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.

island hopping: a summary

Island hopping involves wading out to a little boat and setting out for a day on the water.  Our first stop on Sunday was the Sandbar.

weekend

During week, our students stay with their project groups, with whom they do various community service projects and have reflective discussions and go and do various little fun activities.

The weekends offer students a different opportunity to sign up for some optional activities, which typically breaks up the regular groups (although they often choose to stay together, even though other students and leaders often get mixed in). Depending on the program they're enrolled in and their budget, students can choose among scuba diving, skydiving, island hopping, zip-lining, a weekend getaway on an island, at a resort near Suva (the capital city), or in the highlands. There are also a couple community service options during the weekend -- a day camp for local village children hosted at the base, or construction projects in a nearby village.

Since I don't lead a regular project group, the weekends are my opportunity to get out of the office and enjoy these activities with the students. So far, I have gotten to enjoy scuba diving, zip-lining, and island hopping, but I'm hoping to get the chance to try all these activities over the course of the summer.

This past weekend, I joined a group that went and did construction in a village on Saturday, and then went island hopping on Sunday. Saturday was my first experience in a Fijian village.

I will write about those two experiences later this week. For now, here is a picture of some village puppies the size of my foot. We are expressly forbidden from picking them up. Guess how much it killed me that I didn't have veterinary supplies or training. When I first saw them from a distance, I thought "Please let that be a work glove, not a puppy."

looking up

Things are looking up a bit now.  I made it into town again, and I should be able to return the microphone without too much hassle.  I got a lovely email from Bryan which made me feel happy and less lonely.  (Though others are certainly welcome.)  And I finally have a decent wifi connection here at a restaurant in town with a nice view of the river that also happens to serve a good cup of coffee.  

I just stopped at a grocery store and stocked up on the ingredients to hopefully make some hummus.  We'll see how that turns out.

some venting

I guess loneliness hit me today.

Last week, it was hard for me to imagine tiring of Fiji, of losing energy, of getting homesick. But it's been a busy week, and just today I'm starting to feel a little drained.

I have lovely people here who are caring and supportive and positive. But I've known them all for only 3 weeks, and they all only know the part of me that is here. I wish there was more time to connect with people regularly on the kind of deeper level I wish I could.  But things are busy and we keep moving, which keeps things interesting, but some days, it wears on me.

beneath the surface

I finally got to go diving this weekend. I took a group of 7 students to the dive shop we work with at a nearby resort.

Hike

Went on an intense hike from the lodge to the top of a big hill the other day.  Totally worth it.

A student with my fellow staff members: Erica, Lesi, Casey, and Max

Tour II - going to work

My bure is right near the dining area, so I just have time to grab some tea, or I mix up a cafe mocha (my own recipe of instant coffee, cocoa, sugar) or a cup of Shalini's chai (which is a little too sweet for me on its own, so I usually just add a splash to my tea. Bryan, you would love it. She's going to teach me to make it, don't worry.) and grab a bowl of cereal...

Staff bures near the dining area

Tour Part I - my bure

  

Since students arrived this week, I've had a very different rhythm from day to day than I had during training the first week.

When I wake up, which seems to happen naturally here for me around 6am (unheard of for me! especially even though the sky doesn't really get light until around 7:30... except today I had to get up at 5:15am), I have a little time to grab some tea and take a look at the schedule for the day. 

Here is the view from the door of my bure.

The ocean is visible on the horizon, though you can't quite make it out it in this photo.

baby goats

The school where I work back in the states just got some 3 month old goats, but they didn't arrive until just after I left the states.  I was bummed that I missed them. But then I found a 3 week old goat. IN FIJI.

tomorrow is thursday

Thursdays will be big days throughout the summer. And tomorrow will be very, very different from what I've been doing this past week, and much more like the rest of the summer that follows. Students arrive.

Today, we switched bunks. I am now moved into the room I will be staying in for the rest of the summer. I will have a rotating cast of roommates during that time, and one other consistent roommate, Rachael, who is the communications person for the group.

so far

Biggest packing regret: not bringing a second towel

Biggest surprise: first visit to the ocean was a slightly chilly, rainy, breezy day. We went for a swim in the ocean to warm up.

Best surprise: phenomenally awesome people

Biggest disappointment: only instant coffee

june 8

The following was written on June 8, but I couldn't post it then.... Oh, wait! It's June 8 where you are isn't it! Ha ha. Sneak peak: Tuesday is good!

june 7

The following post was actually written on June 7, 2015. I will be posting a few belated posts throughout this week because I wrote them offline but had limited internet access to post them.

Also, I promise later posts will include more photos.  I haven't had much time during training to deal with photos, but once training is over, my schedule will change dramatically and I'll have more time in the office.
--

soundtrack

Every trip needs a theme song.

becoming a person who travels

I am off on an adventure.

This is the sort of thing I can imagine a person doing if they were in some sort of crisis, rearranging everything to leave the life they know behind for months at a time.

But I'm not. No crisis. I am seizing a moment.

Prep

Have you ever packed for a 10 week trip? If so, I can use your suggestions because, boy is it overwhelming. Trying to plan ahead and be prepared without being over-prepared and also being able to fit everything into a bag that’s less than 50 pounds and that I can carry myself, it’s no small task.

30 day countdown

In 30 days, I sail off into the sunset to an island in the South Pacific. It will become my temporary home, for two and a half months.

Last time I was on an island (Andros, The Bahamas), I took this photo, sunrise on the day before we left to come back to mainland.