Prof. Bigsby and Me

Senior-itis

2010-04-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't keep up with this blog at all in the last YEAR. My bad. I have less than 3 months left in my service before heading back to New England. Volunteers talk more about what is going to happen back home as oppossed to what is going on in the villages and peace corps work related stuff. For me, we had a huge rugby/netball tournament in the village last week. I worked to get sponsorship for it and 25 teams ended up coming. Between ticket sales and food and stuff the village made over 2,000 bucks in 2 days. In a few more weeks we're holding a big workshop with presentations from the University of the South Pacific, World Wildlife Fund and more. I feel like I can't do any more except hang out with my friends in the village and bond before I go. My time to just enjoy village life (and town days) is here. At the end of my peace corps experience I can look back and see that, despite my fears, I did make an impact in my community. I spent so long adjusting to village life, and food and customs and all sorts of bullshit. Now that I'm comfortable and happy I must depart. Can't say I'm too sorry about that. The plan is to move to Boston with my girlfriend and see what happens.

I have to say thanks to a lot of the volunteers i've been with out here for the last 2 years. The people on Vanua Levu are, for the most part, pretty awesome people. I can't imagine going through this experience without the moral support from my peers. We certainly had some fun too.

Now, if FRE-8's see this, I have some advice. Enjoy yourselves! Fiji can be a pretty frustrating place, so don't forget that a beer is only 3.50 fijian dollars. And also, one of you lucky people will be replacing me in my village on the north island. I don't leave the country until after you guys go to site, so we'll be sharing my house (or you can shack up at the tauranga ni koro's house). It'll be fun! By fun I mean cramped and smelly, because my one room house aint that big and it kind of smells like piss alot of the time for reasons unknown. And also there are giant spiders and rats. Welcome to Fiji. But on the bright side, you will have the novelty of living in a pretty awesome Bure for 2 years. I helped to build it when I first got here so you'll have to take good care of it...maybe buy a shelf cause I never did.

OK, so long forever internet blog. See you real life people in America!!!!!!
(I heard KFC has a bun-less chicken sandwhich called the 'Double-Down'? I told other volunteers about it and it makes our heads spin. "The breasts are the buns?!? Awesome!")

2009-08-07T19:11:00.001-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Bigsby!

2009-06-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

I just wrote a really really long note about how I tried going vegetarian and the reasons why it doesn't work for me. I think I sounded a little psycho so I erased it all. I think at one point I said I'd eat horse. Anyways, long story short, vegetarian and me don't mix. Nothing personal it's just a difference in opninions. We are unable to see eye to delicious cuts of meat..I mean eye! Eye. And smoking too. Sorry. Can't stop. I've cut down a lot but, baby I just can't quit you. I blame Crystal for leaving her purse unattended when I was 17 and allowing me to steal cigarettes from her. I didn't actually start smoking until about 2 years later but the damage was done. Thanks sis. When you're done poisoning me with your habits I think we should go down to the orphanage and punch some babies, is that something you'd be interesed in doing? Fascist.

Well today I am in town, coming back from a "fish pond open house" in some village somewhere in Fiji. Mysterious, eh? I couldnt find that place again if my life depended on it. It was a kind of pointless thing for me to go because I know (or believe I know) how to go about getting our ponds built, but I got my buddy Apolosi to come along and asked some important questions to ministry of fisheries people. I think he's excited and motivated now to get this thing off the ground. Bonus. Other volunteers were there too, double bonus. And we bailed early and walked for about 4 miles before we got picked up and shuttled back into town. And then my other friend showed up and we went dow....anyway, I digress.

I feel a little wired today. Mostly just in my hands though. I have my first Fijian illness! I have a cold. I can't believe I've been here so long without getting sick. (says mike days before he contracts ebola laced rabies). Luckily I used all my cold medicine when I found out I was allergic to Bigsby (who has moved in with another family, but comes around often to get some real lovin). So I'm a sniffling sorry mess at the moment. Could be worse. It could be better though too; now that I think about it.

I have some work related objectives in town today before I catch the bus back home, so I am off. But before I go would like to announce that my dog Bingo ate a dish sponge yesterday while I watched helplessly while talking on the telephone. He dragged it outside, my last sponge, and then shredded to a thousand pieces. When he was done he peed for good measure. He later tried to come into my house begging for food. I gave him the spiciest hunk of homemade chilie I could make. I am determined to get every piece of that sponge back.

Happy Early Birthday Kaitlyn!!

Power Rangers Jungle Fury is a stupid show

2009-05-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Can someone back home find out if you can get stuff called Natralla? They are like little protein balls of spongey goodness. I cant keep meat so they are my substitute and very easy to cook with. I'm contemplating going vegetarian for the rest of my peace corps time. It would be easy as pie to do here, i just wouldnt eat fish in the village...and restrain myself from ordering chicken enchillada's at the Captain's Cafe in town.
Glad to hear that Mems is doing alright after her big surgery. And thanks aunt donna for sending those e-mails with updates. I think my mom tries to shelter me from anything that she thinks will "upset" me so I get little to no news about matters of concern. Good thing Ashley can't keep her mouth shut or I'd never know anything. So yeah, it's been a year since I left, one year today. I feel good about that. I've seen and done a lot in Fiji and looking forward to part 2 of the whole experience.

Oh! and happy late birthday to my Pops. 60 years old. That's one year for every time you'd get mad doing yardwork or household maintenance. Priceless. Remember how you'd throw a fit every summer while trying to install the pool filter. Every year was a battle of wits against that unholy machine but you always pulled through with help from vulgar outbursts of profanities and sweat. Thanks for being you Dad! Love Ya!

2009-05-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Memere! Don't worry about your surgery, you'll be fine. If you were having surgery in a Fijian hospital then there would be reason for concern. But alas, you are in the States and in good hands. I wish I could be there to see you all doped up on those crazy knock out cocktails. Good luck with the new ticker!

