Is that Sincere?

I just wanted to write a quick thing about invitations here in Fiji.As I had said in previous blogs people here are very friendly.Even when it comes to special events.It is very common for a local to invite you to any function being planned such as a wedding,funeral,birthday party even if you just met them and hardly caught each other's names.You think that maybe the person was just trying to be nice and just said it, just to say it.However you quickly find out that it was truly genuine when they see you again after the event happened and ask why you didn't come and that they waited forever for you because it turns out you were going to be the honoured guest or were told about to all the other guests. Many PeaceCorps had this happen and it surely won't be the last.So anytime you're in Fiji that what you think maybe be a non-committal and informal invitation to an event is really a heartfelt, sincere invitation.

Stuff's a Happenin!

So two great events that recently happened is the celebration of Diwali-festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus all over and Halloween celebrated by Americans all over.Diwali is the celebration of the return of the Lord Rama after 14 years of exile.The story goes that his father had three wives and one wife asked to be fulfilled to wishes without disclosing the wish first. The father agreed and then was told the wishes were to send Rama into exile and then make her own son King.Distraught the father did not know what to do but Lord Rama went on his own free will. While away the city went through a time of great darkness and despair.As soon as Lord Rama came back the twon went back into prosperity.Now Hindus celebrate this event by lighting hundreds of candles all over their home outside and then making and eating alot of sweets to share.Also fireworks are used to lgiht up the night's sky which is really nice to see from my roof top deck.Even nicer is that people decorate their houses with all sorts of Christmas lights.Fun fact is that these lights will be nowhere to be found during Christmas.The actual holiday was yesterday and I went around with my school's head teacher visiting her families and eating sweets for about 6 hours and then drove around the neighborhoods to see the lights the families put up.Man did these people go all out.It truly was go big or go home.They also did it big by buying new sarees and of course I partaked in this and bought myself two sarees, you know I'm always a sucker for a reason to go shopping.
Halloween was celebrated by having a costume party at a hotel. So many of us got together and have such a good time.Lady Gaga made an appearance, spiderman, Jesus, tom cruise in risky business and a few girl guides.The night was awesome and yes I did dress up- a hippie.My first and definitely not my last costume party.Next up is Thanksgiving.

Even more epic failures

I tried to make potato curry today...epic failure
I tried to wash a shirt without letting the dye bleed onto my other clothes...epic failure
I tried to have a sex-ed class with two combined classes...epic failure
I tried to walk up the footpath without hacking up a lung...epic failure

Don't worry there will be plenty more in the years to come

Do you really need English?

So if you at one time asked me what I did not want to do in Fiji that would be to teach English classes.That is one thing that deeply did not interest me and I thought went against my own value system of pressuring people to become more Western and devaluing their own language and culture.And then I end up at a school for students with Special needs and just a month ago I started taking on one of the classes t improve their English reading skills without much hesitation.
First off what I think happened is that it's a lot different to say something outside the situation and then be surrounded by the same situation and try to stick to your guns.So after a few classes I started reflecting back on my resolve before I came to Peace Corps.What I am starting to realise a bit is that Fiji is made up of many different cultures with separate languages and even within the languages are a range of dialects which are hard to comprehend if persons of two different dialects were to speak to one another.So I would think it would be easiest and I guess most fair to teach in English at all school levels.A backlash though is that many schools do not provide classes on the students mother tongue and so lose their ability to read their own language.So I would like your feedback. What do you think is best?What is the solution?

Seriously...Seriously...

So not even a half an hour ago I had a very trange and uncomfortable conversation witha complete stranger.With any good story I'll start from the beginning.I went to an ice-cream parlor to get a brownie sundae because it's my new obsession and good baked goods are few and far between in Fiji.So I am sitting enjoying my sweet indulgence and doing some people watching in the store a man comes up to me and hits me in the arm. So alarmed by this I didn't know what to think or do.He then goes into an ever familiar line of questioning-Where you from? You from Fiji? You from Africa?Turns out he himself is from Ghana and gets VERY excited when he meets other Blacks in Fiji.He then invites himself to sit and tells me a snippet of his life story and how he is plans to go to California and India for his work and then come back.Here's the kicker, when I said I was Peace Corps volunteer he said he was surprised how Peace Corps was still around and that many countries in Africa decided not to have Peace corps since it was a supposed tool for the American government to start wars in Africa.The only silver lining in this whole craziness is that he mentioned without my own prompting that he met a lot of Jamaicans. Apparently they all are working for Digicel. Which I thought made tons of sense since Jamaica has Digicel and we've had that phone company in -country longer than Fiji.I did try to go on the Digicel Fiji website and look up a few names but tha didn't work out.
So I guess the moral of the story is that I get frustrated all the time when I have these run-ins especially since these people come out of nowhere and dive stright into the questions mentioned earlier and most times skip the formalities of trying to introduce themselves or saying hello.
Also, situtations like this have happened in the day time in a bustling street, I don't know how it will be if I am ever alone at night.But then I guess I should never be alone at night.

