Service up to this point in numbers:
25- People in my training class when we arrived in Fiji
22- People at Mid-Service Training
6- People who have transferred sites (including myself)
6- Weeks in my original village in Vanua Levu
47- Overall days I've stayed at the PC Hotel due to Safety and security issues
6- Average amount of kids that eat at my village house in a week
3- Pairs of sandals and running shoes that have withered away into nothing X-Countless times I've had to go thrift store shopping for work clothes
2/3- Amount of times I hand wash laundry per month
4/5- Hours it takes my laundry to dry because I saved up and bought a washing machine that is terrible washing but AWESOME AT SPINNING THE WATER OUT OF MY CLOTHES
9- Weeks without water in my village 1- Neighborhood dog that I feed my scraps to
15/20- Chickens that wake me up every morning with their crowing
X- Countless animals that roam my village and compound on a daily basis (Cows, horses, pigs, dogs, cat, rats etc)
6- Number of minutes it takes me to get to my village beach
6- Number of hotels within a 20 minute radius
2- Number of buses it takes me to get to work
2- Number of times a day I wish work was closer
45/60- Average amount of minutes it takes me to get to work
75- Average amount of minutes it takes me to return home from work if I walk back to town
$4.30- Cost to get to work per day if I walk back not if I take a taxi or an early bus back
4- Number of times a day I remember how amazing my job is at the hospital so it's all worth it 44- Nurses that work at the hospital I work at
20- Established staff (Doctors/Lab Techs/XRay Techs//Dietician/Physiotherapist/Admin Staff)
Xx- Countless amazing government wage employees
2/3- Liters of water I drink daily
3- Number of times I wish I owned a refrigerator a day
2- Number of times a week food spoils in my cupboard
7- Number of times a rat enters my house in a week
2- Amount of times per day someone asks me where I learned to speak Fijian
X-Countless times a Fijian tells me I'm smart in speaking the itaukei language
X- Countless times I reply that I want to be fluent and am no where close
2- Mobile phones that have found their way out of my life
6- Lights that I've had to replace around my house
2- Lights that actually work in my house
X- Countless times the power has gone out because of a power surge
2- Number of items I charge on a daily basis (iPad and Phone)
1- Number of electrical outlets available to use in my house (thank you man for surge protectors)
3- Number of rooms in my huge house
1- Number of people who live at my ridiculously huge house
2- Number of Papaya trees outside my house
2- Number of lime trees outside my house
3- Number of chile bushes outside my house
1- Number of times I eat meat on a weekly basis
2- Average number of times I eat at someone else's house in my village
2- Number of best girl friends I have in my village
2- Number of unsuccessful male companions
1- Number of successful male companions (Thus far lol)
15- Number of rugby games I've attended
2- Number of islands I've visited
5- Number of islands I want to visit (Kadavu, Taveuni, Lau, Rotuma, Ovalau)
24- Vacation days per year
0- Vacation days I've used
1- Birthdays spent in Fiji so far, feels so great to be 23 (Said no one ever)
1- Skin condition (psoriasis)
1- Week of mono
2- Cases of pink eye (thank you village children)
2- Cases of head lice (and again)
3- Spider bitesx- Countless fevers and head colds
x- Countless mosquito bites
x- Countless incidences of diarrhea/constipation
8- Traditional Fijian sulu jabas that I own
1- Traditional Indian saris that I own
1- Traditional Salwar Kameez that I own
3- Shirts I ordered when my ALMA MATER WENT TO THE SWEET 16
2- Average times per day I’m asked where I’m from (America) or if I'm from Fiji (Because they think I speak Fijian so well)
4- Average times per day I’m encouraged to marry a Fijian or Indian while I’m here (if nothing else then to learn the language lol)
2- Number of native fijians I randomly met but seriously considered marrying if I was here longer than two years lol
4- Average times I get harassed a week
2- Ladies at the market that I always go to for my usual fruits and veggies
1- Major project that has failed miserably
1- Small project that has been successful
1/5- Roll of toilet paper I carry around in my bag every day (bathrooms almost never have toilet paper!)
1- Amount of times I’ve seriously considered throwing in the towel and going home
X-Countless liters of alcohol I've drank to wash my week away
X- Countless times I have to remind myself "I live in Fiji OMG"
X- Countless times a day I wish I had my friends or family here with me
x- Countless times I’ve thanked God for this experience
Thanks Shadae for letting me steal some of your points!!
There’s a phenomenon in Peace Corps called the “mid-service crisis”. The mid-service crisis happens to volunteers who are halfway through their 27 month stint. During this period time volunteers tend to be going through some of the emotions most high school students go through, with deeper reflection.
1. Apathy
2. Disillusionment
3. Disappointment
4. Revaluation of self
5. Doubt about self, program, work, place in life
6. Unmotivated
Which am I going through right now? I don't know... all of them, none of them. Everything and nothing. Peace Corps has taught me so much in the time I've been here. About myself, about the kind of person I want to be; how to treat people, how I want to be treated. It has expanded my mind to places I've never been before. The personal development that comes through all the alone time we face is crazy! We become so self aware, that sometimes it's out self-awareness that causes our strife. Expectations are so different here. People, culture, lifestyles are so different.
There are days I literally wake up and decide I'm not going to work and do nothing but lay in bed. I don't think I did that once in the U.S even when I was sick. It just gets hard. Especially with the holidays coming; holidays here in Fiji means work is slow which means we're often sitting on our butts somewhere. It gets frustrating, even if we are incredibly close with the staff because we have a fear of not accomplishing anything if we're sitting on our butts. But in Fiji nothing gets done in December or January. That's just how the country is run, and something we had to accept our first year. But I think this year we're all looking forward to the break.
I know I'm looking forward to spending more one on one time with the people I care about the most here! Whether it be my family in my village or my family in my training village. Somewhere, everywhere. Take hold of the moment! Each day there is an adventure waiting around the corner! You just have to take it at the horns and don't let go. One of the most important lessons I've learned here is that I don't have to be a "yes woman" but I MUST take advantage of the relationships I make here because people are fascinating. I think I've come to the point in my life that though I may not always like people, I love them. I love people because they live. They have these fascinating experiences that sometimes I'm privileged enough to listen to. Then ask questions about. People can share their life, people can love, people can acknowledge their emotions. We are such fascinating creatures and I'm just so thankful that I'm human. Diwali, a new year so to speak for people belonging to the Hindu religion, was just celebrated in Fiji and I'm looking at it as a new year of fun for my second year as a PCV!
We just swore in Group 90. It was surreal. Just a year ago we were there. Excited. Nervous. Ready. And now, we're all in different places. We've all had great experiences and regrets. As humans we make mistakes. And goodness me have I made probably too many in my short lifetime, but I'm so thankful for each one because it's brought me to be so thankful for all the things I have in my life right now. So yes, sometimes life gets difficult here, a lot of the time. Sometimes conversations are solely gossip, food, or retelling the same stories over and over in the village. But I have found the people I trust, the ways I can let loose, and will always the memories and gifts that Fiji has given me. It's so difficult yet so beautiful at the same time. The darkest days have come and gone, but they make me appreciate the brightest and happiest days. I wish I could better explain the emotional roller coaster we go through as PCV's but just know that it's similar to being in high school.
With that, I'll leave you with some pictures I've taken over the last month and some memes that easily describe my experience and or emotions.
Peace. Love. Fiji.
Happy almost Thanksgiving Day!!
