Internet access is very limited around these parts.... my apologies for not updating sooner,
one seems to have more hours in a day living on an island... or maybe it's just that the days seem longer because things move slower? i feel like my days here are endless, no communication, no tv in english, no way really to pass the time, just do the work and live minute by minute.. I make it sound bad, it really isnt that bad. (except of course for the mice and flying cockroaches and my feet and legs which now resemble bubble wrap because of all the mosquito bites i've been getting)
I'm usually up between 5:30 - 6:00 AM, I help Shobna make Roti, and pack lunches for the girls, which includes roti and curry. then we have language class with a horrible language instructor, Kamlesh, who hasn't really taught us anything, except how to say our names and count to 10. After lunch we meet at a different village which we rotate depending on the day, and meet with the entire health group. we go up until 4-5 sometimes 6 and then it's going home to a cold shower and dinner. curry. That's all we eat, everyday, morning noon and night... curry for breakfast lunch and dinner. Hindu's call everything curry. it's mostly veggies stirfried in some oil and masala powder, or fish curry (which is actually good, except when it comes out of a can.) I never thought i'd say this, but indian food?... not a big fan anymore. Shobna is good about picking up signs though. the other day i mentioned to her how much i miss salads and she came home yesterday with a bag of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers... i had salad for dinner last night and salad for lunch today. dressing would have been awesome! nonetheless, it was a good break from curry roti and puri. Anyhow- I'm usually in bed by 9 pm, exhausted from trying to absorb as much information as possible, exhausted from the frustration, miscommunication and heat. Oh, and speaking of frustration- i should mention that the misunderstanding about my room got cleared up, so i now have my own room, no door that closes all the way, but i have my own room now and that makes a huge difference.
We came into town today, the Saweni 6. That's the name i gave myslef and the 5 other volunteers that live in the Indian settlement(Saweni) with me. I needed to stock up on some fruit and other food items other than curry. so I took advantage to update this thing.... I still havent found a place to upload my photos and i'm afraid i won't be able to until we get to suva. (which isn't for another 5 weeks!) but i'm on the lookout for high speed internet.
I'm looking forward to friday, we have water safety day.. woohooo! so it will be the first time i actually get in the ocean in Fiji! very excited about that. and the following week after that we have an Eco-tourism trip, which is an overnight stay with the entire group of volunteers, both health and environment.. that should be fun too. We are now down to 30 volunteers, from the 32 that came to Fiji... scary thought, to think that it could be any one of us, to get fed up, tired, homesick, or whatever the reason may be, reason big enough to want to quit and go home. It's scary to think that i might be next, i doubt it, but you just never know...
anyhow, teh sun is going down and it's starting to get dark. i'm not allowed out of my village after dark, so i must go now, but i'll try to upload photos and write more this weekend. sending you all un abrazo lleno de abrazos to you all.