So we all can watch...and take pictures?

So a few weeks back one of the teacher's on staff had a death in the family.His mother had died of pneumonia.As a sign of support the staff attended the funeral and of course I came along.This would be my first Muslim funeral.So my day went like this,The staff rode altogether to his home which is about a 1 1/2 hr drive north from the school, which goes through a bad dirt road. I couldn't believe that this teacher goes all that way everyday to get to work.When we got to his home where the funeral ceremony was taking place, everything was already in full swing. The priest was deep into his speech. On the outside of the house was an open air shed with the body, in a open coffin, in the middle on a small riser.Well wishers were able to put small flower arrangements on top of the coffin.Close family members sat up close and personal around the body on the riser.After about an hour of the priest talking he led the eldest son in doing a prayer ceremony with the body and putting things in the coffin.Then close family were allowed to walk around the coffin and pay their last respects.This is when the outpouring of tears came.Women were wailing over the body. What really touched me is that the teacher's niece ad granddaughter of the deceased sat right by the body and began to cry so hard when she took her walk around the body.What was the worst though is when the men were trying to close the coffin in order to transport it to the cemetery a few women tried holding onto the coffin in order to stop them.
The coffin was placed in the back of a 9 passenger van which was held in place by a few men who rode in back.Lucky for me(not really) my van rode right behind the open back van carrying the coffin.As we were on our way to the cemetery one of the men in the van carrying the coffin was creating a trail of mustard seeds. What I later learned is that a trail is made in hopes that f the soul of the dead person follows them the people will be able to get back home before the soul can catch up with them since it has to eat the seeds one by one.
When we got to the cemetery I quickly realized that I and a fellow female teacher were the only women there.Apparently all the women stayed back at the house to grieve.Apparently in the past women were not even allowed to come to the cemetery.At the cemetery the body was taken to a viewing area first then moved onto a pile of wood to be burned.I could see them take the body out of the coffin then on top of the wood, pour ghee(clarified butter) and a heap of wood on top of the body.Guests were welcomed to throw rice and flowers on the body before final prayers were made and the entire pile burned.What was really interesting is the coffin was broken to pieces and put on the piel to be burned and apparently a family could donate the coffins to the cemetery and any less fortunate family could purchase the coffin for a very minimal cost.
I debated on whether to take my camera but I thought it may be inappropriate to take pictures while people were mourning but apparently not so, many people were clicking away getting up close and personal with the body. Now I know for future reference.
However the grieving process is not over yet.For 16 days family members come and stay with the immediate family who suffered the loss and stay day and night cooking for them since is customary for the immediate family not to cook. Because of these overnight stays our teacher has had little to no sleep .

EID Mubarak

EID Mubarak!

So my first cultural experience with the Muslim community I was fortunate to celebrate EID.This holiday marks the end of a thirty day fast which begins after the sighting of the crescent moon.When a full moon comes out or the new moon there is a large celebration of food and fun in the evenings of Muslim families.The usual greeting for this holiday is Eid Mubarak literally meaning Eid happy but it is understood to mean happy Eid.I was told more about this holiday but I honestly forgot and I didn't take notes as I should have.
The school's head teacher invited the entire staff over to her home to celebrate this event.At about 9 pm we all dug into some good eats-chicken palau(rice and chicken), puri(fried roti), Indian sweets,curry(of course) and tomato chutney( my fave.) Also, since many of the teachers were Fijian there of course was a grog session started up. I had a few bowls and tried to keep up with my drinking companions but I was no match.All in all it was a great time to enjoy the company of others and joke around.Amazing how interesting things can be even without the aid of modern technology.

Epic Failures!

