Wow, I guess I haven’t updated this thing in quite some time. And the truth is so much has happened in the past two months, I don’t even know where to begin… In a nut shell, one of my best good peace corps friends, Ropate went home, so that was hard…My yaca (namesake) was born.. same last name and everything! I moved houses again. (3^rd time’s a charm!) I started a garden, my youth group is growing and we are actually talking about serious, important issues, I finished the World Map Mural Project at St.Andrews Primary… Here are some photos to show you what’s been happening. Life has been crazy, but my family arrives next week! It’s time to wind down, go pick them up and take a vacation. 4 more days familia!!!!

Ropate goes home...

and it rained a lot and the water turned brown....

and my youth group is doing awesome...

and they are thinking of ways to help their communities....

and we're talking about things that are affecting the youth in Savusavu

and my namesake was born...

and I still drink a lot of grog....

and more squishy babies were born...

and i moved into a new house with an awesome porch!...

and the WMMP is finished.

and the kids did so well...

and i love my students....

and isa Ropate, I miss you!

I find so much happiness in having dry paint on my hands and in between my fingernails. I think every piece of clothing I own is stained or ripped and I love that I couldn’t care less. I guess maybe I am turning into a crunchy Peace Corps hippie after all…

I feel a sense of sadness, to be done with the world map project I’ve been working on with class 7 at St. Andrews Primary School. It’s been a while since I’ve felt such a strong sense of accomplishment. Maybe it’s because the World Map Mural is something tangible, or maybe it’s because everyone I worked with on this project has been so receptive and committed and grateful. It’s amazing to see how much the kids have learned in such a short amount of time. They truly are sponges, and it’s so great to see the pride they take in the work they have done, how eager they are to yell out the right answers when I ask them questions about the 7 continents. The truth is I’ve also learned so much from this project… I mean, I didn’t know where the hell Georgia, the country, was before I did this project, much less what its capital was. But I’ve also learned to be more patient, to find pleasure in letting the students carry out the work, to give direction but allow for their own artistic freedom, to give them the opportunity to think critically, to challenge them to own their answers, even if they are wrong…When we first started this project, and I asked them a question, they would blurt out an answer and immediately cover their mouth and shrink down in their chairs in shame, whether the answer was right or wrong… I said they were not allowed to cover their mouths after responding to a question. That it was ok to say the wrong answer, that it was a good opportunity to learn the right one. It has been amazing to see their confidence grow. From a bunch of shy kids afraid to speak up in class, afraid to hold a paintbrush for fear of making a mistake, now they all raise their hands, their eyes open wide and bright as they yell out eager to share their answers… “Madam, I know! I know!” (yes, they call me madam J)

I had the kids place their handprints on the wall under the map and sign their name on each of their hands. I told them that when they grow older and come back to the library they will be able to see how much they have grown when they compare the size of their hands, but also that they will look back and remember that they have done this together, with their own hands.

Today was my last day at St. Andrews Primary. The world map is now completed. We played jeopardy as our last activity and had classes 5, 6 and 8 as our audience. I had some prizes donated from some local stores and included some sector nine stickers (Thanks Kata!) some Bic pens (Vinaka Ropate!) and tied them up nicely with some ribbons my sister Nat sent me. (gracias Nata!) [Presentation is key] We even had judges, a score keeper and a bell! After the game, we all went upstairs to their classroom and had some tea and pastries. They gave me some presents and a thank you card…I was so touched. And as if that wasn’t enough, one of my students, Pate, read me a poem he had written, Noa, another one of my students started crying… goodbye’s are hard. Needless to say, I was a mess!

World Map Mural Project May, 2007

completed World Map Mural July, 2007

Jeopardy

Happy kids

Vinaka to all those who donated prizes!

What goes up must come down. Sometimes I go home feeling defeated. Sometimes I think I think the people I work with don’t really want to be helped. Sometimes I think it’s my fault for taking on a project that I seem to be more interested in than they are. Sometimes I feel like I’ve dropped the ball and I just want to go home.

