November 15
Shortly after my last post, I checked in for my Air Pacific flight to Nadi, Fiji, and meet-up with James Luciani, the VESA Program Director’s brother, and my soon-to-be tour leading co-worker in Fiji. What a good kid! He gave me a run-through of what to expect in Fiji, and after a hunt for food, which I hungrily inhaled, we boarded our 5-hour flight to our tropical island destination, also James’ favourite place on earth!
Upon arrival, I wasn’t entirely surprised to see that my bags hadn’t made it through the winding maze of five aircraft journeys. I informed the luggage service counter, and was given a $50 Fijian dollar budget, approximately $30 CAD, to shop for new clothes/toiletries until I could be reunited with my suitcases. Just before exiting customs, I heard my name on the airport intercom for the second time of this trip, being paged to the main counter- but that was on the other side! I soon exited the Nadi airport and was greeted with a giant kiss on the cheek by Tom, VESA’s Managing Director, followed by a friendly handshake from Joe, Community Support Network’s Director, the local NGO with whom we are partnered in Fiji.
At the Nadi Bay Hotel, I took a much desired shower and we had dinner. Then I tried Kava for the first time, the traditional Fijian beverage made from the root of a Kava plant. They grind the dried root into powder and add water to produce a greyish liquid that has the same effects as alcohol, and also numbs your tongue!
November 17
Writing lesson plans by the pool, basking in the morning sun, you can say Dream Job again! I had the most relaxing “work day,” starting with a morning jog to the beach, the serene ocean to my left, and a zigzagging row of thick palm trees to my right, just down the road from the Nadi Bay Hotel where I am staying. This was followed by a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, and topped off with pool-side press release translations into French and education preparations for the Komave village school we will visit next week with the soon-arriving volunteers.
I had time to fit in a quick trip to the Kennedy gym, discovered by James and I yesterday evening here in Nadi, and will soon be going to the Nadi International airport to welcome Kelly and Seb to Fiji for the 2011-2012 Volunteer Eco Students Abroad Program Season!
Yesterday, Joe, Tom, James and I were on the road all day, sometimes paved, and sometimes a bumpy dirt country road. We visited four rural village schools that will be benefitting from the volunteers’ efforts this season. It was great to get a sneak peak of the schools and meet the head masters and head teachers. It gave us a good idea of what needs to be done, such as painting the whole school in Komave, renovating classrooms and building a garden in Momi, and building compost units, incinerators and installing water tanks for the other two, among other projects.
November 19
All day yesterday, I ran errands in Nadi town with Kelly and Seb, printing, photocopying and buying more school and craft supplies. In the late afternoon, James and Joe returned from Suva, with their third teammate, Bim. Shy but sly, Bim is a Fijian 16 year-old who assists with the construction projects. He was hired by VESA at the first village they ever visited, at Joe’s request. Joe stayed with Bim’s family right at the time when Bim had decided to drop out of school. Needless to say, his parents were distraught. Their whole view changed when he began employment with VESA, and his mother cried tears of joy when he brought home his first week’s wages.
Back to last night: Together, we headed to Port Denarau, the “fancy” resort part of Nadi, also where all the adventure tour boats depart towards the Yasawa islands. There we had our first official “staff meeting” accompanied by heaps of Fiji Golds. Dinner was a plate of delicious surf and turf: medium done steak, lobster tail, mashed potatoes, and a couple of mojitos for me!
This morning I started the day with a run, my fourth of the week, down the same trail as always, but this time in the lazy warm rain, splashing down on my body in a soothing sprinkle. I counted three species of birds along the way, including a small green feathered one with a bright red head that fluttered past me. I ran harder and further today because of the cooling effect of the rain and the lack of bright and hot sunny rays.
I had a meeting with Tom, Seb, and Kel, then did some finance work (my official roles are Head Education Leader and Fiji Program Accountant). And as I type this, I am getting a much needed island pedicure at my hotel, complete with foot bath and massage! The volunteers will be arriving this afternoon, and I’ll be taking care of the 4:30pm airport pick-up of 19 of them. Fun-fun!
BULA VINAKA! 