It is August! That means so many things for John and me: 1.) We have been at our site for a full year, 2.) I have completed phase 2 of my Beekeeping Development Project focused on Small Business training for beekeepers, 3.) my water projects in the Indo-Fijian settlements are finished 4.) John and I have received funding for a water project in our village (funded by Rotary Pacific Water for Life) and construction of the new pipeline begins this month, 5.) and finally, we are taking our first real vacation.....we are going to AUSTRALIA!!!
I am excited to have finished my business trainings. This was a first for me; I had never before taught adults. The trainings were organized by the Business Incubation Center in Rakiraki town. I facilitated the training with John Caldeira, a friend and retired Peace Corps Volunteer who lives here in Fiji. My role in the training was to teach the "Managing Your Money" portion of the training. This section of training focused on personal finance, goal setting, prioritising, and saving. Day two of the business training focused on Business Finance. John taught the majority of this training section. John and I planned the training to be as interactive as possible. Participants completed income and expense worksheets, wrote up a personal savings plan, put together a financial plan for a business and participated in a few small games. In total the training reached six communities (5 villages and 1 settlement) in six different tikinas (districts) and over 120 participants. I like to think that the participants enjoyed the training and learned something useful.
The water project in our village was a surprise. We did not think that it would ever happen due to lack of funding. The issue in the village is that many faucets are broken and constantly leak causing low pressure for the village. In addition, the pipe bringing water to our village is shared by three other villages, one of which operates a fish pond. As a result, very few houses in the village are allowed to have taps, while the ones that do have inadequate pressure. There are no shower heads in the village and no sinks. All taps are low to the the ground so dish washing, clothes washing and showering is done using a series of buckets while in the squat position. The village planned a soli (fundraiser) for new piping, only serving our village, and to fix the broken taps. As we guessed, the soli had a low turn-out and did not raise the required funds. John and I were very disappointed by this but not surprised. The only fundraisers that raise significant funds in the village are for the Methodist Church. Well, the day after the soli I attended the grand opening of my water project in the Volivoli settlement. After the ceremony, trying my luck, I asked the director of Rotary Pacific Water for Life if she could help us, telling here that we are about 6K short of our goal. To my delight and surprise, she answered that she would be happy fund the remainder of the project. Construction is set to begin in the next few weeks and should be complete upon our return from Australia.
These last few months have been busy with visitors and projects. Now, it is time for a break, Australia here we come!!!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Leonards visit
Just about a month after Leslie's parents returned to America, my parents along with Kelly, my sister, arrived in Fiji. They stayed at Volivoli Beach Resort most of the time and did some diving. Kelly actually completed her scuba certification here, so she got to go on her first dives in Fiji. The weather literally couldn't have been better the whole time they were here. The wind which had been blowing nonstop for the past few months let up a bit while they were here. We went on some great dives. On one of the dives we managed to see six sharks!
We left the Ra area for a few days to see a few other parts of Fiji. My parents, Leslie, Kelly and I all piled into the Rav-4 rental and headed down to the Suva area for a few days. We spent the first night at Raintree Lodge and went for a long hike in Colo i' Suva park the next day. I had been to Colo i' Suva park before but had not managed to find the pool with the famous ropeswing. This time we did manage to find that pool and spend some time swing off the rope into the water. At around noontime we headed to Suva for lunch, had some fish and chips, and then headed toward Pacific Harbour to do the zip line. The zip line was a lot of fun. The guys running it were really friendly to us and let us go down all the lines twice. My parents got some great pictures from it that I will have to post at some point. Both Leslie and I were sad when they left. Hopefully my brothers and her brother can save up some money and come here at some point!