So I have two epic failures under my belt.
First of which being my continual insistence that I attend the local netball practices for the local teams.As you all may know already I am athletically challenged and have been so for quite sometime. I thought it would be good for me to get to know people in my area and have some type of regular exercise.Thankfully the people I train with are so nice. It may be because I am a foreigner so there may already be little to no expectation of any athletic ability already.They cheer me on as I run slowly, usually the last one to finish our 10 min runs.Sometimes it's so weird because I tell my body to go faster but it just won't do it.
My second epic fail was just yesterday when I tried to teach self esteem to a group of vocational female students.Looking back now on hindsight I can see that I made so many mistakes in how I structured the lesson plan and what teaching tools I could have used.I think though I need a bit more professional direction which I am trying to gain from the other teachers.If any teachers out there reading my blog-J.Rob. Please feel free to give your input on structuring lesson plans and what tools I should use.

In other news I will be celebrating Eid, which is a Muslim holiday today.I will tell you more about it next week.Also, Father's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September so I wish all the fathers especially my father a great belated Father's Day.

Here comes the bride all dressed in....masi !

So this past weekend I went back to my host village to witness my first Fijian wedding of a member of my host family.Before I get into the weekend's details I do want to say that there are things that I see and hear that I will not feel comfortable sharing since it may make the person who did it feel uncomfortable. However, I really want to share these particular experiences with my close family and friends and trust they do not make the information public.So if you want to know please email me and ask me about the undisclosed happenings of my weekend.Moving on.

Friday
I had the extreme pleasure of being driven by my host brother and his family all the way back to the village.He saved me from a painful day's trip via public transport.Thank you Trevor!!! We arrived at about 7:30pm and got a king's welcome, lovely seeing my host family and other villagers after a month away.Everyone was working hard getting things ready for the wedding, three sheds were built in front and back of the house for the festivities. The one in the back was where all the cooking was going on.They were cooking a whole cow which had been slaughtered earlier that day and had a few dozen chickens being cooked.There were these massive metal pots being used to cook all the food.Also of course there were two lovos (earth ovens) being prepared also.Inside the house the main room had been cleared of all furniture and decorated with colourful fabric.The floor was also covered in ibes(mats made of plaited dried palm leaves.) Also, people were drinking grog, chatting and enjoying the night air.The two shed at the front of the house were being decorated too with palm leaves,cloth and ibes.At about 10pm that night we were greeted with a powercut that lasted about half an hour.You cannot imagine how dark it got!But I had my handy dandy flashlight so it was okay.After much laughter and food preparation I went to bed at about midnight leaving everyone else up and what seemed wide awake to work through the night.I was given my old room back where I got to sleep on a bed.When I walked out into the main room though I got a pleasant shock to see that the main room was filled with people sleeping, probably about 10/12.I don't know how they sleep on the hard foor. Even women in their 70's and 80's slept on the floor.

Saturday
I woke up bright and early to the sound of the loli(large hollowed out tree used as a drum) being beaten at 6 in the morning.I was a call to the village o notify them that church was starting.That day I helped to get the final touches together for the wedding. At about 11 am The wedding party processed to the church from their home and the wedding ceremony began.The service was about one hour, short and sweet. The bride and groom exchanged rings and vows, the pastor did a sermon and a representative from either side of the family talked abit.After the service the couple processed out and changed for the reception.Guests went to sit under the sheds and most of the men sat in the house's main room drinking grog of course and laying on their guitars.
A new ceremony I learned about also was a tevutevu. This is where each side of the family offers gifts to the couple to start them on their new life together. It was mostly pillows(about 30 of them), a mosquito net, mounds of food, tanoa(whale's tooth) and grog.What is even more interesting is that if the family cannot give a tevutevu at that time they can do it whenever during the couple's marriage whether it be a month,year or decade later the family can still do one.

Sunday
Of course before leaving I had to see the rest of the people I had become close to during training.I thought that I would have seen them all at the wedding but apparently this was a real busy day since there was also a 21st birthday, house opening, baby's birth and fun day at the nearby school.It was nice taking a stroll down the pah and visiting different families and their kids.

So ...you from where?

