Wonderful Weekend- Thanks, Fiji!

 For the first time in my life I feel like I've BEEN somewhere for 2 years...I don't have any of the typical feelings of 'oh time went by so fast' or 'where has the time gone'. I'm not saying it's a bad feeling...it's actually quite nice to just just nod my head and say 'YES, I DID that. And it was good.'

We had a pretty big training this week (new volunteers are HERE- ahh! I'm helping train them on a bit of the Indian stuff and how to deal with Safety & Security issues), and after that a small group of us headed to an 'eco lodge' here on Viti Levu that was of course run by the local village. (sidenote: I'm realizing that people back home think we go to resort's all the time or feel like we 'hit the jackpot'. But I would just like to say although the places we go to are naturally beautiful [which we DO appreciate]..we're still not in paradise. The local 'lodge's' are rustic to say the least and often times we still feel like we're in the village/settlement. As Americans we have all these expectations of what a resort/vacation should be like and 95% of the time those expectations are unmet. For example: having your feet be dirty/sandy the entire time you're on vacation, being hot/sticky the entire time because of lack of air conditioning, our reservations/rooming situations never being what we asked for/planned on, and having a margarita or a Corona in your hand is just not existent. And I don't want to complain by any means, I just want to give people an understanding. EVERYWHERE in the world has positives and negatives to where you live.)

SO ANYWAYS- back to the good stuff: we had a SUPER fun weekend played volleyball, played on the black sand beaches (cool side fact: white sandy beaches come from parrot-fish eating the coral and then small sand particles come out of their booties. However, black sandy beaches means that there is a river/water source that flows from inland (near volcanic rock) and flows down to the beach. The black sand is much more fine because the particles break off in smaller pieces when the river carries it- COOL), had good food (fresh curried prawns, lovo, and coconut mussels- these things are HEAVENLY), and then went on this Dolphin Watch + Snorkel excursion the last day! AWESOME!

Saw around 100 spinner dolphins...they come in to a bit shallower waters, near large mass of crescent moon shaped coral and then head out to feed at night. They broke up into smaller 'clique's' and would swim in unison..so neat to watch. And some of them would do tricks for us, jumping in and out of the water spinning forward and laterally! Then we went to a different area to snorkel in more shallow waters (I mean...we still couldn't see the bottom) but the coral WAS GIANT and the species were so diverse. Just really neat. I didn't see anything new really but we did see a small nudibranch black with lime green design) and some really beautiful and bright colored small fish (orange, magenta's rich purple's).

ON the way home we managed to find transport in a minivan that came by mistake..so we were jammin' out to Fijian Christian music- really beautiful...like you guys have no idea. It was a very surreal moment...looking out the window, reflecting on the past two years. After that we came home and I somehow churned out a full load of laundry (by hand as always), a banana cake AND a cobbler. took me 2.5 seconds to fall straight asleep. Thank you Jesus for a wonderful weekend!

April Fools!

for the entire month? YES.

a low point of my service....

Close Of Service (COS) Conference @ the Pearl!

So this past Saturday afternoon I found myself just lying in a sports bra and underwear doing nothing but sweating. I decided enough was enough and that it was better to sweat with my local friends as opposed to sweating by myself. I went over to my neighbors house (fully clothed) to deliver some Fiji famous peanut brittle that my Uncle Ray sent me! 5 hours later of sitting around, learning swear words in Hindi, and goofy Indian dancing we had a pretty fun time! During this time my friends and I were talking about where I've been for the past month....and this friends is what happened:

