Observations on Daily Life

Observations on daily life:

* I buy one roll of toilet paper at a time.  I pay for each individual phone call I make.  Internet service is very expensive.  All these things make me conscious and aware of my usage.  In America, I go to Costco and buy toilet paper en mass.  I have countless minutes on my cell plan, so I don't monitor, or try to conserve.  And internet is a given - on all the time with no restrictions on downloading, video chat, internet games.  Now, I am sparing, conscious of each minute on the cell, careful and decisive about what is worth spending internet time on...  but I realize that I am forced to be conscious and aware of what personal values are governing.  How am I choosing to spend my time.  My money.  My life.  I like the fullness, the all-encompassing step into awareness this has brought about.  When I'm being indulgent, I'm choosing that.

* I was sitting at my desk the other day.  A cockroach started to crawl up my leg.  I stood up, flicked it off, got the can of "spray", ttsshhhhh (spray sound).... and went right back to the letter I was writing.  What is this emblematic of?  I'm not sure exactly, but I did have a feeling of calm in a situation that only 8 weeks earlier freaked me out.  Now some would say "is this really something you want to get used to?"  But, it's different then getting used to cockroaches.  Not sure what it is yet.  Flexibility.  Fortitude.  Holding a sense of self under adversity is strengthening. Open to suggestions.

* The kids come home from school with incredible stories.  Real stories about their teachers hitting kids with the big thick yellow ruler, or getting swacked on the head with a book, pulling on their ears to get them out of the classroom...  I ask "does it scare you or are you worried about getting hit?".  Alina says she is "really good" to ensure that she won't get wacked.  Jonah says he's not worried, "it's just the rambunctious ones".  I really admire the discipline in general at the school.  A lot of responsibility is expected from the kids and they really come forward to meet the challenge.  

Bike to school

Kids Bike to School, Fiji from m.h. rubin on Vimeo.

Glass bottom boat ride

When I was a kid, we would travel from the cold of Connecticut winter to the warm tropic of Acapulco and Aruba.  Travel 'back then' was hugely special, we would dress up in our best (and most uncomfortable) clothes for the flight.  Upon landing, back in the day, the entire plane of people would clap for the pilots at their successful landing and our safe arrival.  

One of my favorite memories of my dad was going out on a glass bottom boat ride.  He and I were early risers (some things never change), so while Mom and Jeff slept, we went out on the 6 o'clock boat.  The coral reef was beautiful and colorful and filled with life and easily viewed in the clear shallow water through the glass bottom of the boat.  We went out, and out, until the shore was very small and far away.  At some point the boat stopped, divers swam to the bottom and pulled up starfish and coral and other ocean specialties to show us.  It was amazing.  Soon, the boat started up and began the ride back.  As we were riding back, still a huge distance away, my dad looked at me and said "want to SWIM back?".  I laughed and said "NO WAY".  He said he was serious and thought we could do it. I was immensely nervous about being able to swim that far.  Well, he talked to the driver, we jumped off the back of the boat and it drove away.  YIKES!  So, we swam and swam and swam.  I started to get tired.  "Dad, I don't think I'm going to make it".  We kept swimming.  At some point, Dad realized I was fatigued and couldn't swim any further and our resort was still far in the distance.  Dad said "If you are really tired and can't swim anymore....................

 just STAND UP".  

So, I put my feet down and stood right up.  We were swimming in only 3 feet of water the entire way.  He had noticed on the way out that the water was super shallow, and mostly sandy.  So, I stood up and walked / swam back.  The event itself was a wonderful time with my dad.  I told this story at his funeral.  There were many times growing up when I didn't feel my dad had my best interest in mind.  This story made me realize that even when I thought he was doing something for himself and dragging me along, he was paying attention to the details and had care for me when I didn't know.  He was aware and called me forward.  It is here in Fiji that I feel his adventurous influence to explore and dare and live fully.

Love you Dad.  It was great to take the kids out and remember you.  

WAHOOOOOOooooooo!!!!  

We went ziplining.   We all started out tentative about this.  I have to admit, when we arrived at the starting platform at the top of the jungle canopy I thought to myself, "what was I thinking"  Our guides were great and made us feel safe and comfortable.  The kids started going with a guide.  By the end, as you can see, they were flying free and really loving it.  I don't have one clear picture of Jonah - he was an acrobat.  Alina was more verbal and you could hear her jungle scream the entire way.  

Fijian Cultural Show

The Fijian people are lovely - warm, easy to talk to, open and disclosing.  Always quick with hello, and when they ask "How are you" they wait for the answer with interest and curiosity.  Going to this show felt cheesy but good.  We learned a lot about their history, cannibalism, ceremonies and ancient village lifestyle.  They were beautiful to watch dancing and the staged fights were dramatic and physical.  I had an interesting moment at the end of show when we saw some of the men and women performers leaving.  They had looked so beautiful in their native costumes of grass skirts and loin clothes.  Now, they went back to their regular lives and everyday garb - oversized t-shirts and baggy shorts, like inner city kids.  The luminosity of what seemed such a clear spirit, now dampened with obscuring clothes and modern sentiment.

home life

I would love to tell you about the dogs here, and you know I am an avid dog lover.  Dogs here are not your gentle domesticated house pets.  They are either protective guard dogs or aggressive wild creatures who roam.  There is a run that I do occasionally in the morning and each time I go my biggest fear is running into dogs.  They are unpredictable, growl, bark, they are accustomed to being shooed by people either hitting them or throwing rocks so they are unpredictable and generally not amenable.  We pass by this one house on our way to school each day.  There are three aggressive guard dogs, unleashed, no fence, who charge us growling and baring teeth. It's always scary and we have developed a system in how we bike to get past them.  But it remains a fretful part of our day.  One day, on a walk with Rikki, we happened on a stray.  She was sweet and followed us with little encouragement all the way home.  We named her Benga, gave her food and she has been with us ever since.  On another day I was out with the kids and we found Fanta.  So now we have two dogs.  They are skittish is you move too fast, but they are gentle and friendly and have gotten protective of our house.  So now we are the people with the barking defensive dogs with no fence.  Funny.  

