Passin Time in Fiji

I have just come back from a pleasant morning.  I went to the weekly primary school assembly.  It was so cute and reminded me a lot of morning meetings at the girls' old schools.  There were awards for caring, recognition of birthdays, and songs about making the world a better place, in addition to the school song and Fijian national anthem.   I plan to video tape it at some  point because it really is beautiful.  I absolutely love looking around and seeing such a multicultural crowd.   I am thrilled that my children have this experience.   I always wanted that for them in the states, but unfortunately schools seem to be so segregated in the states, or at least the ones that were available to us.    After the song about making the world a better place, the principal asked what ways can we fix the world.  A child volunteered that we should not pollute our world.   The principal elaborated by saying, yes, we should always place our rubbish in the rubbish bin.    I wonder if Andie and

I spoke about the ambassador's farewell two weeks ago.  This is a short synopsis of it.  You can see my little ponytail about half way through!

Ok, as promised...going to write a bit each day...or at least try to!   I've been amazed lately at all of the perks we get for falling under the US Embassy.   There are three types that fall under the umbrella of the embassy.  There are the military families here (5 in total), the state department folks (think foreign service exam) and the Peace Corps staff (4 American families).  The majority of Americans here are state department but that is probably only 12-15 additional families. The three groups all have our slightly different perspectives and experiences in life, so it keeps it interesting. There are 21 children on the US embassy school bus.   The military folks are used to moving every 3 years and the state department folks move every 2-3 years from what I can tell.  Most of them have moved many places and this is just one stop along their journey.   (Cannot use the word journey without thinking of the Bachelor...but I digress).    It seems that all the families that move a

Mountains in backyard.  Looks like snow almost...but just clouds.                                           It has been a minute since I wrote.  After today's major catch-up, I've resolved to try to write just a little bit each day, so the blog does not become a long chore, but instead a quick catch-up.   (Thanks Yael for the tip).   Even if it is a long "chore", I have to say I do love writing about here.  Whenever I finish a  post, I've gained a lot of clairty...like writing it down helps me see it.  It's therapeutic.   The added benefit is that friends and family can be updated on our lives here, which ultimately helps me feel more connected. It has been a week of social gatherings and lice treatments for me.   During the day, I've been meeting lots of moms and during the evenings, I've been nit picking.  As I am sitting here trying to recap the week in my brain, I realize I cannot remember a thing I've done.  I seriously am losing my

Bula!! I have a moment again to get all caught up to the current day.  As mentioned previously, we had a small childhood tragedy last Friday.  After the Ambassador farewell, I picked up the girls from a friend's house in a taxi cab.   This was also a random cab we flagged down without seat belts.  (I really don't want to get used to no seat belts... I am hoping once we have the car the cabs without seat belts will be an exception).  As soon as I got the girls, Zoe fell asleep immediately in the backseat of the taxi.   When the cab dropped us off at the embassy for another meeting, I swooped Zoe up in my arms and carried her in past security.  When the school prep meeting started she woke up slowly and sleepily asked, "Where is blankie?"   My stomach dropped and my heart raced.   "Did you have it in the cab?"   She started crying, sobbing, saying yes...yes, she did have it in the cab.   I looked through my bags, and looked through them again an