It's been a pretty relaxing Easter weekend. My two brothers who go away to school came home for the Easter holiday, which has been really fun. Danny is 19 and hilarious. He's always joking around and teasing people. Bill is 21 and really chill. Today I went to a forest reserve outside of Suva with all my siblings and four of my American friends. It was a really good time. We hiked around, had a picnic, and went swimming in waterfall collecting pools. There was a rope swing over one, which was sweet. My ear is finally completely healed, so I was able to enjoy myself without stressing about it.
I went to Pentecostal church with my family on Easter Sunday. It was intense and focused on donating money to the church. I really disagree with a lot of aspects of the organization. I've also been watching movies and playing with the kittens. We named them Black and Gold, after Wooster/MU colors. They fit in my cargo pants pocket.
The government situation has been crazy these past few days. The court of appeals ruled that the regime in charge, a military dictatorship under Frank Bainimarama, had illegally seized power, which it had during the 2006 coup. The President, who happens to be the oldest president in the world (he's in his late 80's) was charged with the task of picking a new prime minister and other government officials. The President also repealed the entire constitution. Everyone was so excited about the possibility of a new government sans corruption. The next day, the President announced that he had chosen the new government, and it was Bainimarama's regime. Now the regime has legitimate power (in that is wasn't taken in a coup), and no constitution limiting its capabilities. It has already begun heavily sensoring the news media. The people here were devastated. My grandmother was so upset. It was really disheartening to see. As much as I've grown to love this country, its hard to get over the complete lack of civil rights and freedom of speech. It's growing harder to overlook that I'm living in a 3rd world military dictatorship.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Savusavu and Taveuni
I'm finally back in Suva. The rest of the excursion was fun. I was sick most of the time in Savusavu as I said earlier, but I still had a little time to explore. Savusavu is a very westernized city. It has lots of American property owners and its known for yachting. It had some pretty sweet restaurants and it was a cool place.
From Savusavu, we headed to the island of Taveuni. Taveuni is known as the garden island. We were staying at a campground on the beach. Taveuni was probably the most beautiful place I've been in my entire life. We did some pretty sweet activities. We went snorkeling at a marine reserve, which was amazing. We also did a coastal hike and visited some waterfalls. One of the waterfalls doubled as a natural waterslide, which was really fun. It shot you out over the pool and then when you hit, the full force of two waterfalls shook you up underwater like a washing machine. It was really exhilerating. I also got to visit the international dateline, which runs across the island. I took some pretty funny time travel pictures which I'll try and post soon.
Right now I'm home in Suva. It's been nice to relax and be home. My host family also got two brand new kittens, which has been really fun. I've been playing with them alot. I've got a ton of assignments in the coming weeks, which I'm not excited about. Other then that life is going well.
From Savusavu, we headed to the island of Taveuni. Taveuni is known as the garden island. We were staying at a campground on the beach. Taveuni was probably the most beautiful place I've been in my entire life. We did some pretty sweet activities. We went snorkeling at a marine reserve, which was amazing. We also did a coastal hike and visited some waterfalls. One of the waterfalls doubled as a natural waterslide, which was really fun. It shot you out over the pool and then when you hit, the full force of two waterfalls shook you up underwater like a washing machine. It was really exhilerating. I also got to visit the international dateline, which runs across the island. I took some pretty funny time travel pictures which I'll try and post soon.
Right now I'm home in Suva. It's been nice to relax and be home. My host family also got two brand new kittens, which has been really fun. I've been playing with them alot. I've got a ton of assignments in the coming weeks, which I'm not excited about. Other then that life is going well.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Lambasa Homestay
I'm still in Savusavu right now. Our departure for Taveuni was delayed a day because of high winds and threat of a tropical cyclone. I'm actually pretty grateful for the extra day of rest. I got really sick yesterday. I've had a sore throat and fever for the last couple of days and yesterday at breakfast I fainted. I don't really remember what happened, but apparently I fell out of my chair and hit my head. My friend Ariel tried to catch me but I slipped through her hands. When I woke up I had no idea where I was. It was pretty traumatizing. I went to the doctor who told me I had a viral infection and gave me some antibiotics. I don't think he knew specifically what was wrong, but the meds seem to be helping.