Hello everyone else! My house was finally furnished with a working toilet, shower aaaaand running water two weeks ago. I got to cook my first meal in my house and it was awesome! I've been turned on to these little soy balls called Nutralla, or something like that. They are like little spongy balls of goodness that store easily and can be used as a meat substitute in a pinch. I cooked instant noodle pasta with nutralla ballz in a homemade sauce and it blew me away....and made my tummy hurt. I went a little nuts with the chili powder. It was a little sad to be eating alone in my house though. I've become very accustomed to dining with my neighbors for every meal. I certainly will not miss the Ika vakalolo for breakfast lunch and dinner (thats fish in coconut milk). I will miss the company though. In fiji it is bad to be hanging out by yourself a lot of the time. If you are waiting for the bus by yourself and someone walks by they'll probably end up sitting with you until the bus comes....sometimes without talking. When I was eating my first meal two old ladies walked by my front dor and saw me goin to town on lunch all by myself. So they came over and sat in my doorway, watching me eat and saying, "oilei, maikeli" every 2 minutes. Thats just something they say when they have nothing to say, just nod and smile and Oiiileiii.
Last week I worked with the mothers group from Nasinu school again to get some sports jerseys for the boys teams. A while back we wrote letters and had a big fundraiser for girls uniforms. This time the mothers club is going to go to work on a Yaqona plantation and the owner will give them the money they need. All they needed from me was to write a letter to all the resorts and business owners in the area asking for a donation to supply transportation for all the eager workers. I think there's gonna be like 50 moms out there sweatin balls in the sun for rugby jerseys. I'm not sure when they are actually going but I'd like to go with them...if not only to feel more connected to the group. The club president is a sweet old lady that I really like names Pa. I think I could do a lot of good work with her in the future.
The Fre-5's are leaving soon! Thats the group that was here when I got to Fiji. It stinks that they're goin. Good luck in the States, hope you can find jobs. That also means us 6's have hit the one year mark....Caaaa-raaaay-zeeee. Time has started to just kind of slid on by. 7 months ago I was worried cause I couldnt find any projects to take on and now I feel like there wont be enough time to finish everything the village and i have planned out.
I heard a story of some white dude who found out he was gonna be deported from Fiji. He was on a plan between the islands and freaked out and tried to jump out of the plane, claiming he was gonna take people with him. That guy sure loves Fiji.

Fish Ponds & junk

2009-04-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to write an article for a newsletter but PCV BRETT is talking on Skype and is being really loud and I can't concentrate. Do you read my blog Brett? If you do you should keep your voice down in the internet cafe, cause it's really distracting.
Our new project in the village is to construct some groovy fishponds. We found out that ministry of fisheries will supply juvie fish and feed for one year if you pay to have the ponds dug. I'll be drafting a grant proposal soon that all you lovely people back home can donate money to in order to help us fund our pond. The money made from selling the fish will go towards school fee's for kids in the village and on going projects like building a community hall. I'm lucky to be in a village where they recognize you have to have patience and that I am not here to simply hand shit out or find wads of cash to give to them.
I was in labasa town this past weekend. I had a spectacular time seeing some PCV's i don't get to see that often and also I was surprised to have the pleasure of hanging out with some PCV's from Viti Levu who were doing a work exchange up here on Vanua Levu.
Sorry, but I don't feel very inspired to write much more, anyways i'm supposed to be writing some articles and now i've become a distraction for myself.
Later

It if wasn't for my Mom I would have died on the streets cold and hungry a long time ago

2009-03-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

So the GYD meeting went very well! I learned a lot and I'm hopeful it will help me come up with new ideas for things to do around the village. However what was not awesome was on Friday night when the ATM machine ate my ANZ bank card and I got stranded with almost no money. I freaked out and called Peace Corps staff member who was very helpful kept me calm. Turned out the cards the machine eats get collected and you can just go to the bank and pick it up. Coincidentally, the banks were closed on Monday as it was the Prophet Mohammads birthday. I was going to just go back to the village and come back but 4 hour bus rides 6 times in a week did not intrigue me at all. Called my PM told her what was going on and stayed with a PCV in town. Today is Tuesday and I got my card back. However, I got the run around at the bank for about 2 hours and I missed my afternoon bus back to savusavu town...and from there i would have gone back to the village. So instead of getting into Savusavu at 9 tonight and paying for a hotel room for the night, i'm staying in labasa once more. I called my PM and when I said I missed my bus she laughed at me. Why does this shit always happen to me? It can never just be simple. Like I couldnt have lost my card on thursday night and gotten back the next day.. No, I had to loose it at the beginning of a long weekend.
I'm excited to get back and share with my counterpart what I learned at the conference and talk about future projects, as well as check on the status of some ongoing things we have working.
That's all for now,

Veggie Sangichs are good in Labasa

2009-03-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

Hello! Thanks Nana and Grampa for the e-birthday card the other day. I got a bit of a chuckle out of it. I had no idea you were internet savvy either. Way to go!
Today is Wednesday the 4th and i'm in Labasa town until Saturday. We're having a Gender and Youth Development conference at the North Pole hotel. GYD is a committee made up of 6 or 7 volunteers. I just received word I was approved to join the committee a few weeks ago so this is my first experience. I'm excited to jump in and see what kinds of things we're going to talk about for the next three days.
We're at the same hotel I stayed at when Ashley and I were in Labasa. It kind if sucks she still isnt here. However, last time we had a pretty nice room with a balcony and awesome AC. My room this time has no windows and the AC is forever set on arctic.
My birthday is also this week, tomorrow actually. Not too excited about that. I already feel pretty unmature for my age so getting older numerically does not help my situation.
Our meeting is starting soon so I must depart. Take Care

Movie Quote Trivia Round 2: 80's Edition

2009-02-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

Training Stage:
"Hey! You scratched my anchor!"

Level: Easy
"Seriously, Merv, everything is great. I was thinking about picking up some hash this weekend, maybe going up to the mountains."

Level: Medium
"Why do you keep calling me Felix?"