May 29^th marks the day I left the U.S. I’ve been living here for a year now. Man, time flies. But while it does seem like this past year has flown by, it also seems like forever ago that I arrived and the thought of another year is hard to grasp. I don’t know if that makes any sense at all. I feel as though I’ve lived so much, and maybe that’s why it seems like I’ve been here for so long. Work-wise, I don’t feel as though I’ve accomplished much, at least not as much as I thought I would have gotten done in one year. I’m not really worried about that, they say most volunteers get most of their work done during the second year of service. But living, I feel as though I’ve lived more in the past year than I ever have. Maybe it feels like I’ve lived more because this kind of living has so much more to do with surviving. And I’m not talking about surviving in the TV show ‘Survivor’ kind of way. I mean surviving in terms of hanging on to the commitment of being a volunteer, in terms of facing obstacles in work and in day to day life and in overcoming solitude and home-sickness. Some days I want to give up, sometimes I just want to hang out with my sisters and my friends and hug my mom. Sometimes I want to eat a real meal, with vegetables or be cozy in my socks and sip on a crisp glass of pinot noir. Sometimes we run out of water, sometimes there are a ton of mosquitoes and dengue fever alerts, sometimes I get sick and feel miserable, unable to distinguish a fever with just being hot and sweaty. Sometimes the roosters crow in an unstoppable never-ending chain at any particular hour of the day, which in turn sets the dogs barking, which in turn, leads the babies to cry and then the angry mothers yelling, the neighbor gagging himself with his toothbrush, the “Bollywood” movies blasting…

But sometimes, just sometimes, I get those days where the light is perfect and purple as I am walking home, or when I get an invitation to dinner while I’m jogging, or randomly get asked to come in for a bilo of grog, or when I’m asked to hold a newborn baby, or when my students smile and joke around dancing in class. These are the moments that I wait for, the moments when I understand and value why I am here. Yes, it’s hard at times, most times, lately. But the overall struggle is worth it, at least so far.

The past few weeks have been eventful, which is very unusual for Fiji. I’ve been keeping myself busy with class and preparing for fundraising events. Also- had a ‘professional exchange’ on AIDS/HIV and STI awareness with Rob, my best good Peace Corps friend. He was visiting with his lovely family from Rhode Island and I got the opportunity to meet them all and listen to their awesome accent. I love to hear them say words like: idea = “idear”, apart = “apaht”, Danica = “Dawnica”. It reminds me of Jill and her mom, “Hey Dawni, I lawve youwah apahtment. Get in tha fuckin cawh!” Translation: “Hey Dani, I love your apartment, get in the fucking car!” Hahahaha. Oh, the good old days.

Anyhow, our first fundraising event for Earth Day went really well, despite the unrelenting rain and getting shafted by town council. Town Council gave us a shed behind the market and away from the main road and therefore hidden from view… I felt like we had been ostracized from society! It’s a shame too because we had our environment friendly art projects made out of recycled materials on display. But after an hour of just hoping that someone would walk by our shed, we took it to the streets! We packed up all our greeting cards and went on a mission to sell them all. I made Taki, one of my students, wear a sign with the recycling arrows on it. He was walking barefoot through town yelling at the top pf his lungs “REDUCE! RE-USE! RECYCLE!” It was hilarious! Needless to say, Taki attracted a lot of attention and we used that to our full advantage, selling as many cards as we could. I don’t think my students realized they could actually make money by selling these greeting cards. They were so surprised when I tallied up the amount of cards we sold and showed them the grand total they made on their very first day. Yesterday we made a list of the things they want to see improved or changed with the money we make. The first things on their list were: a brush cutter (they cut their grass with machetes, arduous work!) and new desks for the classroom. It just made me appreciate the comforts I was granted while growing up, like having a desk with a smooth surface to write on… it’s the little things we take for granted.

We have two fundraisers this week before the end of the term, so hopefully we will double our profit and be able to get started on achieving their needs. And after that, a two week vacation!

This is Ropate presenting to my students ...
"And this foamy secretion in and around the penis area is called..."

Learning how to put on a condom...

Earth day.
"There's a kaivalagi! Go get em!"

These are Wati and Suli.
They made an ibe (a Fijian mat) from wrappers

This is Taki.
The curtain behind him is made out of beer bottle caps.


Superman!

Vaka Cegu.

Here are some photos from my class
NAQELEKULA

wood burning bread oven.

Suli Making paper

Wati rolling out moisture from our paper

Stencilling with banana leaves

“Life comes in clusters. Clusters of solitude, then a cluster when there is hardly time to breathe.” – May Sarton

Well, honeymoon in Savusavu is over. I am officially a local. I try to avoid going into town as much as possible, but when I do, it is impossible not to run into people I know or have met at least once. On market day, I buy my vegetables from my regular market lady (caserita), except my fruit, that I get from the cutest little old man who occasionally gives me an extra papaya or a throws in a couple extra bananas… The people at the bread shop who give me the usual, one loaf of medium whole meal and one banana muffin.