The Lambasa Homestay
Lambasa is a mainly Indo-Fijian region with lots of sugar cane growing. My homestay in Lambasa was with an Indo-Fijian family. I had a mom, a dad, a sister and two brothers, who were all in their twenties. This homestay was a little tougher. There was rarely running water, which meant bucket showers. Our homestay mom was also super hovery and intense. She would follow us around the house and stood by the table when we were eating just watching us. Our sister was pretty chill. She took us to a really cool suspension bridge. I of course reenacted the bridge scene from Temple of Doom, because I'm a huge dork.
We went to a pearl farm on one of the days in Lambasa. It was pretty much a little dock in the middle of the ocean. It was run by two Fijian women from a village. It was cool to see women producing an income for their families in a pretty patriarchical society. The actual science of pearl farming was pretty complex. Watching them implant the seed pearl was like surgery.
Another day we went to a sugar cane farm and spent some time with the farmers. Indo-Fijians were originally brought to Fiji in order to farm sugar cane as indentured labor. Their descendants still work the land today. The sugar cane growing process was incredibly labor intensive. We got to try some of the raw cane stalks, which were really sweet. I had to chew it but be careful not to swallow any because it would tear up your insides. Talking with the farmers was pretty depressing. The price of sugar keeps dropping and the government which is connected to the Fiji Sugar Corporation keeps paying them less and less for their product. At the same time, their ethnic Fijian landowners keep raising the price of their land rent. The majority of land in Fiji is controlled by ethnic Fijians, and Indo-Fijians are often left at the mercy of their land owners. There's been a big probelm lately of ethnic Fijians not renewing land leases for Indo-Fijians because of a ridiculous racist extremist fear that their country will be overrun with other races and they won't be in control. Despite all their hardship though, the cane farmers were really neat guys.
We accompanied our host family to puja prayers for the festival of Rama's birthday. I couldn't really see what was going on or understand what was being said so it was hard for me to get a lot out of it. One neat part of the experience was getting dressed up. Our host sister lent Malorie, Melissa and I traditional clothes and jewelry for the event. (Don't worry, there are pictures) It was kind of fun to try something completely new.
Lambasa was a pretty cool place. I'm glad I got to experience lfie there for a few days.
The Lambasa Homestay
Lambasa is a mainly Indo-Fijian region with lots of sugar cane growing. My homestay in Lambasa was with an Indo-Fijian family. I had a mom, a dad, a sister and two brothers, who were all in their twenties. This homestay was a little tougher. There was rarely running water, which meant bucket showers. Our homestay mom was also super hovery and intense. She would follow us around the house and stood by the table when we were eating just watching us. Our sister was pretty chill. She took us to a really cool suspension bridge. I of course reenacted the bridge scene from Temple of Doom, because I'm a huge dork.
We went to a pearl farm on one of the days in Lambasa. It was pretty much a little dock in the middle of the ocean. It was run by two Fijian women from a village. It was cool to see women producing an income for their families in a pretty patriarchical society. The actual science of pearl farming was pretty complex. Watching them implant the seed pearl was like surgery.
Another day we went to a sugar cane farm and spent some time with the farmers. Indo-Fijians were originally brought to Fiji in order to farm sugar cane as indentured labor. Their descendants still work the land today. The sugar cane growing process was incredibly labor intensive. We got to try some of the raw cane stalks, which were really sweet. I had to chew it but be careful not to swallow any because it would tear up your insides. Talking with the farmers was pretty depressing. The price of sugar keeps dropping and the government which is connected to the Fiji Sugar Corporation keeps paying them less and less for their product. At the same time, their ethnic Fijian landowners keep raising the price of their land rent. The majority of land in Fiji is controlled by ethnic Fijians, and Indo-Fijians are often left at the mercy of their land owners. There's been a big probelm lately of ethnic Fijians not renewing land leases for Indo-Fijians because of a ridiculous racist extremist fear that their country will be overrun with other races and they won't be in control. Despite all their hardship though, the cane farmers were really neat guys.
We accompanied our host family to puja prayers for the festival of Rama's birthday. I couldn't really see what was going on or understand what was being said so it was hard for me to get a lot out of it. One neat part of the experience was getting dressed up. Our host sister lent Malorie, Melissa and I traditional clothes and jewelry for the event. (Don't worry, there are pictures) It was kind of fun to try something completely new.