APRIL
week 1: mid week, on my way into work, feelin' good and lookin' good, I slip and fall uneventfully in some murky water on the sidewalk. I fracture my right pinky toe and am forced on crutches. This was definitely a low point in my service, mostly because I was having yet another security issue with some half crazy half drunk fijian dude who was harassing me a bit and trying to follow me.
week 2: still on crutches, had some nice raspberries forming underneath my arms.
week3: stayed at my house for just one night then had to head straight to our COS (Close Of Service) Conference which was at a nicer hotel that DID have awesome food. It was kind of a whirlwind of emotions because I kind of just wanted to be home and rest, and I wasn't mentally ready for the Pearl and to be around my whole group. But it turned out to be pretty great and we had a good time in the AIR CONDITIONING! weeeee! but it was a bit of a bummer when I'd go to eat because my stomach bacteria I have was acting up and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to....maybe that was actually a good thing. ;0)

week 4: went straight from my conference back to my Organization's Annual Convention that happens every year over Easter (over the Public Holiday of course...I was a bit bummed because all my friends were hanging out BUT it turned out it was great I was there). At our table this year I did face painting for the kids for any kind of donation and it was a big hit! At one point I had like 25 kids around me (a bit stressful) and I made enough to buy some plants for the office that I've been wanting to plant here. :0) And to end my week I headed out to the YASAWAS with my friends, Kara and Jewels! The Yasawas are the 'tourist islands' that truly are BEAUTIFUL with some of the bluest water I have ever seen. Hands down. Fiji's treasure trove for sure. As amazing as it was (also with AWESOME food) :0) I wound up getting the flu AGAIN with shivers and the sweats. At my lowest point I had signed up for a massage and by the end I could actually feel blood flowing in my body again and felt MUCH better after that. Kara also wound up getting a bit sick too....she actually fainted during breakfast and we had to carry her to our bure. a bunch of sickies! but luckily we both felt better and were still able to enjoy the amazing island we were on.

NO this is not a swimming pool- OCEAN baby!

Jewels and I on the beach!

Harry Potter anyone!? YES!

On the last morning Kara and I went snorkeling in their AMAZING coral reef and saw a bunch of new fish we'd never seen:
-school of squid! they're AWESOME looking and change colors when you get close
-rare rockmover wrasse: they're tiny, Kara spotted it and kind of float like they're a piece of seaweed
-saw my first boxfish: black with orange spots
-counted 10 giant clams
-stingrays
-2 ft long cornetfish
- really interesting trumpet and filefishies as well!

We were out there giggling like little school girls - So that was my April, hope you guys enjoyed it! :0)

Things I thought I'd never be able to say or do until I met Fiji:

-get knocked in the shin by a lady holding a frozen chicken while walking through town.
-be able to eat rice and curry with my HANDS and thus be able to hold up my hand to show that I've eaten (stained yellow from the turmeric powder)
-make peace with [count it]: cockroaches, lizards, spiders, ants, and flies.
-find myself laughing now when a super smelly person sits next to me on the bus
-have a multitude of illnesses: especially having stomach issues and not be anywhere near an accessible toilet (despite being in a city)
-enjoy cooking- makes me appreciate the wonderful selection of cheeses and cooking items in America.
-(On the flip side) being able to go out to my backyard and pick as many fresh and organic eggplants, long beans, papaya's, bananas, pumpkins, spinach, bok choy, dalo leaves, bele leaves, cilantro, mint and lemons as I want to!
-ride in the backseat while the driver was drinking beers with a friend and NOT being able to do anything about it...just because I was a woman.

Bananas Foster from my bro!! :o) miss that kid.

GOTTA LOVE the signs/stickers here in fiji

The latest: First ever International Womens Day Celebration with Sanatan 8 March 2011

 Lately I've been finding myself on an emotional roller coaster though: going from really loving this place and trying to soak it up...but then Fiji happens. Aka I go from SUPER enjoying the dusty yet beautiful walk home, loving hanging out with my community here (sharing stuff and eating, of course) but then back to being ready to go when I wake up in the morning and want to go for a run....only to find my brand new running shoes GONE. Fiji just happens. But it's still good. you just find yourself laughing when stuff goes wrong. :0)

Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Fiji- some are great, others not so much! :0)

Sights of Fiji:
-Indian kids playing with kites
-Fijian children pounding grog
-goats attached to random street poles
-wild mange dogs
-Wheel barrow boys- running inches next to bus, truly enjoying themselves and also trying to grab the first customers (who sell the dalo) who get off the bus
-the view from my host family's house in our training village. They were in the middle of nowhere near the Rewa River...so beautiful at sunrise!
-little kids peeing through the fence at the school I walk past everyday

