A Day in the Life of Chandani......

In no particular order:

wake up and sweep the house.... pick a papaya....

......watering some plants.....make some papaya salad (My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE) .......at the office with roshni.......maybe wash my clothes (maybe)..... I'm on the bus ALLLLL the time! gosh...i have a 1 1/2 hr commute to work 3 days a week.

Christmas Tree....oh Christmas Tree....

These are the Christmas Trees here!! (because the bloom only during Christmas). They're actually really pretty and the pic below is of mom and I wil the Christmas Tree flowers in our hair! (I actually hadn't seen them on my island and so I thought they were rare only to Vanua Levu. So mom and I for sure took pics with them. But to my surprise when I returned back to my house I realizedI had one just right outside!...woops)

Ok so I just wanted to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hope everyone is enjoying the cold (or trying to?) :0)
love and miss you all!

I'm super pumped though my TWO OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE COMING ON THE 28TH!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We'll stay at my hosue for a day or two and the head to Caqali (a small island 'resort', if you could even call it that) and meeting up with the other volunteers for New Years! Apparently it's some of the best snorkeling in Fiji! We shall see! whoooop!

Ending Chapter to Mom coming to Fiji!

Matt, Kelly, Mom and I on Taveuni at the most AWESOME resort! Actually, This was our Thanksgiving night!

This was the sunset from Nakia resort. YES I FINALLY got to enjoy the fruits of where I'm at...

And NO I do not live ANYWHERE near here. I am 100% jealous of the volunteers who are though. Bahhhhh I still can't believe I went there! This was the beach from Coconut Grove

Scariest Bus ride e.v.e.r. It might not look that scary but when the guy is flying up and down mountainous lands with muddy dirt roads and no railing...you'd pee yourself too.

From there we traveled up to the top of the island and stayed at a quaint place called coconut grove that was really pretty and had awesome AMERICAN food. Then we traveled down to the eastern side of the island towards Lavena Point. We stayed at a small lodge that a village runs and also where another volunteer works. After a 2 hour scary dirt road bus ride, we headed straight out to snorkeling at the Waitabu Marine Park. Which was also really cool! And actually here, I felt like we saw MUCH bigger fish and more varieties of them than when we went diving. The visibility must have been about 100-140ft aka straight to the bottom. We saw some 4 foot grouper, 3 foot all different colored giant clams, 2 ft pumphead fish, and many more. The coral is still my favorite though, But my favorite part about this snorkel was when our very muscly and 50% toothless fijian guide was pointing what fish were what. As I swam past a school of about 150 long, silver fish 'on the defense'..I suddenly wanted to pee myself with fear. Thinking to myself...this is eerie the way these fish are staring at me and following my every move, and also how I'd never seen a barracuda but knew they were long and silver. I took off at warp speed to our guide who was a ways away. After I described how the fish looked, i asked him what kind of fish it was...and of course he replies 'oh yes, just a school of barracuda.' Perfect. What do we do next? Swim past them again. (And actually as it turns out they weren't barracuda...but I swear they were creepy and scary and probably dangerous).

After a night there we headed back to Nadi. Our plane was a few hours delayed but we luckily enough had time to get back to Nadi, shower, do a little souvenir shopping, and head to Hard ROck Cafe FIji. Hell yes to nachos with SOUR CREAM, and CHIPs and a FRESH Cobb salad. Sadly though I'm pretty sure that's where mom and I both drank Iced Tea (which was made with tap water) and yesterday proceeded to feel the effects of it. You can't have it all.

It was a really fun and much needed trip though. One of my favorite parts was showing my mom the things I could cook now (really good french toast and fruit crepes!, papaya salad- my specialty). SO whenever I come back in May, let me know if you want to have an Indian Night and I'll cook for you!

OK, I'll end this bad boy. Love you guys, Happy Belated Thanksgiving and Happy Early Christmas. Man I wish I were there for the holiday season, especially seeing as it's fixing to get balls hot here and my water shuts off at night, coolio. haha I love the pc. actually, I'm excited to experience this season, helps me put things into perspective. :0)

OK, LOVE YOU GUYS!

Death by Giant Green Eel anyone?

Check.

Mom and I pre-dive and waiting for the boat to come!

Geared up and ready to go!

After this island we crossed the somosomo strait and headed to Taveuni. Which is known for being a really beautiful with awesome diving!!! which it was! I went out on my first 2-tank dive here! The first place we went was Rainbow's end where my first dive was 62 ft for 51 min. On that dive we saw lots of cool fish..some shown in the pics below. My favorite/most nervous moment was when we saw a giant green eel. AT first, when I saw it's head, maybe the size of small pie, I thought, 'that's not that big.' But as i kept staring, and watched it move around beneath the coral. I saw what gives it the name 'giant' in which I caught a glimpse of it's midsection (which is about the size of santa claus' thigh) where my immediate thought was, 'ANACONDA!!!!!'

Napoleon Wrasse

Oriental Sweetlip (my 2nd fav)!



Fire Coral!

On the next dive in an area called Fish Factory, we got to see lots of pretty fish and more soft coral. My favorite coral is the soft, pink coral, and Fire Coral is super cool! We also had two rare sightings of a Blue Ribbon Eel..and a not so common occurrence here...a white tip shark! That was a little nerve racking but as I clung to my dive instructor's side..all was gravy. AND one of our other dive instructor's took out his air regulator and put his mouth really close to the cleaner fish! ANd they seriously came up and started cleaning his teeth! it was awesome.

On the boat again....(sung to the tune of 'On the road again')

The next day, mom and I ventured out to Kioa, the only island of Fiji that is from Polynesian descent and also where 2 volunteers FROM TEXAS are serving. :0) After the fiber boat ride over (yes..I DID bide my Peace corps rules and wore my ridiculous life vest while every fijian was laughing). But check out Mom and Matt (an awesome fellow Aggie!) and our cool Kioan boat driver in the back.

The view from their house...yeah. And I swear it sparkled even more in the sunlight

Matt and Kelly Roy living on Kioa island!

