The Sunday before Easter I participated in Palm Sunday celebrations and went to the drama service at my church in the village. I love how the children are the centerfold of the entire day! People in Fiji are extremely religious, at least with attending church. On Sundays many people in my village will go to all three church services: 5 am, 10:30 am and 6 pm. I spend a lot of time with the children in my village, whether it be at their school giving health presentations, playing around in the village, or having some of the neighboring kids over for tea. I swear, it is them who keep me sane in this world. There's something about the naïveté of children that inspire you to realize that there is still pure joy and goodness in this world. Every week I attend schools and village meetings, it's crazy to think though how there's never really repetition with my life. Always something new to do, or go to or see. The Friday before that I got to help with a large NCD screening across the whole town of Sigatoka! It was crazy and we tested over 200 people! I was able to talk to so many people about their diets and how to cut back on certain things for those close to going over in blood sugar and blood pressure!
The children as Jesus and his donkey walking into Jerusalem!
My favorite Adi Kama and I watching the drama at church!
Helping at Sigatoka!
I spent what would've been Easter weekend, celebrating a Hindu holiday called Holi. The story goes that a leader named Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiaranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion. The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion. Its crazy the stories we believe through our religious texts or passed down stories. Here in Fiji we celebrate with a large festival of colors! I'm sad to report I didn't get any photos, but there was a lot of water balloon throwing and people walking around with crazy colors painted on their face.
It was sort of a relaxing weekend, and I really enjoyed it. Her mom has a washing machine so I got to wash my clothes with that instead of by hand. And that weekend, and the week previous my University won their first two games EVER in the NCAA! YAY Florida Gulf Coast University! I can't even explain the emotions I went through that weekend. It was truly inspiring. During that next week I visited family in a province I had yet to visit, Ba. It was ridiculously hot, but the family there was just ridiculously giving and welcome. Doing a nightly prayer service wasn't so bad. I even cried my last night there. I played some volleyball, watched some movies and played lots of Uno with the kids! They were so obsessed I ended up leaving the deck there! It was a surprise for when they got home for school since I left before they got home. I also went to visit one of my closest relatives, Eva at her house in Ba. She was really sick with a bad fever, but she's all right now. I was really worried. She stays in an area called Sacred Hart, and it's for families that can't afford to rent in Ba. It's right next to the hospital and health centers so I think it may also have to do with a disease that someone has that's in the family.
My family in Ba! Jo jo and Maggie!
Can't get enough of this girl Maggie! Even though I was looking rough that day haha
Then the next night I went and hung out with my friend matt again since his house was on the road to Suva from Ba, Rakiraki is right between. We talked about how his girlfriend is coming to visit and how excited he was! Hopefully, I'll have friends come visit too! Haha of course I ended up going to the hospital again the week she was by my province so I couldn't meet her. The next day I went to Suva and got a few errands done, then met up with my family from my village and we left together to go to the Fijian wedding! It was a really great time and there was just so much culture in my small time there. Between the outfits and the prayers and how it all works compared to modern weddings was really wonderful. After I was able to ride on the back of my families truck on the way back to our village. There is no better way to see Queen's road than on the back of a truck. It was a beautiful day and I got to see so much beauty :)
The bride and groom at the wedding
One of the groomsmen's, check out those outfits!
The wedding, and the back of the outfits!
MY sister and I at the wedding!
Queen's road! This is where we stayed at for our first few days in Fiji and for our second training back in February
With my sister on the back of the truck, we're rebels apparently...
I started staying in my village more since the school team went on break and it's done me a lot of good with building relationships there. I feel like I'm really starting to connect to the people more. I even did a little cultural exchange and made the Talatala's family (a Deacon sort of over 7 villages who lives in the same compound as I) omlette's and skillet'd potatoes BUT FOR DINNER! Because of course breakfast for dinner is the best thing in the world! I also helped out a bit when two people in our village died, one being the previous chief for the entire district (or tikina). Now that was a day of crazy culture and just faux pa after faux pa that I committed. Between standing in the doorway of the bure, to putting a child over my head, then not saying "tulo" (excuse me) when standing above people. In Fiji, it's tabu to stand over people or have items/people over your head in the village. To the people in Fiji the head is a sacred body part, and no one is above your head but God. Also that if people stand above others without saying tulo, it's as to say I am above you as a person in rank and intelligence. I felt so guilty after, but I learned my lessons for sure. During the funeral, since he was not just the chief of the village but the whole district, he had warriors with war clubs stand outside his bure defending his body until the time he was buried. The ladies of his tokotoko (family) weaved many mats and decorated his bure with color and traditional fabric that is originated from bark. It was another weekend of cultural education is all I can really say. Especially with how much kava I drank. The weekend after that I helped the NCD Wellness team launch a Healthy Lifestyle kickoff at a local hotel! It was a whole day affair and the hotel sent us off with some great fish and chips. Yummy yummy in my tummy.
The men who protect the chief's body, body guards with war clubs. Attractive.