Sounds of Fiji:
-wild dog fights
-crying babies
-pounding of grog
-Indo-Fijians singing their religious songs
-Church on Sundays...most beautiful of all
-cat calls: shoe repair/shoe shine boys- 'hello baby', 'very nice beautiful', 'I love you'....really? Because I'm pretty sure I don't know you!
-The kissy noise aka how you get someone's attention
 
Smells of Fiji:
-fresh bread from all the Hot Bread Kitchens (creams buns I will dearly miss!)
-fresh roti in the morning, especially at my host family's house
-rank body odo...usually on the bus, so you're stuck by them
-handmade coconut oil
-bug spray
-mouse pooh
-Indian curries -delicious
-However, people with bad curry breath - disgusting

I do enjoy this place....

Week from Hell followed by Week of AWESOMENESS!

Christmas at my house! surprisingly rockin'!

We had a pretty rocky end to the year in the office as there was loads to do in the accounts area which is unfortunately something I can't help with. We had just started selling our 2011 Calendars and a lot of branches still owed us money, which is to be assumed as no one has any money. But someone apparently came down hard on our boss and told him that if there's any money missing then the project is seen as a failure which he'll get blamed for. So in turn, he came down hard on us. And I don't know if you've ever worked for a 'screamer' before ladies and gents...but it is SO NOT pleasant. It was definitely enough to ruin my Christmas spirit.  I also kind of had a big blunder due to some damn Christmas Cards. Our President came in on that Tuesday (like 3 days before Christmas) and says he's got about 200 cards he wanted mailed out that day (let's not forget Indo-fijians will work you to the ground). Roshni and I had discussed in the past that we should do the whole Mail Merge thing on Microsoft Word to print the addresses on the envelopes as it'll save time. Well that took like 2 hours longer than expected due to some software difference on our computers and mostly because of some printer problems. Gooooodnnessss if that day wasn't filled with a bunch of bickering. Yes we were pressed for time (but it's only a Christmas card, eh?) and then my boss tries to blame the problem on Roshni when clearly there's no one to blame (actually it was the printer's fault) and having to deal with him. ugh. So that very much set the tone for the week- not pleasant. Plus there was no Christmas Party and only one person said Merry Christmas to me. I'm pretty sure I had Elvis Presley's 'Blue Christmas' playing the entire week.

BUT to get this party train rollin, I actually had a nice time by myself this Christmas. Mom, Meghan, and Kyle sent me some AMAZING packages that arrived JUST IN TIME for Christmas! It was glorious. You can see I played try-on with a lot of my stuff in my Picasa web albums. My host family's son and his family happened to be visiting from Canada as well so I hung out with them too. Except Christmas morning I pretty much just wanted to be alone with my trinkets and coffee. it was nice. Plus there was fruitcake falling from the heavens- YES people really DO eat it here.

It was a Pick Your Own type of deal- heck YES to free,  pineapples!

Then my pals: Sean, Jewels, and Kara came and we were off to TAVEUNI! It's so gorgoeus there, you can't beat their sunsets. We stayed at this rustic place that turned out to be perfect for us as it was a Pick Your Own fruits and veggies: GIANT pineapples, passionfruits, papaya (which we later made papay curry with), plantain, bele (a leafy vegetable). Out first dinner there was homemade Spinach and Cheese ravioli (good gosh it was heaven) at a local resort. It was funny though, we had brought some tomatoes with us to cook with and since the island was on shortage it was a BYO tomatoes.

Diving on Somosomo Strait

The next day we went diving on the Somosomo strait with the Nakia resort- they're so great! I'm still amazed at the coral here- so many magenta's and bright pink corals. Saw some pretty good sized trigger-fish, rare clown fish (Nemo!) in a rare anemone, few white tip sharks, sea worms, and a sweet-lips (my favorite). After that we headed to Lavena Lodge, the eastern side of the island where we stayed in a lodge that has been the project of previous volunteers (Gloria we miss you!). It's very picturesque there and is known for it's Coastal Walk where you walk along the coast and hike up to some waterfalls- I felt so Anaconda like swimming up the stream to the waterfalls. I can't tell you how AMAZING it feels to be swimming into a waterfall- it's pushing you back but you keep trying to swim up it, and the water is so cold! MAN it's such a rush. Thursday morning after yet another bathroom episode( I think the water on Taveuni just doesn't like me), I somehow had the strength to go with my pals to the Bouma Heritage Park. There we hiked to another 3 waterfalls, on the last of which was around 20ft tall- and you bet your bottom dollar we jumped off it! A bit scary but it was SO fun!