As I settle into my site, gearing up for a whirlwind of excitement that is sure to come within my two year stay I see a pattern emerge as I meet more and more people.The same situation happens so many times during the day and it never fails to amuse me.As you may know being Black helps me to blend in easier with the locals however as I am slowly realizing that there are some features about my face that give my American-ness away.So a person will look at me for a second start talking to me a bit then all of a sudden they look at me even closer and ask me you from where?and I say merkica(USA) and then they say you not Fijian? and I say no and then I am asked where you stay? who you stay with ? are you married?I am truthful for most of the conversation since these are things any local would ask another, instead of asking abstract questions like how you are.The part that I mostly lie about is who I live with. I usually say that I live with a family with two older brothers, just to stay safe and not give them the thought that they can easily rob my home.
Today though this conversation got a bit uncomfortable.I was walking around town on a street of shops that I do not frequent so I could see if I was missing out on any great stores, so of course I was walking pretty slow and peering into all the shops.Apparently this was a bad choice because a man,probably in his late twenties started walking and talking with me asking me if i'm looking for something, where i was going and if I'm Fijian.I talked with him thinking it was weird but that he may just go away in a few minutes to tend to his own shopping duties. The man though continues to walk into a store with me and talk to me, trying to find out where I stay and where I worked. Trying desperately to ignore him he asked if he was making me uncomfortable I said yes and thankfully he just left.From now on I guess it would behoove me to always look like I know where I'm going-no matter what and to speak up from the beginning to be left alone.Oh and to set your hearts at ease this took place in the afternoon on a busy Saturday with lots of people around me.

Hats off to the great teachers of the world!

So I am working with a school for the next two years as my Peace Corps service.I knew I had a tremendous amount of respect for teachers and the hassle they went through and how much patience and love a person must ahve to dedicate their lives to teaching. However, after only being at the school for two weeks and attending their staff meetings, doing home visits and observing classes that teachers are the most hard working gropu of people-HANDS DOWN.Man kids are wonderful joys to have a round but sometimes you just want to ing their neck, lol.To have the patience to teach children topics for weeks, trying to impart knowledge and seeing at times major absorption of the work or slow pick up of the topic but being faithful to their job and to the students no matter what is continually astounding.the other day I was sitting with a student asking her to read me the story book she had.Most of the words she hadn't mastered so I tried to assist her in learning the words.MAN it took all of me to be patient and work at their pace to learn the words and not get frustrated when a word we went over a page ago looked like she had never seen it before and I had to go over the word again.Another time I was with a studet doing a small addition problem which took us about what felt like an hour to do and still we weren't able to get thoguh it to put the answer on the page.
Also, being on the other side of the desk and observing staff meetings shows how much paperwork a teacher has to do. So many forms to fill out,activity lessons to plan and books to check on a daily basis.It can make even the best of us go crazy.
In summation I wish all the wonderful teachers out there from my schools and any teacher out there who is working so hard to make sure their kids reacht their potential the most deepest gratitude and I want you to know that I apprecite what you are doing and to know that you are doing the most noble profession out there-HANDS DOWN.

Just So you Know

Hey all! IT's been a little while but I am back to give you another update of my time.I made the Fiji National News! Pretty cool, it was taken during the Peace Corps Swearing In Ceremony where I become an official Volunteer instead of just a trainee.The link is posted on my facebook page or it is on youtube so if you type in something like Fiji 1 news Peace Corps you should get the link.So now i'm world famous! YAY!
In other news I am settling in fine to my new home for the next two years and have been enjoying my site so far.The school that I am at has only a roster of about 100 kids. They are all very wonderful and rambunxious.I can see I will have my hands full with them when I start different programs. The teachers are wonderful, they have a heart of gold to have the patience to work with kids.That is why I will NEVER be a teacher because kids can be way too much.I watch the kids though and I wonder to myself was I like that as a kid? Was I that hyped up ALL the time or always telling on my classmates to the teacher when they did something to me or thinking that water and soap were optional things?Mommy and Daddy can you reply to these inquiries?
My house is wonderful, lots of space, a sitting area and dining area and best of all a wrap around balcony so I can see out into the valley and mountains.So since I'm not in a village living in a little hut with no electricity then I'm sure many more of you are obliged to come visit me.(If that was the only things stopping you)
The town is just a 1/2 hour walk from my house and it is really nice, a huge market , lots of shops to indulge my need to shop and instead of a Mcdonalds on every corner there's a supermarket on every corner-no joke.

