I'm a certified open water diver!!! Whoo hoo! So exciting! Getting scuba certified is something I never, ever in my wildest dreams imagined doing. But I did it! Even when I was a little seasick and nauseaus and dizzy, I still did it. And it was incredible. Swimming in the ocean amid corals and fishes of all shapes, sizes and colors, seeing sting rays and sharks up close, and being that far below water is so cool and so beautiful. I hope I use this skill a lot (even though it is an expensive hobby), especially because my time is so short here in Fiji and money limited. But who knows? If not, I'll be certified forever and I'll always be able to tell the story of getting scuba certified. It's scary, that's for sure. And my ears hurt. And now I have an ear infection! But, it was totally worth it.
That's about the only cool thing that's happened in a while. On the work end, we finally got the fish pond dug- yay!!! It only took a year! I'll be curious to see what happened while I was away on some much needed leave time. And, the women got their co-op store back! That's been exciting, and a battle. It hasn't been easy but for the most part, people are really excited and happy about it. It's great training and working with the women. They just have to keep it up! They'll show those stodgy old men that women aren't lazy, they are smart and just as educated, and they do have business sense! The goal of the store is to earn money for more store improvements and to put towards a kitchen/bakery for the community hall.
Whew! While I felt like this wasn't enough, like I haven't been doing enough in the village, I learned that this is quite a lot. I suppose it is. We do a lot of other, smaller things that I think are just as valid and mean a lot, too. Does this mean Peace Corps should continue work in my village? That will be decided soon, but I can't say for sure. It's tricky- do you want the village to rely on outside organizations like PC or be independent after having two PCVs in the village?
I also realized so much else about my site. 1. I love Vanua Levu. It's so beautiful up here!!! Everything is so lush (outside of the Labasa side) and green and healthy. There is a diversity of plants. The ocean provides an astounding view as you're driving. It's so wonderful up here, compared to northern Viti Levu (sorry!). 2. The life is better, in my opinion, also. It's so laid back and people are so helpful and fun and work hard. And very self-sufficient. My village is so lucky to be so educated and motivated. At times it seems like they're not, but compared to other villages... we're pretty awesome. 3. As a PCV, you get out of this experience what you put in. i feel like that's a lame statement, but I think it's very true. If you spend a lot of time in your house by yourself, or in town with other PCVs, that's the experience you'll have. Sure, you'll take away big issues and changes and attitude adjustments, but you're not in America and you can't pretend that you are or live like you are. I'm excited to go home, but I do so with a very heavy heart. I really love my village and the people in it. We have had some hard times, but we've had a lot of good. I've had my share of tears and troubles and heartaches but that happens anywhere you are. I love that I spend so much time outside of my house. Sometimes I'm so busy I haven't touched a book all week. And while it might not look like a lot of tangible 'work' has been accomplished, my garden, my yaqona plantation, fishing, cooking, gathering food, drinking grog, singing with the choir, going to church, helping prepare for big gatherings, going to other villages, and being a part of the community has left me little time to sit around wishing I was someplace else. This only lasts for so long. After this, I'll have to go back to America with a job that probably won't pay me much. I'll be so dependent on money and I wont' have the luxury of 'kere kere'ing from my neighbors, or going over to someone's house in the middle of the day and sitting around talking, or learning from the people around me like I have here. I've been forced out of my comfort zone and maybe I have just spoken into an empty hole a lot of the time but I know that some people have heard me. I will have left something behind, tangibly, emotionally, environmentally, mentally. It goes both ways.
Lecture over.
taylar, out.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
morgan's visit
Anyone else want to come visit me? Great times are bound to be had! Morgan is about to leave, and I thought I'd share a little bit of our time together. The plan was to be in the village Tuesday through Monday, then head to town Monday and go to Taveuni Tuesday-Friday, then she would leave Saturday. However, as happens in Fiji, the plan changed as we were in the place to buy tickets for the ferry on Tuesday and they say, "There's no ferry this week." Excuse me? You didn't say this when I just talked to you two days ago! There wasn't another ferry that would get us there in the time we had left, so we turned around and headed back to the village. So Morgan got to experience almost two weeks in a rural Fijian village, a life very different from the one to which she is accustomed.
Tuesday she got welcomed with a traditional grog drinking circle and met all my family and tried the dalo leaves, which she loved. Wednesday and Thursday we attended two weddings in other villages which were long, hot days full of eating, grog, and dancing. Lots of dancing. Late nights and wild parties were had. Thursday we rested and Friday I guess we did, too, with grog in the evenings. Morgan brought Uno and that was our entertainment every night in the shed. Saturday we wanted to go out in the boat on the water, but while waiting for the boat we ended up in the river. A bunch of the boys wanted to show Morgan the traditional Fijian way of cooking, called the 'lovo.' This is an oven made of heated stones and then covered. That morning, I had gotten up and after making breakfast for all of us (Morgan, my brothers, the uncle that eats with us, and a few other visitors), I set out to pick the dalo leaves. I come back hot, sweaty, dirty and find Morgan, Tui, Nemani, and Kanu playing cards in my house! The Little Red Hen, was I. We ended up cooking dalo and palusami, which is dalo leaves with coconut cream and then we cooked them in coconut shells (no tin foil). We also killed a chicken and threw that on. While waiting, we ended up in the river. Normally, I stay as far away from this water as I possibly can but I wanted to bring Morgan a 'bilibili,' which is a bamboo raft so I went to where the kids were playing and begged them to come down to our end of the river. To do that, I had to get in all the way. We swam, I was pulled on the raft, paddled our way down and pretty much everyone ended up in the water until church started and we got called out. Then we waited for the lovo to be done and when it was, it was delicious! This was an extremely fun day and very memorable. Makes me realize how much I love the kids and how great my brothers are.
Sunday we went to church in the morning, had a big lunch, and then went swimming at a natural pool nearby. Again, the kids were great hosts and we had a lot of fun swimming around. The weather has been hot, hot, hot. Then we went to church again (i went to church again, where I nodded off so much I had to leave) and after that had a big tea, then drank grog and started the first of Morgan's many farewell parties. I have to leave the adventure off here, because she wants to get going. More to come...
Tuesday she got welcomed with a traditional grog drinking circle and met all my family and tried the dalo leaves, which she loved. Wednesday and Thursday we attended two weddings in other villages which were long, hot days full of eating, grog, and dancing. Lots of dancing. Late nights and wild parties were had. Thursday we rested and Friday I guess we did, too, with grog in the evenings. Morgan brought Uno and that was our entertainment every night in the shed. Saturday we wanted to go out in the boat on the water, but while waiting for the boat we ended up in the river. A bunch of the boys wanted to show Morgan the traditional Fijian way of cooking, called the 'lovo.' This is an oven made of heated stones and then covered. That morning, I had gotten up and after making breakfast for all of us (Morgan, my brothers, the uncle that eats with us, and a few other visitors), I set out to pick the dalo leaves. I come back hot, sweaty, dirty and find Morgan, Tui, Nemani, and Kanu playing cards in my house! The Little Red Hen, was I. We ended up cooking dalo and palusami, which is dalo leaves with coconut cream and then we cooked them in coconut shells (no tin foil). We also killed a chicken and threw that on. While waiting, we ended up in the river. Normally, I stay as far away from this water as I possibly can but I wanted to bring Morgan a 'bilibili,' which is a bamboo raft so I went to where the kids were playing and begged them to come down to our end of the river. To do that, I had to get in all the way. We swam, I was pulled on the raft, paddled our way down and pretty much everyone ended up in the water until church started and we got called out. Then we waited for the lovo to be done and when it was, it was delicious! This was an extremely fun day and very memorable. Makes me realize how much I love the kids and how great my brothers are.