After I saw where the other vol's were living i was instantly 100% jealous as I realized this couple was living my dream. They're living in a tiny village tucked away on a random island (with a beautiful beachfront property). I know everyone thinks I'm just a few minutes away from the beach somewhere but thats so NOT TRUE. I'm hours away from a pretty beach. but anyways, I was still happy to be visiting and it was neat to see some of the Kioan traditions. Instead of the meke (Fiji's national island dance) these people play a riser, i guess you could say. about 8 men sit around a foot tall wood riser and beat it like a drum. But each man is playing a different beat. Super cool. For these celebrations the 12 elder men sit against wood poles in the community hall while the families sit close behind. After a few speeches and masu (prayer) everyone eats! After this celebration mom, matt, rachel and I all went snorkeling off this island. It was pretty good snorkeling with like 30 ft visibility. And lots of sea cucumbers! Later that night Fancy Nancy got the full peace corps experience as we battled 2 persistent mice. (it just happens people)

The Ride to Savusavu: aka THE SCARIEST PLANE RIDE of MY LIFE!

So the small 20 seater planes definitely aren't known for providing the smoothest ride of your life, and this plan ride confirmed what I had heard. Taking off was smooth and the ride over wasn't that bad either...it was just the landing that made me wish I was wearing a diaper. As the wind was whipping up back and forth to the left and right...the only thought that was going through my head was of course, 'why are we landing? why are we landing? WHY ARE WE LANDING!?' Sweet Jisu. As we landed I looked back and saw everyone glue to the back of their seats. And as we all celebrated that we still alive you could hear the pilots laughing (I assume at the fact that we SHOULDN'T have landed in those conditions...but its whatev). No worries. That happened. It will more than likely happen again. ***oh and this is a cool fact, we found out that the kind of plane that runs from Nausori and Savusavu (can't remember the name...something Otter) is THE oldest one running in the world. Maybe that's why inside the plane it looked like lawn chairs bolted to the plane floor.



The 2nd week we went to Savusavu, Vanua Levu (a city on the 2nd biggest island) that was right on the bay. The view was amazing and honestly, the people were so nice.


<- Mom getting some photos of the view from the hotel wearing her fancy new Indian get-up that my host family was adamant about buying for her. hilarious? YES. Anyways, Even though we encountered a serious case of bed bugs from the hotel we stayed at, we still went out snorkeling in three areas around the bay. The water was really clear, a little chilly, but it was fun to see really cool and pretty fish! My favorite was when we went to a small area called split rock and as soon as I got into the water a bunch of baby black and white butterfly fish (aka Gil from finding Nemo) swam up all around me. There were tons! but despite my efforts to touch one, and to make myself as seaweed-like as possible, they would always swim away just as i thought i was about to touch one. That day was a really sunny day, and it was neat to see how the sunlight shines through the water and makes the coral glisten almost. ANd seriously, it looked just like Finding Nemo in which it was like right after the coral stops, you see nothing but sea. It was amazing! And I don't think I'll ever forget the vision of my mother climbing into the boat. priceless. I think my favorite though was how on the first snorkel, the Fijian boat guy said he couldn't anchor as the coral was too shallow. He said he'd be 'around' and told us not to go too far. The water was pretty choppy, but I still took off in sheer excitement. Fancy Nancy was a little nervous, and after spending all but 2 seconds in the water, she clings to the side of the moving fiber boat and (of all things) shouts, 'When are we going to see the fish!??' Good thing the snorkel in my mouth masked my laughing, as the obvious answer to this question would be,' When you put your head in the water.' but I can't blame her though, anyone would be nervous in choppy, deep water and a not-stagnant boat.

These were some of my favorite fish from the snorkel in Savusavu!

Fancy Nancy came to Fiji!!! (part 1)

Fancy Nancy stepping off the plane with style:

Mom and I at the airport!!!!! Man that was a good day! If you look you'll see I'm wearing my Bula Best for the Best lady in the world.

We started off the first week meeting all my host family.,..which was good but probably TOO MUCH visiting. My aunts, host brother and family, host sister, and of course main host dad's house as well as neighbors and friends in the area. Lots of Curry's, some of Nancy's best including: chicken curry, coconut chutney, tamarind chutney, pumpkin, egglpant, and lamb curry with puri which won the award for, and I quote,'This is teh best meal I've ever had in my life.' -Nancy Goodson. :0) However, with so much visiting visiting visiting... It starts to wear on you, anbd plus being force fed a bunch of indian food 24/7 gets old after about 5 minutes!

- My two mom's!!!!!

Then we went around visitng my local friends at the gas station, bread shop, and vegetable farm. Handing out some treats and lolly's to all! The picture below shows my extended host cousins and uncle at the local gas station enjoying some of Uncle Ray's AWESOME peanut brittle. Special thanks to my best friend for making about 10 pounds of it! If you want to win Hindi people over, make them peanut brittle. :0)

Next day we took teh bus to Nausori town and introduced mom to all my shopowner and market vendor friends.

- This is the dude I guy apples from.

Trick or Treat? TREAT= BIOLUMINESCENCE!!!

OK so I know this is a month late BUT I still wanted to let ppl know what I did for halloween. I mean, Idid try to explain the concept of halloween to fijians but I'm pretty sure the conversation ended with: 'But you don't eat the pumpkins?' -fijian ppl. And honestly, I have not a clue why we dont eat more of them. There's all kinds of delicious foods you can eat and yet all we do is carve them.
BUT for haloween a bunch of volunteers got together and headed to the northern part of the main island to a beautiful aread called Raki-Raki. We stayed in a dorm at a hotel called VOli-Voli. It was relaxing to get away and feel like an american. we went snorkeling and swimming and of course dressed up in our best 'Sexy Bula/fijian wear' that we could find. My outfit consisted of a tank top and sulu wrapped just above my knees- scandalous in fijian villages, trust me.

This is the beach at the VoliVoli Resort we went to for Halloweenie. NO this is not anywhere near my house.....what is it with people thinking I'm Just around the corner from a beach.

THIS was one of my favorite parts of the night. Not only is this is a common dinner for a volunteer but this also shows just how a volunteer opens a can of tuna.

My sexy bula for the evening. Aka homemade coconut bra (that didn't make it after the first round of drinks...thanks Peace Corps Medical Tape)

Some of my favorite costumes of the evening. Lydia won the costume contest- dressed up as a sexy Ratu (chief)...look closely at the chest hair.


the evening consisted of some very exciting events: fire jumping. (aka you play the game of who can run and jump over the fire and who cant? Thank you Sweet Jisu to those who tried to fire jump also made. I felt proud to be part of the Fire Jumping club) and also BIOLUMINESCENCE!!! It REALLY exists! (You the part in the movie The BEach, with Leo Decaprio, and him and his french lady are making out in the ocean and all those plankton things are lighting up from the movement? well that's bioluminescence!) At about 1am, when the tide was insanely low, we went out and stomped around in the shallow water to find a bunch of bioluminescent friends. :0) That was awesome.

