Flying By

Bula! In one week from today I will be getting ready to catch my flight back home to the states. This is so weird to me. As my time here gets shorter I grow even more appreciative of the beauty around me, the people of the Fiji Island, and the late night chats and adventures with my wonderful housemates. I can already feel that achy missing feeling creep into me as I mentally take note that I am experiencing different things for the final time. This week was full of such experiences…

On Monday Allen, Katharine, Arturo took a work break to fly kites

On Monday night I laughed the evening away with the people that we worked with for the Western Deaf Ministry. Rakish, Rachel, and Steve (our Indo-Fijian friends that we worked with) took Holly, Molly, and me out to dinner and dessert as a thank you and goodbye. As I comfortably sat at the table joking about my desire to try human flesh (Fiji used to be cannibalistic island), my jealousy of Steve’s affection towards Holly (there is a long running joke that Steve’s parents are trying to marry Holly off to him), and our plans of taking Rachel (the funny older Indian lady) out clubbing, I absorbed the feelings of love and acceptance from these people that I have known for such a short while.  They showered us in thank you’s and begged for us to return to Fiji soon: “you come to Fiji, you always have a place to stay. Free housing, free meals” they repeated in their Indian accents. I am still amazed by the generosity of the people here and their abundance of love. 

I took my last walk with Holly and Molly to our sea wall to watch their last sunset. I sat soaking in the final sun rays and reminiscing about our experiences together: the time in the taxi, the woman who punched Molly, that evening at the carnival, the people we’ll miss, the places we’ll never see again…and so on.  We came home and ate dinner before saying our goodbyes. Two more gone, only seven remain.

Cuddling up with Arietta

I had the opportunity to spend one last night in Balata Village with Irene and Papa (Irene is the founder of GOLD whom I worked closely with this summer, and Papa is her quirky 60 year old husband). Papa’s real name is Romaine, but he has insisted on me calling him Papa since the first time we met. I love Papa with his unexpected chuckles, easy going persona, lazy long stride, and grinning tan face. We walked around their forever stretching farmland, and he showed me their pregnant goats as we laughed about eating his animals for dinner.  That evening I cuddled up with Arietta and took a short nap on her shoulder. Arietta is a big Fijian woman with a beaming smile and enough compassion to go around the world. I grew close to her as she shuttled us girls  along to our different appointments. 

Arturo: Hair and make up artist by night. I looked like Helga...

After dinner and a short nap I spent the rest of the night speaking with Irene and Papa’s daughter, Cyntia. We chatted about her boyfriend of six years and how she never wants to get married to him or anyone. This 19 year old girl is such a hoot. Anytime I come back to Fiji I am promised a good night of clubbing in Suva with her and her girlfriends. As we talked she gave me a henna tattoo and then allowed me to practice henna on her hand. After drawing what seemed to look like a duck, a bra, and a dying flower I finally started getting the hang of it. By 11:30 we were pooped and hit the sack.

This weekend was fun with a trip to the beautiful Natadola Beach. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day but the warm sea and beautiful accommodations of the resort made it a lovely experience. I thought about the first time I was at Natadola Beach; how weird I felt being there with people I barely knew. I remember feeling like it was almost wrong to be somewhere so beautiful without true friends or family to experience it with. Now our close knit group offers such a feeling of acceptance and love that is hard for me to believe that I ever felt that way. I spent the day letting Katharine paint henna on my foot, taking a long walk with Allen on the beach, and chatting with the other people in our group. 

A cloudy day followed by a spectacular sunset...mmm

Church today was wonderful. I don’t know if it was the walk to church that made me so happy with all my young playmates popping out of their houses to say “Hi Bekah!”, or the warm hugs and kisses that I received from the members of the ward. It is weird how at home I feel in Fiji. It all once felt so foreign and bizarre, now I can’t imagine anything feeling more normal. Being here has been such an amazing adventure. This final week brings the wrap up of my fitness project, and then a 5 day vacation at the Beach House in Sigatoka. Life is so good…too good. Vinaka for reading :)

My spot

I realized something about myself. Every time I go somewhere new I like to establish at least one spot. This spot is my spot. My happy place. My quiet time area, thinking zone, whatever you wanna call it. I have a few spots in Provo. I usually find these spots on my runs, as I did this spot in Fiji. To get to this spot you walk down Vunivadra Place and take a left on the main road. You walk up a hill and go right on a foot path that takes you over a small creek and though some kassava plants. My spot is at the peak of set of green rolling hills. It overlooks all of Lautoka city and has the most perfect view of the ocean. Seconds from this spot is a huge ancient tree, the type that begs you to climb it with its low reaching limbs and its shadowing leaves. This tree is an extension of my spot as it gives an even better view of my city and offers a nice breeze. 