We left the Ra area for a few days to see a few other parts of Fiji. My parents, Leslie, Kelly and I all piled into the Rav-4 rental and headed down to the Suva area for a few days. We spent the first night at Raintree Lodge and went for a long hike in Colo i' Suva park the next day. I had been to Colo i' Suva park before but had not managed to find the pool with the famous ropeswing. This time we did manage to find that pool and spend some time swing off the rope into the water. At around noontime we headed to Suva for lunch, had some fish and chips, and then headed toward Pacific Harbour to do the zip line. The zip line was a lot of fun. The guys running it were really friendly to us and let us go down all the lines twice. My parents got some great pictures from it that I will have to post at some point. Both Leslie and I were sad when they left. Hopefully my brothers and her brother can save up some money and come here at some point!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Random Stories
Man, we are really bad about posting. I'm in the Peace Corps Office right now so I guess I can make this a long post. A few funny things have happened this past month. None of them really have anything to do with each other, hence the title "Random Stories".
1) Vinaka Dadakulaci
So I finally went fishing at our new village. I went out all night with two other guys: Gavota and Jeremia. We motored just a couple of kilometers or so offshore, into Viti Levu bay, and dropped anchor. The last time I had been night fishing we had gone out much farther offshore. We started off fishing for salala or striped mackrel, a fairly common fish that isn't worth very much in the market but makes good bait. Once we had a few of these guys we baited the bigger hooks and waited for the big guys to bite. While I was still struggling to set my hook on time and getting my bait stolen constantly, Gavota had hauled in two massive Walu or spanish mackrel. These are some of the most sought after fish in Fiji. They have lots of meat and taste great. He had to bear hug one of them to prevent it from flopping around the boat and biting us, and jammed a knife into its brain. By about 10pm that night I had caught a good number of salala, saqa (trevally), silasila (barracuda), and qitawa (cresent banded grunter). At this point I would have been happy to head back to shore, shower off and get a good night's sleep. This is, of course, not how things are done in Fiji. Night fishing means all night. We didn't return to shore until about 7am the next day. By about 2am I was really struggling to stay awake. As my bait fell to the water I would start to doze off, only to be awakened by a fish tugging at my line. The burst of adrenelin caused by having a fish on my line would wake me up and I would pull it into the boat and repeat the process. After a while I started to realize how truly disgusting fishing can be. When you see pictures of guys on boats holding massive fish it certainly looks appealing. But the one thing you miss out on with the pictures is the smell. Fishing boats reek. By this time of night the boat was drenched in fish blood. Luckily it was a cool night otherwise the stench would have been horrendous. Towards 3 or 4am the fishing started to slow. At this time we noticed a black banded sea snake swimming towards the boat. These snakes are one of the few things Fijians do not eat. In fact, they respect them and have all sorts of superstitions about them. " Oh this is a good sign." said Jeremia "Seeing a dadakulaci like this means we'll catch lots of fish." From that point on, both Gavota and Jeremia were offering prayers to the snake to deliver us lots of fish. Sure enough, we started catching some saqa. With each fish caught, Jeremia would proclaim, " Vinaka, Dadakulaci! Vinaka na ika!" (Thank you black banded sea snake! Thank you for the fish!) Eventually the catch slowed again, but Jeremia still persisted in pleading with the snake to send us more fish: " Kerekere, Dadakulaci. Dua na Walu!" At some point Gavota let out a righteous fart to which Jeremia responded " Vinaka Dadakulaci! Vinaka na cagi!" (Thank you black banded sea snake! Thank you for the wind!)
Fijians love inside jokes, so every time Jeremia sees me he shouts, " Hey, bula Dadakulaci!" It never gets old.
2) Goosebumps
Leslie and I are doing some work with a nearby primary school. The school has a library which is in total disarray, so we volunteer once a week to help organize it. We are trying to create a system so that kids can actually check out books and take them home. I was at the school one particular wednesday, with a couple of Fijian kids helping me organize books. One of the kids, a boy also named Choney (my yaca), was alphabetizing books and came up to me with a look of terror in his eyes. He showed me the inside cover of a Goosebumps book. Inside was a warning that said "Warning: Do not under any circumstances read this book from front to back. Doing so will produce extreme terror..." or something like that. This warning, of course, is a joke merely meant to entice kids to read the entire book by giving them the idea that they are doing something dangerous or illicit. To Fijian kids, who have the utmost respect for authority, the warning label is truly terrifying. I explained the joke to the kid, but he still seemed eager to get the cursed book out of his hands as soon as possible.