Courtney's Christmas List

OK so I feel super awkward doing this BUT I've had a lot of people asking me what I needed and I'd definitely rather get things I need rather than things I might not use/not be able to use. :0) SO here it is.

• a few blank CD's (they're expensive here)
• Cookbook: How to cook healthy Indian Food (I saw a cookbooklike this in half price books and could definitely use this for health sessions)
• graham crackers- you can't get them here
• waterproof disposable camera
• 1 wash cloth size paktowel (REI) -one I can carry around with me in my purse
• 1 longer short sleeved rash guard- small/medium. (I think they might be on sale in america since it's wintertime...BUT if anyone has one I can borrow or something that would be doubly awesome!)
• a stain remover for curry...good god when you spill that stuff on your clothes there's NO chance it's coming out
• 1 packet of clothing dye- plum
• small travel 2009-2010 planner (one that has space for each day where I can write in it what is due on that day aka ones that have like Mon-Tues-Wed on the left page and Thurs-Sun on eth right.) And if it has a place in either of the covers for a small pocket that's nice too...chck target, wal-mart, or barnes and Nobles
• solo cups (great for our american get togethers...maybe if someone has a christmas party with them, you could put them in the washer and then send them to me) YES, you CAN put them in the washer. Reuse and Reduce baby.
• Yogurt covered pretzels
• Archer Farms Trail Mix single serving packets
• anything Dark Choco for sure..
• Revlon brand- Ped egg refill thingies (if you don't know...no worries)
• HEB Chocolate granola
• cream of tartar (so i can make my host family playdough)
• blow up globe...definitely going to use this (one we could toss around...the size of a basketball) (anyone have one of these on hand?)
• I'm making handkerchiefs as christmas presents for my host-fam and friends here (they ALL use them here...its amazing). My mom brought the handkerchiefs but I was hoping for some stritching string and needles to stitch around the endges. also the small circle thing that holds the fabric taut woud be nice. (If anyone has this stuff in an old craft bin I would be more than happy just to borrow! seriously)
• Travel size (like 5 of each): mascara's, contact solution, shampoo and conditioners, toothbrush, toothpaste, facewash- I'm always on the go and am staying at my host families houses (it's hard without a car here). And I feel these are things you guys might just already have i your house: ladies, the mascara- like the small ones you get from the freebie bags you get at makeup counters when you buy make-up!
• any kind of candy/snack is always fun!
• MY (2nd) BIGGEST WISH OF ALL IS THAT ALL OF THESE THINGS DON'T GET PURCHASED....more like if you've got it sitting around in a drawer somewhere and can pay for postage...I would love it. SERIOUSLY.
• ACTUALLY my FIRST BIGGEST WISH is that I want all of you to know hot much i love and miss you guys. When my mom came to visit it really made me think how fortunate I am that I have so many awesome friends and family back home that really care about me. So thank you guys for being wonderful friends.

Ok, so there it is. and PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE don't feel like you HAVE to send a package. because you dont. Just email me updates about your life or just write me a long letter. It IS fun getting mail. I feel like an American when I get it.

I was thinking, as to not get duplicates of things...you guys could write a comment on this post what you would be sending. Then other people could see and I promise not to look at the comments!

AND I'll be updating my blog this week (promise) on Halloween (SORRY it's a month late), Thanksgiving and when my mom came!

ok, over and out. xoxo

court

Three Blind Mice?

...More like one big fat one that WAS inhabiting the space underneath my fridge and eating my better biscuits.

Proof?Apparently mice also enjoy hand soap as a fine delicacy.

Act 1: Scene 1Courtney Vs. Mouse

-Courtney wakes in the middle of the night to something scurrying along her bedframe climbing her nightstand/modified desk.
-Courtney is pissed. AND tired.
-Courtney puts in hear earplugs and chooses not to hear the mouse eating everything in sight.

Scene 2:

-Courtney arises in the morning to find all her biscuits gnawed at (btw cookies are known as biscuits here...damn that British colonization)
-She searches for any potential rat holes, finds where she thinks they came from and plugs them up.

Scene 3: It's Go-Time

-On the morning Courtney was planning on buying some rat poison (after arising yet again to more biscuits broken into), she is suddenly distracted. By what you ask? by the rumbling that's going on beneath her fridge.
-'Ha HAH' She thinks, and actually says outloud 'It's Go-Time Mouse!'
-Knowing that the mouse will more than likely NOT run out the wide open back door but will probably want to run into her room, she blocks off the hallway with boxes and wood.
-She very quickly removes everything off the floor that would make a new home for this parasite and grabs the broom.
-With a few quick swishes underneath the fridge, a giant mouse scurries out from underneath, and (as predicted) makes a getaway to her room. He's suddenly smashes into the excellently crafted wall and heads back towards the fridge. Courtney dashes in it's way to block it and makes 3 quick swipes with the broom (screaming the whole time of course). On the 3rd flick the mouse is flung out the door, leaving Courtney's house in peace (and with a half gnawed soap bar).

End Scene.

And something I just noticed that gave me quite a giggle is how the brooms here look like Harry Potter broomstick's! woohoo! Actually the one in the pic below is a newer and not so beaten up one.

I can't tell you how SERIOUSLY effective these brooms are. It's crazy. They're made out of coconut leaves. The Fijian people are amazing at using the resources they have at hand. For example every part of the coconut tree is used for something: coconuts- obviously for eating, the coconut shells- used for drinking grog, leaves- brooms and also for things with underground fire cooking aka lovo's, the husks- used in wetland areas to soak up liquids.

'Tools and Hardware' for $500 please....

Question: A necessity for Fiji Living.
Answer: What is a GIANT cane knife?
That is correct.

So I finally realized you can't exist without one of these. And YES it will be coming back with me to the states as a prized possession. Turns out you can't do a lot of things without them, those things including: cracking coconuts, cutting giant weed-trees, killing people, etc.

It's come to the point where 'yard work' has taken on a whole new level. No wonder the boys here are so jacked. I hope to register in the National Arm Wrestling Tournament 2011 when I return.

