This is just a little shout out to the volunteers who are based in the regions of Fiji - Lebasa, Lautoka, Savu Savu, Levuka and elsewhere!
Had a chat this morning with one of our volunteers in Lebasa and was reminded that the Suva life is pretty darn fantastic!! We can eat pretty much whatever we want and we have the cinema with cheap pick'n'mix.
I mention the food related pros of Suva life in particular, because my fellow volunteer made a point of saying she can't always get staples, let alone fancy newfangled foods where she is based. And where she lives - well there is a main street and one or two restaurants, but that is pretty much it! It can be quite isolating as well, with only a few volunteers based in these towns and the conditions can sometimes be quite challenging. I spent a year in China hand washing my clothes - happy to never have to do that again!!
I have therefore promised many care packages and must make more of an effort to check in with her.
And as an aside, I really like living in Suva. It may be small, but it packs a punch in terms of value in relation to its smallness. Can I mention the cinema again? Go Village 6 and your pick'n'mix selection!!
Tuesday 16 October 2012
Saturday 13 October 2012
Fiji Day and Farewells
Wednesday 10 October is Fiji Day!
In the lead up to Fiji Day I enjoyed the benefits of working opposite the national fair grounds (Albert Park), and was subjected to daily firings of the cannons. I am not sure there needed to be that much rehersal for firing off the canon, because apparently on the actual day they didn't fire off the cannons. And the parade ran ahead of schedule, so I missed it!!
For my Fiji Day, I enjoyed what is fast becoming a national pastime and went to Zumba early Wednesday morning. Then it was off to zipline through the forest near Pacific Harbour and then home to a sunny Suva day and lazed around by the pool. If only all days could be like thhis one! Happy Fijian Independence!
In the lead up to Fiji Day I enjoyed the benefits of working opposite the national fair grounds (Albert Park), and was subjected to daily firings of the cannons. I am not sure there needed to be that much rehersal for firing off the canon, because apparently on the actual day they didn't fire off the cannons. And the parade ran ahead of schedule, so I missed it!!
For my Fiji Day, I enjoyed what is fast becoming a national pastime and went to Zumba early Wednesday morning. Then it was off to zipline through the forest near Pacific Harbour and then home to a sunny Suva day and lazed around by the pool. If only all days could be like thhis one! Happy Fijian Independence!
The end of this week bought some more good times, but some sadness as well as a big group of volunteers is about to leave after their one year in Fiji! It is extraordinary to speak to these girls and to hear their stories - all so different and unique. And to celebrate, they took us all out on a whirlwind tour of Suva night spots.
It got me to thinking about the fact that I have less than four months left in Fiji and when I leave I will be doing it on my own. It makes me apprehensive only so far as I have barely scratched the surface of what I want to try and achieve here - from a work and life perspective. I don't think 6 months is anytime, let alone being close to enough. I saw the way these girls relate their stories and experiences, and I cannot help but think I am missing out on a fulfilling experience here because the time is just so short.
Mind you, I could choose to stay. Or come back. Watch this space people. It could happen!
Sunday 7 October 2012
Strennis? That is so yesterday!
We invented a new game over the weekend. Fanball. I think it is going to take over from strennis as the game of choice at Le Hunte.
Gotta be happy with that - I was never very good at strennis!!
Gotta be happy with that - I was never very good at strennis!!
Thursday 4 October 2012
The Le Hunte Life
I live at the wonderful Le Hunte residence in Suva. This is a perennial volunteer house and many lay claim to its ownership. As in, currently we are living there and think of it as our house, but past volunteers still fondly remember it as theirs!
Anyway, I digress. The house is a little bit of wonderment. A fabulous open kitchen and enough space to make four people living in the house not feel like four people are living in the house.
The best part? The living room which has been converted into a strennis mort.
Strennis? Mort? What are these things you speak of? Well, I am here to introduce to the future of sport, invented by Le Hunte for Le Hunte....STRENNIS!
Basically, our giant TV does not work, so to mitigate bordeom one evening, two of the housemates (featured) happened upon the game following the indulgent purchase of a soft stress ball from Tappoo city mall. The game is played with a stress ball and vaguely resembles tennis, hence strennis.
The game has captured the imagination of Suva's residents...OK, that might be a stretch. We have managed to induct three outsiders to the cause. But they are all pretty dedicated fans.
The game is played on the mat-court (mort) and, well, the rules change depending who is playing. The brain's trust of strennis (featured) are imbued with the power to change the rules at will. This includes mid game!!
Strennis has faced many struggles and difficulties on the way to becoming a mainstream sport - the strennis ball was stolen, resulting in an abrupt halt to all strennis activity. But slowly, the game has spread and now we can triumphantly place strennis alongside football and synchronised swimming as one of the great global sports.
My addition to the game?? Distraction! I have achieved great notoriety as a great distractor. It has not resulted in me winning any actual games, but that is not the point. The point is, strennis is awesome and so there!
