Nabouwalu is not quite a town, but not a village, I have deemed it a “tillage.” This unique slice of Fiji and I are slowly falling in love with each other. I wake up every morning to a cool breeze and cold shower. I make my coffee and eggs and I sit down on my ibe (mat) staring out the window to the ocean and palm trees. With plenty of time to think, to wonder what the heck I am doing.
I embrace my small successes of learning to say “Au maka ni kila” or “So’aviro” in the local Buan dialect (I don’t know and see you later), or attempting a health talk in a village. But then the next moment I get so frustrated with myself that I can’t just understand Fijian, and feel so ineffective. I will sit defeated dripping in sweat after hiking up the hospital hill (a solid blue run on the ski slopes) wondering what the heck I am doing.
Most days move slowly and I don’t know what is in store until I am actually doing it (or doing nothing). I might just spend the day “gunu tiko ti” with the hospital staff, or maybe play dress-up and go to a school awards day, or maybe I will sit making plans for what I hope to accomplish while I am in Fiji. Slowly and surely I am figuring out what the heck I am doing…
I recently experienced my first cyclone/hurricane. Other parts of Fiji were hit much harder than my little tillage. My house just shook from wind the whole day, a few trees were blown down, and couple houses were damaged (mine is still standing). The whole community was ready for the worst with evacuation centers set up, water stored, and a plan ready!
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wish everyone back home (and elsewhere in the world) a blessed and love filled holidays. Know I miss you all, and know life is good here in Fiji. Storms may blow through, days may be slow and sweaty, and I may not know what the heck I am doing, but at the end of it all I smile because I laugh every day, I accomplish little by little, and the unknown makes tomorrow all the more exciting.
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