My house is coming along a lot better though...I've painted my walls with fun designs, put up pictures, and hanging deco's to make my house feel more home-y. It's taking a whole but it's getting there (also being the status of my spice collection- DG feels me on this)

In the meantime I've been compiling a few lists of ridiculous things I've heard/and now say ONLY because I am a. in Fiji and/or b. A volunteer...so please enjoy the following:

Things you would only hear a Volunteer say:
-What else do you do with your time? Existing takes time. -Sally
-What else do you keep in your shells? -Asked to Goldman
-Would you like some of my resources? -Christian
-Bugs are just apart of my life right now. -Goldman
-A kid took a dump on my front porch today. -Jewels
-I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. -Me. (and I actually do!)

-I couldn't exist without eggplants. All vol's

-Also, you know you're a volunteer when you sleep with a can of bug spray beneath your sheets...like I do. :0)

Things you would only hear in Fiji:
-Oooh she/he's very smart with that. (they say this instead of 'you're good at something')
-Rubbish instead of Trash
-Torch instead of Flashlight (really, am I really holding a damn torch?)

-the pounding of the grog/yangona they drink there. It's a root plant they pound into powder, then mix with water, then drink. It looks and tastes like mud. quite the Fijian delicacy.

-the kissy noises Fijians are EXCELLENT at making. They do this to get someone's attention for anything. And somehow they can make it so loud you could hear them accross a busy road. I've been practicing but am not that good...I think it's because they all have giant lips here.

Also, something I feel like everyone might get a good laugh out of is the theme ideas for some paraphernalia the pcv's have decided to make:

T-SHirt ideas include:
Dalo Happens (google what Dalo is....not too tasty)
Dalo Happens, and so do parasites.
Worms happen.
(Is anyone seeing a trend? I feel like the real shirt idea should be:
'[Insert any disgusting skin disease here] Happens.')

We also want to make a bracelet that says 'WWSD' = What Would Sat Do?
Sat being our safety and security officer who WILL come a runnin' if need be. :0)

I thought you guys would enjoy those...it's little things like this that give you a better idea of life in Fiji.

My Pride and Joy:

Here's my little guy. He so made the best curry (mainly because he was the first pumpkin I was able to pick from my patch and not because I'm a good cook.) Here are some pics of my house below and I'll post the rest on my photos on the webpage.

To the right:

This is the outside view of my Pepto Bismal House

This is the chalkboard wall I painted in my kitchen...totally cool.

This is my kitchen..

Notice the concrete floors

and the broken panel

above the window

(That DOES happen

to be literally hanging

on by a thread)

This is my backyard where I dry my clothes(sorry about the unmentionables) :0)

I don't know what I'm doing. Coolio.

So the situation with work at the moment is as follows:

The main guy who practically ran the office decided he needed a month off. I understand that, they over worked him and paid him to little, and he's really cool. But his situation called for an immdeiate vacation and so he left the very next day. Since no one else can run the office like he can, we had to cancel the Diwali Festival Event we were planning which cancelled my plans for the cooking competition. Thats Fijitime for ya. But honestly, it wa probably for the best, right now is a really busy time for the women and I wasn't getting much of a response from them at the moment. So now atthe moment I'm just helping to return emails that come to teh sanatan email. coolio. What am I doing here? I have not a clue. but I like it. I mean, there are 3 parts to my job as a PC volunteer: 1. Share information and skills with people who want to help themselves 2. Learn and experience another culture 3. Share your own culture. At the moment. I think I've maxed out on 2 and I think am doing good on 3. Don't ask me about #1. :0)

cuz you had a bad day.....

...takin' one down just to turn it around.

So, I definitely had a pretty rough day on Thursday...not so much that I was stressed out or anything, just the fact I was sick ALL day long. Here's how the story goes. At the moment I'm really not eating a whole lot of meat. For one, it's expensive, and two, it involves some kind of plucking/peeling/shaving/de-boning. so no thanks. I mean, it's not bad, because it's all fresh, but it just involves work. Anyways, the point is I don't eat a lot of meat unless someone cooks it for me...and in that case, I make it a personal goal to get a meat high. So the other night I went to a co-workers going away party and surprise surprise there was like 4 different kinds of meat. Did I eat them all? Yes. Did I eat too much of every kind? Yes.

Did I get sick later that night and all the next day? YES.

I actually think it wa a combination of the fact I rarely eat meat AND the fact that I think some of it was bad. All I can say is that I had an episode. I REFUSE to go into details about the next day. so use your imagination (I recommend not though). All I can say is THANK YOU SWEET JESUS, JISU, and BHAGUAN that the toilet in my workplace was working (for once) that day. Afterwards I went by the peace corps office to get meds and check mail. And my day really took a turn upward from there!(ish) I checked my mail to find a lovely package from my awesome gal, Lorraine, alias LoCo. I didn't want to open it in the office and decided to save it for later. As I was walking down this giant, steep hill that the peace corps office is on...I kept thinking to myself 'Courtney, you're probably going to slip down this business (yes it HAD been raining all week) so you should slow down'....did I slow down? No. Did I take a giant tumble and cut my hand in 2 places? Yes. After a long ride from Suva to Nausori with a wet butt, things did start turning up. I opened my package from Lorraie to find it filled with all things Peruvian, which was super awesome and really made my day! Then I met my friend Krissy, whose hindi name is sosheila so we call her sushi for short, who gave me a dark chocolate candy bar. Thank you sweet Jisu.

Moral of the story- I think the big guy upstairs IS looking out for me. :0) And shoutout to lorraine for the awesome package!

OK, now I'll post another blog about the crazyness of my job.

-booyah...

p.s. As for me and my pumpkin Theif...he got to me again. Running tally:

Tom Foolery- 5
Chandni- 2 (I made pumpkin curyr which was pretty good! but my roti sucks though)

Netball!

OK so, here in Fiji- Boys play Rugby and girls play Netball. Netball is a combination of basketball and ultimate frisbee. It's pretty much more like ultimate frisbee but you throw a basketball and also the goal that you shoot the basketball into doesn't have a backboard. After coming back form a pooja mid-day and after meeting with the principal on official business, I marched right outside (wearing my fancy Indian clothes...the long shirt with baggy pants) and joined the PE girls. I'm pretty sure they were all laughing at me because not only do I look ridiculous when I run (I'm bowl-legged and stick my butt out when I run...not by choice) and also happened to be wearing hilarious bright yellow indian clothes, so I don't blame them. I think my favorite part of this game was how no one was wearing shoes! I'm pretty sure the only game people wear shoes with is soccer because you have to kick the ball. My feet are definitely a lot rougher now since I've been here but I was shocked at how I didn't notice I wasn't wearing shoes while playing. Totally reminded me of my 'off shoes' day(s) back in college with all my best friends- special shoutout to all my afc-ers. Yes, I DID walk into restrooms (in the USA..NOT in Fiji) wearing no shoes. I'm going to see that as God's way of getting me ready for Fiji. haha But all in all it was a fun game and I am planning on playing with them again for sure. And another special shoutout to someone who would personally enjoy the fact they have something similar to ultimate frisbee here in Fiji. Kudos to the guy with the alias 'Jazz Hands', someone whom I think would definitely rock netball. haha