just beautiful- lavena coastal walk

 From there we took off to a small island called Qamea (pronounced Gomea), one of the closest islands to the International Date Line- aka Experiencing the first seconds of 2011, YES PLEASE! We stayed at this eco resort where despite being the first ones to call and book and ALSO making double sure that we'd have a bed- turns out they pitched a circus tent for us and put some mattresses in the sand. I woke up with way too much sand in my bed the next morning. And Circus performance anyone? IT hAPPENED- check the 2 videos at the end of the New Years 2011 album in Picasa. Here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/courtneygoodson/ChristmasAndNewYears2011

The Circus Tent

After that we spent most of our time snorkeling, drinking wine around the shockingly well made bonfire, and laying out on the beach- it was so nice. I've missed being able to wear my jorts (jean shorts). The bio-luminescence was also SUPER amazing of course as it was such a remote island. I even put one on my fingernail and it stayed glowing! Gosh I love the earth.

The Besties!

As much fun as we had on island it was still time to head back- Peace Corps style of course. This meant after a quick fiber boat ride (in our life jackets) hopping into the back of a carrier and being COVERED in dust and dirt. Hells to the yeah. (but I mean like no really I had to take a sink shower once we got to the ferry). Thank gosh for protex soap! The four of us split the cost for a cabin on the ferry (initially worth it) and it was great until it came time to sleep and our room (I imagine being 2 cm's away from the engines) heated up to like 95 degrees. And if you didn't know, the bed bugs become EXTREMELY active at this temperature. Trust me. Anyone game for a midnight shower? yes please.

Lavena Coastal Walk- Star Wars anyone?...this one's for my bro!

All in all it was a super fun trip and definitely was great to de-stress and be on a BEACH!

Sometimes....it's not all gravy, baby.

So I had a cultural misunderstanding this past weekend....I was at my host-bro's(he's more like an uncle) house because there was a party for his sons 21st birthday. My host bro invited me to come swimming with everyone, which of course 'everyone' was only the men because the women are always so shy. But they know that I'm not shy to swim and so it's always been fine that I play in the pool with them. That night though, all the men had been drinking a bit as it was a party, but no one was hammered so I figured it would be ok. My host bro was fully dressed too...so when I went to the pool all the men were at one side...some of them were in their underwear (but that's just how some of the ppl swim here). I went ahead and got in; however, the whole time I felt awkward. So I stayed on the side that was farthest from the men and closest to the house but there were still a bunch of people around. So my host sister called me out of the water and when I got out my host mom called me naughty for swimming with the boys, and slapped me on the shoulder. I wanted to cry. I showered and then went to bed. I felt super embarrassed too. It was really frustrating and its times like that when I get really frustrated that I can't read the situation fully. Ultimately,  I knew I shouldn't have gotten in the water, but at the time I just wasn't sure and just kind of went with it. That's how I get by here: by just adapting and 'going with it'. But I don't think I could explain that here. Anyways, I was able to explain myself the next day and it was ok. Plus there was tons of leftover birthday cake so it was all good and I still enjoyed visiting with all the women regardless!

Chandani's gone global....

One fine morning while at the office, a man comes by to drop off the 2011 phone books. I died of laughter/embarrassment when I found a little something at the top of column 2 on pg.122 from that phone book. Take a peek my friends.

 Random success in the office: A while back I had heard of  National Toothbrushing Day that was being supported by the Ministry of Health. I got a hold of the forms and faxed them, along with a letter explaining what it was,  to all the schools that were affiliated with my organisation. I never heard anything back from it and assumed that nothing had come of it. A few months later we received the yearbook from one of our schools...in the events section, I saw this and practically jumped for joy!