I peed my pants!

I knew that would get your attention! Now on with the details.

Saturday, my villagers decided to show me a good time. About 6 of us hopped on a bamboo raft called a bilibili and used a bamboo pole gondala style to get to the ocean. We glided under the shade of the mangroves through murky water out into a small bay. The ocean was so close and I could hear the waves pounding against the black sandy shores, but we "dropped anchor" near the mangrove shore.

My uncle, Vili, snorkeled around for about 2 minutes then speared a big flat fish! He told me that I would be eating it later with the chief! So then my auntie and I got out the fishing poles--plastic coke bottles with the fishing wire wrapped around them. There is a hook on the end and a small rock attached about an inch from the hook to act as a sinker. We slid a small prawn on the hook as bait, ripped off the head and plopped it into the water. Not a minute later I already had a bite and my first offical catch as a Fijian! I ended up catching another fish too.

After fishing we paddled the rafts about a quarter mile to the ocean and parked them on the beach. There were some kids playing around with kayaks and they let me take one for a spin. It felt good to get some exercise! An upper body workout felt great after sitting around in the village and eating for a couple days straight. After I paddled around the bay a little and checked out the coast line, I returned just as the kids were hacking open some coconuts with a machete. So I ate some coconut and then went for a swim.

At this point we had been away from a toilet for about 2 hours and as staying hydrated is very important to me, all the water I drank in preparation for the day was really hurting the ol bladder. So I swam out into the ocean and let loose. And that's when I peed my pants. Swim suits do not exist to Fijians. They just swim in their clothes and I happened to be wearing some cutoff trousers and a t-shirt that day. So technically, I peed my pants. At 23 years old. And I liked it. And I'll probably do it again in the next couple years. Although I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I'll be at a resort, and it's culturally appropriate to wear a bikini!

So after I returned to the group, we played a little volleyball in the water then went back to the village to enjoy the fish we had so laboriously caught. The weather was beautiful, the people were beautiful, the ocean and sand and surf and sun were beautiful. Life is feeling pretty good right now.

The end and a new beginning.

It's almost time to leave my host village and move to my site. Tomorrow at church I am giving a speech on our behalf to the entire congregation/village. In Fijian. Yeah I definitely wrote that all down and I'll be reading it. It's a 2 page speech and I've been practicing for a couple days now. I might be able to deliver it with some ease. I just hope the jokes come off ok. But it doesn't take much to get Fijians to laugh so I'm feeling pretty confident. After church, we are having a feast in the community hall! Monday is my language exam. Wish me luck. And then Tuesday night is our last night in the village. I'm a little sad, but I'm ready to move on and get to work in my site village.

This week I got lots of letters, packages, and phone calls from home. Amazing. Candy, clothes, words of encouragement, news, tide-to-go pens (I'm not sure about this one, but it make me laugh and I know I'll use it), pictures and love. Thanks everyone.

I've been packing and wondering how all my stuff will fit into the one suitcase I brought. Mom, you know how full it was when I came! Now I have new outfits from the village, clothes from the second hand stores here (I'll forever be drawn to gently-used bargains), fabric for more clothes or curtains or tablecloths, trinkets for my new house (once it's finally built) and then other miscellaneous items I've picked up along the way. I have my organizational skills primed and I am ready for the challenge.

The big news of the week is one of the other trainees adopted a puppy! He's so cute. His name is Sergeant Bones. The Sarge part is for Sergeant Shriver, the man who started PC. And we added Bones because he is super skinny. Yet rambunctious. He's been coming to language class with us, but he got in trouble because he peed on the mat twice in one day! I'll try and put up a pic of him soon. He's white with a big brown spot on his back, and resembles a scruffy Jack Russell terrier. Bones has definitely been a highlight of this week and hopefully he'll be with us for the next couple of years.

A little taste of home life

I hope you can see this video. I tried to make it funny. I also tried to make my room seem really interesting. Did it work? (This took forever to upload. It cost me $1.85 in time. So please enjoy this costly video.)