Sunday we went to church in the morning, had a big lunch, and then went swimming at a natural pool nearby. Again, the kids were great hosts and we had a lot of fun swimming around. The weather has been hot, hot, hot. Then we went to church again (i went to church again, where I nodded off so much I had to leave) and after that had a big tea, then drank grog and started the first of Morgan's many farewell parties. I have to leave the adventure off here, because she wants to get going. More to come...
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas! Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year. It's bloody hot. I'm en route to church, which I'm spending with the Catholics in town. Our choir has been practicing for a few months now.
Apparently the Prime Minister said that starting in January, all girls either in town or the village, have to wear long skirts, down to their ankles. No pants/shorts at all, no tank tops at all (in the village these things are taboo anyway, but allowable in town).
My Fijian parents have gone to Suva for the holidays leaving this other gentleman that eats with us, me, and my brother alone. They asked another grandma/grandpa to stay with us but really she and i are doing all the cooking. It's such a big job. I've known how much work the women do, but it wasn't until it was my responsibility that I realized just how much work the women do. I mean, they are busy busy all the time. Cooking, eating, cleaning, cooking, eating, cleaning and in between they make mats and wash all teh clothes and go fishing and take care of the kids and do everything else. Cooking with the fire is time consuming, as is preparing all the food (everything's fresh). Then preparing to eat and cleaning up after eating are big jobs, too. It's exhausting and I don't even do that much- most of the preparing/cleaning.
Apparently the Prime Minister said that starting in January, all girls either in town or the village, have to wear long skirts, down to their ankles. No pants/shorts at all, no tank tops at all (in the village these things are taboo anyway, but allowable in town).
My Fijian parents have gone to Suva for the holidays leaving this other gentleman that eats with us, me, and my brother alone. They asked another grandma/grandpa to stay with us but really she and i are doing all the cooking. It's such a big job. I've known how much work the women do, but it wasn't until it was my responsibility that I realized just how much work the women do. I mean, they are busy busy all the time. Cooking, eating, cleaning, cooking, eating, cleaning and in between they make mats and wash all teh clothes and go fishing and take care of the kids and do everything else. Cooking with the fire is time consuming, as is preparing all the food (everything's fresh). Then preparing to eat and cleaning up after eating are big jobs, too. It's exhausting and I don't even do that much- most of the preparing/cleaning.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Dec 4
Long time, no post. Let's see... while I've been really busy, it's really just village life occupying my time. Unfortunately, my camera is still kaput so I have no pictures to show, which is really unfortunate because last Friday the kindergarten class had their 'graduation' and concert. It was adorable! The kids did a bunch of 'meke' (songs and dance, where they wear skirts and bracelets made of leaves and flowers with flower necklaces) and sang songs. Then they wore these robes and hats to receive certificates for completion. Very cute. And we had a huge, wonderful tea afterwards (multiple kinds of 'pie' and scones and breads and cassava sweets, roti parcels and sandwiches and cake. it was a feast!).
We had a lot of grog for awhile so my gang and I switched to new entertainment at night: watching movies. My brother stays in this empty house in a nice decent size room. We hook up my laptop, shut all the curtains, and watch movies for hours. Some sprawl on the bed, the rest on the floor. We pull in another mattress and cuddle up. It's great.
14 December
As I'm writing this, a tropical cyclone has decided to grace us with his presence. His name is Nick, andhe's somewhere east of Nadi, south of Labasa. I actually don't knowwhere he is at the minute, havingchanged course of direction over night. All I know is I have plywood coveringmy window and it has been raining allridiculous like for the past few days. Sometimes it will let up for a fewminutes or an hour or two, but mostly it's non-stop. Last night was super heavy winds. If it comes, it'll be a Category 1 storm, says the radio. And thank heavens for Fijian radio, with hourly (and more, if needed) reports about the situation.
Something came up at lunch today, which I have to address. I tried to promise myselfnotto be too political, given that I actually have readers (a big old 'Welcome!' to my 7th and 8th grade pen pals!) and I should control myself. That said, I do have to address something. I think sometimes we in the U.S. forget that we do not, in fact, live in a bubble and that things that are said, even small blips or soundbytes from newspapers and TV, can indeed have a big impact, maybe for the wrong reasons, on very easily influenced media markets. I'm speaking specifically about comments made from extreme right wingers and the overtly, zealously religious (or both- conservative religious folks) made traveling from one country to the next, to un-democratic developing countries with similar characteristics (conservative, religious). Case in point: I have heard multiple times that Hurricane Katrina was a result of states legalizing/ recognizing same-sex marriage. Apparently, severe tropical storms that kill thousands and render thousands more homeless, particularly affecting poor, black families is God's revenge on equality. This assuming that there is not only (a) god but one that feels it necessary to kill his (her?) followers as punishment for enacting his (her?) “Good Work.”
To clarify, what is said perhaps facetiously, perhaps seriously, from TV pundits or evangelists or just plain old bullies, has been construed as something much more serious in a place like Fiji, a country where A) Freedom of the Press is not a constitutional right protected by government but seriously censored and monitored; and B) the media is uncompetitive and fledgling with limited means and resources; and C) mostly influenced by Australian/ Aussie companies, well... statements like “Katrina happened because of gay people” do make it over here. And statements like that are taken seriously. Here, there is no separation of church and state.
If that is part of the way to “Win Souls to Jesus at Any Cost” (a sign I pass by a church on my way into town), no thank you. What kind of god would allows thousands of innocent people to have their homes and lives ruined, families torn apart, all their earthly possessions swept away as part of a lesson, or again, as a revenge for providing access to civil rights for all human beings? I don't understand it, and I can't- again- subscribe to that line of reasoning. Religion shouldn't be a war, or a battle, and it shouldn't be the lame excuse for the kind of damage caused by global warming, bureaucratic fuck-ups, racism, classism, and a really shitty act of a pissed off nature that, four years later, still hasn't received nearly enough attention as it should have.
The fact that people here, in Fiji, laugh about that kind of behavior on behalf of their God (both times I have heard this people have been from different religions, mind you), while their own compatriots are suffering the same weather patterns, to a lesser degree, is troubling. Knowing that Fijian press will print what influential, or loud-mouthed, people print/say in America, as probably happens all over the world in developing countries, do we not have some sort of responsibility, obligation, to think before we go off on behalf of “God”? I think for me, this also is stemming from having read a lot of (American) articles about the American press lately. I mean, if Newsweek and Time can be critical of their peers (as maybe is their responsibility being capitalists before being journalists), can't the American public be critical, or a little more discerning? Ultimately, it is us/you all, who dictate who is able to be heard. (I.e.: don't like what Limbaugh or O'Reilly or the rest have to say? TURN THEM OFF!) We do, despite what they will have you believe, have the power.
Lecture done. Wait, one more thing- what in the world has Time done to their format??? It's awful.
