Suva City

Those are a few pictures of Suva Harbour. It was an overcast day, but I love the greyness of it all sometimes. (Maybe I should move to Seattle when I get home?) Stormy seas can be just as beautiful as clear, sunny days.

I've been in Suva for over a week. The hustle and bustle is much like an American city. People rushing all around, buying groceries, checking their email at the coffee shop over a tall hazelnut latte (my personal favorite), rushing around the market looking for the freshest produce, hailing cabs and hopping on buses to take them to myriad destinations, all with their 3 bags and 2 small children in tow. You can spot all sorts of attire from traditional sulu jabas worn by the women and pocket sulus worn by the men to board shorts with tank tops to sundresses with big sunglasses to black pants with blouses and stiletto pumps. Surprisingly, the bars even have dress codes -- no flip flops ever and no shorts for men. For a country where few rules apply, it's interesting that the bouncer's enforce this rule so strictly.

One can find almost any food found in America in Suva with the one exception of Mexican food. It doesn't exist here so stop imagining a smorgasboard of enchiladas and chimichangas covered in cheese sauce and a margarita on the side. Won't happen. However, there are tons of fantastic Indian cuisine restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Japanese, Fijian, Italian, etc. I had terrific sushi for lunch yesterday. Mostly everything you want is here if you're willing to pay for it.

I'm a bit bored with Suva. It's hard to make friends and most of them have jobs anyway which leaves me alone all day. I much prefer life in the village where there's always someone to talk to and I know all my neighbors. The city nights are scary with all the dogs and cars and people, but I feel extremely safe in my village knowing my neighbors are within earshot. Basically, I like Suva but I want to go back to the bush.