Also I like how children run around with knives around here. There is little regard for safety and 3 year olds use knives, with skill. Granted they have scars all up and down their arms and legs, so they aren't always crafty with them. But they can make better brooms than me. And can speak better Fijian than me. I actually enjoy speaking to my 3-year old brother because he says things like "bread, yes. i want to eat bread." And my 5 year old sister goes "Amy, Amy, ura, ura" which means prawn. "Yum, uuuu-ra, Amy amy amy, Uuuu-ra" I dig it. They are the cutest things I've ever seen and I'll get you all a pic of them once I get back to site. And I can actually keep up with them (sometimes) in their language.

Great thought I had at site: I will get to see these kids grow up and learn with them. They will be so big when I leave.

Sad thought I had at site: I will miss seeing my family grow up. I will miss my sister's 21st birthday. And my little cousin will practically be a lady when I get home.

Oooh Aaah

No fireworks for me on the 4th of July, but PC still managed to make it a spectacle.

Yesterday I found out my site! And next week I am meeting my counterpart and my village! I'm totally pumped. I didn't really have any expectations of where I would be going, but my language teacher has been to my village and she says it's very beautiful. So more on that later. The PC staff laid out some white rope on the grass in the shape of the islands and then after they announced our site, they walked us to where we would be on the map. That way we saw where our little village is and also who was living close by. Pretty ingenius since I had no idea where my little village is in Fiji and now I do.

Celebrating a national holiday in another country is fun. We mixed the 2 cultures and had a great time doing it. My village performed a traditional Fijian male meke (action song) and a female meke. Some of the other performances include a Hindi version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, American Pie performed with a tamborine and a harmonica, Mr. Tamborine Man sang by the children of my village and a 3-legged race.

It was my first time to perform a meke and everyone loved it. We (4 volunteers and 3 Fijian women) stood in a line and did a little dance to a song. Sounds simple right? Well it was and it was short, so they made us do it again. The best part about this is that while you are trying to remember the dance moves, people are shoving candy and food in your face, putting powder in your hair, wrapping fabric around your waist and doing other nonsense! It makes it impossible to do anything! haha but that's how they show their appreciation for your dancing. I'm going to be braggadocious here and say that I rocked the meke. I was told that I "had wicked mad rhythm", which I think means I rule. Here's a picture of me in my meke outfit.

We also ate hamburgers. With Mustard. God I miss mustard.

lets talk about sex, baby.

Our community is amazing. For our community project, we decided to do a workshop on sexual/reproductive health. Our village had expressed a specific need in educating the youth on their bodies, sex, STD's/STI's, HIV/AIDS, and prevention. And then the elders all agreed that this was the best project for their community right now. Amazing. We separated the boys and girls. Both groups were so professional and asked great questions. The other trainees and I were rather nervous because these are "our families", our people. At this point, we aren't incredibly familiar with taboos and Fijian culture. How far should we go? How in depth? Will anyone be offended? Will there be repercussions from this workshop?

We talked about everything and even did a condom demonstration. It's customary to ask for permission before you present controversial information. So we would say "we're going to talk about ______ next. Is that ok with everyone?" Wait for head nods or quickly raised eyebrows (which is the nonverbal communication for yes), then flip the flip chart and move on. We also got some very positive feedback from the mothers. I know our village is pretty liberal, so this wasn't as controversial as it might be in other places, but the approval of the villagers is still very important.

Language is an essential. I can't explain the power of speaking to them in Fijian. School is taught in English, so most people speak it pretty well, but it's still their second language. So learning to speak Fijian close-to-fluently is crucial to doing work here. I did get a prideful high after everything though. The first time you learn about sex is such a monumental moment in people's life. It was in mine. Knowing that I was that person for these girls was pretty powerful.

Side Note: I already have a wish list started. Yes, I'm selfish (and optimistic)...but most of the items are really simple. I'll post it when I get a chance. It's at home on my wall right now. Along with my list of items to purchase for site, and my language poster of phrases I need to practice. Guilt can be incredible motivator.