Lambasa was a pretty cool place. I'm glad I got to experience lfie there for a few days.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Quick Update from the Road
I'm in Savusavu right now. It's the third leg of our whirlwind journey. So far I've spent four days living with a family in a Fijian Village and three days with and Indo-Fijian family in Lambasa, on Vanua Levu, the second biggest island in Fiji. This excursion has been an emotional rollercoaster. My physical health has been wavering which makes the traveling tough. I've still had some pretty sweet times though.
I loved my host family in the village. I had a grandma, a grandpa, a mom, a dad, a teenage sister named Mary, a teenage brother named Ron, two little brothers called Sepo and Choelli, and a baby. It was a crazy big group but everyone was so welcoming and sweet. I had a blast playing with my little brothers. Sepo is adorable. I also busted out a disc in the village and taught some of the kids how to throw. It was a great time. We went to another waterfall (no jumping for me since my ear is still healing). We also took a boat ride out to a reef that the village people view as their sacred ancestral ground. They used a conch shell to summon dolphins to the boats we were in. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. We also got to go snorkeling. I watched Ron spear fish, which was really impressive. We really learned how people live off the land and sea.
The downside of the village stay was getting sick. I had a headache for most of the time while I was there and I got really sick on Saturday. I think my body just didn't handle the food and water there very well, even though it was treated. I ended up getting violently ill sitting on the steps of a school house at a village child's birthday party. There were tons of kids around watching me and they all burst out laughing as soon as I puked. I ended up stumbling down the hill to my family's house and lying in bed with a fever. It was actually pretty traumatizing at the time just because I didn't know how sick I really was and we were hours away from medical attention. My little brother Sepo came in and held my hand, which was one of the sweetest humane gestures I've ever experienced.
I'll write about my other homestay in Lambasa later.
Peace.
I loved my host family in the village. I had a grandma, a grandpa, a mom, a dad, a teenage sister named Mary, a teenage brother named Ron, two little brothers called Sepo and Choelli, and a baby. It was a crazy big group but everyone was so welcoming and sweet. I had a blast playing with my little brothers. Sepo is adorable. I also busted out a disc in the village and taught some of the kids how to throw. It was a great time. We went to another waterfall (no jumping for me since my ear is still healing). We also took a boat ride out to a reef that the village people view as their sacred ancestral ground. They used a conch shell to summon dolphins to the boats we were in. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. We also got to go snorkeling. I watched Ron spear fish, which was really impressive. We really learned how people live off the land and sea.
The downside of the village stay was getting sick. I had a headache for most of the time while I was there and I got really sick on Saturday. I think my body just didn't handle the food and water there very well, even though it was treated. I ended up getting violently ill sitting on the steps of a school house at a village child's birthday party. There were tons of kids around watching me and they all burst out laughing as soon as I puked. I ended up stumbling down the hill to my family's house and lying in bed with a fever. It was actually pretty traumatizing at the time just because I didn't know how sick I really was and we were hours away from medical attention. My little brother Sepo came in and held my hand, which was one of the sweetest humane gestures I've ever experienced.
I'll write about my other homestay in Lambasa later.
Peace.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
One Month
Today is the one month anniversary of my arrival in Fiji. So far my favorite highlights are: the swing at the beach house, sea kayaking, water fall jumping, eating fish in coconut milk, learning how to make curry, and tossing the disk at Natadola Beach. It's been one hell of a ride. We leave tomorrow for a two week excursion to a traditional village, the Indo-Fijian community of Labasa, a fancy yacht city called Savusavu, and Taveuni. Taveuni is known as the garden island. I'm ready for some intense experiences.
Things have been a little better with my family. I'm trying to focus on my time with my siblings, especially my brothers. Today we had a guest lecturer who is a high chief. He used to be the vice president of Fiji but was deposed during the coup. He was an incredibly intelligent man who had some very forward thinking about the problems facing his country.
Today I also lucked out in terms of my potential research here. I got contacted about working with a collection of artifacts from the Bourewa site, which has the oldest documented occupation of people in Fiji, roughly 3500 years ago. The site was inhabited by the Lapita people, who are most well known for their pottery style. I would probably be working with a lithics collection, which is stone tools and my advisor would probably be a phd student here at the university. I got some books at the library today and I'm pretty psyched about the potential of the project. I also might get to travel to the site with this project, which would be awesome. I also might be able to finish early, which would be perfect since I want to travel more. It feels good to be in the process of researching again.
I'll try to update from the excursion, but no promises.