3) A Ghost Story
An old man died in our village last week. We had the funeral on Saturday. On Monday Leslie and I were trying to sleep but the freaking dogs would not shut up. They were howling away like crazy that night. The best thing anyone could do for Fiji is to exterminate all the dogs. They are a horrible nuisance. Any visitor to Fiji who stays in a village or settlement will not get a minute's sleep because of these repulsive creatures. So anyway, I couldn't sleep so I grabbed my machete and headed outside to chase them away. I wasn't really planning on killing them, I just wanted to throw my machete at them. That scares them more than throwing rocks. Since it was the middle of the night I didn't feel any need to put on pants. I managed to scare away a few of them, running around in my underwear, throwing my machete at them. I noticed a few flashlights moving around. Some other people were also chasing away the dogs. When they approached me I recognized them as some of the village youth. They asked me what I was doing. I said I was trying to scare away the dogs because they were making so much noise. Marika, one of the guys whispered to me, " The dogs are barking so much because of the death last week." I remembered then that Fijians have all sorts of superstitions about ghosts and figured out that the villagers were probably attributing the dog's behavior to the presence of ghosts. " Have you been to the burial site?" he asked me. " Yeah, I was there during the funeral." " The youth are standing watch there right now." he said, " Come, we go now." Really, I thought, do we really have to go right now? Can't I put on some pants first? Something about his tone told me it would be best not to argue and to just go with him. When we got to the burial site I saw virtually every male youth from the village solemly sitting next to the grave, with a bonfire going. There was a bowl of kava on the mat beside them but nobody was drinking it. When they saw me several of them stood up and folded their arms. I glanced down at myself. There I was in my boxers with a machete in my hands. I felt ridiculous. Marika explained that I was out that night because I was trying to scare the dogs away. The guys seemed satisfied with this explanation and sat back down. On the way back Marika explained to me that when a person in a village dies the young men of that village will keep watch over the grave for five nights to make sure that no evil spirits steal the person's soul. Marika's concern, evidently, was that the ghosts would either harm me or that I would be mistaken for a ghost- running around in my underpants waving a machete around. As I went back into our house where Leslie was sleeping Marika told me, " If the dogs bark again, don't leave your house. Wait until tomorrow morning when they are sleeping and then kill them."
1) Vinaka Dadakulaci
So I finally went fishing at our new village. I went out all night with two other guys: Gavota and Jeremia. We motored just a couple of kilometers or so offshore, into Viti Levu bay, and dropped anchor. The last time I had been night fishing we had gone out much farther offshore. We started off fishing for salala or striped mackrel, a fairly common fish that isn't worth very much in the market but makes good bait. Once we had a few of these guys we baited the bigger hooks and waited for the big guys to bite. While I was still struggling to set my hook on time and getting my bait stolen constantly, Gavota had hauled in two massive Walu or spanish mackrel. These are some of the most sought after fish in Fiji. They have lots of meat and taste great. He had to bear hug one of them to prevent it from flopping around the boat and biting us, and jammed a knife into its brain. By about 10pm that night I had caught a good number of salala, saqa (trevally), silasila (barracuda), and qitawa (cresent banded grunter). At this point I would have been happy to head back to shore, shower off and get a good night's sleep. This is, of course, not how things are done in Fiji. Night fishing means all night. We didn't return to shore until about 7am the next day. By about 2am I was really struggling to stay awake. As my bait fell to the water I would start to doze off, only to be awakened by a fish tugging at my line. The burst of adrenelin caused by having a fish on my line would wake me up and I would pull it into the boat and repeat the process. After a while I started to realize how truly disgusting fishing can be. When you see pictures of guys on boats holding massive fish it certainly looks appealing. But the one thing you miss out on with the pictures is the smell. Fishing boats reek. By this time of night the boat was drenched in fish blood. Luckily it was a cool night otherwise the stench would have been horrendous. Towards 3 or 4am the fishing started to slow. At this time we noticed a black banded sea snake swimming towards the boat. These snakes are one of the few things Fijians do not eat. In fact, they respect them and have all sorts of superstitions about them. " Oh this is a good sign." said Jeremia "Seeing a dadakulaci like this means we'll catch lots of fish." From that point on, both Gavota and Jeremia were offering prayers to the snake to deliver us lots of fish. Sure enough, we started catching some saqa. With each fish caught, Jeremia would proclaim, " Vinaka, Dadakulaci! Vinaka na ika!" (Thank you black banded sea snake! Thank you for the fish!) Eventually the catch slowed again, but Jeremia still persisted in pleading with the snake to send us more fish: " Kerekere, Dadakulaci. Dua na Walu!" At some point Gavota let out a righteous fart to which Jeremia responded " Vinaka Dadakulaci! Vinaka na cagi!" (Thank you black banded sea snake! Thank you for the wind!)
