in rotorua

i have lots more to write about fiji, but for now i'll just say hello from new zealand! this country is gorgeous, but shockingly cold after being in fiji for two months! in rotorua i'm exploring the hot springs and learning about maori history and culture. good stuff.

we love to FEAST

one of the most incredible things about pacific culture is the amount of FEASTING that goes on. man can these people cook. and eat! on friday we had a huge farewell feast for a professor here at ptc who is becoming a bigshot in the tongan methodist church. the feast started at 6pm and didn't finish till 1am!

the tongan men were in charge of roasting three pigs for the evening. try not to think about wilbur. or babe.

the men behind the operation. the fellow in the background was weaving palm baskets for the leftover food.

the feast was held in the college's fale (open air meeting hall). all of the columns were first wrapped in braided palm leaves and then adorned with multicolored leaves from people's gardens. gorgeous. they covered the floor with mats and lined the ceiling with beautiful fabric.

the tanoa (kava bowl) and pilos (coconut shells for drinking kava).

ptc girls pumped for the big night.

samoan men bringing in the tanoa for the kava ceremony. even though the honored guest was tongan, the ceremony was conducted in samoan and according to samoan protocal because ptc's principal is samoan. basically, the most important hosts and guests sit on the mats around the tanoa, and several of them give speeches to welcome and honor the guests. the kava is presented to people in order of rank.

wilbur's remains.

terrifying, yet tasty.

requisite steffi and jessa self portrait. rocking our sulu jabas (fijian outfits).

ready to pack it in like never before. yummmmm.

in typical pacific style, the entertainment for the evening consisted of a long series of dances performed by the different ethnic groups of ptc. here some of tongan girls are doing a traditional dance.

melanesian women presenting their gift to the honored guests. in addition to their songs and dances, every ethnic group gave a speech and gift.

melanesian men show off their best moves.

me and chico post-feast.

since every place in suva is closed at 1am, we had no choice but to have our own private afterparty. sipping fiji bitter through hot pink straws seemed like the right thing to do.

for some reason we were inspired to draw animals on a random sheet of paper. hannah's greatest achievement was definitely the giraffe (see below).

the final product at 4am. MOMA material?

island excursion

i took a daytrip to viwa island where the first missionaries worked in fiji. it was pretty cool.

shot from da boat. sadly the sky was not blue that day.

steffi and me tearin' up the pacific. i wanted to sing "i'm on a boat," but i wasn't sure the other passengers would appreciate it.

bau island: home of ratu cakobau, the fierce chief who united fiji's warring tribes back in 18something. after cakobau converted to christianity, pretty much the whole country followed. the dialect of this tiny island became standard fijian.

assorted men from ptc's pacific church history class. kiti's inner gangsta revealed.

the lovely village of viwa: population 105.

sevusevu (kava ceremony with the important men of the village to welcome guests).

breakfast! soo good. unfortunately i don't have a picture of lunch but it was INTENSE. definitely the most lavish gourmet seafood feast i have ever had in my life.

fiji's first church.

grave of the first missionary, john hunt.

poulea demonstrating the samoan bell.

all in all a good day!

Pacific Cup Rugby

rugby is by far the biggest sport here, and people were quite appalled when i informed them that i had never watched a full rugby match in my life. i decided to remedy this situation by attending one of the pacific cup games at the national stadium here in suva: fiji vs. japan. despite the efforts of my british friend, i had very little idea what was going on for the duration of the match. i had a jolly time nevertheless.

some rugby action.

onlookers spectatin'. i was all conflicted inside regarding who to cheer for. the solution was random applause at various points.

the best part about the half time show was the fact that the marching band was led by an ATM. we really wanted to get our picture taken with the ATM afterwards, but alas, he was nowhere to be found.

fiji won in the last minute! very exciting. i'm not too sure how or why, but it was good stuff. sorry, japan, maybe next year.

the most dedicated and informed rugby fans you'll ever meet.

out of commission

this week i managed to get a lovely bacterial infection in my right hand and a bad case of the flu/bronchitis. a 103 degree fever earned me a delightful injection in the behind. good times! this means i am now behind in my interviews, so i'll have to work extra hard next week...

fortunately, i have wonderful neighbors who take me to the hospital, keep me company, pray for me, and bring me fresh fruit and hearty soup. :)

people i like

i've had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people here, both through my research and through the community here at ptc.

these are some of the lovely people i spend time with:

while most of the students at ptc are married with a boatload of kids, there is also a single ladies contingent. we have dinner together at least twice a week and cook all sorts of delicious things. featured here are steffi (germany), raijieli (fiji), and naati (kiribati).

ina (samoa) and hannah (UK) enjoying the carbo-load.