Fiji Language 101

So I thought I'd give a short lesson in Fijian so people can understand what I've been going through trying to learn the native language.Fiji's national language is English and all children are taught it in school.However FIji does have it's own native language.Within this native language though there are a multitude of dialects. Apparently dialects can change from one village to another. Some are simple as removing a letter completely from words to as difficult as changing meanings and uses of words.I am learning the Boan dialect which is kind of the universal dialect that any Fijian would understand, but not necessarily speak.In the Fijian alphabet the letters h , z and x are nonexistent.The letter b makes the mb sound,the letter d has the nd sound, the letter j has the ch sound, the letter q has the ng sound as in Inglewood and the letter g makes the ng sound as in sing.In Fijian many of the words are made from pairing a consonant and a vowel and the word usually ends in a vowel making it hard to understand where a word ends and where one starts when hearing it with an untrained ear.For example here is a simple Fijian sentence : Au kakana vinaka bula vinaka vakalevu. You see there are so many vowels, sometimes I feelt here just are too many.Also, a word can talk on different meanings just by how you pronounce it for example the word dredre can take on the meaning of difficult or laughter if you stress the first or last vowel-I forget which one.I also want to point out that to translate something into Fijian from English would be sucha hassle, things that take a few words in English would literally take a paragraph in Fijian.I don't have any examples of that yet since I am not that far along with my Fijian but I will add to this post later to show you how true it is.

I know where I'm going!

Hey everyone the big news has come! I will be working in town at a School for special education students. Apparently though special education covers a wide gambit of things. Some students with learning disabilities to others who have down syndrome and autism.I am replacing another volunteer who said the students and staff are wonderful. I am very excited to get started and really start being a part of a community.The students are from kindergarten all the way up to young adult age.There is also a vocational track for the girls who do not go into high school.the students and staff are a rough even mixture of Fijian and Indo-Fijians. This is especially exciting since I will be exposed to both cultures.
My home is minutes away from the school and is generally praised as one of the best homes overall of all the volunteers.YAY!I also get to share the home with another Peace Corps volunteer, which I am very happy about since I will not be so alone and can have a bit of security.There will also be 2 other volunteers living in the same town so we will all be able to see each other on a regular basis.I move in on the 8th of July.

Western thinking...Eastern living

So i came into Fiji understanding that certain practices may be done differently than what i am used to.However, sometimes I slip up and have a preconceived notion of certain things that I would be getting myself into.My first clash of East and West was at a festival for the province I live in.When I hear festival I think games, music, different food, sweets, booths,lots of movement and mingling.Over here in Fiji that is completely different.There were no games, two dances performed, practically the same food provided which anyone would easily make at home,a few sweets.For about 5 hrs out of the day I could easily say that it was taken up by all the spectators sitting down in sheds and watching the presentation of gifts to the chief.It was interesting to see, but I didn't stay as pumped throughout the day since my preconceptions were totally thrown through the window.

Second clash came at a youth meeting.In Fiji, youth are between the ages of 18 and 35.In my village there is a weekly youth meeting. When I heard youth meeting I thought it would be a very informal gathering of youth to talk, mingle , get to know their peers and have a guided conversation about things that matter to them. Well when I got there it turns out the meeting happens in the church sanctuary, the youth generally dress in what they would wear to church like suit and tie, formal dresses.Also, the meeting is basically a church service at times or just a sermon then everyone goes home.It doesn't seem that there is any time for the youth to just truly hang out , and chat.

Third clash was when I went to a local fast food restaurant and ordered a medium fries.When I got the fries they were on a huge plate which made it look like the fries were a small amount. I paid like $3 Fiji which is $6 US so I really wanted my money's worth. I complained and said that the least they could do was trick me into thinking it was more by putting it in a smaller plate.When I did so the waiters didn't do anything.Apparently people in Fiji don't complain even over food.Also, apparently fast food places only give you one ketchup packet. yes folks only one.

Overall it was interesting to see how differently things are done in Fiji and to realize that things done differently should be looked at as just that different, not any worse or any better.

Peace and Blessings

Our first grog session to welcome us to Fiji.Fijians must have a grog session as part of welcoming any person to their village or home for the first time.

So they used to eat people?