Level: Hard
"I always knew you'd end up in a Crow's cage"

Level: InSaNe!!
"I did it! I took the Lindbergh baby! I am Josef Mengle! Owww!!!!"

Bonus:
"Chicks dig me because I rarely wear underwear...and when I do it's usually something unusual.

I had a lot of fun remembering these lines from some of my all time favorite movies (of the 80's). I probably spent way more time doing this than I should have. Try not to rack your brains too hard. An don't cheat either!

Vinaka Viti

'Not sure if I like Dean Koontz but The Face gave me some cheap thrills and chills' - Or - 'Hello from Suva!'

2009-02-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ten points for each movie/character indentified. Matt McGlone is not allowed to play.

Level: Beginner
"Sounds like my grandfather taking a leak, Mikey, so what"

Level: Intermediate
"Nothin left but a grease spot on the R&L"

Level: Novice
"I got a question. If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas N' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone, drinking beers, no women anywhere?"

Level: Suicide
"We're in the Spirit World asshole"

My latest Doctors appointment was delayed yet again. Tuesday morning has now been moved to Friday morning, so I'm still in Suva. I'm really missing my island right about now. My tikina buddy & PCV, Rachel, spent the night in my bure last night while on a sort of business trip. I asked her to try and explain a bit to my counterpart and others where i've been and why I'm gone. Her Fijian is pretty awesome so I think they will be well informed, more so than if I had to explain myself.

The last two nights I've been joined by ms. Kiva at the hotel. She is in for medical stuff two but leaves tonight. We had some fun cooking dinner the last two nights even though she insisted on mixing tofu in with the veggies. I really miss cookingfor myself. Out in the village I eat all my meals with families. This is because my one room house does not allow me to operate a gas burner. Maybe once my bathroom is completed I can move the stove into the safer tin part of the house as opposed to the bamboo and grass bit.

Today I was cruising around peoples blogs and noticed there are some new additions to the pile. The FRE-7's will be here pretty soon and it's kind of funny to see some of the same thoughts of excitement and terror that I had before leaving. Today I also noticed that I've forgotten how long i've been gone. For a long time you just knew the number of months absent from home. Today I had to count (on my fingers) how long I've been gone. The one year mark is creeping up on us Fre-6's and soon the Fre-5's will begin to depart from Fiji. It really doesn't feel like it's been so long since I left. Perhaps having the gift of visitors from the "before life" has made time do some sort of weird acrobatic trick thats both wonderous and gut wrenching to witness. What? Anyhow. If I can offer some insight to the soon to be PCT's, you're coming to Fiji. F-I-J-I, Fiji. Isn't that awesome!!??!? It did kind of suck to put up with smart ass comments before leaving. Comments such as, "Who joins the peace corps and goes to a tropical paradise?". When you arrive you will see what Fiji really is and not have the misconceptions of the ordinary tourists. "Well the resort was nice, but once you left it was kind of dirty".

Furthermore, try not to worry too much about exactly what this is like or where you will be living. Everyone you ask will give you different versions of what their Peace Corps experience is like. That, you will have to wait and see for yourself. Nobody will be able to tell where your site will be until the end of training, so really don't worry about that. I was very surprised, as were a lot of others, on site announcement day. I thought for sure I was gonna be in a city working under some ministry or NGO. Nope. I ended up on beautiful Vanua Levu, in the friendliest village and my closest town has so many amazing views that sometimes it makes me physically ill.

Personally i'm exciting for a new group to get here. And if I can offer one more bit of knowledge (if this in fact applies to you), staging is all about deception. First impressions are undeniably skewed in L.A. Don't believe the hype. Just wait for people to get a little comfortable and you'll see there are some cool people there after all. Just takes a little time and patience.

I feel a little lame for trying to be comforting or whatever. But, hey, this is the internet and by the time May comes around my cheeseball antics will be long forgotten.

Thanks for the brownies Mom! I havent eaten them yet but I heard they are in the post office back North.