Just a few of the mats the women weaved, placed in the church, before the body arrived
Carrying the coffin to the grave
Panoramic of the Chiefly bure to the church, to the grave
The Wellness team shirts we got at the launch!
The Wellness team with Dr. Tukana, a Ministry of Health VIP!
On the busiest Monday I've had in a long time, I finally became more on track with my health center project in my village. My village once had a health center independently run and completely funded by Rotary International, and the facility is still standing tall. It was cared for by the village after Rotary left and gave the land back to the village in 2006. The reason I am here as a volunteer in my specific village is to help it get back to it's former glory but with the Ministry of Health as its funding source. I work at a different Health Center now, but will move once the center is officially opened some time this year. But since there have been a lot of hiccups in the road, we have had to take our time. On this Monday, I didn't even know the meeting was occuring, I just happened to be in the village at the time. I met the Medical Officer of the entire Western Division (there's only four in the entire country), the Sister in Charge of the Western Division (the main nurse) and the Health Inspector of the Western Division as well. So many important people from around the Western side came to meet about the requirements needed to get the clinic running soon. After, I rode with them to another meeting in the local town and I met the Health Inspector of my entire Province. I'm really excited to work with him on toilets for my village at the up and coming Project Develop Management workshop with Peace Corps in May. Then I met one of my closest friends here, Caitlin and her boyfriend for dinner in Nadi. It was really nice to meet him and get to see Caitlin so soon. She's great people. After I returned to my town to meet with another volunteer to plan a workshop on water borne diseases in a village almost 90 minutes away. I had a fever through the whole day and didn't even realize it. I came home and had a 102 fever, I ended up having fevers the whole week, even through the presentations. Apparently I need to learn to slow down sometimes. I think this whole staying in my village mindset will be good for me.
My village has traditional bures, similar to the one I was going to live in, in my previous site. They're so beautiful, I wish I had one of those to live in somedays. But then I think how much more privacy I have where I live now and I am happier haha. My house was infested with fleas for a bit, pretty much from the fact that I didn't clean my house too well and the rat's were spreading too easily. Like I said earlier, I was really sick again. Lots of high fevers and throat swelling, so they wanted to check a few things out and again I was back in Suva the week after my presentations and meetings. Nothing serious no worries. I get home sick sometimes, and it's days like those I wish the airfare back to home wasn't so outrageous. The group before us is coming close to close of service, talking to them feels so weird. They've been here about 24 months now. They all have different plans, lots of traveling, lots of future tracks, one kid who lived down the street and went to High School with me got into a really fancy program with John Hopkins and he'll start his first semester in Italy! Crazy right!! I know it seems too early to think about post-peace corps but with so much down time, they say it's pretty normal. I'm still so confused. Our close of service month is November 2014. We haven't even hit the year mark.
Traditional bures in my village!
Beaches in my village!
Me sick in the hospital!
WHEN THE RATS ATTACK! THEY EAT THROUGH YOUR VITAMIN BOTTLE!!
While I was in Suva my program manager sat down with me and told me she felt my volunteer report was one of the few she's ever read that truly understands the people of Fiji; and that she wished I could convert the other volunteers to think like me. She's from Fiji, so I think for her it just gets disconcerting to have volunteers consistently feel like they don't connect to the people here. I think she sometimes wonders who isn't doing the right connecting work, volunteers or people here. I don't know why I have a different type of relationship with people here than most volunteers in my group, the group previous to us understands it a lot more as I do too. Maybe it's because from day one I've only expressed my want to learn while I'm here in Fiji; and some of the other volunteers believe they know enough and just want to teach the people of Fiji through a transfer of skills, aka what Peace Corps is supposed to be about haha. But I don't really know how much I have to give to them, so I just stick to learning. I'm never really sure if I'm doing the right thing, so I just keep doing what I want to do. It's worked out so far and I think I'm one of the consistently happier volunteers. While I was in Suva, I was finally able to pick up the packages from my Grandma and Cousin Erin! They sent me crazy awesome spices and candies. I've almost eaten all the bags up, it's terrible. This past week has been so busy, between meetings with my Turaga Ni Koro (or mayor) of my village and the Mata Ni Tikina (or face of my district) about the toilets and the list of things needed for the next meeting about the Health Center next week... and visiting Suva to help one volunteer Co-lead a 3 day leadership development workshop for a group of 15 14 yr-20 yr old girls! Then as a topper on the cake, the NCAA Sweet 16 shirts that I ordered from my University came in and I received a post card from my friend in Colorado!! The months of March and April were seriously amazing months. Busy and culturally unforgettable. I just hope May and June can do the same.
The postcard I received
I'm sorry I wrote so much!! Just so much has happened and I wanted to make sure you were there for it all! Below is a picture of one of the shirts that got sent to me and my friend Caitlin, her boyfriend and I having cocktails in Nadi! Then the spices and everything my family sent me!!
Vinaka vakalevu! (Thank you very much!) Miss everyone back home <3