16 December
Ah, Christmastime... see the decorated houses with their hurricane proofing materials, feel the nice hot sun beating down on you on the busy streets unsealed, wonder at the multitude of mysterious bites- mosquito? Flea? Spider? Bedbug? Other random creature?,
Wouldn't you know it, sun is shining and hot and humid and barely a cloud in the sky. Been this way since Tuesday.
Our mangroves are hanginginthere, despite the near-hurricane and the poor timing for planting (while we planted them about five or so weeks ago, this is still really bad timing for planting mangroves along floodplains). These mangroves are being planted in thenext village up from me, where they have embraced natural flood prevention measures, as opposed to cutting down mangroves or expensive, environmentally destruction measures (as is happening in my village).
Long time, no post. Let's see... while I've been really busy, it's really just village life occupying my time. Unfortunately, my camera is still kaput so I have no pictures to show, which is really unfortunate because last Friday the kindergarten class had their 'graduation' and concert. It was adorable! The kids did a bunch of 'meke' (songs and dance, where they wear skirts and bracelets made of leaves and flowers with flower necklaces) and sang songs. Then they wore these robes and hats to receive certificates for completion. Very cute. And we had a huge, wonderful tea afterwards (multiple kinds of 'pie' and scones and breads and cassava sweets, roti parcels and sandwiches and cake. it was a feast!).
We had a lot of grog for awhile so my gang and I switched to new entertainment at night: watching movies. My brother stays in this empty house in a nice decent size room. We hook up my laptop, shut all the curtains, and watch movies for hours. Some sprawl on the bed, the rest on the floor. We pull in another mattress and cuddle up. It's great.
14 December
As I'm writing this, a tropical cyclone has decided to grace us with his presence. His name is Nick, andhe's somewhere east of Nadi, south of Labasa. I actually don't knowwhere he is at the minute, havingchanged course of direction over night. All I know is I have plywood coveringmy window and it has been raining allridiculous like for the past few days. Sometimes it will let up for a fewminutes or an hour or two, but mostly it's non-stop. Last night was super heavy winds. If it comes, it'll be a Category 1 storm, says the radio. And thank heavens for Fijian radio, with hourly (and more, if needed) reports about the situation.
Something came up at lunch today, which I have to address. I tried to promise myselfnotto be too political, given that I actually have readers (a big old 'Welcome!' to my 7th and 8th grade pen pals!) and I should control myself. That said, I do have to address something. I think sometimes we in the U.S. forget that we do not, in fact, live in a bubble and that things that are said, even small blips or soundbytes from newspapers and TV, can indeed have a big impact, maybe for the wrong reasons, on very easily influenced media markets. I'm speaking specifically about comments made from extreme right wingers and the overtly, zealously religious (or both- conservative religious folks) made traveling from one country to the next, to un-democratic developing countries with similar characteristics (conservative, religious). Case in point: I have heard multiple times that Hurricane Katrina was a result of states legalizing/ recognizing same-sex marriage. Apparently, severe tropical storms that kill thousands and render thousands more homeless, particularly affecting poor, black families is God's revenge on equality. This assuming that there is not only (a) god but one that feels it necessary to kill his (her?) followers as punishment for enacting his (her?) “Good Work.”
To clarify, what is said perhaps facetiously, perhaps seriously, from TV pundits or evangelists or just plain old bullies, has been construed as something much more serious in a place like Fiji, a country where A) Freedom of the Press is not a constitutional right protected by government but seriously censored and monitored; and B) the media is uncompetitive and fledgling with limited means and resources; and C) mostly influenced by Australian/ Aussie companies, well... statements like “Katrina happened because of gay people” do make it over here. And statements like that are taken seriously. Here, there is no separation of church and state.
If that is part of the way to “Win Souls to Jesus at Any Cost” (a sign I pass by a church on my way into town), no thank you. What kind of god would allows thousands of innocent people to have their homes and lives ruined, families torn apart, all their earthly possessions swept away as part of a lesson, or again, as a revenge for providing access to civil rights for all human beings? I don't understand it, and I can't- again- subscribe to that line of reasoning. Religion shouldn't be a war, or a battle, and it shouldn't be the lame excuse for the kind of damage caused by global warming, bureaucratic fuck-ups, racism, classism, and a really shitty act of a pissed off nature that, four years later, still hasn't received nearly enough attention as it should have.
The fact that people here, in Fiji, laugh about that kind of behavior on behalf of their God (both times I have heard this people have been from different religions, mind you), while their own compatriots are suffering the same weather patterns, to a lesser degree, is troubling. Knowing that Fijian press will print what influential, or loud-mouthed, people print/say in America, as probably happens all over the world in developing countries, do we not have some sort of responsibility, obligation, to think before we go off on behalf of “God”? I think for me, this also is stemming from having read a lot of (American) articles about the American press lately. I mean, if Newsweek and Time can be critical of their peers (as maybe is their responsibility being capitalists before being journalists), can't the American public be critical, or a little more discerning? Ultimately, it is us/you all, who dictate who is able to be heard. (I.e.: don't like what Limbaugh or O'Reilly or the rest have to say? TURN THEM OFF!) We do, despite what they will have you believe, have the power.
Lecture done. Wait, one more thing- what in the world has Time done to their format??? It's awful.
16 December
Ah, Christmastime... see the decorated houses with their hurricane proofing materials, feel the nice hot sun beating down on you on the busy streets unsealed, wonder at the multitude of mysterious bites- mosquito? Flea? Spider? Bedbug? Other random creature?,
Wouldn't you know it, sun is shining and hot and humid and barely a cloud in the sky. Been this way since Tuesday.
Our mangroves are hanginginthere, despite the near-hurricane and the poor timing for planting (while we planted them about five or so weeks ago, this is still really bad timing for planting mangroves along floodplains). These mangroves are being planted in thenext village up from me, where they have embraced natural flood prevention measures, as opposed to cutting down mangroves or expensive, environmentally destruction measures (as is happening in my village).
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Extreme Stationary
Well, I'm back and... I'm sick again! Yay! This time it's really bad. I have a head cold again and I've been coughing so much I lost my voice. That, in addition to the fact that the school bazaar just ended. It started Wednesday and my last day was yesterday, but I think some people are still going. Different villages sent up a stall and sell food and other stuff. Each stall/ mataqali (different families) raise money for the school. There is also a really big 7's rugby tournament. Our team, Pusi loa (black cats, but yes, pusi is the same as pussy), was boys from three different villages nearby and they had two teams. They made it to the semi-finals but lost. Unfortunately, it's been really busy in the village and having a wedding Wednesday didn't help anything. (weddings mean busy-ness and lots o' grog drinking)
Ah, the wedding. This was my brother's wedding, which was supposed to be on Tuesday. Then it changed the day before. Why, you ask. Well, I don't really know. But guess who was the bridesmaid/maid of honor?!? Yup, me. I had about 20 minutes notice. Really all it meant was that I wore the masi cloth, had sandalwood in my hair, stood next to the bride, and had to shake a bajillion hands. And gets lots of kisses. Oh, and I got the best part of the fish at lunch.
