A Skirt?

Ok first off I am not wearing a skirt, it is a sulu or a sulu vakataga to be exact and damn do I make that look good.  Ok, maybe I don't unfortunately.  Secondly that is a picture of our new nephew, Reece Afatika, looks remarkably like his father.  I can't answer your questions Kayla because I am not quite sure on the weight and height or really anything else right now. 
I broke out the drumsticks that I brought along and had some fun with some of the kids in our house.  I have alot more to say but I don't have the time, OH!  We got our site announcements we will be going to Natuvu Village in Vanua Levu about an hour and half west of Savusavu city.  We will not have electricity and water is going to have to be boiled and filtered in order to drink but we have excellent cell phone coverage in our village.  No word on how to charge the cell phone, but this kind of sums up how Fiji works sometimes. 
I hope everyone is doing well have a good one, Matt.

We are all drummers at heart

Pictures! (Hopefully)

Greetings from Nausori, Fiji!  I (Alyssa) am finally taking a turn writing in our blog. 

First, the most exciting news- Kaity had the baby on June 9!  His name is Reese Chemway Afatika (I may have spelled his first or middle name wrong- I haven't seen it written anywhere).  We haven't seen any photos yet but have been told he looks just like Ernest. :)

Matt and I are about to head off to see a dance that some of the other Peace Corps volunteers are performing.  Below are some photos that we have taken thus far.  We'll try to start taking more- it's just been very busy and overwhelming (Matt doesn't stress as easily as me, so he may disagree on this point) thus far. 

I am off- much love to our family and friends. :)

Alyssa

The bure we stayed if for the first 4 days we were in Fiji, it was quite nice

 

The view from behind our bure

 

Our host Mom(Na) setting up the table for one of many good meals she prepared for us, just so everyone knows in Fiji you usually sit on the floor to eat.

Alyssa and I with our host Brother-in-law (Anania) and Sister (Tavita) before the Town Soli (otherwise know as a festival in the States).  As you can see our host mom made us all matching outfits and yes I am wearing a sulu, it is the traditional apparel for Fijian men. When in Rome!

Our "tent" at the town festival.  It was one of four, the town in split into four clans and each clan had its own "tent" (they were more so bamboo frames with tin roofs place on top).

Our bedroom for the 7 weeks we are in training.  We are one of the very lucky few who get a fan in our bedroom.

If you play with fire you're going to get burned!

Today is June 5th here and I was planning on posting our pictures today.....but we brought the wrong USB cord for our camera, so you will have to wait yet again for pictures to be posted. 

We got some exciting news from the home front though, apparently next week we are going to be an aunt and uncle.  Thus we are both hoping and praying everything goes well for Kaitlyn this week as she has what I am expecting to be a 12 lb baby boy, I think that was my guess this last christmas : ).
Also as for the title of my post, well I guess I have taught my brother so very little in the 20 years he's been alive.  I wish I could be there to call him an idiot but I will just have to hope that Goldade and Paul do it for me.

As for news from here, well their is alot I am sure people want to hear about but I don't know where to start.  Alyssa and I are living in the same host family in a small village right on the Rewa river.  In fact the first Saturday we were their they just opened up the very first road leading to the village ever.  Before that they were using water taxi's to get to a landing to take a bus.  Our host family consists of our Ta (dad), Na (mom), 23 year old daughter Tavita, 7 year old son (Tuki), 28 year old brother-in-law Ananeia, and 10 year old nephew Joji.  They very graciously have a allowed us to live in their master bedroom while we complete our 7 weeks of training and when I say master bedroom I don't mean what we think of in the states.  It is a 10x12 room with a toilet attached.  It is though the only house in our village with a master bedroom though.  As I am writing this we have been with our host family about 2 weeks and they are very helpful in learning the language.
One huge problem in Fiji is sanitation and as you drive around Fiji you see trash every where.  In fact our village tends to throw trash in the river and let the tide bring it out into the ocean.  It is something that Peace Corps is asking us to focus our attention on when we get to our host village were we will be staying for two years. 
I know there are a lot of questions that people want answered and really can't think of what they were, but Alyssa wants to go so we must go.  : )  Talk to you all soon and hopefully next time I post, I will post the few pictures we have taken.
-See Ya Matt