Things have been a little better with my family. I'm trying to focus on my time with my siblings, especially my brothers. Today we had a guest lecturer who is a high chief. He used to be the vice president of Fiji but was deposed during the coup. He was an incredibly intelligent man who had some very forward thinking about the problems facing his country.
Today I also lucked out in terms of my potential research here. I got contacted about working with a collection of artifacts from the Bourewa site, which has the oldest documented occupation of people in Fiji, roughly 3500 years ago. The site was inhabited by the Lapita people, who are most well known for their pottery style. I would probably be working with a lithics collection, which is stone tools and my advisor would probably be a phd student here at the university. I got some books at the library today and I'm pretty psyched about the potential of the project. I also might get to travel to the site with this project, which would be awesome. I also might be able to finish early, which would be perfect since I want to travel more. It feels good to be in the process of researching again.
I'll try to update from the excursion, but no promises.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Beach House and a Harsh Reality
I had a great weekend. We went to a backpackers' hostel on the Coral Coast called The Beach House. It was 25 dollars a night for a dormitory style bed, breakfast, afternoon tea, and free use of sea kayaks. The beach was beautiful. There were swings that went out over the water. Kayaking was a blast; Austin and I went out on the water. We saw blue starfish, some coral, and lots of fish. I grabbed my mask and hopped out for a closer view. It was awesome. We also swam out to a bamboo raft in the lagoon area and played around on that. I definitely want to go back there soon.
It was so nice to get a break from Suva and my host family. I like them, but don't like the Pentecostalism and the attitudes that come with it. I don't like feeling like I'm being judged or converted, especially by hypocritical evangelists. That's only from my Mother though. I need to work at focusing on other aspects of her personality that I like. She really is a caring woman who's just trying to do what she thinks is best. I get along with my siblings really well. My brother Danny is back from boarding school at the moment which is definitely a good thing, because he's hilarious. He makes me laugh really hard.
I'm definitely moving past the honeymoon period of my stay. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but Fiji is definitely helping me appreciate life in America. Especially when it comes to civil rights and freedom of speech. Since the coup in 2006, the government has been a military dictatorship. Some would claim that Commodore Bainimarama is benevolent, but I would disagree. Censorship seems to be on the rise as well as incidents of violence. My friend's host father is a former politician who frequently speaks out against the government. So far, he's been taken to military camps and beaten, his house has been stoned, and someone broke into his car and shattered the windows. Other people like him have had molotov cocktails thrown at their house. It makes me really concerned for my friend's safety, especially since the situation seems to be escalating.
Other things have been frustrating me alot too besides the government and my host-mother, mainly a lack of consistent running water. I only have running water at my house about half of the time. It's really affecting my workout schedule because I'm not sure if there will be water to shower with when I finish. The power will also cut from my area of the house sometimes, and I have to go to the breaker box and turn it back on. I also have about twenty mosquito bites on my body at any given time, even when I apply bug spray. I'm really hoping I don't get dengue.
If the bitch fest above isn't any indication, homesickness has been hitting me pretty hard lately. Phone calls home are becoming more and more crucial. I did luck out at the video store though. I was feeling kind of down and then a solution just appeared in front of me: Stargate Continuum. In Fiji. For two dollars. It definitely made my day and helped with my homesickness.
We're leaving on Thursday for a two week excursion to a village, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni. The itenerary sounds pretty sweet, so I'm psyched.
It was so nice to get a break from Suva and my host family. I like them, but don't like the Pentecostalism and the attitudes that come with it. I don't like feeling like I'm being judged or converted, especially by hypocritical evangelists. That's only from my Mother though. I need to work at focusing on other aspects of her personality that I like. She really is a caring woman who's just trying to do what she thinks is best. I get along with my siblings really well. My brother Danny is back from boarding school at the moment which is definitely a good thing, because he's hilarious. He makes me laugh really hard.
I'm definitely moving past the honeymoon period of my stay. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but Fiji is definitely helping me appreciate life in America. Especially when it comes to civil rights and freedom of speech. Since the coup in 2006, the government has been a military dictatorship. Some would claim that Commodore Bainimarama is benevolent, but I would disagree. Censorship seems to be on the rise as well as incidents of violence. My friend's host father is a former politician who frequently speaks out against the government. So far, he's been taken to military camps and beaten, his house has been stoned, and someone broke into his car and shattered the windows. Other people like him have had molotov cocktails thrown at their house. It makes me really concerned for my friend's safety, especially since the situation seems to be escalating.