time for a kava session with a couple of my research participants! kava is the national drink of fiji and is a central part of fijian social life. indians typically serve it out of a coconut shell, while fijians tend to use bigger wooden bowls. during the session, you pass a single bowl round and round, drinking and chatting for hours on end. kava is midly narcotic, but don't worry, it takes a lot of bowls to get even slightly "doped."

the family of a couple of my interview respondents. one of the big perks of doing interviews in the homes of indian families is i am invariably invited to stay for lunch or dinner. :)

lulan (from papua new guinea) and steffi. i think i took this photo at ptc morning tea, which is a delightful institution every day at 10:30.

another dinner with the ladies! hannah and raijieli show off our giant yam.

meanwhile lynn demonstrates her coconut scraping skills.

i also give it a go, though clearly with less acuity.

steffi is the fruit master.

taleu (ptc resident from tuvalu) is a multi talented woman. here she is printing material for a dress. the other night i had the privilege of sampling her homemade bread.

this is my 9-year old drinking buddy and daugher of one of my interview respondents. fiji gold, a lovely light beer, is her beverage of choice. only in moderation, of course (*note size of glass).

me and the founder of hare krisha have also became pals.

uninvited guests

sometimes after a long day of interviews, i come home to find that i have acquired a new roommate.

10:30pm on my second night in suva: i flip on the light switch and discover that a gigantic cockroach has made himself happily at home on my wall. after the initial shock of our meeting, i try very hard to imagine that he is the cockroach from wall-e and that the two of us can be best buds and live in harmony. unfortunately, my powers of self-deception cannot compete with the growing sense of repulsion, and i decide this new roommate of mine must be evicted. the precise method of eviction becomes the subject of extended reflection. you see, the problem with cockroaches is that they rarely agree to die from the first blow of your shoe, and they can scuttle mighty fast. there is no way of knowing where they will scuttle. i stare at the imposter for another 5 minutes. unable to summon the strength to do what needs to be done, i recruit my poor neighbor to carry out the execution. as i had feared, one wack is insufficient, but my neighbor perseveres, mercilessly wacking and chasing the roach around the corner and through the kitchen until she finally kills him. picking up defeated roach with her bare hands, she turns to me and says: "you'll have to toughen up, eh?"

and she was right. a whole range of creatures seem to have no qualms about entering my house unannounced. one night i came home to an 8" mud crab with an injured claw, doing some sort of deranged solo dance in the corner of my screened porched. how he got into the house, i have no idea. just two nigths ago i was greeted by the biggest spider i have ever seen. seriously. this guy was like 6 inches wide and its body was raised nearly 2 inches above the surface of the wall. interestingly, he was sitting on the exact same spot as the cockroach i encountered three weeks before. i am proud to say that my insect response skills have improved significantly since the roach incident: one swift smack was all it took to end the spider's life. it was a very satisfying moment.

but the absolute WORST visit i have had took place about ten days ago. those of you who know me well know that there is one animal i despise far more passionately than all the rest: frogs.

it was a dreary, rainy day in suva, and i was eager to get into my nice cozy bed. i unlocked the door, stepped into my sitting room, turned on the light, and glanced down at the floor. what did see there? you guessed it: A FROG. my worst nightmare! unsanctified words flowed from my mouth. praying that the frog wouldn't hop its slimey self in my direction, i managed to coax it out the front door with my broom.

now every time i enter my house, i immediately do a full inspection of the walls in each room to make sure i don't receive any surprises in the middle of the night...

LOVO

love the lovo.

a lovo is an earth oven that's basically a fire pit filled lined with stones. fijians use it to cook delicious food on special occasions. the day before my friend wendy flew back to the solomons, we had a lovo feast in her honor.


here ana and wendy show off their work(wo?)manship. the first step is to build a fire inside to heat the rocks. after it dies down, you take off the stones and sweep out the ashes.

next, put a grate on top of the hot stones and cover it with some of these giant banana leaves.


place the food on top of the banana leaves. (in this case, they were making chicken, pork, taro, and coconut bananas - soo good!). add the heated stones back in.

this is the final oven - all wrapped up in banana leaves (and whatever else is lying around) and covered with a few more stones to keep the heat in. let cook for 3-4 hours, and then eat!


time to feast! (ana, her mom, wendy, and me). the coconut bananas were my fave.

indian christian engagement party

glittering sarees and jingling bangles
baloons galore in every shade of orange
palau, pakoras, chutney,
and cake!

the bride and groom saying their engagement vows. the groom is new zealand indian, and the bride is fiji indian. the girl received her ring at this ceremony, but i guess the feller has to wait til the wedding.

time to cut the cake! a lil' western touch for ya.

me and the wife of the pastor i accompanied to the party. right before i stuffed my face with palau (delicious indian rice dish).