I'm stuck

2009-02-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have been in the capital city of Suva for almost two full weeks now. I came in to get my eyes examined after I heard my twin has specific eye troubles. My medical officer was concerned so I came in to get checked. My appointents have been painfully spread out and I've been doing a lot of sitting around and waiting, especially since Dave, another volunteer, went back to his site. He was in Suva to recieve physical therapy for his foot which he messed up during training all those months ago. My final appointment was supposed to be today but the Doc is out sick and the earliest I can get in is next Tuesday. So here I am, in Suva...bored to tears. I have developed a routine though. I wake up in my hotel and go to the Peace Corps office and use the internet for a few hours. I'll cruise facebook as well as research possible projects to do in my village. When I start to get hungry around 11 or 12 I'll go back to the hotel and either make some noodles (tomatoe chow noodles of course cause they are the best kind) or change and go into town for some banging schwarma or doner kebab depending on where you go. After that I'll go see whats playing at the movies and but a cheap matinee ticket and then walk around aimlessly until the movie starts. Yesterday after I saw the Pink Panther 2 (which was awesome no matter what anyone says) I got lost trying to walk back to the hotel. I got a little mad at myself cause the hotel is only like 2 hundred yards away up a small hill. I just wasn't paying attention and ended up on a street I had never been on before. Now I know where to go to get hassled by drunk guys at 4 in the afternoon on Thursdays. Anyhow, after that I go home and make some more noodles and watch aljazeera on maiTV for about 5 hours and go to sleep. It's about all I can muster from my time in Suva. However two days of movies in a row is a bit much so today I will have to find another way to spend my afternoon. I could just go for a walk but it has been exceptionally hot the last few days and my stroll in the metropolis will quickly turn into a sweat bath followed by a game of 'where is that smell coming from?'. It's me!! Yay!
Yesterday I was sitting at a small retaurant waiting for the pink panther to start. I Fijian guy came over to my booth and made himself comfortable. I forgot his name but he was a nice guy, if not a little intoxicated, and we got to chattin (like I had a choice). He has been living and working in Suva for two years but he grew up on the same island and in the same area that I live. When he asked me what I thought about the weather in Fiji I told him 'katakata vei siga', which means it's hot everyday, but I used the dialect from his home island and dropped the K's. After I said it he smiled, reached out with both his hands and grabbed my face. then he half stood up and leaned across and planted one on me. I don't think this is part of Fijian culture but whatever he was having a good time. Me, I was a little confused. I mean, we barely knew each other. I'm not that kind of guy. At least this time my lips weren't on fire. Which leads me into my next story.
Back in mid December I was at a bar in Savusavu with some other volunteers on a Friday night. There was a live band playing there, the Long Beach Boys. I know these guys a little bit and had jammed with them a couple times before. After a while one of them asked me to go up and sing some songs with them. With a little reluctance I want up and did my thing. My third or 4th song was a Fijian track called Isa Lei, Leah. I only know the chorus but we rocked it anyway. When the second chorus came around this Big 'Ole Fijian woman came shuffling up to the stage area and smooched me in the middle of a sentence. I shook it off and kept playing but about 5 minutes later my lips started to tingle. After 10 minutes they hurt and 15 minutes later thay were absolutely burning. I went to the bathroom and washed my mouth with soap but nothing could stop the fire of emotion that woman burned onto my lips. Actually i think it might have been herpes. I should get that checked too.
By far the best kisser here is Bigsby. He doesn't use his little cat lips he uses his whole head. I know he is actually marking me as his territory with his spit but I'll take what I can get.
We watched the SuperBowl in town last Monday, that was special. The place we went was selling Milwaukee's Beast for cheap all day. I think one of the patrons there may have taken advantage of that deal in excess but it was exciting to watch a football game. I don't even really watch football al that much back home but I found myself rooting for the Steelers. I think it's because my dad rocks a Steelers sweatshirt. He wears it when we go out to dinner almost every time. It's like his dress sweatshirt or something.
Valentines Day is coming up and I'm sorry to say I can't be with Ashley this year. I don't remember what we did last year...I know I was living in Keene. We probably went to the Olive Garden or something. Two years ago I bought her as good a bouquet of flowers as I could find and filled the plastic wrapping with as many taco bell taco's it could support. She loved it. Nothing says I love you like a greasy ass Taco Bell valentine.
I wonder if my vilage misses me at all? Last time I left the village for more than a few days someone had been sleeping in my house and messing with my stuff. It doesn't bother me too much cause I knew who it was, but at the same time he is kind of young and probably had a bunch of people hanging out there at night going through all my letters and electronic stuff. Pretty creepy. See the sliding lock on my front door was put on upside down so no matter how large the padlock is you can open the door. I couldn't get the nails out to fix it myself so I asked someone else to do it the day before I left. When I left they had moved the bolt down about a half inch and left it upside down.
This was supposed to be the month when I started working with a village committee to draft a grant proposal for the district. This was a big one and they want $40,000 (Fijian) to do it. I've tried to start before but when I set a time to get together someone just drops off more sheets of paper and I think they expect me to just whip up a proposal out of nothing. The people backing this proposal are not very good at relaying information to me about exactly what is going on and they cross refernce other projects they want to do until I get so confused I feel like my head will seperate from my body and launch itself into the stratosphere.
Today I think I will go to the history museum here in Suva. I've heard it might be a little pricey for tourists but i'll see if I can't get the local rate, or perhaps just Kerekere my way in. If that doesn't work out...well...I hope someting good is playing at Village 6 cinema!

MMmmmmm

2009-01-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

Know what I could go for? Those Little Debbie brownies with the little nuts on top. Yeah, that'd be awesome. I have no shame either.

Labasa Takes a Dip '09

2009-01-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure the storm has ended here in the beautiful town of Labasa. The streets paved with gold are shining again in all their splendour. And the sugar plant smells that much sweeter after the storm. It didn't get to bad here but there was flodding two nights ago. We woke up early to see the town under about 1-3 feet of water. The levels subsided by mid-afternoon and the shops downtown were swamped but nothing like what happened down in Viti in places like Ba and Nadi town. Ashley ius still stranded here with me (tough luck). We just got back from the airport, and despite the sunny weather today we were told the flights to Nadi were cancelled today and to try again tomorrow. Meanwhile, the road back to Savusavu (and subsequently my village) are washed out. I have no clue when I will be able to return to normal life. And for the whiny bit. For this to happen right after the holidays, and with ashley visiting and now stuck in Labasa town has left me more broke than a hobo. BooHoo.
I am thankful for the hospitality of the volunteers up here and for Aric being cool with us crashing in his swanky 2nd floor apartment eventhough he is stranded in Suva. Today I think Ash and I will help the two girls here clean their place up. Their house was swamped and the entire floor is caked in mud and slimy things.
I wish I could keep ash here with me but she has a "life" and "responsibilities" to get back to. It's been really fun and comforting to have her here with me and to show her what I've been up to in Fiji for the past 8 months. I have a feeling tomorrow she'll get lucky and she'll be on a plane to somewhere other than here. She didn't cry when she got off the plane 3 weeks ago so I am certain she will cry when she gets back on. I, however, will not weep. Not because I do not love her but I have hidden her wallet and she will have to come back here to get it, mwa-hahaha

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hey all, been a while. Whats new? My Christmas in the village was pretty much like any other day. There was no signs of merry making anywhere, I suppose it was too hot. My New Years however was the best in a long time. I picked Ashley up at the airport and we spent the night in a decent hotel in Lautoka. It even had Air Conditioning! We enjoyed our duty free goodies and ate a lot of food. The nextnight we spent with a volunteer in her beautiful apartment in the city. Our boat ride back up north was a bit much. We were both incredibly hot and just wanted the 12 hour ride to be over with.
Being in the village with ash has been great. We presented the chief with a sevusevu and ash has been made an official member of the village gang. We went and found a mildly secluded area on the river and floated for an entire morning before we made our way back to a lunch of bananas and tea.
Wish I could write more but I'm pretty scatter brained right now. There is a storm approaching and it might be the big one people have been waiting for. I'm Excited!!
I hope everyone back home had a great holiday with family and friends and maybe I'll be home next year for a visit to celebrate with you.

