Fiji Times

Where do I even start. I am sorry it has been so long. It is really a good thing because I am finding myself much more occupied and less bored with time. Also, my computer keeps breaking and I hate typing on my phone. February flew by so incredibly fast. On February 15th Nina (my cousin) arrived in Fiji. It was a wonderful visit. We went to the beach, sand dunes, a small island, saw a bit of town life and spent a couple days in the village as well. 

Reasons Nina was a great visitor:

1. She was flexible when Fiji would happen. This was the week leading up to cyclone Winston and so we were always on our toes.

2. She asked the locals a lot of questions. They love having someone genuinly interested in their world!

3. She told stories. "talanoa" means to tell stories and it is what Fijians spend a lot of time doing-it's great. 

4. She brought them "American" lollipops aka Tootsiepops. It is important to have tasty chasers during grog sessions. They lovedddd the tootsiepops. 

5. She was patient in living the village life (eating other food, showering in cold water, taking buses everywhere, etc)

Now- everyone come to Fiji and be like Nina. 

In school I have a "question box" where students are encouraged to anonymously (or not) submit questions about anything that they would like me to answer. Fijian students are usually discouraged from speaking up or asking many questions and so my hope (and success) is to have them feel more comfortable in asking the questions I know they have about Family Life Education (sex, nutrition, lifeskills, feelings, hormones, puberty, relationships, college, gender identity, etc). I am doing the same with my blog. I have encouraged readers to submit questions in the comments section anonymously or not ;-} that I will try and answer. Here are some of the questions so far....

How many different Fijian dresses do you have?

I would say I have around 5 Fijian dresses and am always looking for more. I buy about 3 meters of the material and then pay someone in town or in the village to sew it for me. There is no such thing as patterns here so I just tell them what 'style' I want and hope it looks nice. My favorite style is butterfly-nice and cool and comfortable compared to the other styles.

What did you bring that you never need/use?

Honestly there isn't much I brought that hasn't been put to use. Almost everything I would want or need (besides a lot of processed food/cheese/some veggies, etc) can be found in Fiji but it is expensive (especially on a volunteer budget) or difficult to get (in the city). I wish I didn't bring extra batteries. They are easy to find and cheap. And most of the ones I brought dont work now anyways due to humidity, etc.

How is the gardening going?

It started off wonderfully. I planted 24 cucumbers and they were growing rapidly. They should take about 2-3 months in Fiji. However, at about week 7 of growing they were murdered when a neighboring garden full of rootcrops (cassava) was sprayed for bugs and the wind blew it over to my cukes :(. I still have tomato, zucchini, long bean, chives, basil and carrots I plan to plant when all this rain stops. 

What is you favorite type of fish?

I don't know what types I am eating. I can say tin fish is not my favorite.

Why do you think Fijians ask if my parents are dead/alive?

I think they ask this because life expectancy in Fiji is very short. I don't have the stats on hand but I would say to pass at 60 is not abnormal here, mainly to non-communicable diseases.

How often do you get to see other Peace Corps Volunteers?

I am lucky and in a position to see other volunteers really whenever I would like. One of my good friends lives in my town (15 minute bus ride away) and the main city (Suva) is less than 2 hours bus ride from me. I probably see someone every 2 weeks on average. 

How fluent in Fijian are you?

Ha. Hardly. It is really hard for me to learn another language...or more so speak it. It is definitely about my confidence. About a month ago I started with more formal tutoring lessons though and so that has helped. I learn best by visually seeing words. 

What is something Missy in the US wouldn't recognize about Missy in Fiji?

Hmm. Probably my coping ability to sleep with rats. I will have to think more on this one. Good question.

Okay so those are the questions I had. Please submit more! 

I feel like I have talked Cyclone Winston to death. But I will say a little bit. During the cyclone I was evacuated to one of the large cities (Nadi). It was nice to be looked after by the Peace Corps but at the same time I felt guilty and privileged. To have the ability to be evacuated. To have the ability to know ahead of time how bad the cyclone was going to be (radio, phone, internet access). To have the ability to leave my home because I am single, healthy and financially capable. To have the ability to be in a well built structure with plenty of food, friends, and a generator. Privilege is a tricky thing. It is so easy to be taken advantage of but it is so important to recognize that I was one of very few in Fiji (and in many ways in the world as a white middle class woman) who had this privilege. It was the longest 36 hours of my life before I made any contact with my village after Winston  left and it was a very short conversation to hear if everyone was safe and alive. It would be another 8 days before I spoke with anyone again as they had lost phone service and power. I cried that day. I had been somewhat numb before that, but on that day to just be able to hear someone's voice was a wonderful feeling of relief coupled with grief and guilt. "When are you coming back" I was asked...having to explain that I couldn't go back until it was deemed safe, for me. 