But back to the bazaar. Our stall sold different styles of fish (curried, fried parcels, with lolo), turtle, sausage stew, pie, tuna sandwiches (bread with tuna and butter and grated carrot and tomatoes and more butter), and tea. I had to help collect the money, which made for really long, tiring days. At night, there's grog drinking and dancing. It was fun, but would have been more fun had I been healthy. Add to the cold and late nights/early mornings (up before 5 am!!!) and grog drinking, there was a lot of cheering for the boys. It was a riot: all these big old Fijian women with their fancy sulu jaba (the dress/skirt outfit) with a purse on one arm and a big old knife in the other running out into the field screaming and cheering and hugging the ref when they scored.... and jumping up and hitting the roofing iron with your knife... and general merriment. For 15 minutes. No, really, it was a lot of fun. People come from all over for this. I've been hearing about it for almost the entire year I've been in the village. I only danced on Thursday; Friday I was just too tired. People think it's a hoot when I dance and there's nothing like dancing a hill in a space about four feet by four feet with about 100 boys and men watching you and another boy dance.
Speaking of dancing in small spaces... have I mentioned my sure-fire stress relief/ warm up for the bathroom cure? Well, it's like this: first I close my doors, then my curtains. Then I make sure I'm wearing something comfortable and I tie up my hair. Then I grab my iPod and head for my shower, a very very small space. I turn on my iPod, play my 'favorites' playlist, and crank the volume. And then I dance. And dance. I shake it like you wouldn't believe. Every kind of danc emove, I do it in the privacy of my shower. You'd be surprised what you can do in a small space. Definite dance favorites: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, Friends in Low Places, anything Violent Femmes, Debaser (Pixies), M.I.A., Santogold, some Wilco, some Regina Spektor, Everlong (you forget that the Foo Fighters used to know how to rock it out. I forget that sometimes I can headbang. Try it to this song!), Son of a Preacher Man, and of course, Total Eclipse of the Heart! Only thing missing: Like a Prayer. Would you believe it, I didn't put the Immaculate Collection on my iTunes!!!!! Of course, there are others (Chris Brown's Forever, anything from Kate) but those are foolproof songs to make me sweat. And it makes the freezing cold shower water bearable in the cold weather and coldness of my shower. My bathroom is the coolest place in my house- it's really dark and the cement bottom stays cool.
Yeah, it'd be even funnier if you saw it in real life. Before, I used to just stay in half of my bure. But then I got really paranoid and so I've moved into the bathroom, which does have its limitations (like almost falling when it's slippery from water). But it makes me feel rejuvenated. My favorite time is before church on Sundays. it's actually the worst time to do it but no one knows how awful I'm being by breaking the rule of not doing anything physical on a Sunday and it inevitably makes me late for church.
Oh, to explain the title of this post, "Extreme Stationary" is the name of one of the rugby teams. I don't know what it means, because that's not really anything in English, is it? They're an army group, so I think they're thinking along the lines of "stations" or maybe that they're so good they're immovable objects? Hmm...
Unfortunately, I can't post any pictures because I only have a couple from the past week. Wednesday at the wedding my camera decided to stop working. The screen is black. I took some pictures and then it went black and I can't do anything with it. It worked a couple hours later but yesterday the team wanted a picture (we've been talking aobut this picture for six months!!) and my camera didn't work. :( What to do?!? I wanted a picture of my family here, too, because we don't have one of all of us.
hopefully things will slow down in a couple weeks and I can kick these bad things out of my immune system. During Diwali I binged on sweets, then during the bazaar I didn't eat anything healthy and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, too!
Ah, the wedding. This was my brother's wedding, which was supposed to be on Tuesday. Then it changed the day before. Why, you ask. Well, I don't really know. But guess who was the bridesmaid/maid of honor?!? Yup, me. I had about 20 minutes notice. Really all it meant was that I wore the masi cloth, had sandalwood in my hair, stood next to the bride, and had to shake a bajillion hands. And gets lots of kisses. Oh, and I got the best part of the fish at lunch.
But back to the bazaar. Our stall sold different styles of fish (curried, fried parcels, with lolo), turtle, sausage stew, pie, tuna sandwiches (bread with tuna and butter and grated carrot and tomatoes and more butter), and tea. I had to help collect the money, which made for really long, tiring days. At night, there's grog drinking and dancing. It was fun, but would have been more fun had I been healthy. Add to the cold and late nights/early mornings (up before 5 am!!!) and grog drinking, there was a lot of cheering for the boys. It was a riot: all these big old Fijian women with their fancy sulu jaba (the dress/skirt outfit) with a purse on one arm and a big old knife in the other running out into the field screaming and cheering and hugging the ref when they scored.... and jumping up and hitting the roofing iron with your knife... and general merriment. For 15 minutes. No, really, it was a lot of fun. People come from all over for this. I've been hearing about it for almost the entire year I've been in the village. I only danced on Thursday; Friday I was just too tired. People think it's a hoot when I dance and there's nothing like dancing a hill in a space about four feet by four feet with about 100 boys and men watching you and another boy dance.
Speaking of dancing in small spaces... have I mentioned my sure-fire stress relief/ warm up for the bathroom cure? Well, it's like this: first I close my doors, then my curtains. Then I make sure I'm wearing something comfortable and I tie up my hair. Then I grab my iPod and head for my shower, a very very small space. I turn on my iPod, play my 'favorites' playlist, and crank the volume. And then I dance. And dance. I shake it like you wouldn't believe. Every kind of danc emove, I do it in the privacy of my shower. You'd be surprised what you can do in a small space. Definite dance favorites: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, Friends in Low Places, anything Violent Femmes, Debaser (Pixies), M.I.A., Santogold, some Wilco, some Regina Spektor, Everlong (you forget that the Foo Fighters used to know how to rock it out. I forget that sometimes I can headbang. Try it to this song!), Son of a Preacher Man, and of course, Total Eclipse of the Heart! Only thing missing: Like a Prayer. Would you believe it, I didn't put the Immaculate Collection on my iTunes!!!!! Of course, there are others (Chris Brown's Forever, anything from Kate) but those are foolproof songs to make me sweat. And it makes the freezing cold shower water bearable in the cold weather and coldness of my shower. My bathroom is the coolest place in my house- it's really dark and the cement bottom stays cool.
Yeah, it'd be even funnier if you saw it in real life. Before, I used to just stay in half of my bure. But then I got really paranoid and so I've moved into the bathroom, which does have its limitations (like almost falling when it's slippery from water). But it makes me feel rejuvenated. My favorite time is before church on Sundays. it's actually the worst time to do it but no one knows how awful I'm being by breaking the rule of not doing anything physical on a Sunday and it inevitably makes me late for church.
Oh, to explain the title of this post, "Extreme Stationary" is the name of one of the rugby teams. I don't know what it means, because that's not really anything in English, is it? They're an army group, so I think they're thinking along the lines of "stations" or maybe that they're so good they're immovable objects? Hmm...
