The first month at any job is going to be tough, but when there are huge expectations, what looks like an endless amount of work, limited on-boarding, limited IT support, the first time truly away from the kids and the need to travel to remote parts of the S. Pacific (with lots of delays and flight changes and 6-8 hour blocks of time spent in airports) and the regional office in Bangkok…..well, as you can imagine Abby has been pushed to new levels of exhaustion and frustration which is hopefully offset just a smidge by a spouse who is doing his best to acknowledge/support and not fix. 🙂
While Mommy was away, Will still made it out to one of her events….and yes, the camera did seem to add 15 lbs in this case.
Here is two weeks of travel in Nov/Dec. Mommy needs some love y’all.
So, upon her return we went to the beach:
Not sure what I enjoy more, Will’s Speedo or the way he looks at Lucy.
Much of the island of the island of Viti Levu (where we live) is surrounded by reefs which provide amazing blue lagoons (and yes, for you over 45, that movie was shot here) along with consistent and world class surfing outside the lagoons. The challenge for the beginner surfer is getting to the surf (need a boat) and once you are there, well, there is a matter of the reef.
To be safe, I decided to take a lesson first. That lesson consisted of two 18 year old Fijian’s kids taking me out on a boat in the chop with one instruction, “when you fall, act like a pancake”. In the end, I felt bad for the poor kid who ended up having to stand on the coral and help me catch a few rides. It was decidedly not pretty, but I remain undeterred and hope to make the cut on a blog update one of these days.
Take two. Matanivusi. I hitched a boat ride with an Australian family that had a 10 year old boy that was a beginner like me thinking his brothers would make sure to look out for little bro and not try to kill him. Silly me, our first stop was called “Tubes” and the breaks were massive and fast and so Tom (10 year old) and I stayed far to the right so we could avoid anything resembling a wave. We then hit another spot with much smaller waves and what looked like deeper water – both total miscalculations that saw me hit the reef and then get pummeled by 5-10 more waves before I was able to escape and head back to the boat.
My goal on each attempt to was to make incremental progress. This last attempt not only introduced me to the reef, but it turns out we had a great time with the family and they are looking to buy a small boat to in Suva….which would be my ride to more pain and suffering.
Lice is pretty common in these parts. In fact, many people have given up treating their kids for lice and hire someone to come by weekly to pick the lice out of their hair. Here is Lucy at the Spa (so we told her).
Still want to visit?
Salote (our nanny) has really pushed our guards to be more involved with the kids. The ladies (Lewa, since departed Rachel and Eva) have no issues and the more the merrier. Here is Lewa lunching in the treehouse with Will along with one with Salote and Lucy.
The guys are sweet and a bit awkward, but their best efforts are heartwarming. Here is Oosa helping save Daddy’s back by taking a shift on the scooter and Jim showing off the banana’s that they cut down in our yard (my man Jim cut down the tree with a steak knife!).
So, roughly speaking Fiji is made up a about 50% native Fijians, 45% Indo Fijians (Indian decent) and 5% Chinese. It is also important to note that Fiji was a British colony from 1874 to 1970. Not to oversimplify, but the result of the above is this:
A Chinese Fish Fry….kill me now.
Seriously, 4 weeks ago, Lucy was floating around the pool (holding one of our hands) in a Life Jacket. Now, she is practicing diving…..okay, she is practicing her painful belly flops and Daddy is practicing with his new GoPro.
The windows in our house do an amazing job of keeping out the rain and letting the breeze in, but simply put, we have loud kids and have spent the past 4-6 weeks getting past the horror of what our neighbors must think of us.
Hope you enjoyed this one and have a wonderful holidays!
Love,
William, Abby, Lucy and Clancey