Oops, I sharted

2008-12-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hi. The generator has been broken in the village for about 2 months now. So no electricity has been pretty cool. I switched to candles after my lantern busted and I think I like it better. They don't smell and I like playing with open flames so it's win/win. Something that has been kind of a bum out is no water. A new water source is being piped into the village right now and about 5 days ago running water ceased flowing through the taps. Instead of just jumping into the river to bath I have been taking bucket showers with the water from my filter. I have nothing against the river, I just don't have biodegradable soaps here. There's already pig guts and horse terds floating around, I should try not to make it worse. My filtered water will run out in a day so I hope when I get back to the village the problem will be fixed.
2 weeks ago I started farming harder than I have before. I borrowed a digging fork and scratched three plots for my watermelons, chinese cabbage, and peppers. On day two I got a sunburn on my back. On day three I decided I was never gonna get a proper tan if I didn't get as much sun as possible. On day 4 I had sun blisters. I spent 3 or 4 days laying on my floor on my stomach trying not to move. With any luck something will grow. I have a feeling that my efforts will just be scorched by the sun.
Ashley will be here this month...in just over 2 weeks. I am ever so excited!! I have no idea what we will do because neither one of us will have money to spend. I think we'd both be happy just laying around and looking longingly into each others eyes. I guess we could give my cat a bath too.
I dont have much news to relay back home. Oh! I dont know if I thanked Aunt Donna and Uncle Tome for their last letter (and gift). Thank you very much. I get kind of backed up in my e-mails and what not and never remember what I say to whom. So Thank you! And FIY, first class mail does not get here any faster so save your money. Mail has been WICKED slow the last month. I guess its becuse of the holidays but things are taking close to a month to reach me, if not more. Ok BYE!

I Had Nothing to do With That

2008-11-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Just got back from PDM (program Management Design) workshop. Five days in Labasa town, holy shit it's hot up there. The workshop was very productive. I brought my buddy Apolosi from my village and we walked through how to develop good project plans. On the last day of the workshop each group presented their proposal ideas. We developed this plan to build a Resource Center in the village. It will serve as a Community Meeting Hall, a Kindergarten and a village office. Part of our plan revolved around trying to find funding for the project and coming up with other ideas on how to raise small funds. I think if the excitement about this idea can make it back to the village with me and Apolosi we might accomplish something.
Other than that, it was nice to see the other volunteers on Vanua Levu that I don't see too much. We had some fun.. I'm getting a new Peace Corps neighbor this week. A volunteer has moved from Viti Levu up to Vanua Levu and her village is only about 30 minutes by bus down the road. This is VERY close in Fiji.
I would like to say Good Job Team! to america. I watched the election results in town with some friends and we celebrated hardcore when Obama got the proverbial nod.
On a very morbid end note. When I was in Labasa town for the workshop, on the first night, I saw a dead guy. A taxi picked us up and was driving back to our room when we came upon a bunch of flashing lights next to a park. The taxi driver said, "yes, somebody killed themselves in the park tonight." We said, "oh man, when did that happen?".
"Just now, he's right there", says the cab driver. Sure enough we look out the window and a poor fellow was hanging from a tree. Maybe I shouldn't share this story but it was too surreal to keep to myself.
Have a Nice Day!

2008-10-31T15:25:00.001-07:00

Good Lord. It feels amazing to be in town today. I stayed in the village for just over 2 weeks without leaving. I think that's a new record. I thought I was gonna crack after the first week but I found peace with my whole situation.
There is talk of finishing my house soon. My village got cement from somewhere to make footpaths and I was told they would use some of it to make my bathroom/kitchen. I'll believe it when I see it, but it was nice of them to say. Work is coming along too. This past week and next week has been/will be spent gathering information to write multiple grant proposals and letters to organizations for funds for several different projects.
I met this American kid this past week. I was layin around reading on Wednesday afternoon when I heard the very distinct accent of a tourist. Found this 20 year old kid from California standing by the river in my village. He came over and introduced himself to me and the first thing I said was "what the hell are you doing here"..not in a mean way but more of disbelief of what I was seeing. He had come to the village with some missionaries or something like that, dont know exactly. Anyhow, he kept coming around the rest of the week and it was nice to talk to someone while in the depths of isolation.
I recently got a Peace Corps newspaper type deal in my mailbox. They take submissions from volunteers in the field so I'll be sending them stuff to print all the time..I hope they have a sense of humor and will publish some of my articles.
Hmm..yeah, I dunno. Keep on keepin on.

Know what I could go for? A mandolin and a guitar. In a perfect world I'd have a banjo player, a bassist and my clone here to drink whiskey with and play mountain music. Alas, i'm just a lonely guitar picker without a guitar to pick.
Today i'm going to kana vakalevu and go back to the village when i'm full. My lantern got broked so I switched to candles...I like it better, more of a moody kind of feel to the whole bure situation.
Ash is coming for real in December...I can't even believe it. I bet she cries when she gets off the plane, i'm puttin money on it. Any takers?

2008-10-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ha-roh. Been sometime since I updated you on my deal. Not much has really changed since I first moved into my village. Projects keep being talked about and nothing ever gets done. My house is still without a bathroom and cooking area. However, my cat Bigsby did return to me after being lost for more than 2 weeks. Little scamp. He was carried off by a rogue band of little snot faced kids and he was too little to find his way back across the village. But now he has returned, he's getting big and strong and he is the champion at eating crickets and other crunchy bugs. I wish his breath wasn't so bad, but he's such a cuddler I just try to ignore it. I'm sure he says the same thing about my breath anyway.

