I am going to try really hard to keep up with this blog, there are just so many things going on and I hate blogs without pictures, so I'll try to upload some. I have been at my site for about a month now, and it is wonderful. I am on the northern island AKA “The friendly north” and this is very true. I get free rides and invitations to dinners and to stay with people all the time! Don’t worry, the free rides are usually from people I know or taxi drivers who decide not to charge me. I think they like that I speak a little Hindi!
My Job
I am working with the nursing school on several projects, but my biggest project is conducting a health survey. I am coming into this project as it is about to begin, the volunteer before me did all of the hard work to set it up and get it ready – now I have to implement and analyze. I am excited to see what programs and changes can be made after the organization gets the results of the survey. One very interesting thing I’ve learned about Fiji is that they have one of the highest rates of cervical cancer per capita – nuts! All of the staff at the school have been extremely helpful and kind. I’m always asking questions! The other projects I am working on; working with students who are in the community doing neighborhood profiling (collecting data on families, ect..), developing more research opportunities, continuing education for staff, best nursing practice model, and helping start a senior social club with my supervisor. The school where I live would also like for me to help out there when I can, my roommate’s ministry wants her to teach aerobics on Fridays & so I told her I would help her out too and I meet someone new each week who would like for me to help out their organization. Always something to do!
My house
I am living on the grounds of an elementary school, there are 3 residences – another family shares the back of my flat but they are moving to the vacant house just above mine. I just hope that whoever moves in next doesn't have chickens and roosters…or I might have to kill them (the chickens, not the people). I do not miss the chickens and roosters from my host settlement. My neighbors are very nice, they let me borrow tools when I think I can fix something. The latest thing I tried to fix (but failed) was my shower head. The one was all old and rusty and didn’t work at all. I bought a new one and tried to change it, but couldn’t get it to unscrew, so Canada Mike came over with some tools and fixed it up for me! It is much much better now.
I have a cute little house, 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. I have a roommate right now until her house is ready. It has been nice having someone around. We have had some cooking adventures! I’ll go into that later. I am still trying to get the house as clean as I would like it – getting rid of all the spider webs, cockroaches, and the MICE. One mouse has been taunting me. A few weeks ago I killed a baby mouse with peanutbutter (I guess they have peanut allergies) and then I killed his brother a couple days later with a broom. I was sweeping under the fridge and it ran out…I was screaming and whacking it until it died. Haha, I wish someone would’ve videotaped that sight. But now this mouse has run across the back of the sink twice this week while I was washing dishes….making me scream. So it was time to get rid of it. I got a sticky trap from the hardware store and caught it in one night. But since it was still twitching in the morning I put it out of its misery & whacked it with a cane knife. I thought this was the end of my mouse problems, but there is another little guy in my living room. This one is smarter b/c it hasn’t gone on the sticky trap. I will catch it...hopefully soon! Other than the mice, my house is great, I’ve put up pictures of friends and family so it feels more like home.
My down-time
Many Peace Corps Volunteers read in their down town, I find that I am often cleaning or cooking in my down-time. I never realized how long it takes to cook! My first few meals were pretty much a disaster, my polite roommate ate everything and told me it was good, but I knew it wasn’t. Since practice makes perfect, I kept trying and I’m getting much better. The problem is, I’m really good at Indian dishes – I need to pick out some American dishes to try. I also do not have an oven, so I’m a little more limited- they have some creative suggestions on how to bake without an oven, I just haven’t tried it yet. So far I am good at making roti, pumpkin curry, long bean curry, and tomato chutney. I also tried to make Channa Masala for one of our friends – it came out alright, but I need to practice some more. We, however, were not so successful when we tried to make fish. Here is how it went…
My roommate Monica came home – “Greta, I got 2 fish at the market”
Me – “Oh good, did you have them filet them?”
Monica – “No, I just got 2 fish”
Me – “Oh, well did you have them scale the fish?”
Monica – “Nope, I just got 2 fish”
Me- “Ok, we can do this”
We ended up googling how to filet a fish & still couldn’t do it (our knives are pretty dull and we are not that talented), so we chopped it up and made fish curry. Luckily another PCV is a master at fileting fish, so he is going to teach me.
If I’m not cooking, I’m cleaning. I try not to be crazy and let things go, but when I get in the cleaning mood, it’s hard to stop me! I just think that if I keep my house extremely clean, the critters won’t want to come inside – we’ll see if this theory works out for me. It’s very dusty in Fiji, so I have to sweep every other day.
We also get together with other volunteers in town and have dinner and drinks. It’s a great way to relax from the week. One problem is the cost of alcohol here. Most of you know I don’t drink beer, and hard alcohol is WAY expensive- so I’m developing my wine pallet, which means I’m down for trying any red wine under $20. It’s going pretty well so far, I am still trying to find my favorite aka the cheapest. But if you’d like to send me some bottles of Oliver Soft Red I would be so appreciative!!
Our weekend activities have included:
- Pizza and beer pong for one guy’s 23rd birthday.
- Going to a close-by beach, it was very pretty but not good to swim (ankle deep water for a long time).
- American-style BBQ (I made veggie burgers) with a slip-n-slide
- Hosting a dinner party with 9 people – Monica and I were a well-oiled machine with the prep and cooking, the food was excellent
- Playing Poker
- Laundry – there is always laundry to do!
Funny Observation
- Doors open in…you’d think it would be easy to adapt to, but it’s not
- Kissing/sucking noise to get someone’s attention – I can’t explain it with words
- When people are finished talking to me, they say “Ok thank you Greta” – I am often mid-sentence when they say this to me
- No orderly lines…just push your way up b/c if you try to be polite, you’ll be waiting for a while
- If you are from America (ham American se aayaa hae), you must be from California – it’s the only place in America most Fijian’s know about
What I miss from America
Of course I miss all of my family and friends, but I am able to talk to them pretty often, so I mostly miss the food. Here are some items that make my mouth water, in no particular order:
- Jimmy Johns #6 no cucumber, no mayo, extra tomato
- Yats
- Cannoli from Mike’s Pastry (in Boston)
- Qdoba
- Asparagus
- Salmon
- Strawberries….any type of berry actually
- Ball Park Pretzels from Rock Bottom
- Ranch Dressing * but I can get a family-size hidden valley ranch from Cost U Less, its like 40 bucks, but might be worth it*
- Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Avocados….but I think they are coming in season soon
- Coleman’s fish sandwich
- Sushi
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