Other things have been frustrating me alot too besides the government and my host-mother, mainly a lack of consistent running water. I only have running water at my house about half of the time. It's really affecting my workout schedule because I'm not sure if there will be water to shower with when I finish. The power will also cut from my area of the house sometimes, and I have to go to the breaker box and turn it back on. I also have about twenty mosquito bites on my body at any given time, even when I apply bug spray. I'm really hoping I don't get dengue.
If the bitch fest above isn't any indication, homesickness has been hitting me pretty hard lately. Phone calls home are becoming more and more crucial. I did luck out at the video store though. I was feeling kind of down and then a solution just appeared in front of me: Stargate Continuum. In Fiji. For two dollars. It definitely made my day and helped with my homesickness.
We're leaving on Thursday for a two week excursion to a village, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni. The itenerary sounds pretty sweet, so I'm psyched.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Volcanoes, Tsunamis, and Curry.
Today was intense. On the ride to school this morning, the radio show was interrupted with an announcement that a volcano eruption/earthquake of 7.7 magnitude had occurred in Tonga and that all of Fiji was on tsunami watch. My host mom started freaking out about how close that was. The DJ said all people near the coast should get to higher ground immediately and apparently they canceled school for all the kids in the area. She dropped me off at school and told me to call her if our activity was canceled and I needed a ride. Campus was pretty deserted, which freaked me out. Someone on their cell phone near my class room was talking about finding the highest point on campus. Then I heard if we were going to get hit, it would happen in the next 20 minutes, which freaked me out. Morning classes were canceled at the university. We had a field excursion planned for today, and since I hadn't heard anything else, I decided to just go to the designated meeting spot, at Cost-U-Less, aka Fijian Costco. There I met up with my friend Austin, which was a relief. I kept glancing towards the coastline trying to catch sight of a wall of water. Austin and I waited together for people to show up, but we didn't see anyone else from our group. We jokingly made up a safety plan, which consisted of buying a raft at Cost-u-less and riding the tsunami across Fiji. We decided to call some of our friends, and found out that they had been told to meet at someone's house in the hills, but we hadn't recieved the text about it. A few minutes later we finally heard that the warning was removed, and that a tsunami wasn't going to hit. It was pretty anti-climactic, but it had been a terrifying half hour of my life. The worst part of it was the uncertainty. I didn't know if it was gonna hit or what I would have done if it did.
Since the natural disaster was non-existant, we ended up going on our planned field trip to and Indo-Fijian community to cook with some of the women there. We learned how to make curry, chutney, roti, purri, vegetables, and these little bits of fried dough. It was a great experience. The women were really kind and patient. Most of the food was pretty tasty too. Indian food is still not my favorite, but I'm slowly developing a taste for it. There were also some adorable kids there, who we got to play with. They were so much fun. I have a great video of one of them dancing that I will try and post soon.
Tomorrow some of us are heading to the Coral Coast for a couple days of relaxing at the beach. It should be really fun. I'm ready to get out of the city for awhile. It's been a stressful week. I also hit my head really hard yesterday. I was sitting at a desk in my classroom and a projection screen fell on top of me. The metal pole that held the screen hit me square in the back of the head. I don't think its concussed but my head has been killing me.
I put pictures on facebook. Email me if you would like a public link to the album.
-Al
Since the natural disaster was non-existant, we ended up going on our planned field trip to and Indo-Fijian community to cook with some of the women there. We learned how to make curry, chutney, roti, purri, vegetables, and these little bits of fried dough. It was a great experience. The women were really kind and patient. Most of the food was pretty tasty too. Indian food is still not my favorite, but I'm slowly developing a taste for it. There were also some adorable kids there, who we got to play with. They were so much fun. I have a great video of one of them dancing that I will try and post soon.
Tomorrow some of us are heading to the Coral Coast for a couple days of relaxing at the beach. It should be really fun. I'm ready to get out of the city for awhile. It's been a stressful week. I also hit my head really hard yesterday. I was sitting at a desk in my classroom and a projection screen fell on top of me. The metal pole that held the screen hit me square in the back of the head. I don't think its concussed but my head has been killing me.
I put pictures on facebook. Email me if you would like a public link to the album.
-Al
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