Fijians love inside jokes, so every time Jeremia sees me he shouts, " Hey, bula Dadakulaci!" It never gets old.
2) Goosebumps
Leslie and I are doing some work with a nearby primary school. The school has a library which is in total disarray, so we volunteer once a week to help organize it. We are trying to create a system so that kids can actually check out books and take them home. I was at the school one particular wednesday, with a couple of Fijian kids helping me organize books. One of the kids, a boy also named Choney (my yaca), was alphabetizing books and came up to me with a look of terror in his eyes. He showed me the inside cover of a Goosebumps book. Inside was a warning that said "Warning: Do not under any circumstances read this book from front to back. Doing so will produce extreme terror..." or something like that. This warning, of course, is a joke merely meant to entice kids to read the entire book by giving them the idea that they are doing something dangerous or illicit. To Fijian kids, who have the utmost respect for authority, the warning label is truly terrifying. I explained the joke to the kid, but he still seemed eager to get the cursed book out of his hands as soon as possible.
3) A Ghost Story
An old man died in our village last week. We had the funeral on Saturday. On Monday Leslie and I were trying to sleep but the freaking dogs would not shut up. They were howling away like crazy that night. The best thing anyone could do for Fiji is to exterminate all the dogs. They are a horrible nuisance. Any visitor to Fiji who stays in a village or settlement will not get a minute's sleep because of these repulsive creatures. So anyway, I couldn't sleep so I grabbed my machete and headed outside to chase them away. I wasn't really planning on killing them, I just wanted to throw my machete at them. That scares them more than throwing rocks. Since it was the middle of the night I didn't feel any need to put on pants. I managed to scare away a few of them, running around in my underwear, throwing my machete at them. I noticed a few flashlights moving around. Some other people were also chasing away the dogs. When they approached me I recognized them as some of the village youth. They asked me what I was doing. I said I was trying to scare away the dogs because they were making so much noise. Marika, one of the guys whispered to me, " The dogs are barking so much because of the death last week." I remembered then that Fijians have all sorts of superstitions about ghosts and figured out that the villagers were probably attributing the dog's behavior to the presence of ghosts. " Have you been to the burial site?" he asked me. " Yeah, I was there during the funeral." " The youth are standing watch there right now." he said, " Come, we go now." Really, I thought, do we really have to go right now? Can't I put on some pants first? Something about his tone told me it would be best not to argue and to just go with him. When we got to the burial site I saw virtually every male youth from the village solemly sitting next to the grave, with a bonfire going. There was a bowl of kava on the mat beside them but nobody was drinking it. When they saw me several of them stood up and folded their arms. I glanced down at myself. There I was in my boxers with a machete in my hands. I felt ridiculous. Marika explained that I was out that night because I was trying to scare the dogs away. The guys seemed satisfied with this explanation and sat back down. On the way back Marika explained to me that when a person in a village dies the young men of that village will keep watch over the grave for five nights to make sure that no evil spirits steal the person's soul. Marika's concern, evidently, was that the ghosts would either harm me or that I would be mistaken for a ghost- running around in my underpants waving a machete around. As I went back into our house where Leslie was sleeping Marika told me, " If the dogs bark again, don't leave your house. Wait until tomorrow morning when they are sleeping and then kill them."