Many of you know that Jonah came down with a bad illness.  He had a high fever, up to 105, that ran for 6 days.  He was lifeless, getting nose bleeds, sore throat, rash all over his body... maybe at home it wouldn't have been so scary but it feels different here.  I was nervously watching his symptoms, wondering if he'd gotten some exotic tropical disease. There is a recent increase in Dengue Fever and worry got the best of me for sure.  I finally took a taxi to the hospital and it turned out to be a bad case of tonsillitis and scabbies.  Which, happily, was treated with antibiotics and other medications.  I am happy to report he is healthy and lively again.  

Ocean inspired quilt

The kids and I have been sewing a lot.  There's not much for us to do when it's raining, so this started as a rainy day activity and quickly became an obsession.  Supplies are limited to the fabric scraps I brought, but the kids have been cutting out and designing elements.  I have been attaching.  

Snorkeling

Jonah fell in love with snorkeling.  He would wake up, suit himself up and out he went patrolling the shore.  Only coming back to excitedly tell us what he saw.  A big blue starfish was his favorite.  I loved it too.  The reef is 20 feet out and it was so easy to go snorkel, come in for lunch, go back out.  Warm up if we got cold and then snorkel some more. 

Bounty Sunset

It started as a great weekend trip.  Absolutely beautiful.  White sand, really warm tropical waters.  A little island that took 20 minutes to walk the perimeter.  Jonah developed a bad fever and got pretty lifeless.  It was scary.  There was no nurse on the island and I wasn't sure whether staying and letting him rest was best or heading to the mainland to the comfort of home.  We stayed two days total, then headed for home. 

Mosquito nets and coconut class

Weekend trip to Bounty Island

We were waiting at the bus stop with our luggage to take a weekend trip away.  It started pouring rain so we took shelter at the vegetable stand.  3 hour bus, 1/2 hour taxi, 1 hour boat and we arrived at Bounty Island.  You can see people on the beach coming to greet the boat,  They had guitars and sung us songs.

Costume day at School

Jonah is Snoopy. 

Alina is a leopard.

Supplies here are very limited.  It was sweet to see how little it really takes for the transformation from person to other to happen. I was humbled.

Tkais Year 5 Exhibition

Rikki was beaming all night.  She was proud of Tkai who did a great job on his presentation, spoke well on the microphone.  I think she was also excited to see this kind of presentation from the kids and the caliber of their new school.  Alina is wiggling her loose front tooth.  Should come out any day now.  We are all curious to see how the Fijian tooth fairy celebrates such an occasion.

Saluting the Flag

THe kids line up for assembly.  Two older students hold up the Fijian flag and they all salute and sing the Fiji National Anthem.  It's quite a festive song that Jonah and Alina are starting to sing outside of school.

Lunch at School

Alina is sitting under a mango tree with some friends.  She feels a bit duped that we have come to the famous land of mangoes, her favorite fruit, and they are not in season.  We can get more mangoes at Safeway in Santa Cruz right now.  Fruit available here is only what is in season.  Papaya's right now which Jonah is feasting on every morning with those spikey edges spoons.

Kayaking around the island

This is fast becoming my favorite afternoon activity with the kids.  There is a dive shop up the street and the family that owns it generously gives us access to their kayaks.  There is a series of connected waterways here that lead to a huge lagoon in one direction, and the ocean in the other.  We paddle, swim, collect coconuts.  There is a huge dense mangrove with a narrow path cut out.  Creepy and fun to explore a very different "terrain" with vines and dense lush forrest growing out of the water.

Bike trip

We have been getting around quite well on our bikes.  For groceries, to school, to the beach.  Alina's chain falls off on occasion and Jonah has gotten skilled at fixing it.  This particular day, we went for a cruise to the beach after school. It was quite hot, so we stopped in the shade for water and Pringles.  

Tkai's Year 5 Exhibition

Tkai, Rikki's son, is in 5th grade and in Fiji, we are at the end of the school year.  We went to an evening at school where the kids presented their final projects.  I was so impressed.  They took on big topics like poverty, pollution, crime.  The concepts were presented in skit form which made them understandable and realistic.  A sick mother sending her kids to beg for money on the streets.  The kids are found by a red cross worker and found aid and relief.  Each kid spoke to the audience on a microphone, and they each presented a diarama made to explain and educate.  It was an amazing evening that we all got a lot out of.  Most notable to me was how well spoken and confident every kid was.  The school teachers have high expectations of the students and the students delivered beautifully.  There was a concert too, all the kids learn guitar, flute and singing.  I wish I had better pictures, I mostly took video so don't have pictures to post.  

Fun Times Finally