Sept 10, 2013
Bula vinaka!
Well tonight is my first night in my host village and being
with my host family. They are absolutely wonderful! They are so kind and so
generous with everything that they have been giving me. I am definitely going
to have to find a way to work out or something here because they feed us like
it is our last meal!! The people of Fiji show their support and love by sharing
food with each other.
The village that I am in is absolutely gorgeous! Mountains,
bright greens, surround it and there is a waterfall right outside the village.
All of the trainees kept looking all around and not really looking where we
were going because it is just so beautiful to look at and be surrounded by such
beauty and rich forests.
The house is made of tin and has running water and
electricity. The running water is not enough to take a shower, so we take what
is called a “bucket bath”. The showerhead does not have enough water pressure,
so they collect water into a bin and you use a ladle to scoop the water and
dump it onto you. It wasn’t has bad as I thought it might be, but I will get
used to it! The house has a living room with no furniture because culturally
you sit on the floor when eating and enjoying each other’s company. The kitchen
is also set up in the back but is attached to the house, which is sometimes not
the case. Below is a picture of my
house.
My host mom (“Ne”) came and met me at the welcome ceremony
in the village hall where we met the village chief. She is so friendly and so
kind. My host sister (Linita) also was there with my host brother (Tui). Linita
works outside the village but took the day off to come and welcome me into the
home. Tui is 23 and I haven’t figured out what he does yet. Ne works in the
Agricultural Center for Fiji and is a typist and receptionist there. My host
dad (“Va”) is a police officer in Suva and commutes from our village to Suva
every day. I have another host sister (Shiddy) who also works in Suva, but is
only home on the weekends.
Right after I came to the house (which they call “Jordan”)
Tui took me to play rugby with the village men and older boys. I have never
played before except for that little bit that we played at Nan Dave. Tui really
helped me learn the game and all the guys that were playing were trying to get
me to take the ball and run. It was super muddy because it rains on this side
of the island a lot, so naturally I was covered in mud after we were done.
I’m very excited to be living with this family and to
experience all this here in Fiji. The culture and the language will come,
slowly, but will come eventually. We shall see what my village has in store for
me next!
Vinaka kei Moce!
(This is my bed in my
bedroom)
September 17, 2013
Bula vinaka!
It’s been a while since I have written an actual blog entry,
but I have been exhausted at the end of every day that I can barely keep my
eyes open at 8:30pm! CRAZY!!! So let me give you a view at the typical day of a
PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) in Fiji.
A group of us like to run in the morning and we typically
are up and running between 5:30am – 5:45am. This may seem really early however
most of the village is starting to wake up at this time to catch the 6:00am bus
into town for work. We get back into the village right when our village
community members are loading the bus and they all wave and say “Andre!
Savacava tiko cei cei?” which means “Good Morning! How was your run?” We
respond with “Set tiko vinaka!” which means “It was good thank you!”.
After our run we go home shower and get ready for na vuli
(class). Our language and culture classes are from 8:00am – 12:00pm with a tea
break at 10:00am – 10:15am. It’s a lot of language, and a lot of culture
training but we need to be able to speak Fijian ASAP! I am feeling pretty good
so far because I am starting to pick up words here and there in conversations
and can put pieces together to understand the conversation. It’s kind of like a
giant jig saw puzzle at the moment. I have heard it will always be like that
through out service.
When we are finished with na vuli we head back to our valei
(home) and have vacasigalevu (lunch), which consists of a lot because lunch is
there biggest meal here in Fiji. After lunch we head to the valenisoqo
(community hall) for our technical training from 1:00pm – 4:00pm or sometimes
5:00pm. Most of our technical trainings are lectures or interactive learning of
things that we will face in our host village, site placement, or information
that will pertain to our jobs when we are placed at our permanent sites.
Then it’s time for the two groups of PCTs to head back to
their villages. Most of them live in the next village over which is 2.5 miles,
so those people walk. But the other group has a 14km trip to the next village,
so they drive. Today I walked with the close village group and it was
beautiful! The sites are incredible and I lost my breath a few times by the
sear sites of Fiji.
(View I have walking to na vuli every morning. This is right
outside my valei.)
Most of the time I am not walking the other village back,
but I am playing rugby with the men of the village. It’s a lot of fun, and I
get quelequle (muddy) every single time I play. My shoes have still not dried
due to the amount of mud and dampness is on the pitch field. Like I mentioned
in a previous post, the men really have helped me learn the game and really let
me try to play. It’s funny because I feel like a little kid because they let me
run to score a point. On the note of men here in Fiji, they are all ripped! I
feel so fat being with all of them that I have started working out in the
morning before school, and in the evening before bed.
When Tui and I get home from rugby, both of us wash up and
start to help with preparing and cooking dinner. I have certainly learned a lot
of ways to cook with an American kitchen. My kitchen only has a sink, kerosene
stove, electric oven, and a steamer. This is more than what a lot of kitchens
typically have in a household.
Once dinner is finished, Va washes the dishes and Tui, Ne,
and I relax with a cup of tea. We drink so much tea here its ridiculous! Ne
bought a box of 50 on Saturday, and we are already more than ½ done with the
box. It’s crazy how much tea is drank here! I typically go to bed around 9:00pm
– 9:30pm just because I am up so early in the morning. Tui usually goes out on
a walk, and sometimes I go with him. Our “walk” is code for going to a cava
session with the men in the village.
Well, that’s the typical day of Mr. Timoci (Timothy in
Fijian) Doak. In the future posts I would like to focus on certain aspects of
my day to day routine. If you have any suggestions on what you would like to
learn/read/hear about, please send me an email at tdoak08@su.edu and let me know what that topic
is! Maybe I can do a Q&A style post when I receive enough questions.
Vinaka kei Moce!
(This is the rugby pitch we play on at sunset)
(This is the waterfall that is in our village. Usually the
water is clear, and it has two pools that you can swim in!)
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