Facts of Life - 4 things I really don't like

1. 1.  Head lice and frequent lice checks
2. 2.  Squished frogs on the road - driving at night there are tons of frogs on the warm concrete peel.  They seem to freeze in the headlights.  Squishing is inevitable, and really gross.  By day, on our bikes, a flattened frog is a common sight.  I'll spare you the picture on this one.
3.  3.  Boils - boils are a staph infection.  They are very contagious and common on the kids at school. Preventative care is taking a shower and washing down every day right after school.  Alina can unfortunately tell you how painful they are.  And again, medical care here isn't like it is in the states.  
4. 4.  Lizards - Mostly they are cute, harmless animals eating house bugs.  There are two things I really don't like about lizards.  One is that they leave little droppings all over the house. The other is that I keep finding them in my banana's.  They creep in to eat them and it's just disgusting to peel a banana and find a lizard in there having breakfast.  Yuck.  

Doggy Love

This is the first dog we adopted.  Beqa (pronounced Benga).  Then we found Fanta.  Then Fanta went into heat, and our yard became home to an additional 7 male dogs.  We had dog fights every night outside our door and quite a lot of scrambling.  I actually liked bearing witness to  nature at her unbridled finest.  Fanta is now pregnant.  I have a hunch which dog is the dad.  I continue to watch nature's cycle happening all in my back yard.  I feel like a researcher carefully observing every detail and trying not to interfere.  It's amazing and beautiful to witness.  I wish I were going to be here long enough to see the puppies.  

Heading back to our Villa

Our time here in Fiji has definitely had it's challenges and hardships.  And my relationship with Rikki has gone through many openings, shut downs and adjustments.  We had a great weekend together.  It was restful, fun and very healing.  That's me at the entry door to our Villa.  

Potatoes, Ice Cream and Wild Seas

The boat ride to Beqa was 'interesting'.  We were on the supply boat that provisions the resort, so we were packed up with huge bags of flour, potatoes, carrots.  And ice cream.  It was windy and the waters were very rough, tossing our boat in rather large rolling waves.  At one point the boat turned sideways to the waves and we really got wet and roughed about.  I tumbled downstairs to check with the captain, who, to my surprise was not attending the wheel.  He was standing among the ice cream with a spoon.  Evidently he just couldn't wait.  Boat be damned.

Frolicking with friends

Going on holiday

Rikki and I and the kids went away for the weekend to a little island just off the shore from where we live.  Beqa Island (pronounced Benga - the isle that inspired our dogs name).  From the time we stepped off the boat, I felt a wash of relaxation and ease.  Like most of the resorts here, the people are warm and welcoming, the food is deliciously tropical, and time seems to slow to a point that there is enough to do everything - including nothing.

Boys Fijian Meke Dance

While away on holiday, there was an evening planned with a Fijian Meke Dance show performed by the residents of the local village.  The women were graceful and synchronized. Their dance was subtle in its gesture and each dance told a story about their village life.  The boys (ages 7-11) did 3 different dances - each more incredible then the next.  Feisty, spirited, pulsing, masculine.  They danced with their warrior clubs: waving them in mock battle, slamming them to the floor to create rhythmic percussion, and even poking at us in the audience.  Other parents, younger brothers and sisters sat on a mat behind the dancers playing instruments and singing - creating the music for the evening.  Every villager had a role, a contribution.  And man, did they all know how to move freely and with abandon.  Truly inspiring night.