Passin Time in Fiji

A lot of the expats here are Aussies, as are most of the tourists when you go to the hotels.   I am just getting to know some fabulous people, many of them Australians.   I love learning the language differences!   They are subtle and usually things I can figure out in context, but sometimes I have to ask.  For instance, a friend recently told me she sees a patient every fortnight.  I was thinking, "at night?  every night?  What?"  It means every 2 weeks.   She text me that she would see me in the arvo and I thought her phone auto-corrected, but arvo or arvie is afternoon in Aussie slang.  While I was getting my hair highlighted today by a new Australian friend, she used the word Yank...which I just figured out means an American.   Every time I get off the phone with one friend, she says something like, "Ok, mate...see you Sunday."  She always greets me with, "How ya goin'?"  I like it.   Many of the girls' books they...

The radio: The radio cracks me up here.   First of all, whenever I am in the car the lady from the computer in the car speaks to me in Japanese.   When I change the radio station or put the key in the ignition, and sometimes just for no apparent reason, she speaks to me in Japanese. I wish I knew what she said.  I've got to make a Japanese friend so she can help me out.  (I'm working on that!)   Anyway, after I get the radio on, you get a huge mix of songs mostly from the states.   In a 45 minute drive yesterday I heard Hansen's "Mmm Bop", Micheal Jackson's "The way you make me feel", Gloria Estaffan's "Conga song",  "The wild wild west" by the Escape Club (yes, I googled that) and Bob Marley all on the same station.  A lot of times it's songs from the 80's and 90's that you've completely forgotten about, like Mambo #5  and Zee Zee Top's "She's got legs" all smattered in with current music a...

I tried grog for the first time yesterday at another welcome ceremony for the ambassador at the Peace Corps office.    It is made from the kava root and used in all the traditional ceremonies here.  I get the feeling that it is used a lot in the villages just when people are hanging out in grog circles.   Here is some more information about it if you are interested.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava .  It does not taste nearly as bad as it looks and it sort of just made my mouth numb for about 10 minutes.  You  have to drink it all in one swig and clap once before you drink it and three times afterwards.  I am not sure I was supposed to drink it because it was all men in the circle, but the Peace Corps staff is laid back.   Nice Fijian experience! I should also mention I got to meet a few of the volunteers there.  Two of the volunteers live in the Southern Lau islands of Fiji.   They are so hardcore.  They only have ele...

So, it's been a while since I updated the blog on the regular happenings of the week.  Life here is beginning to feel a bit more routine and settled.  Definitely not 100% settled, but taking steps each day.   A lot of things have happened in the last week to help me feel that way.    For one, we had some friends over to our house to eat dinner last Saturday night.   I want to do this WAY more often, but find the prep work to be a daunting task.  I don't know why I am so much daunted by it here than in Atlanta where we always had friends over, but I am nonetheless.   We made soft tacos and I swear it took us 6 hours to get it all together!   Warren did most of the prep work and he likes things to be perfect with the meal...so it was awesome, but also a lot of work.    For one thing, you have to go to so many stores to get the right ingredients.   We are probably not the best at planning ahead either...so that doesn't help. ...

My mom has got to get eye surgery tomorrow.  She's understandably nervous.  She has a condition that is causing her to get surgery so she can keep her vision.  Because of this surgery, she will have to lay face down for the next 7 days, minimally.   She and Dad secured two massage chairs to help in this process, but she is definitely dreading it.   She really cannot move around for 7 days.   It's worth it to keep her vision, but she's not expecting it to be pleasant.  I wish I could be there with her to read to her or listen to podcasts with her...anything.   Please send her your thoughts, good energy, prayers, positive vibes etc through this recovery.   I love you Mom and I know you can do this!  

I've alluded to the passport drama a few times and have yet to write it down.  I feel like I should have it down somewhere just so nothing like that ever happens again!! As you can imagine, before we left for Fiji, things in Atlanta were crazy.  I had plans every night because I just couldn't get enough time with the people I love.  I had to pack up the whole house (with Warren's help before he left).   I was working full time at a new job up until the last couple of weeks prior to departure. And as I mentioned, Warren left 2 months before we did, so I was single parenting two kids in the middle of a big transition that missed their daddy. My life felt nuts!  I feel like I was barely holding it together in some ways, but also just floating through...without allowing myself to get too stressed out, overwhelmed, or emotional. The final week was amazing in Atlanta was amazing with great going away dinners, parties for the kids, and just in general a lot of l...

For the first time since we've been here, a friend at home is sick and it doesn't feel right to be so far away.  Andie has been friends with Dalton since she was barely walking.  They started preschool together when they were one.  They were the only two in the class who were there five days a week, so they were fast friends.    As a result, Warren and I also became fast friends with Dalton's parents.   It was one of the lucky times that you really click with your kid's friend's parents.  In the last six years there have been countless play dates, vacations, camping trips, sleepovers, parties, adult "play dates" without the kids, parades, long runs, holiday meals, going away parties and the birth of siblings between Dalton and Andie and our families.   Most recently, Dalton's parents (Tom and Allison) supported me immensely while Warren was already here in Fiji.   They fed our family and took us into their home when our electricity was out a...