All the volunteers gathered in Nadi for about a week of workshops and stuff in the beginning of October. Not much to say about that except it was a blast and I can't wait for Mid-Service Training. I had my first visitor right after I left Nadi. We had some good moments but it was definitely not the right time for a guest and I feel like it ruined a friendship. C'est la vie, right?

My experience in the village seems to be getting more unbearable on the bad days and really really good on others. The extremes I feel there surprise me and I can't imagine living like this for 21 more months. I have to change something. I'll have to find out what that is first. I could go for some more mail and news from home, thats for sure. People keep asking me what I want or need. I'll take a letter with encouraging words, thank you very much. (and a little cash).

Talked to Ashley yesterday and it seems like she is really coming to visit in 2 months. That is very exciting news. Something to look forward too. Hopefully I win some kind of lottery before she comes so we can have a good time.

Yeah, so uhh... I don't know. Weird times here. However I feel more inspired than ever to start writing my first novel. Wish I had a laptop...

I hope everything is cool back there.

Oh yeah, I'm Broke.

Dear Family & Friends

2008-09-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

If you don't vote for Barack Obama, I will never come home.

Quick Hello

2008-09-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I've been pretty busy lately. I've been on a tour of my tikina meeting people and sitting in while another volunteer and my counterpart push for environment friendly practices on their land and waters. My language is still pretty pathetic and minimal. But, I am the entertainment at the end of the meetings. I think my biggest hit here is "Cotton Fields"...ya know, the CCR version. "When I was a little bitty baby my momma would rock me in the cradle"...you know it. They love that stuff.
Anyhow, I've slept in my own bed maybe 2 or 3 times in the last week and i'm looking forward to cleaning up my house. Still hasnt been finished yet but it doesnt really bother me too much.
The first week of October we'll all be going to Nadi for our "In-Service Training". I'll be there for just under a week or so before I come back to Vanua Levu.

Gotta Catch my Bus!
Hope everyone is feelin alright.

Hi

2008-08-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so its been one month in my village. There are a lot of lazy, do nothing kind of days and there are some crazy things that happen that leave you asking yourself, "what the hell was that." Here's one story from my first month.

There is this waterfall out in the bush that I've been asking about. Last Friday, Solo - the chiefs eldest son, decides he's gonna take me out to see the waterfall. Great! I didn't do much last week so I was glad to be going out and doing something fun. Solo, myself and Masi (my 15 year old sidekick) set out early Saturday morning for what is sure to be good clean fun. We walked about 3k down a dirt road before we stepped onto the trail.
This first trail took us through about 4 or 5k of dalo fields and banana plantations. I was surprised to see so many farms and houses that far out into the bush. Eventually the trail became slippery red clay, coincidentally the trail became more narrow and steeper. "Ok, thats cool. Just be careful," I says to myself. We cross many rivers and go up and down many small hills.
we come to a river valley where I am told the waterfall is nearby. Solo follows the river up to its source while Masi and some boys that were out in the bush take me on a 'shortcut' further into the bush. There was a trail or path or any sign these boys knew where they were going. Soon we found ourselves scrambling up incredibly steep hills with nothing to hold onto. The boys swung their cane knives into a tree and pulled themselves up. I thought, "hey this is kind of dangerous. but the waterfall is close by, it'll be worth it." We approach the last hill (or so they tell me). I wasnt paying attention to how high we were climbing or how steep the hill was because I was too busy trying to breath. about halfway up i look back and Holy Shit! This hill is practically verticle with nothing to hold onto, just wet grass. Masi grabs my hand and starts pulling me up and another two boys start pushing on my rear end to make it up this friggin hill. So we get to the top, but the top keeps going up...strange and miraculous event. So now we're at the top, and now we have to come down. That took a while. by the time we get to the bottom my knees are killing me and i just want to see these damned falls and go home.
the waterfall was not a waterfall at all. It was a 20m high rock face with one trickle of water falling from the top. They said the bigger falls is over that cliff. I said, "no thanks." I sit down and rest and try to see the humor in it all.

So now we start walking down the river. I found out in about 5 minutes how slippery therocks in river are. I fell about a dozen times, tore my thumb open on some bamboo and busted my elbow open. this descent took about 3 hrs until we reached the river valley once more. Here, a bush woman came out and boiled me about 2 dozen prawns which I ate with some enthusiasm. Solo says i'm too banged up to walk the trail back to the road. So I'm gonna ride a horse. (and yes Peace Corps they brought a helmet). I get on this horse with Masi and we take off through the bush, going upand down river banks, through bamboo forests and muddy swamps. I've never ridden a horse before, and riding bareback is quit rough on your whoo-ha. I thought we were gonna get thrown off at least 10 times. I felt bad for this horse too because I'm sure he is not used to the weight of one large white man and a Fijian boy to boot. Eventually we get back to the road where I walk back to the vuillage aching from head to toe. But I was very happy, glad to be alive, glad i hadthe adventure.
Get backto the village and start drinking grog with the men. Solo and I tell them everything that happened to me, and everyone was laughing. Turns out I'm the first white guy they know of to go out to see those 'falls', and most ofthem have never been there because it sucks so hard to get there. haha, awesome. Now they want to see my pictures from the day. So I go get my camera, turn it on and....no pictures. One of the boys was playing with my camera at while i was eating and deleted ALL OF MY PICTURES. No pictures from me in Fiji for the last three months. You'll just have to take my word for - i'm here.

