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).

college tour!

i thought i was done with college tours long ago, but it turns out i was wrong. on thursday i hopped on the bus to USP (the university of the south pacific), which is actually just down the road from where i'm staying. my neighbor wendy, who is from the solomon islands, just finished up her last term there, so she gave me the VIP campus tour.
here is one of the women's dorms. no washers or dryers, so students all have to do their laundry by hand! hardcore.




married student houses. aren't they adorable?







outside the art department, we came across some sweet wood sculptures. wendy hit it off with this here crocodile.







i, on the other hand, was not on such good terms with the croc.






students use designs from all across the south pacific. pretty cool, eh?

this is where i live

i'm staying at pacific theological college, where i've met students from tuvalu, tonga, samoa, papua new guinea, tahiti, the solomon islands, germany, and of course fiji.

some pics of the campus:


















our little chapel












my flat!





road leading to my flat

a step back

so what am i doing in fiji of all places?

i'm here for two months doing a qualitative study of the christian indo-fijian community for my senior thesis. indo-fijian? you ask. fiji's population is divided between indigenous fijians (57%) and indo-fijians (37%), who are mostly descendents of indian indentured servants that the british brought over to work on the sugar plantations. there has been quite a bit of friction between the two ethnic groups, especially since the first military coup in 1987. (an indian-supported party gained power for the first time, and the nationalists promptly kicked them out.) religious divisions add to the ethnic tension, as fijians are almost all christian (96%) and indo-fijians are mostly hindu (80%). the fijian methodist church, by far the largest and most influencial denomination, is fiercely nationalistic and has repeatedly urged the government to declare fiji a "christian nation" (and even impose sabbath laws) as part of its efforts to reclaim ethnic fijian hegemony.

i'm curious about the minority christian indo-fijian population (~6% of indo-fijians) because they are sandwiched in a tricky place between the two main groups, and i want to understand how they define their own identity and how they navigate the ethno-religious conflict. my research involves mainly in-depth interviews and also visits to churches, temples, etc. interesting stuff!

so now you know what i am doing. contrary to popular belief, i am not just lying on the beach all day! as a matter of fact, there are no decent beaches near suva where i am living. the gorgeous white beaches that fiji is famous for are all on the tiny western islands, far away from me!

nadi - suva bus

i arrived in nadi on saturday night (june 6) and stayed in a hostel called nomad skylodge, where i met backpackers from norway, ireland, england, and the US. the next morning i took the 7:30 bus along the coast to suva, the capital city.

here are some photos taken from my bus window. not the best quality, i know. but they'll give you a small taste of scenery on the main island (viti levu).

my first post!

well friends, it looks like i have entered the 21st century at last. as of today, i have my very own blog! i never envisioned myself as a blogger, but due to popular demand, i have decided to belatedly set up this little page to keep you all appraised of my various and sundry adventures in fiji.

i actually left boston two weeks ago, so to catch you up to speed, i may have to be an overactive blogger for the next few days. i'm sure you will all diligently read each new post.

first catch-up item:
i intentionally had a 7-hour layover in L.A. so that i could hang out with katelyn and natalie, two of my friends who i lived with in india 3 years ago!



we had a delightful thai dinner in pasadena before my flight to auckland, NZ.

we decided we needed the sumo wrestlers to feature more prominently in our photo.



this was a meaningful choice for two reasons:

1. i was born in japan. posing with sumo wrestlers allows me
to reconnect to my roots.
2. i was on my way to meet many samoans in fiji.
samoans were always the best sumo wrestlers in japan.