Unfortunately, I can't post any pictures because I only have a couple from the past week. Wednesday at the wedding my camera decided to stop working. The screen is black. I took some pictures and then it went black and I can't do anything with it. It worked a couple hours later but yesterday the team wanted a picture (we've been talking aobut this picture for six months!!) and my camera didn't work. :( What to do?!? I wanted a picture of my family here, too, because we don't have one of all of us.
hopefully things will slow down in a couple weeks and I can kick these bad things out of my immune system. During Diwali I binged on sweets, then during the bazaar I didn't eat anything healthy and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, too!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Fiji Day and pictures
Well, things have been busy (at least, they seem busy until talking about them...). I got back from MST last week Monday after a nice week on Viti Levu. And I realized a couple things: 1. we have a really good group of Volunteers! 2. I'm not alone in anything I'm thinking/ feeling about Fiji and Peace Corps, and 3. time is flying. As soon as I got back,though, my bag wasn't delivered on the same plane and I ran around and stressed out for a few hours before actually getting it back in time for the bus. Then, my friend at the post office (the customs official helping me out with all my packages) told me I'd gotten fat! That evening in the village, we had an important meeting about the electricity. Tuesday I went up for the village workday to help cook and weed the yaqona. That's when I saw this little caterpillar who looks like he came directly out of last month's National Geographic article on mimicry! (Those aren't really his eyes)
That evening we had a village meeting. Wednesday my sister and I went up to our yaqona plantation to weed. Then I slept. Friday was Fiji Day, and I was called over to see a family making “vakalolo.” This is a Fijian delicacy made from dalo and cassava, and not often made. After seeing it made, I can understand why. Let me explain...
First, you cook the dalo (taro) and cassava.
Second, you mash it up like this:
and like this:
until you get a gum-like consistency.
Then, you soften up the banana leaves.
Next, you squeeze it into little balls and mix it with lolo (coconut cream), which is mixed heavily with sugar.
Then, if you're selling them like Nau Ma (Grandma Makareta),you packagethem in the leaves like so:
Finally, you eat!
It's really yummy, really rich, and really gooey. It takes a ton of work to mash up the dalo. Which is also why Fijians are so strong- andwhy thefoodtastes that much better once you're finished!
Then I did a bunch of other thingsand that afternoonlearned how to make “Rourou balls.” (I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but rourou is the leaf from the dalo plant, a staple Fijian village food. Some villages call it veisiga, which means “everyday” because of the frequency it is eaten.) I made these specially for a fundraiser the women's group was having. We all cooked something then people gavea donation to eat.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this. But here's how these yummy little balls of fried goodness are made: First you cook your rourou. Then you roll it in flour. Then you fry it. Then you cook it in... lolo! Of course, because what else accompanies every main course you eat in a place populated by coconuts?
Oh, and I've been training with some of the young women for the netball team! The school is having a big bazaar-the bash of the year- next week. There are games and grog drinking and eating and buying and selling and lots of money exchanging hands. This is one of those “it takes a village to raise a child” kind of things, because literally everyone participates and apparently the villages just empty out as everyone stays on the school compound for like four days. Sports options in a Fijian village are limited to three: for boys, there is rugby and volleyball. For girls, there is netball and volleyball. So, the boys have a rugby team and the girls have a netball team.
What is netball,you might ask? Well, let me put it like this: it's basketball, but invented by the Brits. It's very polite. It's not very fast. Right along my lines.
Then I got sick Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the worst, with diarrhea and vomiting and a head cold (sinuses?). Too much lolo! Every meal I had that day had lolo. I just can't take so much of it! Sunday it was better but I haven't had a head cold like that for a long time.
Monday I got to go fishing again with the women! It was hot and sunny when we left, but half way through the weather changed and it rained and the wind picked up but then it got nice again. We were catching “nini” and “dreu” fish, both small fish that travel in schools. We ended up with a decent amount. The way it works is this: there is one woman at each end of the night. We're reallyquite and stealthy, watching for the bigger fish preying on the small ones or for gulls diving to catch them. Then we move in, swiftly but silently. The women spread out and then come together to enclose the net, splashing the water to scare the fish. Then they swim away and get trapped trying to swim through the net. Then we pull them out by their heads. Yes,some heads are lost in this. I got to carry the bag with the fish and help pull them out. The moving stealthily in the ocean thing doesn't really work well for me. It started out just the three of us and then two more people ended up with us. When we had enough- we probably were successful five times- we went ashore, divided them up, and then scaled them. I fried a couple of mine with onions and a couple I threw right into my fire. That's how I'd prefer to eat them.
I've decided to have a Halloween party. Mom sent me decorations last year, but at this time a year ago I didn't have a village orplace to live so I didn't get to use them. This year, though, I will. I hung the decorations and they've been very popular so far. We're going to make masks and I'll give out candy. I'll make a witches brew (hot chocolate, a treat) and something else... dirt cake,maybe? Maybe just cookies, which are always popular. I'm taking ideas for other games to play. I did think about bobbing for apples, but apples are so expensive I don't really want to go that all out.
What else... one of my brothers is getting married on Tuesday.
I'm posting some random pictures from around the village. Some are from the church building, the crew of boys building the church. Kele is the boy with some of our creations we've made drawing. One night it turned into homework help where I worked with his sister on her multiplication and division problems. It has been a long time since I've done those kind of problems. But really, I do use that stuff a lot. I remember being younger and thinking, “When am I ever going to use this?” And I do! And I'm really glad I know it, and my multiplication tables. I just wish I could explain it better. I am definitely not a teacher. I wonder at what age we learned things like multiplication tables and mental math. I think I'm going to make some flashcards- Morgan, I'm kicking myself that I didn't take you up when you offered to send me flashcards! They sure would come in handy.
I know I said I didn't really want anything, but I do have a few specific things for my wish list:
-latex house or acrylic paints (for a world map project at the school)
-white ankle athletic socks
-gum
-a frisbee (200 gm)
-Clif bars
-any other food items you might want to send... baking things, condiments, sauces, seasonings...
Garden update! Mom, I have the same things happening with my tomatoes as happened with yours! I talked to another PCV about it and he said it's this tomato rot disease and some people even grow their tomatoes upside down to prevent it. It's common, I guess. Overwatering might have something to do with it, he said. But, my toms are finally growing and my carrots are close. The cabbage has been eaten by moths.
My Birkenstocks, after nine faithful years and millions of miles, have finally been lost to Fiji. They were a good shoe, very good shoe.
That evening we had a village meeting. Wednesday my sister and I went up to our yaqona plantation to weed. Then I slept. Friday was Fiji Day, and I was called over to see a family making “vakalolo.” This is a Fijian delicacy made from dalo and cassava, and not often made. After seeing it made, I can understand why. Let me explain...
First, you cook the dalo (taro) and cassava.
Second, you mash it up like this:
and like this:
until you get a gum-like consistency.
Then, you soften up the banana leaves.
Next, you squeeze it into little balls and mix it with lolo (coconut cream), which is mixed heavily with sugar.
Then, if you're selling them like Nau Ma (Grandma Makareta),you packagethem in the leaves like so:
Finally, you eat!
It's really yummy, really rich, and really gooey. It takes a ton of work to mash up the dalo. Which is also why Fijians are so strong- andwhy thefoodtastes that much better once you're finished!
Then I did a bunch of other thingsand that afternoonlearned how to make “Rourou balls.” (I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but rourou is the leaf from the dalo plant, a staple Fijian village food. Some villages call it veisiga, which means “everyday” because of the frequency it is eaten.) I made these specially for a fundraiser the women's group was having. We all cooked something then people gavea donation to eat.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this. But here's how these yummy little balls of fried goodness are made: First you cook your rourou. Then you roll it in flour. Then you fry it. Then you cook it in... lolo! Of course, because what else accompanies every main course you eat in a place populated by coconuts?
