautions.
Meanwhile senior weather forecaster at the Nadi weather office-Robin Nateniela says if Cyclone Tomas maintains its current path, its likely to make landfall in Fiji from Vanua Levu.
“At the moment we are just about to issue an alert special weather bulletin for Fiji which is basically an alert and mainly for Cikobia at this stage with an alert we expecting the on set of strong to gale force winds in the next forty eight hours where as the rest of the Fiji group is generally are not being affected at this stage but we will closely monitor the movement of TC THOMAS as it moves westwards perhaps in the twenty four to thirty six hours we can have a concrete detail on what path will it take and will it actually be in the next twenty four hours and the places that’s gonna be mostly affected.”
The Disaster Management office is also on full alert in anticipation of what Cyclone Tomas may bring to the Fiji group.
Although the cyclone is projected to hit the North of Vanua Levu by late Sunday, DISMAC Acting Director Pajiliai Dobui says all necessary precautions must be taken now to prevent any mishaps.
“For those who are living in low lying areas, I think its best if they move to higher ground and also for those who are living in residences that may not withstand the force of the wind, please be advised that it is best to consider moving to other residences or to your friends or to evacuation centers that are available while you still have the time.”
DISMAC has also alerted their different evacuation centers around the country who are on standby should the need arise.
“At this stage all the divisional operational centers is on standby. It has been activated and all are on standby. And similarly all the evacuation centers have been advised to be ready and available in case we have evacuees coming in tomorrow morning or sometime tomorrow in case of the cyclone.”
Dobui is also advising the whole Fiji group to be on high alert as the course of the cyclone can change abruptly.
Cyclone Tomas is projected to hit Northern Vanualevu on Sunday afternoon.
Well, now you know.
Some bad weather is a comin. Cyclone Tomas is estimated to hit us early Monday morning (Sunday morning for you folks in the Promise Land). It is at least 7 times the size of Fiji! I have found a new favorite website through the US Navy stationed in Pearl Harbor. The latest update by the Naval Oceanography Portal is as follows.
131500Z POSITION NEAR 12.6S 179.0W.TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) 19P (TOMAS), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 380 NM NORTHEAST OF NADI, FIJI, HAS TRACKED SOUTHWESTWARD AT 06 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS CONVECTIVE BANDING WRAPPING INTO A LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER AND A 130703Z SSMIS IMAGE SHOWS A DEFINED MICROWAVE EYE. THE INTENSITY HAS NOT INCREASED AS EXPECTED IN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AND REMAINS AT 65 KNOTS BASED ON PGTW, ABRF, AND CPHC DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES. UPPER LEVEL ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT TC 19P IS LOCATED IN AN AREA OF LOW VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS), BENEATH AN AREA OF DIFFLUENCE PROVIDING GOOD RADIAL OUTFLOW. TC 19P IS CURRENTLY TRACKING ON THE NORTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF A SUBTROPICAL STEERING RIDGE THAT IS WEAKENING DUE TO A TRANSITORY MID-LATITUDE, UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AND ALLOW TOMAS TO ROUND THE RIDGE AXIS BY TAU 72 AND THEN BEGIN TO RECURVE TO THE SOUTHEAST. TC 19P IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY THROUGH TAU 72, WHEN OCEAN HEAT CONTENT WILL DECREASE AND VWS WILL INCREASE AS TOMAS BEGINS TO INTERACT WITH THE BAROCLINIC ZONE. NUMERICAL MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE RECURVATURE SCENARIO, HOWEVER THE TIMING OF THE RECURVE DIFFERS SLIGHTLY. THE GFS MODEL IS AN OUTLIER WITH A SHARPER TURN AND A SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER TRACK SPEED THAN THE OTHER MODELS. THE CURRENT FORECAST IS BASED ON THE CONSENSUS OF AVAILABLE GUIDANCE, WHICH INDICATES A TRACK OVER VANUA LEVU, FIJI WITH SPEEDS SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN CONSENSUS AT THE EXTENDED TAUS TO ACCOUNT FOR GFS. MAXIMUM SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT AT 131200Z IS 19 FEET. NEXT WARNINGS AT 140300Z AND 141500Z. TWELVE-HOURLY UPDATES.
See that little speck of green land in the center towards the bottom, that is Fiji, the islands of Vanua Levu nothward and Viti Levu in the south.Now isn't that a mouthful of oceanography terminology. A simpler report from the Fiji Radio website is as follows:
Tropical Cyclone Tomas is now 600km North-Northeast of Udu Point at of 3am this morning, and with average winds of up to 110km per hour.