Ok, miss you guys! :0)

J to the O to the B

Ok so I know a lot of people have been asking what exactly it is that I've been doing so here is the response:



There happen to be 2 answers to this question-



1. I think I've been to a million pooja's (which of course take the whole evening) and therefore have to stay where I'm at. Oooh the joys of not having a car. :0) And I've also been invited to about half of the Hindustani population's houses for dinner here in Nausori...so thats cool. On one side it's great to visit with people, they're always very excited to have me over and to talk with me in Hindi. Yet on the other side I feel like I am never at home sometimes! I feel like I'm always carrying my overnight bag with me. Days will go by and I'll realie I havent seen my neighbors in quite some time. I'm thinking it's just for now...just because I'm new and everyone wants to be entertained by this white girl speaking terrible Hindi.



2. I honestly don't have a clue as to what I've been doing. I know I've been commuting, so thats on thing during the day....like seriously, it sucks that my house is so far away from my job...it's about a 1hr and 15 min door-to-door commute. I get on bus to go to Nausori town, then I catch anotherbus/minivan to Nabua town, then I walk up a hill and sit with the lady who runs a snacks stand right outside the school that my office is in. We shoot the bull for about 15 minutes, she sometimes gives me treats, and then I hop into work. SO total it's about a 3 hour time period taken out of my day. This is where books come in handy. But my initial job description said I would only be in Nabua for 2 days a week but now it's looking like it's going to be more like 3-5.

Here's the low down- initially my organization said they would soon be building a vocational school (a school for drop-out-ish type kids who learn hands on things they might need for the real world, like agriculture, sewing, etc.) out here on the compound of this school that I'm living at. And I'm suppose to help with managing that vocational school- and thats why they put me all teh way out here in Wainibokasi. BUT BUT BUT seeing as everything is on Fiji time and this is a religious organzation with only retired teachers as workers (aka they're not very motivated) I honestly don't see this school getting built until the day I leave. Sooooo thats cool I guess. And my job has all of these GIANT goals that I wouldn't be able to finish in 10 years...That's one thing about Hindi people, they are very driven (which is great), but I feel like the people at my work are wanting to move their organization from a small religious one (it's about the equivalent to working at as a church volunteer in theUS of A's. But keep in mind they have no resources and no manpower) to a giant American sized, well oiled machine, type of organization.

So some things that I'm working on at the moment: 1. My org is putting on this Diwali Festival, The Festival of Lights aka similiar to our Christmas, on October 10th. Their goal is to spread awareness of Diwali (even though many ppl know about it and already celebrate it...Fijians and Indo-Fijians) and of course..to celebrate it with food! SO in light of that I'm starting a (hopefully, soon to be annual if it goes well) cooking competition for the ladies to help raise some money! I think it's going ot be good, it's just goingto be an Indian Sweets contest with 3 categories: Barfi, Gulab Jamun, and Govinda. I'm actually really excited about this and am excited ot go around to the different womens groups and announce it to them. 2. My org always puts out a Diwali 'Magazine' to sell at this event (they're more like programs...but they kind of stink aka a bunch of members just buy half pages and write speeches in them. That being the kind of stuff that NO ONE READS. we all know it's true.) But this year I'm helping them improve it by making it more useful to people with recipes, coloring pages for kids, funny pages, helpful household tips, and NO personal messages. So hopefully that will work out. 3. I may start doing yoga classes and healthy eating sessions out of my house. I feel like there is an interest for it and I'm pretty sure these women have never heard of a calorie. They also just might have a heart attack if they knew how bad tons of fried foods are for you. (And just to defend Indian food....it's really not bad in moderation, I definitely eat all kinds of vegetables and such. It's just more foods are cooked in oil than not. And when I say fried I mean either battered and deep fried or just cooked in oil). 4. I actually spoke with the principal yesterday about teaching a class once a week about how to run your own business out of your home! I'm excited abotu that because that sounds right up my alley! AND just after meeting with the principal I marched right outside to play netball with the PE girls.

So that may sound like a lot but a lot of these things actually developed within the last week. So I feel a little less lost with my life. PLUS I got a pumpkin from my backyard:

Pumpkin Thief- 4
Chandani -1 (and climbing...I SO have another two and I'm hiding them again)

Pumpkin Thieves

That's right...I've got one.


Damnit.

I can't tell you guys how I was initially SO excited when I arrived at my empty house to find that there is a blossoming pumpkin plant spreading through my backyard. (like in my mind it made up for the fact my house had no chairs or shelves). This hardworking plant of mine has produced 6 PUMPKINS since I have moved in. And would you like to know how many I've actually gotten to eat? ZERO.

Seriously, every day I go out to check on my little pumpkin babies and get to excited to see them grow (knowing that one day I will so enjoy making pumpkin curry), waiting patiently day by day (by day by day) so that they'll get just the right size to pick and then -count it- the past 4 TIMES that I've gone out on the MORNING OF to pick them.....I come to find a little empty space in the grass where my lovely pumpkin was nestled a mere 10 hours before. Are Paguan.

Please Mr. Pimpkin Man, you can have my pumpkins...but I just want one, man!
In honor of my favorite girlies, I have 4 words for him: 'Get Lost Tom Foolery!'

As for the light at the end of the tunnel there just so happens to be 2 more pumpkins growing. And by george I've done my best to hide them in the vines. We shall see who wins this next round Sir Tricks-A-Lot, for it shall be I, the Maiden of the Pumpkin-Patch-Protectors.


ahaha and fyi I just read what I wrote just now and realized that maybe just maybe the lonliness of being a peace corps volunteer may or may not be playing tricks on my mind. Or maybe it's the rooster that crows every morning at 4:30 am.

Pray for my Pumpkins Please.
xoxo-Court

Hibiscus Festival 2009

So my friend Julie is working at the Kidney Foundation and asked for some help with her float. Being the helpful volunteer that I am (slash secretly wanting to fulfill my personal mission to someway be in the parade) of course I said yes. So what did helping the Kidney Foundation mean? Dressing up as a Kidney Bean of course! so...that also happened. My friend Sean posted some pics up on facebook of this wonderful day, so check those out if you want! The float was totally rockin' our pageant girl should have won for sure. Next year I'm making it a personal goal to be a judge of this pageant...and I think I'm on my way. Mom, I know you always said I should be a judge when I grow up but you never said what kind.