Oh, and I've been training with some of the young women for the netball team! The school is having a big bazaar-the bash of the year- next week. There are games and grog drinking and eating and buying and selling and lots of money exchanging hands. This is one of those “it takes a village to raise a child” kind of things, because literally everyone participates and apparently the villages just empty out as everyone stays on the school compound for like four days. Sports options in a Fijian village are limited to three: for boys, there is rugby and volleyball. For girls, there is netball and volleyball. So, the boys have a rugby team and the girls have a netball team.
What is netball,you might ask? Well, let me put it like this: it's basketball, but invented by the Brits. It's very polite. It's not very fast. Right along my lines.
Then I got sick Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the worst, with diarrhea and vomiting and a head cold (sinuses?). Too much lolo! Every meal I had that day had lolo. I just can't take so much of it! Sunday it was better but I haven't had a head cold like that for a long time.
Monday I got to go fishing again with the women! It was hot and sunny when we left, but half way through the weather changed and it rained and the wind picked up but then it got nice again. We were catching “nini” and “dreu” fish, both small fish that travel in schools. We ended up with a decent amount. The way it works is this: there is one woman at each end of the night. We're reallyquite and stealthy, watching for the bigger fish preying on the small ones or for gulls diving to catch them. Then we move in, swiftly but silently. The women spread out and then come together to enclose the net, splashing the water to scare the fish. Then they swim away and get trapped trying to swim through the net. Then we pull them out by their heads. Yes,some heads are lost in this. I got to carry the bag with the fish and help pull them out. The moving stealthily in the ocean thing doesn't really work well for me. It started out just the three of us and then two more people ended up with us. When we had enough- we probably were successful five times- we went ashore, divided them up, and then scaled them. I fried a couple of mine with onions and a couple I threw right into my fire. That's how I'd prefer to eat them.
I've decided to have a Halloween party. Mom sent me decorations last year, but at this time a year ago I didn't have a village orplace to live so I didn't get to use them. This year, though, I will. I hung the decorations and they've been very popular so far. We're going to make masks and I'll give out candy. I'll make a witches brew (hot chocolate, a treat) and something else... dirt cake,maybe? Maybe just cookies, which are always popular. I'm taking ideas for other games to play. I did think about bobbing for apples, but apples are so expensive I don't really want to go that all out.
What else... one of my brothers is getting married on Tuesday.
I'm posting some random pictures from around the village. Some are from the church building, the crew of boys building the church. Kele is the boy with some of our creations we've made drawing. One night it turned into homework help where I worked with his sister on her multiplication and division problems. It has been a long time since I've done those kind of problems. But really, I do use that stuff a lot. I remember being younger and thinking, “When am I ever going to use this?” And I do! And I'm really glad I know it, and my multiplication tables. I just wish I could explain it better. I am definitely not a teacher. I wonder at what age we learned things like multiplication tables and mental math. I think I'm going to make some flashcards- Morgan, I'm kicking myself that I didn't take you up when you offered to send me flashcards! They sure would come in handy.
I know I said I didn't really want anything, but I do have a few specific things for my wish list:
-latex house or acrylic paints (for a world map project at the school)
-white ankle athletic socks
-gum
-a frisbee (200 gm)
-Clif bars
-any other food items you might want to send... baking things, condiments, sauces, seasonings...
Garden update! Mom, I have the same things happening with my tomatoes as happened with yours! I talked to another PCV about it and he said it's this tomato rot disease and some people even grow their tomatoes upside down to prevent it. It's common, I guess. Overwatering might have something to do with it, he said. But, my toms are finally growing and my carrots are close. The cabbage has been eaten by moths.
My Birkenstocks, after nine faithful years and millions of miles, have finally been lost to Fiji. They were a good shoe, very good shoe.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Just got back from spending time in Suva and Nadi. It's such a different world on the other island! I got to eat real Indian food (soooooo delicious!) and learn about a lot of things I could still do in/with the village. We have ten months to go, which seems like a lot but really it will go by quickly (maybe?). I have a lot to look forward to the next couple of months.
I wish I had something new to share about Fiji/ village life, but I don't. Sorry! It's finally warming up, so that's exciting. I field all questions, however!
I wish I had something new to share about Fiji/ village life, but I don't. Sorry! It's finally warming up, so that's exciting. I field all questions, however!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Great way to spend your money!
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.donatenow
www.peacecorps.gov, go to "Donate," "Donate to Volunteer Projects." Search for Fiji, then click on a project to donate to. There are three people from my group who have projects where you can donate money. Help them out!!! Any amount helps! (I'm offering this as an alternative for people who want to help us out but without sending lots of things!)
www.peacecorps.gov, go to "Donate," "Donate to Volunteer Projects." Search for Fiji, then click on a project to donate to. There are three people from my group who have projects where you can donate money. Help them out!!! Any amount helps! (I'm offering this as an alternative for people who want to help us out but without sending lots of things!)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
On another note... (I promise, no politics)
Some snippets of thought:
Etiquette: Always carry dishes, either with food or empty, with two hands.
Tabua: Give to father of bride-to-be, the more the tabua, the more she's worth(I would be worth 5 or 6)
Frogs are nuts here! They are everywhere at night, especially when it rains! And it's like they want you to step on them because they're always underfoot when you're walking. It's insane and ridiculous and I have stepped on a ridiculous number of frogs- with and without shoes!
There's been a little revival in my garden because of so much rain. The English cabbage is growing well, even some that I planted that I thought weren't going to make it have hung in there. So has some Chinese cabbage that I transplanted and the beans are still coming. I also think my tomato plants are not all dead yet. There are a few that are still healthy and I think they're just a little slow... the carrots are slow, too, and not dead but not ready to eat yet, either. The eggplant are doing extremely well! If only I could plant some pumpkin and basil and other herbs...And I'm still bummed about my peppers.
One of the most annoying things ever: having a mosquito stuck inside your mosquito net! Oh wait, having two mosquitoes stuck inside your mosquito net!
That said,I know some people are crazy about saying “That can give you cancer!” about things like mosquito coils, but I don't care. It's worth a decent night sleep every night to burn one for a few hours so I can doze off and notscratch myself to death the next day. And really, if you let it anything can give you cancer for cripes sake. Avoid the obvious things like cigarettes and keep healthy, and I think my odds are no greater or worse from using/not using a mosquito coil.
Never guess what I did yesterday. I was supposed to go fishing with one of the women in the village but because the wind was too strong she decided we would go get the “vivili.” I had no idea what that was; they explained that you get the vivili from under the rocks. So we go to the river/ ponds and I discover that we are going diving for snails. There were three of us. One wore the goggles/snorkel, one looked for snails without the goggles, and then there was me. I swam around, sloshed around, really, on the slippery rocks, and held the bag which held all our finds. I did collect a bunch of snails- a lot, really. Some were really hard to get off the sides of rocks. Those little suckers can really stick. Some were just on the bottom of the river. Some were long and narrow, others round little bumps. A lot of them really had perfected the art of mimicry. It's incredible! You really have to run your hand (or feet) over the rocks to find them, because just looking won't always work. And then they were cooked in lolo, coconut cream. Speaking of snails (I could really say a lot about them), there are some really cool ones. I saw one yesterday morning that looked just like a leaf. It was long and narrow and black, with a little gold strip along its back. The only thing identifying it as a snail, other than its snail-like pace, was the two little antennae. I've seen some cool snails. Of all colors and sizes and styles. And every time, I think of Pat and Snailish Records (shameless plug!).
