This was our first overnight adventure, out of site, and it was fun. Nananui-ra is a small island off the coast of Rakiraki. We could snorkel, kayak, hike, drink wine, eat pizza. We will definitely go back!
Monday, January 28, 2013
NANANUI-RA....a special place
Sunday, January 27, 2013
MORE PICTURES.....
Friday, January 25, 2013
PICTURES.....
THANKS
CHOOSE WELLNESS
Our goal is CHOOSE WELLNESS. We are all working to decrease the epidemic of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, anemia, and non-communicable diseases in Fiji. One is 6 people have diabetes, one in 5 have hypertension. Every 12 hours an amputation is done for complication to diabetes. Through education, monitoring hi-risk patients, backyard gardening projects, healthy cooking classes, exercise programs etc we will hopefully make a little difference.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
DID YOU KNOW?????????
"Bula".... Hello
Minimum wage in Fiji is $2.97
A doctor working for the government makes $23,000.
Women need a written consent by husband to have a tubal ligation.
Cervical Cancer is the #1 cancer death for women in Fiji.
Mongooses eat the snakes....( I had one in our room the other night!)
Bats are HUGE and there is a restaurant in Vanuata serving only Bat. ( Bats eat fruits so the meat of
bats are very sweet. )
Amputation is done every 12 hours due to diabetes. Population of Fiji is 850,000.
Raymond Burr ( Perry Mason ) created an orchid farm of over 1500 different orchid varieties.
It is polite to keep you head at a lower level than your host in a village. Fijians regard the head as
sacred - never ever touch a person's head.
Hindu firewalking is part of a religious festival and the the culmination of a 10 day period of
abstinence, meditation, and worship.
A bure is a traditional thatched Fijian home.
Veiseisei village, which according to local lore is the oldest settlement in Fiji. We live in Veiseisei.
Fiji has the highest percentage of Hare Krishnas per capita in the world
Udreudre's Tomb is the resting place of Fiji's most notorious cannibal. He ate 872 of his foes!
The International dateline twists its way around Fiji, but the 180 degree meridian cuts straight through
Taveuni.
Meke - Traditonal dance
Lovo - Feasts cooked in a pit-oven
Outdoor classroom
MOCE - Good Bye!
A BIT ABOUT KAVA...and Tabua......
KAVA, also called yaqona or grog, is very much a part of Fiji culture. It is mildly narcotic, looks like muddy water and makes your tongue go furry.
Yaqona is a type of pepper plant. When visiting a village you will usually be welcomed with a short sevusevu ceremony during which you will be initiated into kava culture.
There are certain protocols to be followed at a kava ceremony. Sit cross-legged, facing the chief and the tanoa (large wooden bowl). Women usually sit behind the men, Never walk across the circle of participants, turn your back to or point your feet at the tanoa, or step over the cord that leads from the tanoa to a white cowrie shell, which represents a link with the spirits.
The dried and powdered root, wrapped in a piece of cloth, is mixed with water in the tanoa and squeezed out; you will be offered a drink of the resulting concoction from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo, say "bull" and drink it down in one go. Clap three times in gratification. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty. After a few drink you may feel a slight numbness of the lips. Long sessions with stronger mixes can make you very drowsy, and some heavy drinker develop kanikani (scaly skin).
Having grog is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, for storytelling sessions or merely for passing time. Today kava is a part of daily life across the country and across the races.
Joe is pounding the kava root....
Our first sevusevu
Mixing kava in the tanoa
Kava is sold in shops and markets.
A bit about TABUA....Tabua ( carefully polished and shaped whales' teeth) were believed to be shrines for the ancestor spirits. They were and still are, highly valued items and essential to diplomacy. The acceptance of a tabua which is a powerful sevusevu binds a chief to the gift-giver. Traditionally, a chief's body was accompanied to the grave by a tabua.
Yaqona is a type of pepper plant. When visiting a village you will usually be welcomed with a short sevusevu ceremony during which you will be initiated into kava culture.
There are certain protocols to be followed at a kava ceremony. Sit cross-legged, facing the chief and the tanoa (large wooden bowl). Women usually sit behind the men, Never walk across the circle of participants, turn your back to or point your feet at the tanoa, or step over the cord that leads from the tanoa to a white cowrie shell, which represents a link with the spirits.
The dried and powdered root, wrapped in a piece of cloth, is mixed with water in the tanoa and squeezed out; you will be offered a drink of the resulting concoction from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo, say "bull" and drink it down in one go. Clap three times in gratification. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty. After a few drink you may feel a slight numbness of the lips. Long sessions with stronger mixes can make you very drowsy, and some heavy drinker develop kanikani (scaly skin).
Having grog is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, for storytelling sessions or merely for passing time. Today kava is a part of daily life across the country and across the races.
A bit about TABUA....Tabua ( carefully polished and shaped whales' teeth) were believed to be shrines for the ancestor spirits. They were and still are, highly valued items and essential to diplomacy. The acceptance of a tabua which is a powerful sevusevu binds a chief to the gift-giver. Traditionally, a chief's body was accompanied to the grave by a tabua.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
PEACE CORPS FIJI
In 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy established Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. Three goals of Peace Corps are:
1. Helping people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of people served
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans
Total # of Volunteers to date are 210,000
Total # of countries Served are 139
Current Volunteers 8073 - 62% Female, 38% Male, 93% Single, 7% Married
Average Age: 28
Volunteers over age 50: 7%
Current Countries: 76
Work Areas: Education 43%, Health 21%, Community and Economic Development 12%,
Environment 12%, Agriculture 4%, Youth 6%
Where Peace Corps Serves: Africa 43%, Latin America 21%, Eastern Europe/Central Asia 15%,
Asia 10%, Caribbean 4%, North Africa/Middle East 4%, Pacific Islands 3%
Joe and I are happy to serve as a married couple, over the age of 50, in Health, in the Pacific Islands!
1. Helping people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of people served
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans
Total # of Volunteers to date are 210,000
Total # of countries Served are 139
Current Volunteers 8073 - 62% Female, 38% Male, 93% Single, 7% Married
Average Age: 28
Volunteers over age 50: 7%
Current Countries: 76
Work Areas: Education 43%, Health 21%, Community and Economic Development 12%,
Environment 12%, Agriculture 4%, Youth 6%
Where Peace Corps Serves: Africa 43%, Latin America 21%, Eastern Europe/Central Asia 15%,
Asia 10%, Caribbean 4%, North Africa/Middle East 4%, Pacific Islands 3%
Joe and I are happy to serve as a married couple, over the age of 50, in Health, in the Pacific Islands!
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