EFFING DOGS! Won’t let me sleep. They just stood outside my window and kept barking for two hours straight, starting at 3 am. And when they went away, the Rooster started crowing. Yes, the roosters next doors. Funny thing, they actually sound like “Cockadoodledoo”! Except that it’s not funny at 5 am.
Today, I met Dorinda’s husband, Sam, the ex-soccer player who used to play for Fiji and now researches new sugarcane crops. Exciting switch. At breakfast, he told me that it normally takes 17 years to develop a new crop, and guess what? This is the 17th year.
Work. I finally talked to Timothy, the Peace Corps Worker, and he gave a rundown on the issues and projects that he’s spent the past two years working on. Seems to include a lot of brochures, overviews, training, and unfinished projects. He gave me another viewpoint on the issues occurring in the country, including how the military takeover is screwing the economy over. Apparently, this Good Friday, the President just suspended the Constitution and fired EVERYONE else in the government. And the next Monday, he rehired all his buddies to the posts of government, minus all the judges who told him he couldn’t suspend the Constitution in the first place. Surprisingly, there has been very little reaction on behalf of the Fijian people to this military takeover. My hosts told me that Fijians only talk, and never act. They weren’t kidding.
In the afternoon, I went with Tim to his ‘Ministry of Youth’ session, where he brought this Jeopardy-esque game, with little pieces of construction paper stuck onto a board and given values of 100 to 500. This was his final time here. It was pretty amazing how into the game each of the four teams (Rose, Eagles, Cheetahs, and Sharks) got into the game. And how little I knew. Eesh. A lot of them actually seemed to care. It was a runaway victory for the Cheetahs, but everyone played til the end. I had my moment when I got to chuck the prizes (lollipops) at the winning team…and some others haha. Afterwards, one kid missing his front teeth stood up and expressed his gratitude for Tim coming and teaching them about starting their own business, which I actually found rather touching. I’m sure it was prompted beforehand, but even so. The trainer came in and led everyone in a ‘farewell song’ for Tim.
Annndd….met Hitomi! The elusive Japanese student who's also staying with Dorinda. Oh man, she is far more entertaining that I expected. She walks out of her room in an oversized tshirt, hair tied so that it sprouts up at top. She’s very skinny, and walks with a shuffle. Everytime she talks, she bows her head slightly, and when she wants to answer affirmatively, she goes ‘Hai!” I went into her room to talk to her, and found her listening to Japanese music. Turns out, she’s twenty-nine! WTF. I thought she was my age! And she acts like a fifteen year old lmao. I’m kinda curious about Japan now haha.
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