My host brother told me a story of how life used to be in Fiji and I thought I'd relay it onto you.

my village has poles from where homes called bures were used as foundational poles in olden times stood.In order to get that wood to this village which was surrounded by water was to roll them on top of people. These people were called the kaisi and were considered to be at the bottom of the hierarchy system in Fiji.Needless to say they died as a result of huge pieces of lumber being rolled on top of their bodies.then when the carpenters needed to make sure the poles were level inside the ground they had the kaisi hold the pole in place in the ground.When the pole was level the kaisi were buried in the pole as to ensure that the pole did not shift. Also, they were the lucky ones to be chosen as meals for the chief whenever he felt for food.There is an actual spot where the kaisi people would be strung up by their legs so that the chief could inspect them and choose which one he wanted to eat.Then Christian missionaries slowly came into the picture and changed that all around, thank goodness.

So what do you do exactly?

So many of you must be thinking to yourself... self what in the world is Janis doing in Fiji. I thought she was supposed to be saving the world but it looks like she's on a joy ride.On the contrary I am in the early stages of a 7 week training for my permanent placement. I am living with a host family in a village. My days are spent learning Fijian, learning how to create and tend a garden and learning different information about the culture,political and social structure of Fiji.

Alot goes into learning how to integrate seamlessly into the community in order to have the support of your village in order to get projects off the ground quicker.It's all an overload of information for me but it's going to be useful in the long run when I have o actually do it on my own.Also, I am living with a host family in order to learn how to be able to tend to doing basic tasks when I get to my permanent placement. I will learn how to use public transport,cook outdoors or on kerosene stoves,conserve water,keep my food safely away from rats, cockroaches,mosquitos and lizards and most importantly how to wash my clothes by hand.It's nice living with my Fijian family, they are so willing to teach me things and to open their culture up to me.

For Jamaicans, those who know a Jamaican and Dr. Stephanie

My friend Dr. Stephanie had said it may be difficult for Fijians to understand that even though I am American I was born and raised in Jamaica. So far the people I've told understand and get very excited.Apparently Fijians love all things Jamaican including but not limited to Jimmy Cliff, Bob MArley and Usain Bolt.My host brother even mentioned that he was watching the Fijian news and and they were covering the riots going on in JA over the controversy of the don being sent to US to stand trial for a range of charges.

" We likkle but we tallawer"

Life of A Black American/Jamaican in Fiji

Thoughts of my skin colour and how I would be accepted never really crossed my mind. I think I figured that Peace cOrps wouldn't place me in a place where In would be targeted adverseley because of my skin colour.Then another volunteer in my group brought this up to me.She had been slightly worried since she is Indian and there have been tensions in FIji between Fijian natives and the Indian population there. SInce then I thought that maybe Peace COrps may have a session where they will address those racial concerns.So far though I have just had conversations with a few seasoned volunteers and staff about the topic.From what I gather Fijians mostly think that all Americans are White Europeans. The few that do grasp that AMerica is multi-cultural base their views of Blacks from movies they watch. So inevitably it's based on movies they're going to be familiarized with the n-word.I have been told that Fijians may call me that innocently but they are open enough for me to tell them the true history of the word. So far the "worst" thing I've been called is Black American.I am interested to see though how it goes.
PS Apparently one of the host family's dogs for another volunteer is called n-word.

so where do you live now...Fiji!!!

I got into Fiji on the 20th .the flight was okay I slept for a while then watched movies on my own personal t.v. the airplane provides.when I actually landed in Fiji and looked all around me I was thinking man I live in Fiji now! So cool.Our first activity in Fiji was a sevusevu which is a traditional welcome ceremony. I am told that nothing can be done without having the traditional sevusevu.The sevusevu consists of the Peace Corps staff and the new Peace Corps volunteers meeting all together in a room. The new volunteers have someone offer a gift of a root crop to the staff which they accept and then afterward a special drink is offered to everyone to take part in.Then we had tea time and apparently Fiji has tea time like everyday twice a day. I can get used to having 5 meals a day instead of my usual two.
After tea we had our open water training which was wonderful because the water felt so good, the sun was shining at the right temperature and we got to relax.I've been doing a lot of relaxing here in Fiji.Since then we've been doing Language training and learning the policies and procedures of Peace Corps.My fellow volunteers (about 35 of us) are wonderful [people ,laid back and very supportive of one another. I feel like whatever we need we try to help each other out with.I know those qualities will come in handy as we get more immersed in Fiji life.
The one thing that takes me aback in all of this is how wonderful the weather is and the scenery, it makes me mellow out so much.For those who know my wild and crazy side will be surprised by how mellow I am down here.Everything is just so calming and soothing.

