I apologize for not having much time to update my blog, they are keeping me very busy. I have now been in Fiji for a little over a week. I have gone through a variety of emotions in this time, but overall it is very exciting.
Just before leaving Indiana
When I left Indiana on the 17th for LA, I had no clue what was in store for me. After a long day of traveling, I arrived in LAX, got my very heavy bags and headed to the hotel. I was told there was a free shuttle, so I went to the curb and waited for a few minutes, but it felt like my back was going to break so I decided to just take a cab. Well that was a big mistake! As soon as I told the driver where I was going he started yelling at me, telling me I was wasting his time and I should’ve just waited for the bus. Welcome to LA! I really thought I might cry, but I held back my tears and sat quietly. And being the nice mid-westerner I am, I even gave him a little tip. That was dumb. I checked into the hotel and found my roommate there. Her name was Sara and she was from Ohio (Cleveland, but not a Browns fan, thank goodness). She gave me a big hug, which I think we both needed, and we chatted until registration. At registration we filled out paperwork and met the other people going with us. Everyone was very nice. It was also refreshing to know that we all had the same excitement and fears. That evening some of us went to dinner in a nearby hotel and then I passed out!
my first roommate Sara
The next morning we had our orientation. I met more of our training group. There are 35 of us total- 19 men and 16 women, with two married couples. There is a good age range of people, from recent college grads, to late 20’s and then some retired people too. I was pretty anxious all day to get to the airport and get going. This was my first trip out of the country and my first long flight. The plane left at 11:30 LA time, so 2:30 my body’s time. I was tired, but also excited. I sat in the back of the plane, which had its advantages (close to the bathroom) but some disadvantages too. I thought I could just sleep the whole time, but we hit some turbulence and my stomach was turning. Luckily I was sitting next to a married couple in our group and she gave me some drowsy Dramamine & it worked like a charm.
All of our baggage at the LA airport
Landing in Fiji was uneventful, it was still dark outside, so we didn’t see anything. We were met at the gate by Peace Corps Staff and shuttled though. I did not take the advice of current volunteers and get any of the duty free, I don’t drink that much anyway- hope I don’t regret that decision later.
The next morning we took an hour drive to Nadave where we would stay for a few days. It was very beautiful there and I miss it. We had training sessions from Friday-Monday all day. But the good part was the tea. They feed you all the time here- breakfast, tea, lunch, tea, dinner. It was nice to be with everyone in our training group, we got to know each other a little better and had a good time. Every night after dinner, some of the trainers would have grog with us (kava). It really doesn’t taste very good, but it made my mouth numb for a few minutes. It was more important for me to be social with everyone, not drink the grog.
One of the days (Saturday maybe), we got a bunch of paperwork completed such as opening a bank account, getting our tin box with all the goodies, and some other things. It was here that I noticed I would be living in an Indo-Fijian settlement and learning Hindi. I was a little surprised, happy, then sacred. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to learn Hindi….I’m still not sure I will be able to! So I started fishing around to see who else was with me. I was very excited to learn that my original roommate Sara would be with me, Lucas from Pittsburgh(but not a steeler fan), Tony from Vegas and Paulden from Michigan. The next day Paulden got moved to a Fijian village b/c one of the Hindi families had to back out at the last second.
Monday was adoption day, we went to our villages and settlements that evening and met our families. I was given some information about the family, then it turned out I was given the wrong info! No problem, I just went with it. My family has a mother (mata jii), father (pita jii), two brothers and one sister. The kids are 12, 10 and 7. My host family is really wonderful and is very accommodating. They have given me a Hindi name, Ashne, it sounds like Ashley. My host siblings mostly call me Gigi, or sister in Hindi. They were (and still are) a little concerned that I do not eat enough food, but I am trying to explain that I don’t eat as much as they do. The food is really good, I just cannot eat heaping piles of it. I do taste everything and tell them what I like and what I don’t like. I even mentioned how I usually just eat a piece of peanut butter bread for breakfast, so my mata jii now makes me some peanut butter toast and apple (apul) slices for breakfast. My homestay coordinator told me today “so, do you feel like a princess in the home?” I guess other host families don’t serve peanut butter!
Tuesday we had training and language in the morning and then a Cultural afternoon in a nearby village. They made us a traditional Fijian lunch, we did some activities and then the community came out with the grog (kava), music and dancing. It was really fun! We were sad when it was over.
Wednesday we went back to that village (its only a 10 min walk) for some gardening training. Every village and settlement is required to have a garden, something I have been dreading! But I decided to put on a smile and try something new, maybe I’ll enjoy it! Later that morning we went back to our village to plant our garden. We planted cabbage and beans…pretty boring. But I am going to help my language teacher dig up another garden tomorrow, I figure I might as well learn how to garden while I’ve got the time. We finished up our Wednesday with language and worked on a group project.
Thursday was our center day. This is when all 35 of us travel to Nasouri town for training. There are lots of shops there and a market so we can get everything we need. This is also where I am able to access the internet. You don’t know how lucky you are to have wireless at your fingertips! In the morning we split into groups according to our assignments (health, business & environment)- the health volunteers when to another location to learn about the common projects that health volunteers do and the Peace Corps’ strategic plan. I got really excited to start thinking about what types of projects I can do when I get to my site.
Friday, Tony and I spent the day with a current volunteer in the same town we went to Thursday. We got to see her work and where she lives. She actually has a nice, big house close to town. I am starting to get a better understanding of what my life will be like for the next 2 years. Tony and I hung around the town for a little while and studied. When we got back to the settlement, I wanted to go for a run. One small concern is that I am not allowed to go anywhere on my own. I understand it would be a huge safety issue for me to roam around by myself, but I really like to run & its hard to find someone who is up for a 3 to 5 mile run every day. My solution is to have my host brother ride his bike along with me. This way we can talk and get to know each other and I can get my run in. By the time I got home it was close to 6 and the sun starts setting at 6:15 (its winter here). I went for a short run, some of the other kids came with me too, but they tuckered out quick and I left them in the dust (don’t worry, another volunteer was with me). When we got back to the settlement, Lucas and I did a little boot-camp with crunches, pushups, bicycles, lunges…it was more for me, but the kids liked to play along too. The night was relaxing, we had dinner, ice cream and watched a Indian soap opera. Yes, that’s right, I get ice cream almost every night…the joys of living with children J.
Saturday we have language class in the morning. I feel like I am understanding more each day…hopefully I will pass the upcoming test! My matajii instructed me on how to properly do my wash. I was very happy that she has a “dryer” it really the final spin cycle on our washing machines, but it really helps get the water out so my clothes will dry on the line. I am pretty proud of myself for washing everything by hand! I’m sure these clothes won’t last long, but No worries! I was visited by the homestay coordinator and then Sara and I went for a long walk. When we got back, I helped mata jii make dinner…crab curry, chutney and rice. The crab curry was made with coconut milk, so I was able to scrap my first coconut! My mata jii is very helpful and really wants to teach me, I am very thankful. This evening had the most beautiful sunset! I could really get used to those! Before dinner we had a little dance party at Sara’s ghar(house). We have to dance at our cultural night and at swearing-in, so we need the ladies to teach us some traditional dance and some baliwood dance, but they first wanted to see if we knew HOW to dance. I think we impressed them with our moves! Sara is a salsa dancer, so she was showing them some of her moves! We had dinner, ice cream and then I went to bed!
And for those of you who think I am just living in paradise…take a look at my bug bites, and this is just one leg!!
Thank you for all of the wonderful prayers and good thoughts, please keep them coming! I will try to update my blog every week! Miss you all!
Love Greta!
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