In the latest special weather bulletin released by the Nadi Weather Office it says that Cyclone Tomas is moving west at 9km per hour and gradually intensifying.
Compared to the last special bulletin that was released last night at 9pm, Tomas has changed direction.
Before, it was moving southwest with winds of up to 90km per hour but now its heading West, growing more powerful and packing winds of up to 110km per hour.
However Cyclone Tomas has slowed down. As of mid-day yesterday it was moving at 10km per hour before picking up speed as of 9pm last night, moving at 15km per hour but now its only moving at 9km per hour.
But our weather forecasters are still wary and maintain the Cyclone Alert issued yesterday is still in force for the whole Fiji Group.
On this forecast track the cyclone may bring damaging gale force winds over most parts of Fiji in the next 36 to 48 hours.
People are advised that flooding of low lying areas and coastal areas is likely to occur within this time period as rain becomes frequent.
For all those who have boats out at sea, you’re advised that a strong wind warning is in force for all Fiji waters with speed of up to 35knots. Rough seas and damaging waves are developing and you’re advised to take the necessary precautions.
Meanwhile senior weather forecaster at the Nadi weather office-Robin Nateniela says if Cyclone Tomas maintains its current path, its likely to make landfall in Fiji from Vanua Levu.
“At the moment we are just about to issue an alert special weather bulletin for Fiji which is basically an alert and mainly for Cikobia at this stage with an alert we expecting the on set of strong to gale force winds in the next forty eight hours where as the rest of the Fiji group is generally are not being affected at this stage but we will closely monitor the movement of TC THOMAS as it moves westwards perhaps in the twenty four to thirty six hours we can have a concrete detail on what path will it take and will it actually be in the next twenty four hours and the places that’s gonna be mostly affected.”
The Disaster Management office is also on full alert in anticipation of what Cyclone Tomas may bring to the Fiji group.
Although the cyclone is projected to hit the North of Vanua Levu by late Sunday, DISMAC Acting Director Pajiliai Dobui says all necessary precautions must be taken now to prevent any mishaps.
“For those who are living in low lying areas, I think its best if they move to higher ground and also for those who are living in residences that may not withstand the force of the wind, please be advised that it is best to consider moving to other residences or to your friends or to evacuation centers that are available while you still have the time.”
DISMAC has also alerted their different evacuation centers around the country who are on standby should the need arise.
“At this stage all the divisional operational centers is on standby. It has been activated and all are on standby. And similarly all the evacuation centers have been advised to be ready and available in case we have evacuees coming in tomorrow morning or sometime tomorrow in case of the cyclone.”
Dobui is also advising the whole Fiji group to be on high alert as the course of the cyclone can change abruptly.
Cyclone Tomas is projected to hit Northern Vanualevu on Sunday afternoon.
Well, now you know.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Check Me Out
Sorry I have not blogged in a while.
On Thursday after town I mentioned to John and Judy about the only tourist attraction in our area which was Udreudre’s tomb. So, supposedly, this man ate 872 people, everyone one he ever killed in war. Legend has it that his main diet was people, which to eat that many it would have to be your only source of protein. Anyways, John gladly stopped so that Judy, Lisa, and I could see this weedy concrete block at an unmarked location on the side of the road.
On Thursday evening and Friday John and I made blackboards for the kindergarten! I had bought paint in Suva and John was willing to sell me some scrap wood so we got to work making 12 individual blackboards and one large one for the teacher. They turned out great! Now that kindergarten is back up and running it appears that there will be 15 students this term. So, we might have to pull together a few more.
This week I went to Nausori for Ulamila’s first birthday party!
The angel!
It went extremely well. A Fijian’s first birthday party is often the only birthday ever celebrated. There is a traditional giving of grog called an isevusevu, plus the baby is dressed in masi cloth (made out of a plant), a family member other than her parents holds her during the ceremony, everyone sings “Happy Birthday”, the baby blows out the candle, cuts the cake, and then the first locket of hair is cut. Afterwards, everyone eats, visits, and gorges themselves on cake. The birthday parties are quite European influenced, although, the presents are not opened in front of everyone, but instead are taken into a back room to be opened later.
The traditional birthday suit.
This is what we eat. Mmmm.
Me and Papa.
