General update

I’m moving house today. Around the corner. I assume this is because one of my hosts is giving birth soon, but no one has told me straight why I’m moving house, so you never know. I can’t remember how much I’ve mentioned of my placement issues so far so apologies if I repeat myself. Basically, I was told when I first arrived that I would be moving to a village for the second term, and with no reason why, but it’s Fiji. Tomorrow is the last day of the first term and the village school’s headmaster still hasn’t spoken to his committee, so the headteacher of my current school found me new accomodation in Levuka so I will be staying at my current school at least until the Visoto people sort themselves out. I am a little apprehensive about moving - I’ve really loved living with my current hosts, they’re fab. What if my new hosts, I don’t know, own a dog? Or my new bed has a squishy mattress and I can’t sleep? (Some of us volunteers have gotten so used to lying on the floor all the time that we love solid beds) What if the kids don’t like me? But hey, whatever happens, I’ll take it in my stride, I don’t have the choice to do otherwise really!

Which brings me to my next point. Isla cleverly asked about my postal address. Until further notice I am still at Marist Convent so the address is the same. No worries.

My holidays are next week so I’m heading up north to do the tourist thing in Labasa, Savusavu and Taveuni. Can’t wait.

That’s all, folks.

Just a day, just an ordinary day

I get up sometime before 8am. I have a (cold!) shower and a quick breakfast, and if it’s a weekday I go to school.

My work at school is different every day, and that makes it hard to describe what exactly I do. Firstly, you need to understand that there are plenty of teachers, all of whom are much better at teaching than I will ever be. What right do I have to barge in, all high and mighty, the rich young British kid, and say, “No, I’M going to teach”? Secondly, all the work I do is my own initiative. If I waited for someone to actually give me work, I’d spend 98% of my time sitting in the staff room playing with my phone.

So I took up a bunch of projects. I went around the school looking for things I could do that would make it a nicer place to learn in, and I settled on my first project – fixing up the library. I finally got all the books away last week and so this week I’ve put the timetable into practise, and have been acting librarian. In between, I’ve been working on my second project, which is fixing up the science cupboard, and preparing for the mural I’m hopefully going to paint. I only have two weeks left at this school, and there’s no volunteer following my post, which is a shame because there’s so much that will never get done otherwise.

School is from 8am to 3pm, with a break at 10.30am and lunch from 12 til 1, although since I schedule my own day those hours are pretty flexible for me, and I usually stay late after school finishing my personal target for the day. On Mondays and Fridays we have morning tea. Morning tea is fantastic. You are presented with a massive plate of sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, and whatever food we can get our hands on – once day we had doughnuts, a baked bean sandwich and cold fish fingers in ketchup, which was a strange combination on a Monday morning, but there you go.  Everyone else takes a cup of tea, or, as is more common, lemon tea, made from leaves freshly picked from the school garden. Some days we also have afternoon tea, if there’s a meeting or special occasion. There’s a tuckshop every break time as well where you can get ice lollies, ice cream cones or little packets of mixed bhuja or spiced peas. I’m well fed here.

After school, I usually go home and take a quick nap and another cold shower, before proceeding to whatever activity I have planned for the evening. Sometimes I drink grog with people, sometimes we drink beer. On Tuesdays nights I go to the aptly named Tuesday Club, which is a non-formal gathering at the Ovalau Club. Most people that go are expats, and everyone donates $1 every week to the fund, which is used for good deeds in the town. Other than that, we drink and socialise and it makes for a good night. I have been trying to go to the Tidy Town meetings on Wednesday afternoons, but it never seems to be on when I’m available to go. When I was going to the hospital every day to get a new dressing on my boil, I got chatting to the nurses, and thus I have a standing invitation to play volleyball with them, which they play every day after work. Occasionally I go swimming, or to town to buy a few things. If I have nothing in particular planned, I might go for a walk around town, where I will usually bump into someone I know and have a nice chat, or buy an ice lolly and sit along the sea wall. If I’m really tired, I might just stay home and play my guitar or learn some Fijian.

At night, I might come to use the internet cafe like I am right now. Sometimes I watch television. There’s a really good program on Monday nights called Noda Gauna that I try to catch. It’s a documentary in Fijian with English subtitles, and each week they focus on a different interesting aspect of Fiji, Fijian culture, a specific island or person, and it’s a really good way to learn a bit more about this country. If I’m at home and it’s 8.30pm on a weeknight, I’ll probably watch Shortland Street. Hey, it’s good.

Today I joined a hockey team. We practise 6 days a week, from 4.30-5 on weekdays and 8-9 on Saturday mornings. We start tomorrow. I am scared.

Sometimes I go away at the weekend. I have been away three times so far – to Beachhouse on the Coral Coast (the location of Celebrity Love Island – wooow), to Volivoli beach in Rakiraki which is the northernmost point of the mainland, and to Lautoka, Fiji’s second city (out of two). This weekend I am going away to Leleuvia, which is a small island near Levuka, for an art exhibition and some lazing about on the beach, which I am looking forward to.

Sometimes people come to visit us here at the weekends, in which case we hang out.

Sometimes I go to spend the day in the village, which is fun.

At night we might drink grog or beer or go to the club. Sometimes I go out for meals in the town, which I enjoy.

On Sundays I sometimes go to church. Sundays are very lazy days. Hardly anyone seems to leave the house, and everyone spends the day napping. Hey, that’s Fiji for you.

Last Sunday, I was bored. It was really, really freakin’ hot. Sometimes, some of the shops open for a couple of hours on a Sunday, so I went into town to see if anyone would sell me an ice lolly. An Indian lady approached me and after a little small talk asked me if I wanted to go with her to a fair up at the SDA church. I agreed, and we had a really nice chat on the walk up. When I arrived, they made me the guest of honour, gave me a massive plate of cakes and biscuits and a glass of fresh kumquat juice, and put a flower garland, around my neck which they insisted I kept. I met loads of new people and had a really nice afternoon. That’s what it’s like here, and it’s why I often don’t bother planning anything, because fairly often you’ll be invited to do stuff just by bumping into people on the street, and that’s much more fun.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. Ciao for now.