Sites Announced!!!

Friday, July 4th was a big day for the FRE-6 trainees. We found out where we will be assigned for the next two years. The day started with a surprise Emergency Action Plan run-through that started at 6 am. Mahen (my language teacher) came to our house and knocked on our window before sun-up. We had to grab our emergency bag which contained clothes, dry food, water, medical kit and our life vests. We spent two hours sitting at the hub office drinking coffee in our pjs. Good times. After our consolidation training we planted trees at our host homes to celebrate the 4th of July and learn about native Fijian vegetation. At 11:30 we headed to Lomanisau (one of the host villages) for the big announcement and 4th of July celebration. Currently serving Peace Corps volunteers mapped out Fiji on the grass. As our names were called they took us to our assigned area in Fiji. John and I are going to spend two years in Raki Raki (Northern Viti Levu). John will be commuting to a neighboring village to help the community set up a Marine Protected Area as well as Mangrove planting, waist disposal and other fun environmental stuff. I will be working with an Indo-Fijian Women's Group. The group is an NGO and they have asked for help with small income generating projects, basic bookkeeping and budgeting skills, marketing, and general women's outreach. I am taking over an existing project. The current volunteer will end her service next week so we will have a chance to chat before she leaves. John and I are both very happy with our assignment. We will live in a rented flat and will have electricity and running water. We will also be a mere 3 hours from Suva and Nausori so we will be able to visit our host mom and the "big city" very easily. We are also super stoked about how close we will be to the ocean. Raki Raki is surrounded by some great scuba sites! It won't be long until I'm certified, until then, John will have to scout out the reefs for me :) We leave tomorrow for our Counterpart Conference and then Tuesday we go to Raki Raki for a week to check everything out.