I helped cook, take pictures, entertain guests, and did ALL the dishes, whew. I stayed at a friends’ house (relatives of the birthday girl) and we had a lot of fun watching movies, taking walks in the rain, and telling stories! Thank you Filo and Ana for the good weekend! I had plans of coming back on Sunday, but it turns out that Monday was Prophet Muhammed’s birthday (I made the mistake at lunch on Thursday of saying “Why do they have to close everything down? No one celebrates Prophet Muhammed’s birthday.” That statement got shut down real fast. Apparently Indians celebrate his birthday. So, I stayed through Monday, only to get stuck in a bind with no buses running on the eroded King’s Road.
Look what I found at the party! WAR EAGLE! He said his brother went to Auburn about 30 years ago and recently brought him back this shirt! Cool! First Auburn thing I have seen in Fiji that I did not bring here on my back!
Filo and Ana going to school.
On Monday, Filo and I made a quick trip to town to go see the Health Center about my infected leg. I had a bug bite around Thursday and started to scratch it breaking the skin open into a small scab. Well, that scab got infected and turned into a volcano. I went to the health center to get some antibiotics and the nurse tosses me eight 500 Mg penicillin pills. That won’t get me far. She didn’t even look at it. I can see why so many people die in Fiji and never have a just cause. There are so many people who say so and so is sick and a week later they are dead, with no reason other than an upset stomach. The health care in this country could use a reboot.
The friends I stayed with.
For some reason a tropical depression coincided with a tsunami warning on Sunday (because of the earthquake in Chile). The tsunami did not turn up any results, just another scare. I am starting to treat them a lot like the Fijians, because the warnings are as often as tornado warnings in the Texas panhandle. The tropical depression on the other hand rained for two days straight, shutting down the bus system back to my site.
On Tuesday I made it to Suva and went to the private hospital to see a dermatologist about my inexhaustible dandruff. He prescribed me three things, one a ketoconozole tablet, two an antifungal cream, and three, another shampoo. The good thing is I think this combination is working! I was put up in a hotel where I blasted the air conditioner, watched tv, and enjoyed a bed that I wouldn’t have to make in the morning, oh, plus hot water!
Each time I visited the Peace Corps office I asked the doctor to tend to my volcano and she politely obliged. I think I really enjoy having a doctor helping me with my every need. Thanks Peace Corps!
Finally, on Wednesday I made it back to site, only to turn around the next morning and head to town. Nothing exciting in town, highlight, I drank half a beer at lunch.
Today I delivered the new blackboards to the kindergarten teacher. She was sooo excited and thankful and saying that she could not wait to use them with the kids on Monday. We are lucky to have such a devoted teacher who really cares!
P.S. I am starting the proposal for footpaths. So those of you who are interested in helping my cause it will be posted on Peace Corps’ website in due time.
P.S.S. Those of you putting together a goody package for me… I would LOVE some Dove dark chocolate or caramels, chili cheese Foritoes, graham crackers, and Easter candy! I miss out on most of the BIG American holidays here in Fiji, so packages to remind me are always much appreciated! Thank you so much Teresa for all of the Halloween candy last October! New bestsellers (books) are always good too!
The kindy's new chalkboards that John and I made.
Since Wednesday I have been taking it easy because my leg has needed time to heal. I was told not to get in any water. Around here, all of my activities involve water. Most of the week I was preparing lessons for the kindergarten, helping the teacher during class, reading my new trilogy, Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”, and visiting my neighbors.
For those of you with an invitation to the Pacific Islands, or really Peace Corps service in general, I wanted to list a few of the things that I am really glad I brought.
1. A travel feather pillow. Most pillows in undeveloped countries are made out of indescribable hard objects.
2. A nice towel. These little boogers are useful every day, and in Fiji, four or five times a day. Bring a large one that you can cover your entire body with to get from your distant shower lean-to to your grass hut.
3. Good knives. You do a lot of cooking from scratch because American foods are not readily available. Also, be prepared to sharpen them often.
4. Your favorite book. Selection is limited and very expensive.
5. Plenty of underwear/bras as you will not find nice quality under garments in your third world destination. Take my word on this one.
6. Your favorite spices, as the country you are going to may not have ANYTHING American. Things like Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and season salt. They will be a lifesaver when it comes to bland food or cooking gone wrong.
7. Last, but not least, a sense of humor. People will say things that you do not appreciate, like, “You are fat” or “No, you need to do it this way”. These lines sound like they won’t bother you, but when you hear them day in and day out, you will get quite annoyed. I just wish it was polite to say in return, “You too” or “If you want something done your way, then do it yourself”.