Saturday my sister and I went to tend to our yaqona plantation. We only have about100,but they were really healthy! We planted them in early July I think it was. We hadn't checked on them since and what we did Saturday was to weed a little and unbury the seedlings. When you plant yaqona, you cut up one of the trunks of the plant that has little nubbins of buds on it and then bury those pieces. The new plant grows up from the old pieces, usually 3-5 pieces in each overturned plot of soil. How it works is you have to weed your area, then turn a little soil, then put the pieces in the soil, but not too deep. Then you cover it with the weeded area, grasses and sticks and stuff. After a couple months, you go back and uncover the plots and they should have sprouted again. Ours did! Only a couple had died- which is good. We had to replant the village yaqona because they all died. But anyway, it's exciting. This was part of a youth project. The youth group planted 1000 plants, paid work. Then we planted mine and Leti's, and we planted another young woman's. After another 3-5 years, Leti can harvest her plants and sell it. You have the literal roots, called waka, which is stronger than the cut pieces (lewena) which is the root going further up. The waka is what is used as your sevusevu and for more formal occasions when drinking grog or going someplace. The waka goes for about $20 or so a kilo and the cut pieces for about $16-18 at our village store. If you buy the waka for yourself, it's $26/kilo or $3/100 grams. The selling price depends on how mature your plant is. The longer you let it grow, the more mature it is, the stronger it is, and the more money you get for it.
I realized something yesterday. I've been way too cautious throughout my life. I'm not very brave. I mean, to a point I am- I'm in Fiji for two years. But I don't take chances. Never have. I was a fairly active child, I think, but I wasn't brave or daring. I played it safe, always. Sure, I jumped off a really high cliff into the jellyfish filled Mediterranean Sea once, drive a car (driving is still like the most unsafe thing to do ever), fly, swim in the ocean, travel by myself to completely foreign countries, and sometimes put myself in situations where maybe I shouldn't, but things like walking on rocks freak me out. Make me all cautious. That's just me, and I wish I would have done more when I was younger to get over that. I see these kids here, and they're fearless. They jump off these big rocks into the same pool where I'm looking for snails, afraid to put my feet down. They run and jump and slide and twirl and flip over and into and off of so many different substances. Then they grow up to be just as fearless!
(Note: I’m trying to fix them all, but you might notice words run together. This is because the spacebar on my laptop sticks and doesn’t really work and I wrote this on my laptop.)
Some snippets of thought:
Etiquette: Always carry dishes, either with food or empty, with two hands.
Tabua: Give to father of bride-to-be, the more the tabua, the more she's worth(I would be worth 5 or 6)
Frogs are nuts here! They are everywhere at night, especially when it rains! And it's like they want you to step on them because they're always underfoot when you're walking. It's insane and ridiculous and I have stepped on a ridiculous number of frogs- with and without shoes!
There's been a little revival in my garden because of so much rain. The English cabbage is growing well, even some that I planted that I thought weren't going to make it have hung in there. So has some Chinese cabbage that I transplanted and the beans are still coming. I also think my tomato plants are not all dead yet. There are a few that are still healthy and I think they're just a little slow... the carrots are slow, too, and not dead but not ready to eat yet, either. The eggplant are doing extremely well! If only I could plant some pumpkin and basil and other herbs...And I'm still bummed about my peppers.
One of the most annoying things ever: having a mosquito stuck inside your mosquito net! Oh wait, having two mosquitoes stuck inside your mosquito net!
That said,I know some people are crazy about saying “That can give you cancer!” about things like mosquito coils, but I don't care. It's worth a decent night sleep every night to burn one for a few hours so I can doze off and notscratch myself to death the next day. And really, if you let it anything can give you cancer for cripes sake. Avoid the obvious things like cigarettes and keep healthy, and I think my odds are no greater or worse from using/not using a mosquito coil.
Never guess what I did yesterday. I was supposed to go fishing with one of the women in the village but because the wind was too strong she decided we would go get the “vivili.” I had no idea what that was; they explained that you get the vivili from under the rocks. So we go to the river/ ponds and I discover that we are going diving for snails. There were three of us. One wore the goggles/snorkel, one looked for snails without the goggles, and then there was me. I swam around, sloshed around, really, on the slippery rocks, and held the bag which held all our finds. I did collect a bunch of snails- a lot, really. Some were really hard to get off the sides of rocks. Those little suckers can really stick. Some were just on the bottom of the river. Some were long and narrow, others round little bumps. A lot of them really had perfected the art of mimicry. It's incredible! You really have to run your hand (or feet) over the rocks to find them, because just looking won't always work. And then they were cooked in lolo, coconut cream. Speaking of snails (I could really say a lot about them), there are some really cool ones. I saw one yesterday morning that looked just like a leaf. It was long and narrow and black, with a little gold strip along its back. The only thing identifying it as a snail, other than its snail-like pace, was the two little antennae. I've seen some cool snails. Of all colors and sizes and styles. And every time, I think of Pat and Snailish Records (shameless plug!).
Saturday my sister and I went to tend to our yaqona plantation. We only have about100,but they were really healthy! We planted them in early July I think it was. We hadn't checked on them since and what we did Saturday was to weed a little and unbury the seedlings. When you plant yaqona, you cut up one of the trunks of the plant that has little nubbins of buds on it and then bury those pieces. The new plant grows up from the old pieces, usually 3-5 pieces in each overturned plot of soil. How it works is you have to weed your area, then turn a little soil, then put the pieces in the soil, but not too deep. Then you cover it with the weeded area, grasses and sticks and stuff. After a couple months, you go back and uncover the plots and they should have sprouted again. Ours did! Only a couple had died- which is good. We had to replant the village yaqona because they all died. But anyway, it's exciting. This was part of a youth project. The youth group planted 1000 plants, paid work. Then we planted mine and Leti's, and we planted another young woman's. After another 3-5 years, Leti can harvest her plants and sell it. You have the literal roots, called waka, which is stronger than the cut pieces (lewena) which is the root going further up. The waka is what is used as your sevusevu and for more formal occasions when drinking grog or going someplace. The waka goes for about $20 or so a kilo and the cut pieces for about $16-18 at our village store. If you buy the waka for yourself, it's $26/kilo or $3/100 grams. The selling price depends on how mature your plant is. The longer you let it grow, the more mature it is, the stronger it is, and the more money you get for it.
I realized something yesterday. I've been way too cautious throughout my life. I'm not very brave. I mean, to a point I am- I'm in Fiji for two years. But I don't take chances. Never have. I was a fairly active child, I think, but I wasn't brave or daring. I played it safe, always. Sure, I jumped off a really high cliff into the jellyfish filled Mediterranean Sea once, drive a car (driving is still like the most unsafe thing to do ever), fly, swim in the ocean, travel by myself to completely foreign countries, and sometimes put myself in situations where maybe I shouldn't, but things like walking on rocks freak me out. Make me all cautious. That's just me, and I wish I would have done more when I was younger to get over that. I see these kids here, and they're fearless. They jump off these big rocks into the same pool where I'm looking for snails, afraid to put my feet down. They run and jump and slide and twirl and flip over and into and off of so many different substances. Then they grow up to be just as fearless!