Contact Info

2008-08-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Mike McGlone
P.O. Box 407
Savusavu
Fiji

you'll have to find the country code but my number is
905-2773

Vanua Levu....A New Hope

2008-07-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

I got to site safe and sound this past Saturday. The 12 hour boat ride to the Island was pretty rough, I think I'm still recovering. I got to Navakaka Saturday afternoon to find my house hadn't been worked on at all in the last two weeks. I'll be staying with the Turaganikoro and his family til then. Kind of sucks cause my bedroom has no door so I get Zero privacy and all my stuff is fair game for a 15 and 4 year old to rummage through when I'm not there. This is only the third day but I had to come into town because my stress levels are through the roof. Garret, a volunteer in Wailevu (about 2 hrs from me) also came into town so we got to bitch and moan to each other...makes ya feel better. And also, the Peace Corps gives you money for and strongly suggests you buy a cell phone here in Fiji. Having that phone and getting texts ad phone calls from the new volunteers has definately been a lifesaver these first few days.
I think my attitude has been all wrong since I got here in Vanua Levu. I admit I was pretty hung over and not happy about not having my own house, but either way, I need to step it up. Its surprising how little things, like a good meal in town, can boost your morale. At least I won't have to go home tonight and eat roro, ika and suli...again.
Anyways, I havent bought much stuff for my new unfinished home. Today I got a gas stove, a paid a little extra for it but lesson one living in Fiji - DO NOT buy the cheapest version because it is absoloute crap and will break upon first use. Other than that I got a weeks supply of tined meats, a kettle, some mosquito coils and some other odds and ends. I don't have to worry about much material stuff til I get into my house.
Other than my living situation (which is only temporary) I am enjoying myself. Tonight I will have to go drink grog with the men at the chiefs house. Talanoa is to "tell stories" and thats what you do around the Tanoa(grog bowl). I bet they make me sing them songs all night again. Apparently I have a horse now too. My counterpart and I were walking back from his pig farm out in the bush yesterday and we passed two horses tied to coconut trees. He said, "that black one is yours." And I said, "Sweeeet." I think the Peace Corps will want me to wear a helmet though so I'll have to get one of them before I go galloping off into the sunset.
I just realized I've only been swimming once since I've been here. Granted I was snorkling and it was awesome but I'm in the middle of the Pacific I should me swimming more.
Thats all for now I'm feeling flustered and thoughts are hard to form. I'm meeting back up with Garret for a drink or two before the 4:30 bus back home. Did I give out my cell number yet??

Ow, My Eye

2008-07-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

In Suva cause I have a blocked tear duct in my right eye that got infected. No creams or pills so i'll have to ride it out. Kind of hurts.. Next week is the big week, we are swore in as volunteers next Thursday. Pretty Exciting stuff, just one more Language Interview stands in the way. There are still 32 FRE-6's, no ones gone home yet. We're goin for some kind of record.
I baked Oatmeal cookies for a Waste Management Workshop along with 4 other trainees in Vunivaivai. It was very informal, mostly drank yagona and ate the food we brought. All in all I think it was a success, maybe 30 people showed up. Just getting people to show up is gonna be the hardest part, so we've been told. I think we're doing it again on Sunday?
Well my eyeball is sore so I'm gonna head back to Vunivaivai. Tonight we head over to the Indian Settlement, Visama, for "culture night", whatever that may be. This last week will be a whirlwind of stuff before we all take off for our respective posts.
hope all is well back home

HI MOM!!

2008-07-01T22:07:00.001-07:00

In two days we find out where our posts will be and then on Monday morning we depart with our counterparts (whom we will meet on sunday) to spend a week in our new homes. Next friday we return here to the Nausori area for another week or two of training...then we're off. Yay.
I am already getting sentimental over my host family, they've been pretty much the raddest bunch of people I could have hoped for. I feel silly to have been so nervous about all this peace corps business. You learn real quick to just take shit slow and easy here, which fits my personality, so i'm set tiko.
I'm not getting to anxious to find out where my post will be. I figure if i want to be in a certain area or on a certain island in fiji, i prolly wont get it. So if i just dont think about it i won't be let down. Not that i'd be let down anyway, i'm in Fiji for fucks sake.
HEY PEOPLE BACK HOME, how about some fucking mail, huh? I've only been getting letters from Ashley, even my parents have forgotten about me already. Strike that, I got an e-mail from my mom saying, "i have a package for you sitting on the kitchen table"....thanks maah. I come back in two years try to get it out before 2010, k?
I ran out of deodarant a week ago and that stuff is expensive here. Needless to say i've been doing a lot of laundry by hand this week.
I dont really have much to say, i had a tech sessions today in Vunivaivai (my homestay village) and then I hopped on a bus to Nausori town and now i'm in the internets. My brother Joe said we're having Roti for dinner so i'm headin back before my Ta, Atu-Stone, eats it all.

And I read your comment Mike, but I cant figure out how to send you a reply, so if you want to email me feel free. michael.mcglone1@gmail.com
Congratulations on your nomination.

Next time I'll tell you all about how many bilo's of grog it takes to wet your bed.

Freak Out In Progress

2008-03-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

I was at work tonight..thinking about a lot of stuff. I started thinking about leaving for Fiji and I'm pretty sure I had some kind of anxiety attack. I freaked out and thought to myself "what the fuck are you doing!?" It was the first time I had a second thought about going. I hope this is normal. Before I left for Europe in '05 I kind of felt like this, but that was only three months. I don't know, perhaps this is the hardest part of the peace corps, leaving. I'm not really worried about being away from Ashley, and I want to do this more than anything, so where do the jitters come from? Hmm..maybe I need a hug.
On another note I'm picking up a new pair of chakos this week and i'm pretty excited about it. It's nearly Spring in NH and I can't wait to not be wearing smelly muddy boots everywhere. Hopefully with my tax return, security deposit on my apartment and a months worth of paychecks I will be able to afford all the shit I need to go to Fiji. Does the Peace Corps supply the beach balls?

Peace Corps Time

2008-02-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

So I just found out about 4 days ago that I'm going to Fucking Fiji in May. I don't know exactly what Environmental Resources Managment Promoter means but sounds like fun.
Also, I forgot I made this blog thingy a long time ago. Hi! Nothing exciting has happened to me in the last 9 months. I got my Journalism degree and now i'm a janitor in Keene, NH....Fucking Fiji...haha...i cant believe it. See ya in the funny papers, New England winters.

