back in the village

I've been back in the village for about three weeks now. Nothing too much happened; in both my American life and Fijian life no major changes happened in three weeks and all was as it was before and after leaving. I guess it's good, to have that consistency in life.

It's starting to warm up again. Weather was a little cool, for Fiji, especially at night. Projects are a little stalled in the village, through no fault of mine (I can't force anyone to come to meetings, make decisions, or talk about things that might be unpleasant), and without the blessing of now two PCVs and the University of the South Pacific. It's been a little stressful in the village, so now I'm in Labasa for a few days promoting PC as an organization in and around Fiji and catching up with other Volunteers. The good thing is, as my village was cutting down mangroves- directly in opposition to every bit of common sense and piece of advice that I and USP have given the village- the next village up came to me asking about replanting mangroves along their coast to protect their shoreline. It was a small but really rewarding gesture. So that'll be a new project I'm excited to take on soon.

I don't really have much of anything to share. Sorry! It's burning season right now and everywhere are patches of burnt hill. It's also sugar cane cutting season up in the north and there is burning because of that, too. And it smells. Really bad.

When I got back, all my Chinese cabbage had been eaten so I turned the soil and planted some English cabbage. My tomato plants are pretty much all dead, which I'm really bummed about because that is the one thing I really wanted to eat. I've been eating the beans- long and French. Eggplant is doing well and so are my carrots, if not taking a long time. I think some peppers are on their way, if I can get some. A lack of water is prohibiting my garden from reaching its full potential :)

It was nice to be back in the US for a short while! Getting to eat my favorites (there was no shortage of cheese and Wisconsin beer), see my friends, catch up on Weeds, see some new movies, and indulge in American amenities was a nice, if not whirlwind and overwhelming, trip. But, I'm glad to be back here where it's warm and laid back and quiet! So thanks, everyone, for the escape, and I hope things in America improve (it was a little depressing hearing about everyone's state of employment) soon so y'all can come on over to this little corner of the world for a visit. I won't be here forever, you know!