Okay, that is all for now. I have a lot more to say but I will look for your questions on what you want to hear. 

The contents of this Web Site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

Above: Me with the Minister of Education when he came for an unexpected visit to the school after Winston.

Above: Me and one of the teachers. This is my favorite butterfly dress.

Above: Nina and Lepani at our waterfall

Me and Nina on a boat on our way to a small island

Cheers to 2016

Any questions you have, please post and I will answer in my next post! 

Fun fact: Coconut oil is my most frequently bought item that has now become my lotion, hair styler and i get to cook with it! No one else cooks withit here though, so they think am a weirdo.

I started teaching at the secondary (high) school this week. I will be teaching Family Life Education to years 11, 12 and 13. Some of my classes may have up to 50 students in them. Phew! Wish me luck! The year 13 students have a classroom pilot program that allows access to a computer and projector. I look forward ro being able to use that some and not always using the chalk board. The kids are used to being lectured here in Fiji so it is different for them to be asked to participate in other ways. But they are excited to learn and that is all I need to be excited to teach! I am also hopeful in getting soccer going at the school. Right now options for sports are rugby, netball, track and volleyball.

Projects my village hopes to accomplish:
**A primary (elementary) school library. They hope to build this in the village  (school is across the street) though to allow a broader access for villagers as well and so when students are on breaks from school they can still use it. They envision it eventually having a couple of computers with internet access.
**A poultry farm. I am a big fan of the income generating projects! This project takes much less to start up than most of the other projects as well.
**A church for the secondary (high) school. There are many students and teachers who board at the school. They have used a classroom for church and prayer services in the past but have never had a church of their own. It would be a Methodist Church.
**The village itself wants to expand their church. Not everyone can fit inside.
**A project about sewage has been mentioned..don't know many details on it.
**There are 4 clans in my village. One of the clans wants help advancing their farming. They have to walk 1 or 2 hours to their farming land and so they were hoping for something such as a carrier (large truck) to aid in their farming efforts.

My priorities are the first three projects listed. They are organized by the youth (ages 15-35) of the village. The pressure of projects is still there but I have a few people in my corner now who help me to explain my role and how Peace Corps does projects ro the villagers who still struggle in understanding. They have also helped give me the confidence to be more direct and honest and say "I don't know"...when in fact I don't know. I love that my village is so motivated and organized, but man oh man it is often overwhelming that they have such high expectations of me. I feel like I am sometimes a disappointment to them in that they were hoping and thinking someone would come and fully fund their projects and here I am ready to teach and practically an amateur at grant writing. At the end of my two years I should be able to put grant writing on my resume for sure though!

My updated care package list:

*Clif Z Bars (especially iced oatmeal cookie flavor)
*Coloring books-for kids or adults
*Quart (bigger sized) ziploc bags
*Tootsie Pops
*Chocolate
*Annie's Mac and Cheese (put in ziploc)
*Construction Paper
*Deck of Cards
*Any little toys, activities for little kids, old children's books, chalk, bubbles, etc. The kids in the village have zero toys. If I see one more kid play with a knife..
*Anything random. When it comes to food I miss just about everything.

Melissa Martin, PCV
Naiyala High School
P.O. Box 166
Korovou Town, Fiji Islands

The contents of this Web Site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

This Is Fiji.

