Leslie's Parents

Leslie's parents recently came to Fiji for a two week vacation. They spent most of their time here at Volivoli Beach Resort, with a short, 4-day trip to Taveuni. It rained non-stop in Taveuni, but it was cool to see Niko, a volunteer working in an undisclosed location on the island. We really enjoyed having them here, as it gave us an escuse to spend practically every day at the beach. Leslie's dad did a couple of dives. Unfortunately he didn't see any sharks. Interestingly enough, while he was diving, I was snorkeling above him and I saw a shark! I guess they'll have to come back to Fiji now.
Not a whole lot else has been going on lately. Our work in the village has been blocked by the 1 week (3 weeks Fiji time) Methodist extravaganza going on in our village. Now that eternal salvation has been secured for every man, woman and child in the village I am hoping that we can focus a bit on more earthly matters, like sending kids to school, properly disposing of rubbish, making money etc.
I am really looking forward to seeing the new group of volunteers that will be coming in on Thursday. My request to help with training has sadly been rejected by the powers that be in Suva. It is really strange to think that my group of volunteers are now the "experienced" ones. Ha! We still don't really have this whole thing figured out. I feel I should warn any single males in the incoming Fre 7 group that the girls in my group have been scouring the internet looking for pictures of them and licking their chops lustfully. You see, my group has a high girl to guy ratio, and after a year in the bush you can imagine how desperate they can get for some fresh meat.

(Once again, this post reflects the opinions only of John Leonard and or Leslie Currie and not the U.S. government)

Work and Play

I recently returned from a week-long trip to Suva for a Financial Literacy Training of Trainers. I was able to bring a counterpart from my village. Milika has come with me to other Peace Corps workshops but I think this by far was her favorite. Peace Corps staff and volunteer facilitators did a great job organizing and presenting the material. We practiced listing income and expenses and then moved onto setting savings goals by using a "savings calculator". After the test-run we counseled real clients from a local women's group. Thanks to the workshop Milika and I feel confident that we can help couples in our village set budgets and savings plans. We are currently working with the Chief to schedule workshops for the village.

Last week was a slow but loud week in the village due to a huge Methodist conference that was taking place. Amps were out and the talatalas were passionate. We did not get anything done .....we also got little sleep. To get away from the noise we went for a dive on Saturday morning. This was by far the best dive we have been on. We went out to the Vatu i' Ra passage. We saw six sharks and the most beautiful soft coral ever. It was wonderful! That evening we stayed with Tara and enjoyed the company of other Peace Corps volunteers.

My parents arrived on Monday, May 4th at 5 a.m. Updates on their visit coming soon.