Bainimarama is my boyfriend...

Well almost. I don't think I ever wrote about that time when myself and a fellow ghori (white girl) danced (shook our thangs beyonce style) 5 FEET in front of the PRIME MINISTER BAINIMARAMA.....yes, that happened. This all came about because of the PEACE CORPS actually. After we performed our dance at the family appreciation day, our was chosen to be performed at the Ambassadors house for swearing-in. From there, thanks to Fiji TV 1, our dance was shown on TV (which I'm SO GETTING A COPY OF...it will be on my profile soon, hopefully- Fijitime). Form there one of my bosses who was giving me money to buy a fridge 'asked'/told me he wanted me to perform an item. Cool. So Krissy and I sat up on stage next to my Pitajii, who cracks me up, for the Girmit Festival. Actually this festival is only for Indo-Fijians. The term Girmit comes from the word 'Agreement' which was from the Hindu indentured servants that were brought over from India. This festival honors those ancestors. And I personally can't think of a better way to shake it like a salt shaker for Mr. Bainimarama himself. coolio.

2 words: MAGNUM BARS

Special shoutout to anyone and everyone who has heard of these badboys: Mamalo fo sho, DaniG, Sara, and fellow study abroad gals. I can't tell you how ECSTATIC I was when I saw these heavenliest of all heavens ice cream bars here in FIJI....which is crazy. Are Bhaguan. I actually haven't had one yet because they happen to be like $6.50 which is super expensive. So I'm waiting for that special, perfect sunshiney day when I'm in Nausori town and want nothing more than this delectable treat. I just thought I'd share my excitement about these treats, because they SO deserve the kudos. :0) haha

Who doesn't love randomness?

I know I do. SO a few more random stories/thoughts from my crazy mind are fixing to be shared. So in the words of Samuel L. Jackson, quoted from Jurassic Park (with a cigarette in hand), 'hold onto yo butts.'

So I definitely have some photos of this up on my profile, but let me tell you about the time I woke up to an early morning bareback horseride. One normal/very pretty morning I was getting ready to go into Nausori for centerday. As I come out of the restroom to wash my hands, teeth, and face I suddenly hear my Bhabi shout something at me in Hindi. Of course I don't understand- it's 6:30am and my brain doesn't start functioning until at least 7. After I wash my face I look up out the window that's right in front of the sink. What do I see? Sosheila/Krissy going on a morning stroll on one very skinny bareback horse amongst a giant field of eggplants. cool. I dig Fiji. So of course I had to run out there myself and go for a ride down the ol' dirt road. coolio.

Some more random thoughts, a forgive me for this, but I'd like to take a second and describe in detail how hot the boys are here. Like seriously, the Fijians AND info-fijians. INdo-fijians, to me, are usually better looking in the face and fijians just have solid, rock hard bods. Like it's crazy! I don't know what they put in the milk here (oh wait I do know, straight up butter) but these boys are just mad ripped. It's kind of sad though, despite all the proposals I get....I just don't they could handle an american girl. WOmens roles here are very different (in the info fijian and fijian cultures) from american ones. In the words of Beyonce, they're not ready for this jelly. I think the fact that I really don't know how to cook ASTOUNDS them. I mean, I do know how to cook (american food), but since a lot of things aren't available here how they are in america I find myself sputtering about the kitchen. It's funny how all these women have recipes for EVERY kind of curry imprinted into their minds. I haven't seen any one of them bust out a recipe book.

As for my job- I'm working with Sanatan Dharm. It's a very large and ambitious hindustani organization in Fiji, the largest I think. BUT sadly it's extremely low on resources and man power. SO that's what I'm here to help with. I'm also going to be helping at the Shreedhar Maharaj College (secondary school/highschool) where I'll be doing environment and health workshops and hopefully getting More hindi classes for free. I'm a little confused with my life right now....because I think maybe my org thought I was going to be some awesome expert that could help them solve some mega problems (which ughh.......I'm sorry, what?) BUT that's actually to be expected in a sense that there are ALWAYS a lot of wrong assumptions made about the peace corps. A lot of people still don't get it and a lot of people still are asking you 'So, what is the peace corps?' on the day you leave from your service. So it's assumed that you have to do a lot of explaining. Anyways, I'm also hoping to help connect all the resources that Sanatan has and get their infrastructure settled. It sounds like a lot, and it WILL be...but for now I don't even know where to begin. I'm still learning what's going on, learning the hierchal system they have here (which is of course male dominated), and learning when and where I am allowed to do things. So for right now.....I'm lost. cool. That (as I've heard many times before) is the life of a volunteer.

As a volunteer, the first three months you actually don't have to do anything but socialize if you don't want to. Your job is to network, share cultures, get to know your village/settlement, potential 'co-workers', etc. This care free lifestyle definitely suits a village. However, because I am in a Hindi settlement, things are different. Hindi people in general are more about working. SO I feel like people are expecting all of these things from me (and expecting them quickly kind of) and then also misinterpreting what I'm here for (for ex. the school that I live at, a lot of them think I'll be teaching). SO thats cool. Really the Hindi world is VERY different from the Fijian. After a long day of rolling puri and being shouted at in Hindi, it's nice to relax and shoot some bowls of grog.

My house is great for FIji standards! It's cement with electricity and with multiple rooms. However, it's almost TOO big, seriously. FOr an American coming with a lot of stuff (of course) it would be great, but for a peace corps volunteer arriving with NO furniture into a big, lonely house that had only a table and small bed....what to do! Can I get $50 for 'Do I get any chairs?'...Answer is 'Who do you think you are?'. Coolio. But my organization actually helped me out and gave me some money to buy some furniture...because it IS impossible to function without a dresser. And because I have electricity, I definitely wanted a fridge. SO I got a small one- dorm room style and am making that work. There's no 'carpet' in the kitchen and in the bedroom but the rest of the house has tile. The MAIN thing I am SUPER PUMPED ABOUT is all the plants I have in my backyard- 3 PAPAYA trees, 3 chili plants..which I am using fyi, I'm growing mint now, some other kind of vegetable that I don't know what it is but will more than likely eat it, pumpkin!!!!!!!!, a lemon tree, and 2 other vegetable trees. WHOOP! I'm pumped! and there is a tilapia pond right by my house so I just might go fishing. :0)

I showered with frog last night. That's another thing actually, my house was so empty (oh and NO shelves btw..that was a bit ridiculous) they even took the shower head off the wall. SO it's just a tube pouring water....I choose to shower by bucket.

anywho.....thats all for now. more to come without a doubt. Again I love and miss everyone. I've definitely had my first wave of mega homesickness these past 2 weeks. It's cool though. If you're near a landline, remember I can call you for 30 minutes and it only costs 2 fijian dollars! so let me know! ok love you guys!
-Chandni chand se hoti he
sitarro se nahii
piyaar ek so hota he
hazarro se nahii

Read me first!

