Village Life; Bula Ni Koro

I have to apologize for my lack of posting lately. I was sick, then went to the capital for some doctors' visits, went the Embassy Fourth of July party, had visitors at the school from Korea, and then was sick again. It's been a crazy few weeks over here!

Today, I'm going to explain what it's like to live in the village in Fiji. Mostly, it feels a lot like this... but replace "Mine" with "Kelli"... Mostly, it's the little kids that wander around SCREAMING MY NAME. KELLI, KELLI, KELLI, KELLI, KELLI, KELLI, KELLI (As I silently pull my hair out)!!!

I joke with my neighbors that my house is "America," because I don't always follow all the Fijian rules. For example, we bend over and say "tu-lo" as a sign of respect when crossing a room and you leave your shoes off before entering a room.  We sit on the floor, criss cross applesauce style, instead of in chairs. There's about a thousand more small things that we do differently, but here are a few.

In Fiji, when someone invites you to tea, or for a meal, it's considered rude to not accept because it says something negative about that family. If I wanted, I could walk around and never have to cook my own food. I don't do that 1) because I don't want to abuse the privilege, 2) the more I eat at other peoples' houses, the more likely I am to get sick, and 3) I enjoy cooking. This has taken time and patience to communicate to my neighbors. A traditional Fijian meal will be: fish, cassava, dalo/taro, coconut milk, lime/lemon, chilis, fresh tropical fruits, fresh tropical vegetables, corned beef, bread, ramen, potatos, curry, or rice.

Traditional Fijian Food

One of the other differences is privacy. Living in a bamboo thatched house with open windows often means that I have very little privacy. When I'm alone, my villagers think that I am lonely. I've had to explain several times that I lived by myself for years before I joined Peace Corps. It's not as normal in Fiji for young adults to move on their own; even college students will live at home and take transportation! There is always something to do in the village. The little kids come over a lot to work on their homework and they are rewarded with time to spend playing on my electronics. 

Using fruit to learn addition and subtraction

Women always wear skirts in the village. If I go to town, I have to put a sarong over my pants and same is true for my swimsuit when going to resorts. Men wear a pocket sarong, called a sulu; I've heard it's very comfortable. There's also always loud music and yogona, also known as kava and grog. They have music, dancing and grog going until very late in the night sometimes. Grog tastes a little like what would happen if you made tea out of dirty potpourri (it's not my favorite). 

Traditional Yagona Ceremony

Even though everything is crazy different, I am used to it now and often it takes other foreigners reminding me about how different my life really is because it is my new normal. If you have any questions or ideas for blog posts, then please let me know below!