I have stopped romanticizing about the beauty of this place. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Savusavu is beautiful, but living here…and living as a local, let me tell you, it is hardly paradise. The water goes out when it rains, [not that I’m complaining, at least I have running water most of the time]. My clothes smell like mildew because of this damn rain too… This time of year, it never stays sunny long enough to hang out clothes to dry…. And the bugs, don’t even get me started on the bugs. I have managed to get a weird tropical fungus thing that comes and goes as it pleases…

Which by the way, my students are… well, they are the reason my head hurts, my feet ache and the reason why I can’t wait to go back tomorrow. I have been working with ‘Naqelekula’, a Methodist boarding school that was developed for school dropouts. The mission of the school is to promote youth development through pastoral, technical, and vocational training. Most of the students who attend the school are kids ranging from ages 16-25. It’s funny even calling them kids, some of them are my age and yet they still call me madam. They’ll say… “Good afternoon madam”, “yes madam”, “no madam”. It used to make me kind of uncomfortable, but then again, comfortable isn’t exactly how I would describe most situations in this experience thus far.

Before I arrived, the students focused on farming and baking as a means of earning money to keep the school running. As an alternative way of making money, I have introduced an income-generating project that involves making greeting cards and bookmarks with local designs. It’s hard working with little to no materials, but we work with what we have until we are able to make enough money to purchase materials and then really kick ass. I have taught them how to make recycled paper and I am teaching them basic printmaking methods, mostly stenciling from whatever materials we can get our hands on… banana stems, paper, even used x-ray film that mysteriously made its way to our classroom from the hospital (this one works best).


One day I was talking to the students about the importance of recycling and explaining to them how long it takes for materials to decompose and thought to myself, why not make art from garbage? There’s plenty of it everywhere, so why not use it and have a small exhibit in town to raise awareness for the environment and at the same time use this day as an excuse to sell our greeting cards and bookmarks made from recycled paper? Environment Day happens to fall on the very same day as Youth Day, April 22nd. My students and I have been busy making art projects out of rubbish, paper and bookmarks and cards, cards, cards… and in between, I’ve been writing letters, proposals, all the not so fun stuff to raise money for my class. I’m working harder as a volunteer than I ever did when I was actually getting paid!

And so, I hope you understand the reason for my delay in updating you all on what’s happening on this end of the world. (Even though most of you are past due on your letters to me!) Besides the Cyclone warning and the flash floods and teh skin conditions, not much new around here… except I’m reading this really great book, it’s called “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a really great read, about an evangelical Baptist who takes his family to the Congo on his mission during the 50’s. I highly recommend it, daddy- especially you, I think you’d get a kick out of it, and I don’t want to hear: “I never have time to read…” Give yourself some time for you, take a load off annie!

Walking Home

Tropical Depression

Just another Fijian Sunset

Gas Station

This one's for Kata....

Fishing

My first Visitor!

Some Highlights of Jayson’s trip…

1.) Spear Fishing in Nananu I Ra

2.) Suki and grog session with Jaile and gang

3.) Samoan warrior dancing at ‘the zone’

4.) Mango Bay African Safari Tent #3

5.) Broke-down mini bus ride to Sigatoka

6.) 16 seater Pac. Sun Airplane during a tropical storm

7.) Kokonda and plenty wine at Bula Re

8.) Fijian Night club experience & “taki na bia”

9.) Piggy back rides across the flooded streets

10.) Rain baths

Jaysoni my friend… Thank you. For hauling that giant suitcase from home, for taking it all in stride, for spoiling me on your vacation, for all the incredible meals that I could never afford and the many bottles of wine to accompany them. Thank you for bringing me breakfast when I was hung-over, for letting me kick your ass at cards, for simply sitting, -here or there-, for your company, for all the laughs, and memories built… for all the love and friendship in your heart.

Vinaka Vaka Levu!

Some photos from Savusavu

spear fishing

view from a yacthie's boat at dusk

Exterior of church

Church at St. Bedes. Built in 1800's

Boys going for a swim

I know these are long overdue, but I've finally found an internet connection fast enough to allow me to upload photos. Like I said, the past three months have been a trip... so here are a few images to document a bit of where I've been roaming in Fiji, including some of Savusavu, my new home.... enjoy.

