Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Things are good here on the other side of the world…










It is finally Fijian winter which is amazing weather…70s pretty much all day and a great cool breeze. I’ve been happily wearing the same things I’ve been wearing my entire stay here just without the joy of sweating. The Fijians on the other hand are freezing their buns off. My mom wears a fleece all day except midday. The other day I saw someone in a winter jacket. A half an hour ago I noticed the neighbor kids dressed after their bath in long sleeves and long pants. Just after thinking how hot I would be if that were me, I saw their mother put thick fleece robes on each of them. I guess this all starts from a young age since even when it’s hot here I see babies bundled up with hats and booties on.

So, two weekends ago I had my first bout of sickness here on the islands. For sure it was Dengue…so I thought. I mean, what else gives you a horrible headache, sore throat, and fever. Alas, it was a throat infection and I’m happy to say that, after a good dose of antibiotics, I’m fine. I was dreading my first sickness here because I thought for sure I would be miserable the entire time. However, I pretty much did exactly what I do in the states when I’m sick. I layed on the couch and I watched TV. My mom made me homemade chicken noodle soup (with no bones which is glorious and unheard of for Fijian chicken dishes). My uncle got me milo (hot chocolate) and I had lots of juice and water. The only things that were missing I’m sorry to say were Gatorade and chocolate ice cream. I can’t wait to gorge myself on some good chocolate ice cream next time I’m in the states because even when I’m in town they only have packaged stuff. Through this experience I also found my new ridiculous addiction – Philippino sitcoms…to be more specific – Ysabella. Fijians are also obsessed with it and since my sickness I have spent countless hours watching about 10 seasons worth of Ysabella’s subtitles. And…it’s all about some stupid stolen family chicken recipe. Also, why Fijians are watching so much Philippino tv is beyond me. The only Philippino I’ve met here just so happens to be another Peace Corps Trainee. Furthermore, Fijians in villages like the one I’m in now are super hush-hush about lesbians and gays…but this doesn’t stop their obsession with Ysabella which has an openly lesbian lead character. And the contradictions continue………



Now that I’ve told you about my sickness I will proceed to tell you why I got sick…as explained by my mom. The night I got sick I walked home on the new road that just got cleared into the village. On this road there is a mango tree about halfway down that when you pass, you “must” keep your head lowered and keep quiet. Apparently the devil lives there (no I’m not making this up or exaggerating). And, because I walked past that tree at night, I got sick. This is one of many reasons I was told I got sick. Another reason is that my head got damp one day when it was raining on my way to school. Why is getting your head damp on your way to school bad, and washing your head and soaking it in water is not? What????? And, lastly (although I’m sure there were more speculations about why I got sick) I cannot begin to tell you how many times it was suggested by my mom, uncles, cousins, random community members that the change in the weather caused my sickness (i.e. the change from 80 degrees to 72). The funny thing is, every time someone suggested an archaic or lialia (crazy) explanation I explained that, “No I have a throat infection…I’m fairly certain that I got it from the other trainee I sat next to on the bus home who was also sick with the same symptoms.” BUT…I am lialia…apparently.

Speaking of lialia… We had culture training on Tuesday and we covered the Fijian marriage procedure. The first option (which they claimed was archaic and not utilized) was for men who are not apt with speaking to women on their own and therefore need some help with finding a wife. The unwanted women would simply line up across from the unwanted men and the women would roll an orange one-by-one. Whoever it rolled to was your future husband. Good thing they don’t have casinos here because what a gamble! The second option seemed to be great in the beginning of the explanation (at least compared to orange rolling) and is commonly practiced in villages today. The man offers grog to the woman’s family to ask permission to marry her. If they say yes, he proposes to her and they get married. Sounds completely normal right? Then on the wedding night, the couple is given an area in a home surrounded by masi (chiefly or special occasion fabric) and the bedding is new. Village women and female family members on the man’s side sleep outside the area and “listen” (seriously…). The next morning, the family members check the bedding for a stain and rejoice and celebrate if there is one (i.e. their boy hooked a virgin). The girl’s family listens for the rejoicing too… Talk about pressure. And…talk about pressure only put on the woman and not the man. If it’s this or orange rolling, give me the oranges!!!!!!! “Luckily” you can elope and avoid all this. However, if you elope, the man has to go to the woman’s family and present (yes you guessed it) grog and apologize for “taking” the woman. We were also told that in Fijian culture when a husband dies the woman loses her power and purpose and that the sole purpose for her was to serve her husband. Bubble, bubble, bubble goes my blood. As cool as this culture is in some ways, I’m sooooo glad I’m an American.