I love finding these spots and sharing them with my close friends. I took Holly and Molly here the other day. We listened to music and made up weird dances. We may have removed some clothes to help with our tan...and then quickly covered ourselves back up when we realized that we were in fact on a golf course. Later we climbed the tree and took a trip down memory lane with some Disney songs. I know this probably all sounds weird and stupid but I remember feeling very happy. Very happy and very free. I love being with new friends, doing new things, being weird, occasionally not thinking before doing, and enjoying every minute of it. It is easy to make each moment memorable when you are on a vacation; that lingering end date pushes you to make the most of each day. But I hope that when I return home I will continue to live this vacation mentality. I don't want to take a day for granted just because it is routine or blow off family just because they will always be there. As much as we like to believe that we are invincible we aren't. Life is fragile and beautiful, and it is what you make of it. Anyway, enough of Bekah trying to sound deep and insightful. Here are some pretty shots at my spot. 

My perfect view

My perfect tree

We found a placenta...

Quite often Holly, Molly, and I will go on walks. One of our favorite walks is to the sea wall. We have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets from this spot and have had some pretty deep conversations…oh the woes and worries of unmarried BYU students. We had a pretty interesting encounter the other day. We were chilling at the sea wall, relaxing before having to participate in the Lautoka parade. I was looking down at the water when I spotted something quite disturbing: a bean shaped sac which had some vasculature and appeared to have an umbilical cord. Us brilliant premed students put our heads together and quickly came to the conclusion it was a placenta that had been lost at sea for a few days…which meant that there was a dead mother out there somewhere! All of us knew what we had to do: we had to get it out of the water to take a closer look. It was starting to feel like we had all been dropped onto the set of CSI Miami. I quickly run to an alley and found a cardboard box so we could scoop it out of water. Molly and I bravely climbed down the crab infested sea wall to the placenta. With the help of a plastic bag we got the placenta into the box and lifted it out of the water.

As we took a closer look we began to think perhaps it wasn’t a placenta, but maybe an organ of a whale or some sort of large sea animal. Seconds later we asked a passing Fijian what he thought it was. “Oh, that’s a cow’s stomach. Tasty to fry. You want to fry it? You can if you want!” We all laughed at ourselves and were slightly embarrassed for so willingly jumping to conclusions about there being a dead mother out in the ocean and us finding the evidence of some horrible crime. 

Anyway, the picture below was taken tonight at the sea wall. That’s me and Holly. And yes, that is my pink underwear sticking out above my shorts. This picture is dedicated to my father for always repping the tighty whities (sp?) at least 3 inches above his pants. Love you.

Giving Birth

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I was in Suva this last week. Other than doing our work (school evaluations up the wazoo), we also had a lot of fun. I was in Suva with my dear friends Cherie, Molly, and Holly. Quick intro to these peeps. Molly and Holly are connected at the hip. They are a good time, but sometimes they act like the whole trip revolves around them and you want to shoot them in the face. Haha, just kidding Holly and Molly…but really. Cherie is like Mother Theresa but with a hotter body and slightly less Catholic. We all love being goofy and having a good time. Like having Molly give birth in the back of a taxi as pictured here :) 

Kava

This is me enjoying kava at the market. Kava is a traditional drink in Fijian culture and comes from a root. To prepare the drink you grind the root till it is a powder and then place it in a cloth bag. The cloth bag is soaked in a bowl of water till it reaches the desired potency. In ceremonies a huge bowl of kava will be prepared and then a cup of it will be passed around in a circle. Kava will make your mouth numb and if you drink enough it can act as a sedative. I never drink that much of it because it basically tastes like dirty water. Yum. The other day I was in the market buying some food with my friend when these young chaps called me over to have some kava. It was super random and I didn’t know who they were, but I figured how many more times will I get the chance to enjoy kava with friendly strangers. YOLO (just kidding, I would never say that). The man on the left was the man on the right’s father. I’m pretty sure he was trying to convince me to marry his son which I could tell the son felt awkward about. I thought it was funny and was totally down.  Unfortunately, I left the market that day with the same number of rings on my hand as usual.

Fiji Time

Bula!