This is not a complete list by any means. My favorite item is my mask and snorkel. If I didn’t bring them from home I would be suffering terribly.
Also, make sure you have a trusty companion back home who will send you whatever you need, whenever you need it, for example, your mom!
So this past Saturday a man who served for the US Army in Iraq has moved back to the village. He is an injured war veteran and got caught up in a roadside bomb that severely injured his spinal column. I am excited about him moving into the village because he is experienced, easy to talk to, and people will head his advice. He is in my favorite mataqali (family) and plans to build a house in the coming months. He brought his eighteen year old son who is also one of my new best friends! Yay!
During the bosevakoro (meeting of the village) on Monday the village decided to help me put together a small group to start working on editing the proposal, taking measurements, and getting a quotation for the footpaths. I just hope after we get the money the youth are willing to build them. I guess I should not stress until the time comes.
I also announced “THE BURE THEATER”. I now have a movie theater in my house on Wednesdays for the youth, Fridays for the kids, and Sundays for the women. It has been a hit even before I was able to announce it. The first night with the kids I had 9, the first night with the women I had 6 (and served hot chocolate and popcorn), and I have a feeling tomorrow youth night will be huge! The village seems to love the idea!
I also announced that IHRDP (Integrated Human Resource Development Program) will be coming March 17! This is a big day for me as they are coming to assess the interest of Virgin Coconut Oil production in the village. I am really excited and hoping that all goes well!
On Thursday after town I mentioned to John and Judy about the only tourist attraction in our area which was Udreudre’s tomb. So, supposedly, this man ate 872 people, everyone one he ever killed in war. Legend has it that his main diet was people, which to eat that many it would have to be your only source of protein. Anyways, John gladly stopped so that Judy, Lisa, and I could see this weedy concrete block at an unmarked location on the side of the road.
On Thursday evening and Friday John and I made blackboards for the kindergarten! I had bought paint in Suva and John was willing to sell me some scrap wood so we got to work making 12 individual blackboards and one large one for the teacher. They turned out great! Now that kindergarten is back up and running it appears that there will be 15 students this term. So, we might have to pull together a few more.
This week I went to Nausori for Ulamila’s first birthday party!
The angel!It went extremely well. A Fijian’s first birthday party is often the only birthday ever celebrated. There is a traditional giving of grog called an isevusevu, plus the baby is dressed in masi cloth (made out of a plant), a family member other than her parents holds her during the ceremony, everyone sings “Happy Birthday”, the baby blows out the candle, cuts the cake, and then the first locket of hair is cut. Afterwards, everyone eats, visits, and gorges themselves on cake. The birthday parties are quite European influenced, although, the presents are not opened in front of everyone, but instead are taken into a back room to be opened later.
The traditional birthday suit.
This is what we eat. Mmmm.
Me and Papa.I helped cook, take pictures, entertain guests, and did ALL the dishes, whew. I stayed at a friends’ house (relatives of the birthday girl) and we had a lot of fun watching movies, taking walks in the rain, and telling stories! Thank you Filo and Ana for the good weekend! I had plans of coming back on Sunday, but it turns out that Monday was Prophet Muhammed’s birthday (I made the mistake at lunch on Thursday of saying “Why do they have to close everything down? No one celebrates Prophet Muhammed’s birthday.” That statement got shut down real fast. Apparently Indians celebrate his birthday. So, I stayed through Monday, only to get stuck in a bind with no buses running on the eroded King’s Road.
Look what I found at the party! WAR EAGLE! He said his brother went to Auburn about 30 years ago and recently brought him back this shirt! Cool! First Auburn thing I have seen in Fiji that I did not bring here on my back!
Filo and Ana going to school.On Monday, Filo and I made a quick trip to town to go see the Health Center about my infected leg. I had a bug bite around Thursday and started to scratch it breaking the skin open into a small scab. Well, that scab got infected and turned into a volcano. I went to the health center to get some antibiotics and the nurse tosses me eight 500 Mg penicillin pills. That won’t get me far. She didn’t even look at it. I can see why so many people die in Fiji and never have a just cause. There are so many people who say so and so is sick and a week later they are dead, with no reason other than an upset stomach. The health care in this country could use a reboot.
