reflection, long form

It's what we call a cold winter's day in Momi Bay, Fiji-- 75 and sunny, with a chilly wind off the ocean. The mango trees are fruiting; when we arrived they were just starting to flower. The branches sway in the breeze. On Tuesday afternoons and evenings, some ladies come to the base from a local village and set up shop on the patio to sell souvenirs to the students the day before their departure on Wednesday nights. The heavy mango branches sway above one of the ladies' heads, having just spread out her bracelets and necklaces on a sheet on the ground, such that I am afraid a mango will fall on her head or crush some of her jewelry. She seems unconcerned.

Open Letter to Bryan

R - shop sign in the city of Nadi; O - fruit vendor on the streets of the town of Sigatoka; B - Sigatoka Sand Dunes; Y - mango tree at the Eco-Lodge; N - fence posts at the Momi Guns lookout; L - railing on the beach at Denarau; O - end of the cannon at Momi Guns; V - me in a hotel pool; E - scuba diving off Viti Levu's western shore; S - tree overlooking the ocean at Sigatoka Dunes (I think it's a dracaena, but not 100% sure); B - mud painted on my stomach at the Sabeto Hot Springs; R - rope on the beach at Port Denarau; Y - on top of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes; A - the roof of the Eco Lodge kava bure; N - Natadola Beach

Dear Bryan,

One may wonder why I would be posting a letter to you here, rather than sending you this message directly or privately. But the thing is, I think it's time I made a little noise about just what a mind-bogglingly amazing life partner you are to me.

Why I am in a Fijian Health Clinic, Part 3

Note: This post along with the previous two, PART 1 and PART 2 were written Thursday afternoon, July 16. I was unable to post then.

I felt mostly better after a day or two, with the exception of a horrible cough that has been keeping me, and my bure-mates, awake at night. One night, I had just obtained some cough medicine and had taken a dose, but it didn't help, so I took a second dose... which wasn't the greatest decision because made me quite loopy but didn't seem to help the coughing much at all. I was coughing so much in bed that I grabbed my pillow and my water bottle and a blanket and my phone, and relocated to a newly-constructed empty bure at 1:00 in the morning, to avoid disturbing people. 

Why I am in a Fijian Health Clinic, Part 2

Continued from Part 1

Oh, first we had to get our sack of potatoes loaded on the taxi boat. Did I mention the potatoes? A huge burlap sack of potatoes and a quiet Chinese girl. That's what I was bringing to the island base.

Why I am in a Fijian Health Clinic, Part 1

Note: This post along with the next two were written Thursday afternoon, July 16. I was unable to post then.

I am spending my afternoon in a Fijian health clinic.

They clearly do not have HIPAA. I am sitting next to the medical records, stored in half-closed drawers here in the waiting room. My doctor informed me that the patient who came in before me had the same first name as me, spelled the same, and then let me see her full name-- her last name was coincidentally topically similar to my last name. I'm not going to tell you what her name was, because HIPAA confidentiality is deeply ingrained in me. Plus, this is the internet.

things I love about Fiji

• most people are multi-lingual
• goats!
• metric system
• open air showers (sometimes with hot water!)
• such colorful money
• variety in the landscape: grassy hills, ocean, mountains, all right beside each other
• the temperature
• everyone is laid back and flexible because everyone has to adapt to little inconveniences. All. The. Time.
• fruit grows everywhere, no pesticides
• spectacular moonlit starry sky (that's actually a really big thing)
• nighttime walks on country roads through the hills looking up at said starry sky
• freedom to wander, never a "no trespassing" sign 
• weekly rainbows, no rain required
• roads that dead-end into a beach
• traditional Fijian music, the happiest sound ever
• informal kava ceremonies
• formal kava ceremonies
• surprisingly few horrifying bugs
• no poisonwood
• no poison ivy
• waking up each morning to the sound of goats and roosters (Note: not everyone loves this)
• huge, beautiful mango trees
• most commonly spoken word: Vinaka (thank you)
• wearing sulus
• authenticity

15 things I love about America

A belated list for the 4th of July, 2015

NYC, July 4, 2014, Kelly and Rebecca's wedding weekend

1. boneless meat
2. availability of printer toner
3. Target and office supply stores
4. hand towels and/or working hand dryers
5. high quality toilet paper
6. brewed coffee
7. Infrastructure! Examples include:
   • interstate highways
   • prevalent high speed internet
   • weekends where you can expect to have power between the hours of 6am and 6pm
   • pretty universally clean and well regulated waterworks systems
   • animal welfare organizations!!!!!!
   • postal service
   • fire departments
8. dairy products, particularly skim milk and cheese
9. protein-rich diet
10. pedestrians always win
11. sanitation (soap, food refrigeration, readily available cleaning products, first aid products, trash cans, sicknessinducingbacteria-free water) considered fundamental, not a sometimes luxury
12. highly educated physicians
13. lack of corporal punishment and general lack of yelling at children in schools
14. ice
15. gay marriage (also known as marriage)

Sorry this post is so late. I'm operating on Fiji time.