I bought a ghetto blaster to replace my ipod... oh the joy, sweet sweet music in my ears... It's a small am/fm radio that looks like it came right out of the 80's. The good thing is that they play lots and lots of Reggae here and that aint bad.. There's something about islands and Bob Marley and the Eagles.. they love it! and i love them, so it works out great. Fijian music is also not half bad, so in that regard, life is definately better. The pitter patter of mice still resonates in my room, but I've learned to block out the noises so i sleep a lot better now. My encounters with flying cockraoches have also diminished... I think it's too cold for them to come out of whatever dark holes they crawl out of (after all, it is winter here in fiji). So on that note- i'm doing a lot better. Here is a piece of something I wrote in my journal:
June 21, 2006
Today felt like Christmas. Definately one of the best days so far in Saweni. I got 2 letters and a care package. Got a letter and care package from mami. She sent me coffee and sour icebreakers... It's crazy how much meaning little things can have... just to smell the coffee brought me so much joy... and the letter from maru- a 5 page typed letter. It made me so happy to hold it and read it and laugh.. It was as if she was here in person. What a wonderful feeling to receive a tangible piece of mail, there's something about the ritual of opening the envelope, in my case it was more like a kid on christmas, tearing at the paper- hungry to reveal what was inside...
Anyhow- thought i'd share that....
Last weekend we went to Koroyanitu National Park.. up in the mountains. It was great! We spent the night at a place called Abaca Eco Lodge, just east of where we are staying now. The whole Health group went up there, along with our Tech trainer Nani, She is a big jolly Fijian lady, with the most contagious laughter I' have ever had teh pleasure of hearing. She let us bring wine, and we cooked stir fried rice with broccoli and chicken.. (not currified! woooohooo!!) There was no elecrticity up there or running water, but the stars were unbelievable. I sat on the roof of the car with some of my new friends and stared up at the sky and counted shooting stars... Later, we drank kava (or grog or yangona as us "locals" call it :) In the morning we woke up at 6 am and headed out for a hike on a tropical rainforrest trail... I had my tennis shoes packed in Suva, so I hiked in my tevas. yes, I said it, teva's.. I know you're laughing maru- stop it. hahahaha... anyhow- i definately don't recommend hiking in teva's.. i ate dirt a couple of times but it was well worth it. The views were spectacular, tropical forrest, mountains and ocean for miles and miles, I wish i had pictures to show you, i'll upload them soon. After the hike we found a swimming hole, next to a waterfall. The water was freezing but those of you who know me - KNOW that i of course had to jump off the rocks and test the waters out for myself. So that's what i did. I had to work my way up to jumping from the highest rocks, but it was an adrenaline rush and the water- although freezing, felt wonderful after that long two hour hike....
It was by far one of the most memorable days in Fiji thus far.
So yes, I have my bad days here in fiji, At times I get lonely and homesick and just plain sick, but for the most part, I am happy, and i feel blessed to have this opportunity and be able to live out this experience in Fiji of all places.
Someone once said to me- "I hope you find whatever it is you set out to find in Fiji"- The truth is... I don't know what that is exactly, if the reason why I am here is to "find" something, but while reading the other night i encountered this quote by Sabrina Ward Harrison... She says: "I believe we must create what we most need to find". I find such wisdom in that, and hope to stick to my convictions, set up my goals, live my own experiences and whatever comes of that, is good enough for me.