So, I get to learn how to fish with a hand line this Saturday so I’m hoping I catch something delicious. Wish me luck. I have to learn so I can feed myself with delicious fish once I’m at my permanent site.

Speaking of permanent sites... This Sunday I head to a suburb of Suva called Lami. I get to stay in a real hotel with showers that actually work and put out hot water. As if this wasn’t exciting enough, the hotel has A/C and a bar! We have a conference to meet the volunteers who came last year and to get some training done. Monday night we find out where we will be placed permanently. During my interviews for my site placement I emphasized my goal of working in an area that needs marine conservation, ecotourism advice, and environmental education. Secondarily I plan on starting a girls’ club. I have a few more ideas in the works but more to come on them later. The only leading question directed to me was whether or not I would be ok traveling in small fiberglass boats. I’m hesitant to say this but, I could be one of three volunteers going to the Yasawas. This name might not be familiar to you however, that 1980 film Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields, yeah they filmed that there. Please see below photo:


Now before you write me off as vacationing in the islands…remember, there will be no pina coladas and probably not electricity or reliable water supply. Also, I could be completely wrong with this guess, but I’m just hoping.

We recently had a province-wide fundraiser in town and I attended the opening ceremonies. This basically consisted of sheds set up for each village and a big raised shed with beautiful decoration of fabric and plant materials for the chief (also masi – that fabric I mentioned earlier for weddings). The woman chief of the Rewan province (who is super cool) showed up and got out of the SUV with traditional warriors waiting to escort her with clubs and spears. I’m still trying to figure out where I can get one of these awesome clubs which date back to when they were killing people with them just before they ate them. I know that’s graphic…but how much cooler would that be than a baseball bat for warding off intruders. Can anyone guess what the next step in the opening ceremony was? Yes…GROG. They made offerings to the chief which included a whole Yaqona tree (grog tree), a feast of food, and a whales tooth (which is prized in this culture). Then they drank..talked..and she left. Later on in the day some trainees in my group performed a meke in front of the chief and the whole crowd. They even made the paper. Check out the photos below:
The chief arriving with her warriors
Traditional Grog ceremony for the chief
Another Trainee and I hanging out at Rewa Day
Getting ready to play instruments during the PC meke performance
The Trainees who danced the meke in front of the chief

The other night I learned how to make roti and pumpkin curry. HOW DELICIOUS!!! It is super easy. You all should try it! Just crush up 4 or 5 cloves of garlic and 3 or 4 little tiny but spicy chilis. Sauté them in oil with one chopped up white onion. Clean out a pumpkin and then take the skin off, then you can use a grater to make hash brown size shreds and just add it to the pot. Stir every 5 minutes for 15 to 25 minutes until it’s mushy. You can also add curry powder if you want but it’s good without it. Then… eat it with roti. Roti are these Indian tortilla type things. All you do is mix together flour and water and a little salt (not sure of the proportions – just til it’s doughy…). Roll out the balls of dough until they are just short of paper thin (flattened they should be about 6-8 inch squares). Cook them on a skillet or heated pan (you can use cooking spray). Chances are if you come visit, you will be eating this. Here is a photo of my Nana Akata (Aunt Akata) and I making roti in my :


Also…I tried to wear a shirt the other day and found that a mud wasp made a nest on it…and apparently this is normal here…and no big deal.
And so…I will leave you with a photo of my host mom and I in matching pink sulu jabas. Laugh now…while I can’t retaliate:

4 comments:

  1. lmao. Katie, you are quite talented at describing all of this experience...I vote you copyright it all and turn it into a book!

    I am now using you as a distraction during my studying, so please, keep it up!

    <3 Ana... p.s. A surprise may be coming your way sooner than later...if I can get the ball rolling on this crazy project!

    haha. :D

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  2. With the roti, curry pumpkin and coconuts, you're well on your way to fitting in with my family. I'm glad to hear you're doing so well and I can't wait to see what kind of marine conservation stuff you get to do.

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  3. hey suni...namaste and danbad. I wore a kamis the other night and went to celebrate ramayaan with an indo-fijian family...I thought of you! Hope you are well.

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  4. Hey, My love. I got claustrophobic just reading about the oppression of women and GLBT people. I'm really proud of you for having the conversations, though. It sounds like you're totally out of your element and are taking it in stride.

    The pictures are crazy and awesome! The fact that the chief got out of a car and still had the same procession is pretty funny.

    I miss you alot. Thank you for being SO descriptive of your adventure! You're wonderful!!!

    xoxo

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