I have been living in my new home for just over a month now. School ended at Thanksgiving time (which no one has ever heard of here) and so I have had a lot of time.. Before coming to site I told myself I wanted to take things slowly when trying to integrate into my new community. Two years is a relatively long time and I want to be sure to take everything in before taking everything on. I quickly and surprisingly found myself overwhelmed by things I thought I was prepared for. I no longer had any other volunteers nearby to seek support or solidarity from. One of my biggest struggles the past month has been trying to explain to the people of Dakuivuna Village my role as a Peace Corps volunteer..and what the Peace Corps is. In this area of the country they get a lot of Australian volunteers. Most who come for a day, or a week and bring lots of goodies or complete a large project quickly for them. My village called these people Peace Corps volunteers. The village seemed to have missed the education assets I was able to bring to the community (teaching Family Life Ed classes, Lifeskills, HIV/AIDS, Family Planning, Drug Abuse/Awareness, Sexual Health, etc) and were zoned in on when/how I would complete all of my projects they had planned for me (build a sea wall, school library, school computer lab, school church, etc). And so the majority of my first month I felt a bit uncomfortable not knowing how to answer their questions because yes, projects are possible but there is a process to make projects happen in Peace Corps, and it certainly isn't what I am most excited about doing with my new community. I want to collaborate, educate and inspire. I want to share, experience and learn. But I was getting stuck in my internal half and found myself shying away from opportunities because I knew I was going to get quizzed about 'my projects'. Last week we were able to get some clarity to the village with the support of one of my supervisors. She is Fijian and so she was better able to explain the community my role. Every one speaks some level of English (British English) but there is still a large gap in understanding one another.
With all that said, things are on the upswing and I am becoming more comfortable in my community every day. Each day I make a small goal for myself...sometimes it is as simple as go to the neighbor's and learn all their names and ages. And hopefully as time goes on my goals will get bigger and better.

Alright so enough with all that jazz...here is a silly little list that former and current volunteers have made of "You Know You Are A PCV in Fiji When...." (not all are true to me, but to give a little insight into our lives as volunteers here in Fiji)

• You see 6 fairly large stains on your shirt and you think 'oh yeah, this shirt is still good'
• ants in your food=free protein
• a hot sunny day means laundry day
• you cover yourself in baby powder because you don't have enough water to shower with
• you choose dinner based off of what is about to rot/expire
• you decide not to sleep in because your neighbors start pounding grog at 7am
• you spend 20 minutes discussing with your neighbors what may have bit your arm the night before
• you're constantly brushing off bugs or poop
• you are constantly checking each pocket to make sure you didn't lose your bus ticket to and from town
• you haven't washed your hair in a week in hopes of not catching lice
• you've made enemies with the village roosters because they love crowing outside your window and your window alone
• you've been charged at by a goat
• your best friend in your village is your cat
• you've made a game of guessing how many frogs are in your bathroom when you go to pee in the middle of the night
• your feet are always dirty
• you are lolled to sleep by dog fights
• you use orange/lemon/lime as after shave
• you step in freshly made cow pie when trying to take down the laundry
• you bargain with the spider in your bathroom to not move until your bowels are evacuated and they surprisingly comply
• you've gotten real good at day dreaming and completely leaving reality in church
• you're not sure if you just agreed to marriage or dinner
• you don't have a kitchen or a sink so showering, washing the dishes and doing laundry has become one activity
• at first you don't understand how Fijian can sleep anywhere and everywhere and now you can fall sleep on the hardwood floor in the middle of a social gathering
• you experience more emotions in one day than a human is meant to experience in a lifetime
• you have at least one good poop story
• "never trust a fart"
• you've lost or gained 15 lbs, or both
• it is considered a successful day when you come home without visible sweat stains
• you're convinced you're going bald, have parasites or a skin disease, and sometime you do
• you never travel anywhere without toilet paper
• grocery shopping and doing laundry are considered day long chores
• you've started to name the cockroaches, rats, spiders and lizards that live in your home
• you treat every month like no-shave november
• you get excited when you order something with chicken and it doesn't have bones in it
• you eat the entire contents of your care package in one sitting
• you preach nutrition and then consume an entire sleeve of oreos after work
• you have spent more time in church than you have your entire life (and understood 1% of what was said)
• you gamble with death every time you ride public transportation
• most of the time, you have no clue what is going on.

The contents of this Web Site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

Well. that was weird.

I have no clue how the majority of this post got deleted...but there's no way I can rewrite it since I don't remember what I babbled on about anyways. I will post again this week to make up for it!

As many of you know, last week we found out our site placements for the next two years. It was an emotional day for many. 28 of the 35 of us are placed primarily in secondary schools. A couple people are in offices working for the Ministry of Youth and a couple people are working for a sexual and reproductive health NGO. We are scattered throughout Fiji. A large number are on the second largest island in Fiji,  Vanua Levu. Several of us are on the main island, Viti Levu (including myself) and then there are several people on outer islands such as Kadavou and Taveuni.
I found out this week I passed my language test, thank goodness! I thought I did absolutely terrible. But I guess I did good enough. Now, I need to stay focused and continue to soak it in and practice. I am lucky because my site placement is so close that the dialect is going to be pretty much the same (Bau dialect) besides of course with their own slang and whatnot.
The last weeks, days and hours in the village were intense. After two months I felt as though I had started to find my niche and then it was time to go. I hope to stay close with the locals I can now call my friends, and my host family who has truly held me down through it all.