The friends I stayed with. For some reason a tropical depression coincided with a tsunami warning on Sunday (because of the earthquake in Chile). The tsunami did not turn up any results, just another scare. I am starting to treat them a lot like the Fijians, because the warnings are as often as tornado warnings in the Texas panhandle. The tropical depression on the other hand rained for two days straight, shutting down the bus system back to my site.
On Tuesday I made it to Suva and went to the private hospital to see a dermatologist about my inexhaustible dandruff. He prescribed me three things, one a ketoconozole tablet, two an antifungal cream, and three, another shampoo. The good thing is I think this combination is working! I was put up in a hotel where I blasted the air conditioner, watched tv, and enjoyed a bed that I wouldn’t have to make in the morning, oh, plus hot water!
Each time I visited the Peace Corps office I asked the doctor to tend to my volcano and she politely obliged. I think I really enjoy having a doctor helping me with my every need. Thanks Peace Corps!
Finally, on Wednesday I made it back to site, only to turn around the next morning and head to town. Nothing exciting in town, highlight, I drank half a beer at lunch.
Today I delivered the new blackboards to the kindergarten teacher. She was sooo excited and thankful and saying that she could not wait to use them with the kids on Monday. We are lucky to have such a devoted teacher who really cares!
P.S. I am starting the proposal for footpaths. So those of you who are interested in helping my cause it will be posted on Peace Corps’ website in due time.
P.S.S. Those of you putting together a goody package for me… I would LOVE some Dove dark chocolate or caramels, chili cheese Foritoes, graham crackers, and Easter candy! I miss out on most of the BIG American holidays here in Fiji, so packages to remind me are always much appreciated! Thank you so much Teresa for all of the Halloween candy last October! New bestsellers (books) are always good too!
The kindy's new chalkboards that John and I made.
Since Wednesday I have been taking it easy because my leg has needed time to heal. I was told not to get in any water. Around here, all of my activities involve water. Most of the week I was preparing lessons for the kindergarten, helping the teacher during class, reading my new trilogy, Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”, and visiting my neighbors.
For those of you with an invitation to the Pacific Islands, or really Peace Corps service in general, I wanted to list a few of the things that I am really glad I brought.
1. A travel feather pillow. Most pillows in undeveloped countries are made out of indescribable hard objects.
2. A nice towel. These little boogers are useful every day, and in Fiji, four or five times a day. Bring a large one that you can cover your entire body with to get from your distant shower lean-to to your grass hut.
3. Good knives. You do a lot of cooking from scratch because American foods are not readily available. Also, be prepared to sharpen them often.
4. Your favorite book. Selection is limited and very expensive.
5. Plenty of underwear/bras as you will not find nice quality under garments in your third world destination. Take my word on this one.
6. Your favorite spices, as the country you are going to may not have ANYTHING American. Things like Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and season salt. They will be a lifesaver when it comes to bland food or cooking gone wrong.
7. Last, but not least, a sense of humor. People will say things that you do not appreciate, like, “You are fat” or “No, you need to do it this way”. These lines sound like they won’t bother you, but when you hear them day in and day out, you will get quite annoyed. I just wish it was polite to say in return, “You too” or “If you want something done your way, then do it yourself”.
This is not a complete list by any means. My favorite item is my mask and snorkel. If I didn’t bring them from home I would be suffering terribly.
Also, make sure you have a trusty companion back home who will send you whatever you need, whenever you need it, for example, your mom!
So this past Saturday a man who served for the US Army in Iraq has moved back to the village. He is an injured war veteran and got caught up in a roadside bomb that severely injured his spinal column. I am excited about him moving into the village because he is experienced, easy to talk to, and people will head his advice. He is in my favorite mataqali (family) and plans to build a house in the coming months. He brought his eighteen year old son who is also one of my new best friends! Yay!
During the bosevakoro (meeting of the village) on Monday the village decided to help me put together a small group to start working on editing the proposal, taking measurements, and getting a quotation for the footpaths. I just hope after we get the money the youth are willing to build them. I guess I should not stress until the time comes.
I also announced “THE BURE THEATER”. I now have a movie theater in my house on Wednesdays for the youth, Fridays for the kids, and Sundays for the women. It has been a hit even before I was able to announce it. The first night with the kids I had 9, the first night with the women I had 6 (and served hot chocolate and popcorn), and I have a feeling tomorrow youth night will be huge! The village seems to love the idea!
I also announced that IHRDP (Integrated Human Resource Development Program) will be coming March 17! This is a big day for me as they are coming to assess the interest of Virgin Coconut Oil production in the village. I am really excited and hoping that all goes well!
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