OK so what I've done now to make this easier to read is to section off what I write about. It's not really in chronologicle order but it's easier to read.

Special shoutout to my cousin Carol who I've gotten two incredible packages from! Thank you SO MUCH! It the best feeling to get mail! I feel American again when I do. :0) ALso to my Mom, Your package was SERIOUSLY awesome....just so everyone knows, American junk food IS appreciated. :0) Oh but just so you guys know- oreos are the one american food they do have here. And also any type of book would be greatly appreciated, maybe if you have an old one or something that you thought would be worth the read and is relatively light. Also, I've moved into my new house (which I'm running out of time to I'll tell more about that later) but it's extremely empty. So anything small to decorate my house with (like a picture of you) would be so cool! I'm putting my new address on facebook so if you aren't on facebook then email me for it!

ok, Im definitely out of time and I hope you enjoy the ridiculous things I wrote!
xoxo...man I really miss so many of you!! like really.
-CHandni

I swear I'm Bollywood bound.

OK so in light of all the wonderful things our host families have done for us, Peace Corps put on a host family appreciation day with dancing, delicious foods, and awards. Every village/settlement was asked to perform an item/act of some dance. 2 were going to be chosen and then were going to be performed at the official swearing in at the ambassador's house. At the celebration our dance was a hit....of course it was extremely embarrassing because it was only Krissy and I (and all the other villages had at least 5 people) but we did a cool dance with candles and scarves. Despite the fact we both forgot half of it, it all turned out ok when a Fijian boy jumped right in the middle of our performance and started dancing with us. They do that a lot here...but I was grateful because we weren't that good. Mid dance one of the chief's of another village came up a gave us shell necklaces because apparently we were that good. (???)

Anyways, the celebration was really fun with speeches, awards, lots of food (OMG actually I don't think I've ever had anything so delicious as this crab meat with tomatoes and onion that was cooked in lolo..coconut milk, in an underground oven), and skits.

But of course naturally ours was one of the dances selected to perform at the swearing in. cool.
So, because this was a formal occasion we all dawned our best sari's and sulu chamba's and headed out at a ridiculous hour in the morning. There were lots of Fiji TV news people and reporters who were there to document the day. The Ambassador is a really great speaker and has an awesome family. SO we performed our dance in front of the few cameras (hoping we wouldn't be on TV) and then the crowd gave us a standing ovation......yeah that didn't happen. Then of course the Hindu reporters wanted to know how I knewHindu and all about the dance. My favorite part was when the reporter walked right up to me and said 'Are you from Bollywood!?' Yes, I am. Can't you tell from the not-tan color of my skin, my horrible Hindi accent, and bad dancing moves? But I did appreciate the compliment. And after all that hype was over, we all ate lots of delicious chocolate cake, chicken salad sandwiches, and this awesome artichoke dip that we had been deprived of!!!

After that we headed back to the hotel for a solid nap. That night was really fun because it was the last night before everyone left. Such a blasty. Actually, that night I had the closest thing to a hot dog I think I'm going to get in suva and some REAL potato salad!

So I remember being told that Hindi people love dances but I didn't really believe it until the day after our swearing-in- when both papers had a picture of me dancing (good god) and also when the Fiji TV 1 did a segment on the Peace COrps. They showed both of our Fijian and Hindi volunteer speakers but then also played a clip of me dancing (why only me???? there was SO another girl there!) for at least 20 seconds. cool. And of course all of Nukomoto/Nausori/Suva saw this and now I'm 'that girl'. Now all these people think I can dance or something and so just recently was asked to perform again in the Girtin Festival that's in Nausori this Saturday. My first response was 'HECK NO' but then changed my mind when the same man who asked me said he would also be providing funds to help me buy a refrigerator. Not wanting to get on his bad side, I agreed. Food is worth it. :0) and I feel like I'm that girl already so why the heck not. PLus Prime Minister Bainarama is coming so maybe I'll get to sit next to him. (or not).

So clearly my career of going to Bollywood is already in the works. cool.

Nariyal ke samja.....aka our coconut afternoon

So we planned with our AWESOME language instructor Mahend (seriously, he's a totally funny and cooky guy who was always down for a laugh and loves people) to have this 'Nariyal ke Samja' aka coconut afternoon where we learned what all we could do with coconut trees. For one, you can make jharuu's (brooms) but taking off the leaves and picking out the hard part/stem of the leaf (the part that's in the middle). Then you shave around it with a knife to get the leaf bits off. Then you combine them all together, tie them off and taa-daa you;ve got a broom. And that's actually what the brooms are made out of here.

Second, we took a coconut, cracked it, scraped out the inside with a coconut shaver. Then we learned how you can make coconutmilk from the shavings and also how you can make coconut oil (that goes into many lotions) from the milk you make. And to top off our afternoon of course we had to learn how to make the famous Indian coconut sweets aka barfi. (the name is weird but it tastes delicious...it won't make you barf).

Now because Fijian people can use every part of the coconut tree for something, they are kind of seen as sacred trees. TO preface this, a random cultural belief is that there are ghosts in some trees. For example, your whole life has been written out by Paguan. If you end your life before it was written to end (you commit suicide) then you will remain as a ghost who either haunts your old house or lives in the trees. You live in the trees until your life was written to end by Paguan akaif you were suppose to die at 60, you kill yourself at 50, you live as a ghost for 10 years. However, because coconut trees are sacred, they are safe.

They also believe that eclipse's are bad. At first I wondered why but then realized because it covers/shadows the moon. And as we all know the moon (Chand....make name being Chandni = moonlight) is extremely important in their culture. So on the day of the eclipse you really shouldn't go outside too much. Andduring the main hours the eclipse is going on you are suppose to stay inside, close the doors, close the curtains, and you can't make or eat any food. You also can't look directly at the eclipse. If you do you might get sick, and if a pregnant lady does this then her baby might come out handicapped. BUT if you do choose to eat or cook during the eclipse you CAN spread cow patties (let's remember that cows are sacred) all around your house and then you also have to put a little on the bottom/underneath the pan you're cooking with. That's right. (Not IN the pan but on the bottom).