First three things I am asked when meeting a new person in Fiji:

1. How old are you?
2. Are your parents still alive?
3. What religion are you?

The contents of this Web Site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

Goin' to Church

Bula!
Hello!

Na yacaqu 'o Melissa.
My name is Melissa.

(Yacaqu pronounced - yathangu)

I no longer am known as Missy. Although even Melissa isn't completely accurate for what Fijians call me.. it is more like Melisha. Words that end in 'y' do not exist in Fijian. Words end in 'a, e, i, o or u'. It is a very vowel heavy language, which makes it kind of fun to speak!

Obviously a lot has happened over the last month so I am just going to try and highlight a few main things.

Family is much more complex here in Fiji. In all reality, most of the village (and sorrounding villages...pretty much all of Fiji) is related. There are many taboos and rules that the Fijian culture abides by within family relationships, roles and dynamics. I still don't understand many of them clearly. Not to mention Fiji is in a time where many more traditional aspects are clashing with more Western and modernized aspects..a very difficult balance to make.

My host family is mainly just my host Na (mom), Matilita. She is 63 years old and a widow. At night time, it is just her and I that sleep in our house.

However, her niece (Vere, 8 yrs old) and nephew ( Epa, 10 yrs old) are frequently around. She cooks, cleans and takes care of them as their mother left their dad (Matilita's brother, Moni) and them about 4 years ago.

In addition to my momo (uncle) Moni, Momo Simi and Momo Epa and their wives live in houses next to mine. Everyone takes good care of me. Too good at times. The village is about 60 houses big and It is rare that my family lets me go somewhere alone. They send someone with me anywhere I go. I truly am taken in as a part of their family and they take that very seriously. They want me to be the best at speaking Fijian and the best at eating and the best at drinking kava, etc.
I have more aunts and more uncles who live in nearby villages and in the city, Suva but they just randomly pop in and out to visit.

Food:
The food has been fine. The root crops (dalo, cassava, white yams) are really dense and have little nutritional value but I don't mind the taste. I just dip them in whatever else I have or use them as a buffer if there is something I am served that I am not a big fan of.
My host mom worked in a hotel in the city for 35 years so she knows what is new food to me and what I may like based off her experiences with Americans  (although sometimes an inaccurate assumption ie. cereal..not a big fan). She gets me lots of fruit, local (pineapple, papaya, mango, banana) and otherwise (pears mmm). And lots of veggies as well  (beans, peas, carrots, dalo leaves, cabbage, bok choy). Potatoes and onions are in a lot of dishes she makes for me and I am a big fan of those!  Most things are fried, boiled or soaked in (freshly made) coconut milk.Sometimes fish is served all three ways in one meal Special meals are cooked in the 'lovo' which pretty much means they are cooked in the ground. I haven't actually seen this happen even though I hate ate the food from it so more to come on that front.
Butter, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, salt and sugar are a few of Fijian's favorite condiments are that way overused...like way.

Language:
Well...I can sum this up by saying I have a lot of work to do. Fijian isn't too difficult but it is more of a confidence thing for me. I know lots of verbs and adjectives and nouns but don't always know how to throw a sentence together. The good thing is that I understand the pronunciation well and can read it properly..even if I don't know what it is I am reading.
My host family and most people in the village speak English, although some better than others.

Health:
I would say that of the 35 volunteers in my group all of us have been sick with something or another in the last month. Many people have had stomach issues, moquitoe bites, centipede bites, mold and outdoor allergies, strep, colds and bed bugs.
I was bothered by some allergies the first week but have been more or less okay with them since. I have however been blessed with strep (throat) twice...currently suffering from the 2nd time at the moment. It has been 7 days and I haven't had any improvements but they did switch my antibiotic today so hopefully I see improvement tomorrow. They wanted me to go into the city and stay at the hospital or a hotel to rest and be watched over but I asked if we could try just switching my meds first. We only have 3 weeks left with our families and 4 weeks left with all of the other volunteers (before site placement) so I hate to go twiddle my thumbs in the city just for strep.