(Note: I’m trying to fix them all, but you might notice words run together. This is because the spacebar on my laptop sticks and doesn’t really work and I wrote this on my laptop.)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
big, long, ranting post.
So, let's see where to start. Not too much has happened/ been happening lately. I've been in a cranky mood, so I have to apologize for some of these posts and Facebook stuff. I haven't been agreeing with the decisions being made in the village, and how they're being made. Most people don't agree with what is happening, but given Fijian hierarchy and structure, you don't question the Chief's decision. Except me, and everyone else just rants to me, and I internalize that. Oilei. Some of the recent decisions: to cut down mangroves and to replant logged areas with non-native species so they can be logged again in another 20-30 years. And what is the purpose of me being here? I want to ask the village. So I'm trying a new approach. Not sure what that is yet, but I'm working on it. I hear comments that give priority to human beings over the environment/nature. And while I want to agree that yes, you are here right now and your way of life is worth keeping, you are not going to be here for that long. These forests and mangrove stands have been here for hundreds of years and will continue to do so as long as humans don't keep murdering them. And the way of life here depends so heavily on the natural environment that you can't destroy it and keep your way of life. But people in the US don't understand that either, and in the US we logged the hell out of our lands and destroy nature in unmendable ways, so who am I to say anything?
I've been reading a lot; I'm up to 70 books finished so far and reading a lot of magazines. And watching a lot of Gilmore Girls. I might need Season 7 to appear in my mailbox... or on a plane from America in December :) I've also been cooking a lot, making different curries and trying to perfect my roti (I think I did it yesterday! The secret: lots of hot water and lots of kneading and oil when they're cooking!) I made my own pasta- if anyone has a better recipe than an egg, salt, and flour, I'd love to know it. I made my own pasta and then made macaroni and cheese (I bought cheese... Kraft blue box... it's so sad... I'm embarrassed to admit it... sorry, Wisconsin!) and another day I made my pasta and then made a white cream sauce with tomatoes. It was delicious and totally fattening. And I've been eating lots of beans- black, kidney, chickpeas.
I'm on kind of a hating mode. I realized that there are two creatures I absolutely hate, detest: ants and cockroaches. I'm not a hater, but this two things are so disgusting and annoying I just can't take it! Sandra Cisneros said it best in Woman Hollering Creek when a character describes her frustration with cockroaches- it's not their antennae, their flying around, their inability to die but their activity at night. It drives me crazy! They're so loud! And they eat anything. Anything! It's like the cockroaches and ants work as a team. The cockroaches chew a hole first and then the ants come in. I mean everything. Spices, vitamins, dry pasta, fresh veggies. I also have to take a few paragraphs to go on a political rant, something I’ve been trying not to do so much but I feel it is my civic duty (and stress relief) to rant about a person I hate. Really, there is no person living or dead I have ever or will ever hate as much as this person. (If you're an identified Conservative, you might want to skip ahead.) I'mtalking about the darling child, Ronnie. A couple of things have sparked this renewed hatred, mostly things I've read. The first was National Geographic's cover story this month about solar power and the second is the Vanity Fair interview with Nancy Reagan (I've also decided I hate Vanity Fair. Really, what's the point of this magazine if you don't care about being a media whore or reading about media whores?) I have nothing against Mrs Reagan, no, really I pity her no one ever helped her with her anorexia and her puppy doggish idolic worship of her husband. I like that she had a sense of style, elegance, and really seemed like a strong, foreceful woman (maybe, if not unopinionated. It makes me wonder how many First Ladies disagree/d with their husbands' politics. Obviously not HRC- of course!- or Rosalynn Carter, whose husband I absolutely love, maybe just the Republican ones? Poor women.)
My point is, I hate Ronald Reagan and his legacy. This hatred is so strong. Every time I think of him, my blood just boils. AHH!! What's wrong with people that they think he was so amazing? I mean, do you see the state of the country (America) right now? You think that has anything at all to do with his absolute deregulation and encouragement of a limitlessly free economy? It's not just economics (in no way, shape or form has Reganomics shown to be positive for most people); I think his social policies have been just as detrimental and long lasting. (And, I might add, many of them are directly linked to economics) Let me just say, environmental, economic, AIDS, War on Drugs, are the main areas I think he has ruined for a long, long time.
I digress... I winter seasons anywhere in the world just stink. I'm ready for it to warm up.
I've been reading a lot; I'm up to 70 books finished so far and reading a lot of magazines. And watching a lot of Gilmore Girls. I might need Season 7 to appear in my mailbox... or on a plane from America in December :) I've also been cooking a lot, making different curries and trying to perfect my roti (I think I did it yesterday! The secret: lots of hot water and lots of kneading and oil when they're cooking!) I made my own pasta- if anyone has a better recipe than an egg, salt, and flour, I'd love to know it. I made my own pasta and then made macaroni and cheese (I bought cheese... Kraft blue box... it's so sad... I'm embarrassed to admit it... sorry, Wisconsin!) and another day I made my pasta and then made a white cream sauce with tomatoes. It was delicious and totally fattening. And I've been eating lots of beans- black, kidney, chickpeas.
I'm on kind of a hating mode. I realized that there are two creatures I absolutely hate, detest: ants and cockroaches. I'm not a hater, but this two things are so disgusting and annoying I just can't take it! Sandra Cisneros said it best in Woman Hollering Creek when a character describes her frustration with cockroaches- it's not their antennae, their flying around, their inability to die but their activity at night. It drives me crazy! They're so loud! And they eat anything. Anything! It's like the cockroaches and ants work as a team. The cockroaches chew a hole first and then the ants come in. I mean everything. Spices, vitamins, dry pasta, fresh veggies. I also have to take a few paragraphs to go on a political rant, something I’ve been trying not to do so much but I feel it is my civic duty (and stress relief) to rant about a person I hate. Really, there is no person living or dead I have ever or will ever hate as much as this person. (If you're an identified Conservative, you might want to skip ahead.) I'mtalking about the darling child, Ronnie. A couple of things have sparked this renewed hatred, mostly things I've read. The first was National Geographic's cover story this month about solar power and the second is the Vanity Fair interview with Nancy Reagan (I've also decided I hate Vanity Fair. Really, what's the point of this magazine if you don't care about being a media whore or reading about media whores?) I have nothing against Mrs Reagan, no, really I pity her no one ever helped her with her anorexia and her puppy doggish idolic worship of her husband. I like that she had a sense of style, elegance, and really seemed like a strong, foreceful woman (maybe, if not unopinionated. It makes me wonder how many First Ladies disagree/d with their husbands' politics. Obviously not HRC- of course!- or Rosalynn Carter, whose husband I absolutely love, maybe just the Republican ones? Poor women.)
My point is, I hate Ronald Reagan and his legacy. This hatred is so strong. Every time I think of him, my blood just boils. AHH!! What's wrong with people that they think he was so amazing? I mean, do you see the state of the country (America) right now? You think that has anything at all to do with his absolute deregulation and encouragement of a limitlessly free economy? It's not just economics (in no way, shape or form has Reganomics shown to be positive for most people); I think his social policies have been just as detrimental and long lasting. (And, I might add, many of them are directly linked to economics) Let me just say, environmental, economic, AIDS, War on Drugs, are the main areas I think he has ruined for a long, long time.
I digress... I winter seasons anywhere in the world just stink. I'm ready for it to warm up.
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