Monday, May 18, 2009
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)
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)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Nananu again
Some of you may be aware that there is a bit of a political situation here in Fiji right now. I probably shouldn't say exactly what the situation is- you can read all about it online- but I just wanted to let everyone know we are fine. Everything is normal in the village and we don't feel threatened in any way.
Leslie and I celebrated Easter weekend with a trip outside our village to Nananu i Ra island, our favorite nearby getaway. This is probably the third time we've been to the island. I guess we should start trying to see some other places, but it's just such a fun and laid-back place that we keep coming back.
About 13 of us met on the island, bringing all our own food and, of course, beer. Everything on the island is expensive so bringing your own is a good idea if you're on a Peace Corps budget. We went out snorkeling and fishing with our good friends John and Judy the first day there. That night we had a good time, eating Tara's and Sylvia's excellent cooking and my excellent home brew. It's called "Dr. Choney's Elixer of Love". I'm working on patenting the recipe.
The next day we all woke up a little late and a little hung-over. It didn't take long for us to rally, and before noon the entire group of us was marching through head-level grass on a cross-island trek. Leslie and I had done a similar hike with Ahndree and Nuper during the dry season. It required quite a bit of bush wacking. This time, however, it was all bush wacking. It dumped rain on us during part of the hike, we had to all cross over a barb-wire fence, and the final hike down to the beach involved plowing through a thick tangle of trees. The real element of danger was introduced when Leslie stumbled into a wasp nest and was stung 10 times. I was stung once on the leg. We scattered into the bush when this happened and very slowly made our way around the wasp nest. We were expecting to come out at a secluded beach on the North side of the island. It turned out that in walking through the woods we had veered a little to far to the South and ended up on "mile long beach". The developed beach on the island where our hotel was located. We were literally 5 minutes from the hotel.
Leslie and I celebrated Easter weekend with a trip outside our village to Nananu i Ra island, our favorite nearby getaway. This is probably the third time we've been to the island. I guess we should start trying to see some other places, but it's just such a fun and laid-back place that we keep coming back.
About 13 of us met on the island, bringing all our own food and, of course, beer. Everything on the island is expensive so bringing your own is a good idea if you're on a Peace Corps budget. We went out snorkeling and fishing with our good friends John and Judy the first day there. That night we had a good time, eating Tara's and Sylvia's excellent cooking and my excellent home brew. It's called "Dr. Choney's Elixer of Love". I'm working on patenting the recipe.
The next day we all woke up a little late and a little hung-over. It didn't take long for us to rally, and before noon the entire group of us was marching through head-level grass on a cross-island trek. Leslie and I had done a similar hike with Ahndree and Nuper during the dry season. It required quite a bit of bush wacking. This time, however, it was all bush wacking. It dumped rain on us during part of the hike, we had to all cross over a barb-wire fence, and the final hike down to the beach involved plowing through a thick tangle of trees. The real element of danger was introduced when Leslie stumbled into a wasp nest and was stung 10 times. I was stung once on the leg. We scattered into the bush when this happened and very slowly made our way around the wasp nest. We were expecting to come out at a secluded beach on the North side of the island. It turned out that in walking through the woods we had veered a little to far to the South and ended up on "mile long beach". The developed beach on the island where our hotel was located. We were literally 5 minutes from the hotel.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Pictures
Here is the inside of our house in the village. The picture was taken in the doorway. In the foreground is our living/dining room and behind the curtain is our bedroom. The floor is a layer of sand, covered by a layer of coconut branches, covered again by mats or ibes. Thanks to the Leonards for stocking our bookshelf! Thanks to the village maramas for ALL of the bula material.....it covers every bit of our walls!
This is the back of our house. John is the the garden doin some teitei. We planted tomatoes, beans, cucumber, mellon, cilantro and the basil that my parents sent.
This is a vasua or giant clam. I think they look funny.
These are Threadfin Cardinalfish.....according to Choney. I call them Precious Blue-Eyed Cutiefish! There are tons of these little guys!
John caught a Squirrelfish. It is so pretty......and delicious.....and filling! Doesn't Natalie look like a character from a Dr. Seuss book?
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