ALso something I wanted to add to my random thoughts list is how the music here in Fiji is awesome. I can't tell you how much they love Akon and Chris Brown. But they also have very randonm songs- like Dolly Parton. SPecial shoutout to my homegirl Abbey who is a giant Dolly fan. GOtta love 9-5. As I sat on the bus on the way ot Nausori all I think of is how none of these people know who Dolly is, how giant her boobs are, and how when I was a little girl I used to squat down, tuck my knees into my 80's style giant t-shirt, and bounce around like I was Dolly Parton. No, I was definitely not the only girl who did this.

one of the most awesome experiences yet..

We got to go to Bau and visit a volunteer who is tucked away on the side of Fiji right on the coast. She is currently working on coral reef monitoring! It was so cool. We got to go out on boats and go snorkeling to see the coral! It was awesome! now I know you guys are thinking like comkpletely tropical with completely clear waters---but remember we're peace corps and we're put in areas that need help. Anyways, the water wasn't 100% visibility but was still so great to see all of the colorful fish and awesome marine life. My favorite corals were the Christmas-tree worms which are small colorful coral that when you wave your hand near them they jump back in their holes (like on The Little Mermaid....oh man I just realized something- I was so Ariel for a day, whoop!). But there were bright blue starfish and tons of soft coral. My friend Julie who has worked in Hawaii on coral reefs said that was the most soft coral she's ever seen in one area. Actually that's who is on my facebook pic with me now! Then at the end some Fijians went fishing and caught some cool fish, a stingray, and an eel. They let me hold the eel too....then they gutted it and divied up the parts. My favorite part though was when we boated out to the coral this Fijian man was laying with his head and chest on the bow of the boat and put his feet on the benches. I'll post a picture of this soon because it was ridiculously awesome.


As for a business environment day we had was when we went to some local bakeries in some tiny villages and got to see how they make things. They used to only have brick ovens but have now switched to electric.

Another business environment trip was when we got to go to a village who have built a huge Bure (the really big grass houses) and have made an area to do lots of Meke's (the local fijian dances). They are anting to make this a small tourist attraction to raise money. It's awesome though to learn about the history of Fiji- especially the savage side. For example, this giant Bure's they built were places that only a chief or a holy man could enter. There was a giant piece of this cotton paper that ran from the end of the grog bowl up to the top of the bure- and this was how they spoke to the gods. When they built these bure's human sacrifices were required. Usually there were 4 men who wrapped themselves around each pole in all four corners. They were they buried alive. People were also killed when rolling the giant poles to where they were going to build the bure's. When someone died they threw them in/on the bure and covered. how crazy is that? There are only a few of these kinds of bure's in Fiji left with actual skeletons in them. And no worries, the one this village built required no sacrifices.

Tea Time is now the epitome of my existence...

OK so this blog is just my thoughts on some random things---

Ok so a short a really choppy history of Fiji is this: The Brits came in olden times, messed stuff up a little bit, brought over people from India as indentured servants (not quite as bad a slavery but you can still see a lot of the effects from it aka a lot of Hindustani people are still working in the sugar cane fields), then the queen got her face stamped on all the money, they implemented tea time- thank god- and peaced out.

And now, I am happy to say, I can go through the day without my morning and afternoon tea. Seriously. This is true for both Fijian villages and Hindustani settlements, the only difference being that the snacks and tea's vary. Regardless though, you say you want white tea or white coffee you are going to get 75% full cream milk- hands down. Oh and of course expect 15 gallons of sugar.

As for the money...seriously Queen Elizabeth? I would personally rather see an extremely muscley Rubgy player on my 1$ coins. Better yet, put a different player on each kind of coin and those things would be a round 2 version of Pogs. :0) ooohhh Pogs. And of course if you put Serevi on a 1$ coin he would be the slammer.

I also do love some of the slang that the Brits left..for example- cheeky. Man of love saying that word. It's also funny how some things don't translate, for example in the US we would say someone was 'very good at something'. Here they say someone is 'very smart in that'...it's just funny.

Something extremely random- now I don't know why this is, but my best guess is that it's because of all the nutrients in the foods here, but my nails have been growing at a super fast speed AND they are virtually indestructible. (I'll be joining the X-Men team soon btw)

SO the fact that I'm a young single girl and because I am excited to learn about the Hindi culture, has apparently compelled someone to put an ad in the Fiji yellow pages with an article that says "Young saucy minx looking to date your son." Because for some reason EVERY older hindustani woman is extremely interested in introducing me to their sons. I mean, I expected this, being a young girl in general, so I end up just laughing off their 'half-serious but serious if I was serious' proposal. But when a woman goes and calls her son to drive to where I'm at just so he can meet me is ridiculous. Are Paguan (good god).

But on a lighter note, I seriously love how all the men hold hands here. Fijian and Indo-Fijian. It's awesome. I love this culture. For example, right when we were given our site placements and were able to meet with our contact people from our sites, I caught a picture of my friend Monte holding hands with a giant Fijian man whilst waling merrily to lunch. That's it- merry, this culture is so merry.

That brings up something else- I've never been invited ot more people's houses to dinner in my entire life. If I didn't want to cook for 3 months- I'm 100% positive I could make it happen. My favorite part about it is that most of the shop keepers are Hindustani- so I really make a lot of friends and get good prices for things. But something awesome happened the other day. I told my friend I was going to Colo e Suva ( cool rainforest looking place with trails and rivers you can jump into) and she marched right out from behind the counter, grabbed my hand, and almost begged me to come to her house to dinner because it was right there. I sadly couldn't that day but will definitely go back for sure. That's how nice people are here. Now I'm sure she has a secret motive and a son who is single, but I don't care.

I was even on the bus one day and was really hungry. A fijian lady sat down next to me with a big bag of twisties (cheetos). I'm pretty positive she didn't see me eyeing them. But just as soon as she opened them she turned ot me and offered me some. And heck yes I took some. I love Fiji. Where else in the world would you get offered some chips on a bus by a total stranger. (But let's not talk about the health problems in Fiji...oh my). No worries, I'm healthy. I do have a small sinus infection right now but I've already got the meds for it and am feeling better.