Anyway, I digress. The house is a little bit of wonderment. A fabulous open kitchen and enough space to make four people living in the house not feel like four people are living in the house.
The best part? The living room which has been converted into a strennis mort.
Strennis? Mort? What are these things you speak of? Well, I am here to introduce to the future of sport, invented by Le Hunte for Le Hunte....STRENNIS!
Basically, our giant TV does not work, so to mitigate bordeom one evening, two of the housemates (featured) happened upon the game following the indulgent purchase of a soft stress ball from Tappoo city mall. The game is played with a stress ball and vaguely resembles tennis, hence strennis.
The game has captured the imagination of Suva's residents...OK, that might be a stretch. We have managed to induct three outsiders to the cause. But they are all pretty dedicated fans.
The game is played on the mat-court (mort) and, well, the rules change depending who is playing. The brain's trust of strennis (featured) are imbued with the power to change the rules at will. This includes mid game!!
Strennis has faced many struggles and difficulties on the way to becoming a mainstream sport - the strennis ball was stolen, resulting in an abrupt halt to all strennis activity. But slowly, the game has spread and now we can triumphantly place strennis alongside football and synchronised swimming as one of the great global sports.
My addition to the game?? Distraction! I have achieved great notoriety as a great distractor. It has not resulted in me winning any actual games, but that is not the point. The point is, strennis is awesome and so there!
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Birthday Shenanigans
I have the great honour (!) of sharing my birthday with Chinese National Day! And Julie Andrews. So, 1st October truly is a great day!
This year I had the fortune to get to share my birthday with a bunch of Suva expats, O'Reilley's Bar and Leleuvia Island.
The birthday weekend away actually started at such a high peak of fabulous, that I was afraid I would out do myself before I had even begun. Witness the tiny plane we caught on our 12 minute flight to Levuka:
Four people on the plane and a whole load of newspapers from the mainland! It was so much fun and so bizarre. Now Levuka is the old capital, so it has a lot of interesting old crumbly buildings and not too much else! The people are pretty friendly though - I had so many conversations and will probably never say 'Bula' quite so much ever again.
The initial plan had been to go for a hike, but the weather was pretty unfortunate. I did manage to scramble someway up the nearest mountain after stopping in to watch the volleball game between police wives from Levuka and Nausauri. I managed to get a random guy in gumboots to help direct me to the nearest rockpool where a bunch of kids were splashing about - I have more bruises to accompany that story too!
So Day I complete, we then made the boat trip to Leleuvia for two days of fun in the (hopefully) sun! Along the way, we unexpectedly bumped into three pods of dolphins, who were quite keen to skim under the boat and disappear. If you look hard though, you might just see them.
And Leleuvia...ahhh. What can I say, except that I have been spoilt beyond belief. As soon as we arrived on the island, the sun came out and it very rarely hid after that. I got to try scuba diving for the first time ever, which was accompanied by a stream of:
This year I had the fortune to get to share my birthday with a bunch of Suva expats, O'Reilley's Bar and Leleuvia Island.
The birthday weekend away actually started at such a high peak of fabulous, that I was afraid I would out do myself before I had even begun. Witness the tiny plane we caught on our 12 minute flight to Levuka:
Four people on the plane and a whole load of newspapers from the mainland! It was so much fun and so bizarre. Now Levuka is the old capital, so it has a lot of interesting old crumbly buildings and not too much else! The people are pretty friendly though - I had so many conversations and will probably never say 'Bula' quite so much ever again.
The initial plan had been to go for a hike, but the weather was pretty unfortunate. I did manage to scramble someway up the nearest mountain after stopping in to watch the volleball game between police wives from Levuka and Nausauri. I managed to get a random guy in gumboots to help direct me to the nearest rockpool where a bunch of kids were splashing about - I have more bruises to accompany that story too!
So Day I complete, we then made the boat trip to Leleuvia for two days of fun in the (hopefully) sun! Along the way, we unexpectedly bumped into three pods of dolphins, who were quite keen to skim under the boat and disappear. If you look hard though, you might just see them.
And Leleuvia...ahhh. What can I say, except that I have been spoilt beyond belief. As soon as we arrived on the island, the sun came out and it very rarely hid after that. I got to try scuba diving for the first time ever, which was accompanied by a stream of:
"I'm going to die. My ears are going to explode. OMG, I just saw a giant blue starfish. But my head still feels like it is about to combust"
Fun times! I kid you not! The water is so crystal blue, and there is so much colour and life just so long as you dip your head beneath the water for a second or two. I saw a stingray and almost saw a shark (but out snorklelling, not diving!) It is breathtaking, but I should remind everyone not to stop breathing when scuba diving or your lungs WILL explode. No, really!
The only sad part to this story is that it had to end at all. What a great weekend away! And now that I have scratched the surface of Fiji's waters, I have to get my diving certificate and go wild!
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