Sunset, Nananu-i-ra

On a boat with ropate in the South Pacific

Nananu-i-ra

Kelly decorating our x-mas tree. Nananu-i-ra

dusk, Nananu-i-ra

Nananu-i-ra

Somewhere in the sky...

On the road, Naiserelagi

Molly's house, Naiserelagi Village

captain's cafe with carrie, Savusavu

Bus stand, Savusavu

view of the bay, Savusavu

Nabala Village

The last 3 months have been quite an adventure. Ever since the burglary incident in Suva, I've been on the move, looking for a site to live in, where there is work to be done. I finally moved to Savusavu, a sleepy bay town, where a bunch of yachties stop in to dock their boats. But the move here hasn't been easy. There's been a lot of persistence on my part, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of searching around and failing and moving around the main island to the north... needless to say, Its been a trip!

It feels good to have a place to call home for the next 19 months, even though my new indian neighbors are SO bloody loud! i constantly hear now , the playing of the loudest bollywood music, crying babies, mothers yelling and the father' gagging himself with his toothbrush at night. But all of these I can handle. It's the damn chickens/ roosters that drive me insane! They start cock-a doodle-doing at 2 AM. What the hell!!!??? I thought they only crowed in the morning! But last night, they woke me up at two am. And they sit right outside my window, They went off like perfectly synchronized alarms... first at 2 am, then at 3:00 , then at 4:00 am... (How the hell am I ever going to get any sleep? ) Finally, at 4:00 am I got up and i was SO pissed off I actually yelled at the roosters. SHUT THE HELL UP!!!! then I lay back in bed and thought to myself.. Did I really just yell at the roosters? I did. And they didn't care, they kept on cock a doodle doing all they wanted. I had a dream in the little fragments of sleep i got between each alarm went off... I actually had a dream that I was trying to kill the chickens. First I threw the tops of tuna cans at them, slinging them at the chickens like ninja stars... then I had a shotgun, but it had no bullets, still I was aiming for the chickens and kept pulling the trigger... Then I woke up again to their annoying sound. Finally, at around 6 am... i got up, pissed off as hell and threw a coconut at them. I actually hit one! and they scattered. I was all proud of myself, i went back to bed feeling like... ok, now i can finally get some sleep... but as soon as i closed my eyes.. they were back at my window... claiming their revenge and squealing at he top of their lungs... yes, I've arrived, I'm finally home.

A bumpy one hour bus ride from Labasa... I arrived in Nabala on Friday afternoon. My friend Carrie is teaching computers at a boarding school in the Macuata province called Nabala Junior Secondary School. It is Summer break here, so the kids are all gone and the village is very quiet. It's very peaceful and HOT. Yesterday we went out for a swim in the ocean with some of Care's good friends.. Uncle Dan and his wife Lucia were kind enough to take us out on their boat. It was beautiful, we snorkeled around the boat, and i saw a blue starfish for the first time in my life! The way back was a little tricky, as we had to walk back through the mangroves and mud. There was no way to do it with flips either because they would surely get lost in the mud.. so we walked barefoot and hoped not to get any cuts and therefore be prone to getting hook worm. that would suck.... but so far, so good...

I will be here until the end of the week, if things calm down, I'll go back to Suva on Viti Levu, and go up north to the Ra province, Nokonoko, my second option for a potential site. I'm excited about village life. Just three days here in Care's village, and i'm adapting quite well, drinking grog and playing cards and walking around with muddy feet.. I could get used to this, walking around in sulu's and not shaving.. I havent even looked at myself in a mirror since I arrived. It's actually quite a freeing experience. ( And no, don't worry I havent become a hairy hippie... at least not just yet. haha!:)

Ok so here's the latest news on the military situation...
I don't get any cell phone reception in Nabala, but they have a computer lab at the school here and WIRELESS internet!!! It's crazy! So we have been able to follow up on the news, which is great.
The US said that they were suspending aid from Fiji... and right now it looks like PCVs are the last volunteers still at their sites. Jica, Koica, Aussie Youth Embassadors and NZ volunteers have all been consolidated. But for now, we are on standfast (which means we are on alert and cannot leave our sites). Hopefully they will lift this alert by the end of the week so that I can travel and find myself a site...