2007-03-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

So now that graduation is approaching kind of fast, I can't help but think, "Oh shit!" What are you doing after you graduate? Have you thought about it? Well don't think too hard because you just may have a panic attack. I have found peace of mind in the last few days however, in a pretty far out way.

Earlier this week I got a phone call from my local Peace Corps recruiter. Apparently the on-line application I had done reached her and the ball had begun to roll. After the call and a subsequent e-mail disclosing futher information I had a small wave of euphoria rush over me. I do not have to worry about life after Pierce just yet. For at least the next two years I will be serving mankind in some part of the world. In the words of Johnny Cash, "I don't know where I'm bound." I won't know where they want me to go. I don't know what they want me to do. All I know is that I'm available.

Two years seems more like an eternity now that the Peace Corps is now a reality for me. As badly as I want to do it I still feel hesitant to commit..although I sort of already have. I will stick this out. First of all I want to do something for someone else. If you are reading this that means you have a computer adn you probably have an education and some cash in the bank. Therefore you should dedicate some small portion of your life to a community that has no computers and no banks. Maybe that's not fair, but I kind of believe that.

Secondly, I have a friend serving in Namibia right now in the Peace Corps. If I don't go through with it this kid will call me a pussy for the rest of my life. This friend hates attention so I won't mention Sam Dolphs name. Woops.

I lost the point of this a while back. Perhaps I just wanted to get this out. I think most of us graduating seniors have some small fear of what will happen to us next. I will take comfort in the fact that I will be doing something more important than you. Hmmm. That sounds arrogant.

Egg on my window

2007-02-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

So how about that snow, huh? Jeez Louise, it really came down today. I almost died driving to the store with my roomate just to get my girlfriend tacos on Valentines Day. How sweet. Since it is snowing to furiously we don't get to do much around here, do we? I mean you could go to the bubble and get some snow shoes or put on some snowpants and take a winter hike into the woods. Myself, I prefer a snowball fight. Remember when you were a kid throwing snowballs at your best friends head? What a great feeling that was. I remember more than one fight being ended because some jerk pressed his fluffy ball into an apple sized iceball and whizzed it at some poor little kid (that seems funny now that I'm an adult..stupid kids).

It seems not much has changed in the way of fair play sense then and now. During our last small snow storm, which I think was a friday night, a snowball fight erupted outside of my house. Friends from all over campus were in my Lakeview enjoying some pong and listening to Johnny Cash. However this was no ordinary snowball fight. We were flanked on both sides by, of all people to get in a iceball chucking competition with, baseball players, dun dun duuuuun.

From what I saw it was all fun and games for at least five minutes. Then something happened. I can only speculate, but I assume the opposing forces realized that the character of their foe (my long haired, Disco Biscuit listening friends) was different than what they are used too. The resulting actions based upon this sudden realiztion were severe. What seemed like a dozen of these kids were pelting three or four of my friends with lazer beam like precision. I opened the front door to smoke a butt and watch the show, but I was denied. A snowball whizzed at my head while i was still inside. Luckily I have cat like reflexes and I dodged it and my housemate Dennis took the full on assault in the face. I will admit, that was funny, but a little inconsiderate, I mean...it's someones house.

Anyhow, it got worse. Miutes after the fight elevated to at least a crimson red on Bush's scale of terror...Invasion!! One of these kids bummed rushed out door, pushed his way in and planted a big old snowball into a crowd of innocent bystanders trying to enjoy their evening. With a shout and a "Fuck all of you, I'll take any one of you on" he was gone. Moments later C.S. shows up to break it up..or rather rescue.

After the fact, those of us not involved in the fray ventured outside to talk to some of these guys, try to be cool, ya know. Cooooool. One ventured into conversation but the rest walking by weren't havin it. You could feel the disdain in the air. I used to play a lot of sports, I know the rush you feel after you defeat the other team. They tasted blood and they wanted more.

Later that night our house got egged. Coincidence? You tell me. I would like to sign off with a plea for tolerance. Get over yourself.

Clean up this mess!

2007-01-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

You know what I love? Beer. You know why I love beer? Because it tastes good. You know what I hate? Cheap beer. You know what I hate more than cheap beer? Cheap beer cans all over the ground at Franklin Pierce.

For serious, kids. I like to drink like most of you but what makes you think you aren't accountable for littering? If I only had a nickle for everytime I heard some ass say something like, "the cleaning people will get it" or "thats gonna suck to clean". What kind of selfish, spoiled brat childhood did you have? You aren't just being an inconsiderate ass, you're messing with other peoples' free time. Do you know who has to come in at 3 in the morning because you took a piss in the elevator in Chesire? No, you don't know. And why should you? You're just having a good time, right? You're an idiot.

I was under the impression that Pierce was an advocate for bringing the individual and the community closer together; meaning we are learning how to be active community members and not just educated slobs. Here's an idea, why doesn't the school take recyclables to Maine and get the refund on cans and bottles and donate it to a worthy cause? With the amount of beer cans outside of Lakeview we could probably put African children through school, and that isn't a joke. Have you ever seen Lakeview after a particularly intense weekend? It's incredible. Only cents a day, right? How many beers did you drink last night, Johnny College?

On the other hand, the school doesn't exactly promote clean living. Let me sum this up in one short sentence. Lakeview smells like a terd. People buy houses next to landfills and highways because it's cheap. So someone renting a Lakeview town house would probably end up paying less in rent then we do living there because of the smell. I'm not saying if it didn't constantly smell like a diaper down there no one would litter, I'm just saying I hate lakeview.

Back to the jerks around here. . . For the record, I will not be held responsible for any drunk dude or chick who comes into my house and hurts themselves. Just the other day this particular young person made their way into my house, drunk before entering because there was nothing going on in my place. Anyhow, after about five minutes this person takes a full on nose dive into a computer, i'm talking kamakazi style. No bracing for impact. It was a full on teeth meeting hard plastic situation. They stand up and look at their friend. This part kills me. They say to their friend, "I can't believe you let me drive."
Stop being morons
And also
give a hoot, don't pollute.