Read this if you are Jamaican:
On another note my uncle and I had said that since Jamaicans are practically all over the world that I should look out for any Jamaican people or things that you would associate as Jamaican.So far I have found out that Digicel is offered here. Courts has a few stores here and I just walked past a dread at the bus stop about 10 mins ago.So there will be pictures and i'm sure more Jamaican incidents to come.

Peace and Blessings

A taste of Fiji

So over the weekend I had the pleasure of getting a taste of Fiji from two Peace Corps Volunteers, Josh and Pravin. Nivtali ( I'm sorry if I botched your name) was also there for the ride, all these things being new to her also.I was happliy surprised to be presented with my first sulu. This garment which is basically a wrap that people in fiji wear is very comfy and I can definitely see myself wearing them all day everyday and possibly swearing off jeans or any other garment for my lower body.After we all got into our sulus we had a grog session. Sitting on an imbe (floor mat) my hosts walked me through a traditional grog session and were pointed out the do's and donts.I guess the highlight was the actual drink.I thought it would taste just how it looked, like muddy water, but somehow it managed to taste a little worse than that.I didn't expect the tingly feeling in my tongue and the subsequent numbness of it.
Afterwards I was treated to a wonderful meal of cassava, fried fish, fish in coconut milk, indian rice and some spicy dahl.The food was wonderful and it really helped in taking away the taste of the grog.Many compliments to the chefs.
I am happy to say that these Peace Corps volunteers were very warm and welcoming and so open to sharing their experiences with me.It truly makes me 100 times more excited to experience Fiji and form bonds with my fellow FRE 8's and most importantly with the Fijian people that I will meet.
One story that I feel compelled to tell is that of the PCV and the rat. Josh I hope I to tell this story even as half as good as you told it.
Our PCV was coming back from a training session in the city and needless to say after about a 6 hour trip back by foot and bus he was exhasuted and ready to take a much deserved rest.Upon arriving home he is greeted to a rat scurrying all over his bed which has a mosquito net covering it.Unfortunately for the rat which was a bit longer than the distantce from your elbow to the tips of your finger was not aware of the rule that if any animal gets inside the perimeter of the mosquito net it must die.So he takes a pillow case, covers the rat with it and holds it down with his hands and then smashes it to death with his fist.He then picks up the half dead rat( with his bare hands) and throws it outside into the yard.I hope one day I can have nerves of steel like you, or I could settle for a neighbor who would come and do that for me.

BTY- he threw away the pillow case.

Go tell your peeps..I am going to fiji!

Yesterday I got an update from the Peace Corps about my flight information.Every new piece of information I get is like Christmas!!! So excited about this whole new chapter I will be embarking on.First of course I will be flying out of Chicago then head over to Los Angeles to meet the entire Peace Corps that's going to Fiji. We fly out of LAX and have the pleasure of taking a 10 hr and 40 min flight.Hopefully the inflight movies are good and it won't hurt if the person I sit next to has a great personality ad takes their personal hygeine seriously.
As of right now I have been able to get in contact with about 9 other people who will be going with me to Fiji.I know the group is going to be about triple that and I can't wait to meet everyone in person.

It's almost here it's almost here!

It slowly becomes more real to me as the time gets closer for my next big step in life. What has made it even more real for me is getting contacted by four other people who have also accepted an invitation to serve in Fiji.It's nice to know that I have someone who is only an email away that is going through the same anxieties as I am. Especially that packing anxiety, I have so much already but still I have alot more to get.I know other volunteers say that you don't have to stock up on toiletires since it's easy to get in Fiji, but the thing is I feel like I need to be over prepared for things like that, cuz I'll be damned if I get into a situation where I need my hair lotion but I can't find one that fits my particular hair texture.

On another note, I read a blog of a volunteer stationed in Peru and how the hardest thing for them being away from home is missing out on alot of milestones like weddings, births and graduations.I can definitely see that as being difficult since I have already missed out on a few momentous occasions of my friends who live in the same country as me.I guess though sometimes people will miss the big things in other people's lives so that they can experience their own milestones.

I hope that this milestone in my life will bring new friends, wonderful experiences and a few trying moments to strengthen my mind and soul.