Bula everyone and hello from Fiji,
I am now entering my third week here in Fiji and it is amazing how fast it has been going. I only have 4 weeks of training left and then I will be off to my host village. Time is really flying by. I know it has been a while since I last wrote and I wanted to update everyone on what has been going on.
Fiji is an amazing place but also an entirely different place from Boise. I will never forget the morning getting off the plane in Nadi and just sweltering and asking if it is always this hot. The reply I received was “This is winter; it gets much hotter in the summer time”. Even as I write this, I am sitting in my room sweating. I guess it goes with the territory.
The thing about the Peace Corps is that whatever expectations you might have about a place, it will be entirely different from what is actually going to happen. For instance, since Fiji is a bunch of Islands, I half expected to see the ocean or the beach a bit more, but I have been inland and have only seen the ocean the first day we were here when we did our water safety training. We are hoping to go with our host training families possibly this Saturday though so we will see if it works out.
OH! I forgot to mention that we are in host villages and each of us is assigned to a host family that provides us meals as well as helps us to integrate into Fijian culture. I also must note that I do not think that I have ever learned a language this fast. Tomorrow is our first language test and so all the trainees are studying up for the verbal test (including me). It is a relief to know that although I need to know the material, there are no such things as grades here. The more Fijian you know now though, the better off you will be come July. It is a relief not to have to compete with anyone but yourself.
I have made many new friends here that are fellow trainees as well as volunteers that are currently serving. The staff here is top notch too. We have a great country director that is a wonderful person and very personable to get to know.
There are striking differences between the US and there are striking similarities as well.
Fiji is a very missionized society. Every village has a church and village week announcements are relayed during service. Everyone in the village is in attendance. Although I consider myself a religious person, this is a stark contrast to the role religion plays in America as an optional entity. Life is also much simpler here for better or worse. Every water faucet usually only has one spigot: cold, and I had to learn the hard way that I need to pack toilet paper and soap around if I plan on using the bathroom at any location.
There are similarities as well. For instance, Vampire Diaries is a very popular show here. There is a soap opera called “Southland Street” which is a huge success here. They have an American Idol-like show called M.I.C. which Fijian University music students compete. Oh and I forgot to mention that Miley Syrus (I think I spelled her name right) and her song “Party in the USA” is also a rather large hit here. In fact, I never thought that I would have Fijian boys serenading me with “Party in the USA”, but I guess life is full of surprisesJ.
I will hopefully find out where my work site will be in a week or two, although I will still not be able to tell you my exact location (Peace Corps policy, sorry :/). More to come though on my job description.
I hope all is well and feel free to facebook me with any news or just to say hi. It might take me a few weeks to respond, but you words and thoughts mean a lot to me.
Signing out, or as they say in Fijian, Ni sa Moce!!!
Ben