I had some free time on my hand so I decided I'd blog away. Right now I am in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Suva is the only place that actually shows signs of it being winter here, as it rains all the time. The rain doesn't bother me though because it is still quite warm and always beautiful. Apart from the gray skies all you can see in every directions is green. The drive here was like arriving on the set of King Kong or Jurassic Park. The mountains are sheltered with different kinds of trees, and those trees are connected by ropes of green leaves and webs of foliage. The only variation of green in sight are the fire birds, a beautiful red flower that randomly appears in patches. I swear the mountains are just begging for me to run through them and echo Tarzan's call. Can't you see me running barefoot through the trees with a loincloth on and my dirty hair stuck in dreadlocks? Oh sweet freedom.

Anyway, staying in Suva has been so awesome for multiple reasons. For one, it is dirt cheap where I am staying: $5 a night...that's $2.50 in USD. The reason it is so cheap is because I am staying at temple housing (for you non-mormons this is just temporary housing accommodations that the church offers to people traveling far to come to the temple). It is so nice to be staying somewhere with showers that are consistently warm, beds that one can't feel the wood frame beneath, and free wi-fi! So many things I take for granted in the states now seem like luxuries. One of the many reasons everyone should get an out of the country experience is to understand how truly spoiled and blessed we are to live in America. 

Speaking of America, I had one of my most patriotic moments the other week. Our team was asked to sing our national anthem at the Bula Festival in Nadi for the US ambassador. I was looking forward to being on stage; as we all know I don't mind the spotlight. I knew I would lip sing while the talented girls boomed "oh say..." and I could easily take credit for the lovely music. This pretty much went as expected. What I didn't expect was to feel a rush of pride as I stood in front of a crowd of Fijians representing the United States of America. I have always been grateful to live in America but this trip has truly made me realize how blessed I am. I freaking love America! The land of.... toilet paper always being available in the bathroom so you don't have to shake dry....and ovens always being available so you can make brownies whenever the freak you want....and a ridiculous variety of delicious and cheap food to fulfill every craving (it is truly no wonder we are so much fatter than the rest of the world)...and of excellent customer service that values efficiency. It is the little things that I miss. 

But being here you usually don't think about what you are missing, because you are surrounded by a people that find joy from sources outside of convenience, efficiency, and money. People here run on Fiji Time. Which pretty much means if someone says they will meet you at 3, don't expect them earlier than 3:30. Being on time is just not a priority here; Fijians are much more concerned with helping people than with keeping appointments. And this is a beautiful thing, because when you are lost and ask a stranger for directions, rather than blabber off some street names, they stop what they are doing and start walking with you to your destination. And they don't stop walking with you until they are assured you know your way. 

I suppose you could argue (as I have when waiting hours for a meeting to begin) that not being on time is really a disservice to the person you keep waiting. But I think this is only true when one puts so much value on precious time. We complain when someone keeps us waiting longer than 10 minutes and stress out when traffic threatens our punctuality. We have to stick to such a tight schedule because we cram our day with so many activities. When we do this we can rarely find the time to look around and notice the needs of others. I just hope when I return to America I will always remember the radiant smiles of people with so little yet so willing to give of themselves. They give their time, something we never have enough of. 

Perhaps when fall semester begins I will look back on this post and mock this silly summer girl who lectured on making time for others. I know how crazy school+work+church+friends+boys+lskdjfskfj can make life. I know how it feels to not have a moment to spare. But I also know we all make time to watch The Bachelor, or basketball, or Facebook stock our latest crush or ex-boyfriend's newest girlfriend. I think it is good to take a moment to step back and see how if the way we use our time reflects what we value most. 

I am too tired to think of a good way to end this post soooo...nighty night! Tomorrow I travel to Raki Raki for some work and then head home for a weekend of parading with deaf people, dancing at carnival booths, and clubbing at the nearly always empty dance clubs of Lautoka. Vinaka for reading :)

This picture is from the carnival the other week. I think it is funny because it captures an interesting incident. So I went to take a picture with these boys because they were calling at me for a while so I thought I would humor them (people here love getting pics taken with Americans). So I attempt to pose for this picture when creeper (see left of me) starts pinching my butt. So this picture captures both my surprised reaction as well as his hand pulling away. I thought it was funny anyway. Yes mother, I gave him a good smack :)

Scary Hospital

Bula! The last two weeks have been an adventure as usual. I finally was able to upload pictures as you can see below. Many other events weren't captured by photos so I wanted to talk about them here. Wednesday night I was hanging out with some of the girls with our country director, Arturo. We were laughing our heads off reminiscing about first impressions when someone told us that Stephanie was in a lot of pain. We rushed to her room and found Stephanie in bed crying, clenching her stomach. Me, Arturo, and Molly rushed her to the hospital. Holy cow. Can I just tell you that after being in that hospital from 11 pm to 3 am I have never felt more grateful for the medical care we have. This place seriously looked like it was straight out of a 1940s horror film. There was only one doctor on duty so we waited for a good hour as Stephanie experienced increasing pain in her stomach. When we finally were in a hospital bed (with sheets that had blood stains on them) the doctor gave her a dose of pain medication that made the pain worse. It was seriously so frustrating having a doctor that honestly seemed like he didn't know what he was doing. I laid in the bed with Stephanie till she felt like she could go home. They think she has an infection in her stomach but they really weren't sure. Thankfully Steph has felt much better since and is going home tomorrow. Stephanie was so brave, I am not sure how I would have done in her situation.