The news below is from fijilive.com

Soldiers hunt down coup opposition
Sunday December 10, 2006
Fiji's military continued a crackdown on opposition to its coup on Saturday, as deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said he would return to the capital next week to seek a peaceful restoration of democracy. Fijians were warned on Saturday that if they spoke out against the military they would be summonsed to Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva and, if they refused, forcibly taken there. "The military wants this transition to be smooth," said military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni in issuing the warning. Commander Bainimarama staged a bloodless coup on Tuesday, toppling Qarase's government, which he claimed was corrupt and soft on those behind the last coup, in 2000. Fiji has had four coups since 1987. Opposition to the coup is growing, with the Great Council of Chiefs and churches calling it illegal. Several prominent Fijians have already been taken to the capital's barracks and been ordered not to make further comments, while Fiji's human rights commission said it was investigating reports of "inhumane treatment" of one person detained. Fiji-born millionaire Ballu Khan had his office ransacked by the military and his bodyguards taken in for questioning. Former government minister and unionist Kenneth Zinck was allegedly taken to Queen Elizabeth Barracks after publicly calling Commodore Bainimarama names while drinking with friends at a club. At least two correspondents to a local newspaper and several government chief executives were also taken for questioning the military.

I have been in Labasa since Sunday. It is one of my options for a potential site, after having left NCHP in Suva. Labasa is a "city" on Vanua Levu, the other big island...
It smells very strange here. The smell is a pungent one, but i havent been able to put put my finger on what the smells resembles... kind of like baby diarrhea and chow mein. It's so strong I woke up in the middle of the night from it. They say the smell comes from the Sugar Mill, which makes me question why sugar tastes so good but smells so bad while in its process.

Ok, so now for the news... I know a lot of you have been watching the news and have asked me, what's going on in Fiji? Well, I don't really know how to answer that, as I had stated in my previous blog, I'm not used to this sort of reaction from the people in the midst of political turmoil. In Bolivia, things would be so different. There would be demonstrations and road blocks and banners and fists up the air. Not here. People are going on about their businesses, occasionally stopping on the street to listen to the news updates on the radio that blasts outside the many second hand clothing shops that cover the main (the only) street in Labasa.

I am staying with a volunteer here in Labasa, Like most of the pcvs that work for the ministries in Fiji, she too, lives in government quarters. I was shocked to see Military checkpoints right outside of her house. But the soldiers were really nice, waving and saying goodmorning, I even asked if I could take a picture of them and they were happy and eager to pose for the camera, but my camera battery had died. damn. I made sure I charged it last night.

AS of 6 o'clock yesterday evening, the military has taken over the government. Bainimarama, the head of the Military has stated that this will be a "peaceful" transition. Last night, the Prime Minister, Mr Qarase called on Fijians to fight for democracy after the military finally ousted him. Government ministers have also been given a month to vacate government quarters and to return all government property. Their cars were seized yesterday.

The last I heard today was that armed soldiers ordered everyone out of the Parliament premises, and also, they entered the Prime Ministers headquarters, ordered everyone out, and removed some unknown documents.

Last night, the alert for volunteers got changed to standfast, which means we can't leave our sites. Sucks for me, because I have no site. But still, I have to stay here, in Labasa, living in a house with a girl that is so negative she sucks out all of my energy, She doesn't know how to say good morning or good night. Her basic social skills are, to say the least, lacking.

I have also been assigned on an "attachment", or internhip to work with the Ministry of youth. Today I offered to help a guy with a reproductive health workshop for youth. I was excited because, i felt like yeah, there's work to be done! But no. This guy was awesome. He didnt need my help, He was so on top of his shit that I actually ended up learning a thing or two from him. And the kids listened to him and he was excited and passionate about what he was teaching them. I felt like a wallflower, just sitting, useless, in the corner, occasionally taking pictures of him and the kids (because he asked me to). I ended up leaving early because he was making me feel uncomfortable, like he wasn't taking me serioulsy, just commenting on my looks, and when I asked him if he was feeling any better (because he has the flu) he said.. "I feel better if you stayed," ugggghhhh. so i tried again, I asked him if he had taken any medicine, "you the only medicine i need." I left.

As I was walking back into town, with my freshly charged camera battery in hand, i walked by some military dudes, -who by the way, are in full combat gear- and i said my usual, Bula! they didnt seem as friendly today as they did yesterday, and when I took out my camera and pointed it at the smiling camoflauged men, this guy -I'm assuming, in higher rank- comes flying out and yells.. "NO PICTURES!" Woah! ok, ok no pictures. What do you say to a man that comes charging at you with a gun hanging on his shoulder and a little green beret looking hat? ok, ok, no pictures... so I went on my merry way.