We have been in Fiji one month now. Both Leslie and I have made quite a bit of progress in the language. Today we had a scavenger hunt in Suva as a way to familiarize ourselves with the city. I think my group came in last. We spent too much time in the University of the South Pacific's book store looking at the coral reef books.
So far I have been in the ocean twice, and Leslie has been only once. They keep us on a pretty tight leash during training, and prefer to keep most of the training inside village community halls. Last week the environmental volunteers got to take a trip to Kiuva to do some snorkeling. A few researchers from USP taught us the basics of transect sampling and took us out to the reef to try it out. When we got out to the reef everybody decided that it would be more fun to just snorkel around and look at the fish, instead of trying to lay a transect. The reef was degraded in certain areas, but was still beautiful. We saw a sea snake, a few clown fish, a moray eel, one of those rays with the electric blue spots, and more species of fish than I could count.
Fiji definitely has some environmental issues that need to be addressed. For one, waste management is a severe problem. Most of the villages lack trash pick-up services of any kind, so they resort to burning the trash (plastic and all), piling it up, or throwing it into the river. Piggeries, also, usually empty directly into the river, with the feces-laden runoff causing the coral reefs to become overrun with algae. Unsustainable fishing practices are also common. Villagers in some areas use dynamite fishing and fishing with poison. In many areas, simply too many fish are being caught. Another major component of Peace Corps' work in Fiji involves setting up Marine Protected Areas.
Leslie and I will know exactly where we are going in two weeks. We are extremely excited to find out. If anyone is considering applying to the Peace Corps, post a comment and I'll tell you more about it. Training is difficult for reasons I never anticipated. Once again, I'm sorry for not posting photos. Maybe next week, rairai beka.
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3 comments:
Aloha!
I came across your blog while doing some Peace Corps research. My fiance and I plan to do Peace Corps after we finish grad school (I am getting my Masters in Social Work and he is getting his MBA). We live in Hawaii and are hopeful that we could end up doing PC in the Pacific Islands or Asia.
Your blog has been really interesting and helpful. It is nice to read about a young married couple doing PC. I am so concerned about the added complexities of doing PC as a married couple. I would love any feedback on the process or advice you have!
Best of luck!
Emily
I've been considering joining the peace corps for a few years now and I was doing research online and came across your blog. I'm 22 and majoring in Chemistry Pre-Medical with 2 minors in Biology and Criminal Justice. How long should I wait to join? Should I join before I go to medical school? I know it would be great to have Peace Corps on my resume. But more importantly I would like to go AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I really, really want to do this. If I could get some insight from you 2 I would GREATLY appreciate it. My email is ashley1448@gmail.com
Thank you SOOO much!
Ashley Tudor
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