Savusavu Kind of Day...

Hello all,
Matt and I have (nearly) survived December in the village.  Other Peace Corps Volunteers warned us that it would be a long month in which not much work gets accomplished.  The reason for this is the same as in America- everybody is celebrating the holidays (native Fijians are mostly Christian), traveling, visiting family and relaxing.  Of course, the Fiji version of relaxing and enjoying the holidays is different.  The adults like to drink yagona (aka grog), the young adults and teens play volleyball and the kids just run around outside.  Also, Fiji is different in that it is summer here.  Lately, the temperature has been about 90 degrees, high humidity, very hot sun and little breeze (I am guessing about the temperature because there is no thermometer or weather man).  Usually, though, it rains pretty heavy for a little while in the afternoon and that cools things down a bit. 

For our Christmas, Matt and I had some of our American traditions.  I made bruschetta, roti w/chicken (well, not totally American!) and brownies.  We also hung up some Christmas lights from my mom and listened to an audio version of 'The Night Before Christmas', as read by the Wolf gang.  We had a few presents to open, played cards and watched a movie.  I enjoyed it and I think Matt did, too.

New Years is coming up in the few days and Fiji also has their own traditions for this holiday.  I'm not sure how it all got started but on January 1, Fijians throw water on each other all day in good fun.  When you get the water thrown on you it's called 'veisui', which means something along the lines of to be wet. 

So, that's what the holiday season looks like here.  There have also been two funerals in our village this month, so that has also slowed everything down.  For the funerals, large sheds were put up for cooking, preparing food, eating and sitting.  When people grow old in Fiji, they prepare for their funeral by owning cows and pigs which will be used at the meal(s) surrounding the funeral.  The funeral is much like one from America but different in that a group of older women will sit awake with the body the night before the funeral, guests don't give money- they give dalo, mats and pigs, and the body is buried in the casket immediately after the funeral by some young men from the village.

I am enjoying my time here in Fiji and I find that one of the most enjoyable, yet most challenging things is always being caught between two cultures.  When I stay in the village, I need to modify the way I act, dress and express myself in order to connect with the people who live there.  I also need to try my best to speak in Fijian (both with the spoken language and with non-verbal communication, as well) and look at my work success from the perspective of a rural site in a developing nation.  I get a kick out of doing these things but sometimes I miss the comforts and familiarity of home and of the ways in which Americans act.  Strangely, though, when I talk with my family from the states, I find that I need to go back to acting American and use expressions and have conversations that make sense in an American context.  It's odd because I do truly feel like I am somewhere in the middle of the two cultures and just want to find acceptance and a niche in both.

Today Matt and I are in town for a little time away and to ourselves.  Matt already headed back for the hotel but I wanted to put up a post. I best be going because I am supposed to meet him in five minutes in front of the grocery store called MH. 

All my love,
Alyssa