Other than that little event life here is so good. I leave in 3 weeks from today which is exciting but really sad. The first wave of girls leave this coming week so our numbers are beginning to dwindle. As they get ready to leave it makes me think about how I will feel when my time comes. I think if I am able to use these next weeks wisely then I will be ready to come home, but I will certainly miss this place so much. I miss all of you and I am excited to see you whether it is in California or back at school. I know I have talked about this before but being in Fiji has increased my gratitude for my friends and family I have. I am especially grateful for my education and I am so excited to be going back to school. Vinaka for reading, enjoy the pictures! xoxo

Mt. Victoria

Last week we hiked the tallest mountain in Fiji: Mt. Victoria! It was awesome. It wasn’t just your ordinary hike: we were using tree roots to pull ourselves up steep rocks and closely watching our step as we scaled the edge of the mountain. It was probably my favorite hike I have ever done because of the beauty and how adventurous it was. This is me with one of our guides, Simon, after making it to the top. Our guides were amazing. They literally held the hands of the girls that struggled and warned us of ditches and what to avoid. I didn’t think it was that physically demanding but many of the girls claimed it to be the most exhausting experience of their life. We all felt very accomplished. 

the children

These last couple of weeks I have played with a lot of children. It is probably one of my favorite ways to spend my time. I will go on a run and see some kids playing outside and join them. Usually I will approach a group of 5 kids, but within a few minutes I will be surrounded by 20-30 children. They seriously just flock to you. They are the most wonderful, energetic, crazy, fun children I have ever met. I have taught them how to do handstands and cartwheels, and they have showed me how to swing from a tree; I have showed them how to play red rover, and they have taught me how to play cat and rat; I taught them how to use a touch screen and they taught me new songs.

This group of children is from the village Navai. I had them follow me into a field and we all played games, sang, danced, and just went  a little crazy. I love the people here so much. And I now know which country I will one day adopt my kid from. 

Last weekend I went with these lovely ladies and some local guys from our ward to this beautiful little lake. The boys brought a rope and tied up a rope swing for us. It was tons of fun going off of the sketchy rope swing and jumping from the trees. After some exploring the boys made a fire and cooked us lunch. That’s right, the boys made us lunch. Because in Fiji boys know how to do things like prepare a dang good meal over a fire. I’m not just talking hot dogs, there was grilled onions, boiled cassava, some sausage; it was impressive.

Much of the time us girls talk about how being in Fiji has raised our standard of what kind of man we want. When you are surrounded by guys that can chop down sugar cane when you have a sweet tooth, guide you through a jungle when you want to hike, and feed you when you are hungry you begin to wonder if you will ever find an American boy like this. Not to mention they are tan year around and they have muscles. We all worry that BYU boys might not be looking so fine after this summer. (Just kidding…but really). 

Dalana School

I was able to finally present my fitness program to all the teachers at Dalana School. They loved it and had me come back the next day to teach the children the different exercises they need to be familiar with. My program basically includes a school wide competition against the classes to win the most “fitness tokens”. Fitness tokens are won by completing weekly and monthly challenges. Weekly challenges include doing a set of cardio and strength exercises 3 x/week. Monthly challenges focus on key principles of health and preventing NCDs and involve the whole family.

This last week I presented the teachers with a packet including all the things they need to carry out the program once I leave. This next week I will be finishing up with Dalana and possibly taking the program to different schools as well. It is so exciting to be working on projects I am passionate about. I love the experience I am gaining here.

Nasivi

Two weeks ago I taught fitness to the women of Nasivi. This was probably one of my favorite villages yet. The women were so excited and willing to learn. Here they are doing the plank. For most of the women this is their first time doing any sort of strength exercise, so it is a hoot to be with them and teach them. After exercising they fed us a feast of curries, roti, dhal, rice, and cassava. Then they had us take a nap. Does life get any better?  

Whenever people prepare food for us they do something I would never have the patience to do. They sit aside and watch us eat till we are completely done. Only after making sure we have had plenty (as in third and fourth servings) do they begin to serve themselves. The people here are so remarkably generous and kind.