Other tidbits:
Rats...seen a few...in my house..and my room. I was trying to mind over matter them but then I saw one come in through the slatted window, scale the curtain down to the floor and scurry off. ..Yeah.
Lots of lizards that sound like rats but they are ultimately nice because they eat the other weird bugs and mosquitoes and whatnot.
I have been to church more times in the last month than in the last 8 years of my life combined. The church in my village is Methodist. Sunday masses are around 2 hrs long and 98% in Fijian. There are also masses for funerals, weddings, holidays, new guests, youth week, womens week, childrens week, holidays.....
I have also been attending the church youth group. It is a a bit uncomfortable because I am not religious and it has been a long time since I have discussed the bible and sung church songs but it isn't so bad. I enjoy the small group conversation it allows in youth group. And in mass in all Fijian let's be honest I probably wouldn't understand if it was in english anyways.
Last week in church my family had to get up and sing...they neglected to tell me I was going to be joining them. So I sang my screechy voice in front of the whole congregation with 3 other people and all in Fijian. It was...an experience.

I have tried to add a bunch of pictures but cannot edit them until I get on my computer at some point (currently using purchased data on my phone).

Bula!

I can't tell you what day or time it is but I can tell you that this is where I should be. This is will quite possibly be my last post for a few weeks as I head into the village life.

The first few days in Fiji have blended together and it is hard to believe I haven't even been here a week. Our program is really well organized and they have done a marvelous job on of easing us into our new lives. I have participated in a few "grog sessions" drinking Kava. There will be more on Kava..probably a post dedicated to it itself as I learn more and can better explain the importance of this in the Fijian community. I am learning every moment of every day...including being challenged. I am definitely out of shape - being shown to me in my slow swim in to shore during our swimming competency test yesterday. Maybe that means I have secured a spot in city?? Haha, just kidding.

 This has been a wonderful time in getting to know the 34 other volunteers here in Fiji with me (plus the 15 Tonga volunteers we spent 4 days with). We have played tons of volleyball, soccer, frisbee, football, swam in the river, the ocean, pools at the hotels, walked around towns and played lots of games. We have a solid group here and I look forward getting to know this 92nd group of Fijian Peace Corps volunteers over the next 27 months!

Tomorrow I will move in with my host family. My host mom is 63 years old and widowed. She has two grandchildren living with her, ages 8 and 10. I am super excited to meet them and kick the soccer ball around in the village! The name of my village for the next two months, is Savu Village which means Waterfalls in English. WATERFALLS ARE MY FAVORITE. I can't wait. We will have 2.5 hours of language training Monday through Friday and then several hours of cultural and technical training (in youth development). The house I will be living in is wooden with two bedrooms and a flush toilet :). It is a Peace Corps requirement that the host family is able to provide the volunteer with their own room and a lock to the room. 

Ready or Not!

Packing sucks. I included some pics of my first attempt at packing this week. I don't have final pics to upload because I'm giving up and finishing in the morning..along with 282802 other things I need to do before 9am tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning I leave for LA.

Tuesday night I leave for Fiji.

Wednesday never happens (Fiji is 17 hours ahead of Minneapolis).

I arrive in Nadi, Fiji Thursday morning at 5:30am after a 11.5hr flight (still Wednesday for ya'll). 

We hit the ground running right away when we arrive in Fiji. We have some basic training in a hotel in Nadi, Fiji along with Peace Corps Trainees for Tonga for a couple of days. Then we take a two and a half hour bus ride to Pacific Harbour and spend a night in a hotel. Then we take a two hour bus ride to our host family villages where we will spend the next two months learning language (Fijian and possibly Hindi), cultural taboos and norms, and immersing ourselves into everything Fiji...even getting to know the wildlife (Fijian rats better watch themselves!).

My mailing address until November:

Missy Martin
Peace Corps/Fiji
Private Mail Bag
Suva, Fiji
SOUTH PACIFIC


Some Random Facts About Fiji and Peace Corps in Fiji

*Peace Corps has been in Fiji since 1968 (two years before their independence from Britain)
*Peace Corps did leave Fiji from 1998 to 2003 due to a coup. There is a large Indian population (Indo-Fijians) who often conflict with the Fijians.
*In Fiji you are considered youth until around age 35, or married
*Gender roles are strongly defined
*Many religions are represented but the major three umbrellas are Christianity, Hindu and Muslim
*In Fiji, "...an open door is an invitation for people to come in while a closed door is considered rude..."

After I am sworn in as an official Volunteer in November I will be placed in a position working with the Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Education or Ministry of Health. Any position I am placed in should be focusing on the goal of educating and modeling better nutrition and exercise for the youth of Fiji. I could be placed on one of six islands, could live with another volunteer or live a few hours from the nearest volunteer, could be in a city, town, village or outer island. I will be assessed over the next two months as well as interviewed and surveyed on my thoughts for placement.