latest and greatest

I finished The Confederacy of Dunces (LOVED it!!!! so funny!) and I've moved on to movies, bolstered by my engrossment in the top lists of 2008 (thanks mom, Morgan, Kelsey!!) and the Oscars. Where to start?? Lets see... I've watched The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, of course, made another unbelievable movie and Mickey Rourke was so awesome. This was so powerful to me.), Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, again of course, also made such a fantastic film! I was surprised by how much I loved this and how obsessed I've become with it! So glad it won!), Gran Torino (a big surprise by how much I loved this one and it's commentary on race in America), Ghost Town (okay, Ricky Gervais is hilarious no matter what role he's in!), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (this left me with such a strange feeling; I can't quite describe how I feel about it. I loved Cate Blanchett, especially as an older woman. I didn't really get the whole Hurricane Katrina thing- was that necessary? I suppose it was, being born with a bang, dying with a bang. For the most part I give this a thumbs up. Then again, rounding out my favorite directors is David Fincher.), and Burn After Reading (maybe I need to watch this again but I was a little disappointed, and sick.). Some of the other big ones of 2008 weren't available yet but I hope to get to Milk, The Reader, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Revolutionary Road, and who knows what else. And, the more I read and the more I thought about it, let me comment on The Dark Knight. I saw it, in the theater. I loved, loved, loved Batman Begins. But The Dark Knight was totally disappointing. And one of the best films of 2008? Hardly. Yes, Heath Ledger was terrifying and gave a powerful performance. But I'd argue his performances in Brokeback Mountain, Candy, or even I'm Not There were just as good. TDK had too many storylines and too many big blow 'em up action scenes. It was too long and wasted really good actors, especially Christian Bale. It focused too much, I thought, on Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon and was just all over the I get Nolan was trying to be dark and philosophical but I don't think it worked at all. I think the hype overshadowed the reality.

Whew. I've settled into a routine here and there isn't too much more that is shocking or surprising about the culture. I feel like I've adapted and life is just what it is here. We have a lot of projects going in the village, or ideas for projects, so I'm excited to delve into them. No, not all of it necessarily pertains to environmental stuff or even to land use/ planning but I'm here to work for the village. The village wants a prawn farm and beekeeping and a new footpath and so I'm here to support that and make it happen.

Animal updates... Princess Buttercup, my kitty, is doing okay. I think she might be sick and I think it might be because I gave her a bath. But the bath really helped! She was dirty. She looks healthier than other kittens except for some gunk in her eyes and I think she's losing hair. It seems I have a never ending zoo parading through my bamboo house. I had a mongoose that kept coming inside my house last week. That was kind of gross. There are so many frogs here in Fiji it's ridiculous. Seriously, they are everywhere. And they don't move when you're walking! I've kicked/stepped on so many frogs it's disgusting. I'm still surprised though by how few animals there actually are in Fiji. Another PCV told me it's probably because Fiji was formed by volcanoes and its ecosystem is still young. The nights are really quiet and the forests really safe. Mongooses were brought in by foreigners as were rats, dogs, and cats but if not for those, there would no mammals, just birds, sea life, and insects. And the mongoose eat all the birds.

Sorry for the short update! All's well and good here. Hot, of course. Rainy sometimes. I drink a lot of kava. The kindergarten kids are crazy. Avocado season is almost over. I made some banana jam that was really good. I'll post more when there's more to say!