November 2016 – Life in Fiji

Hi Everyone!

…..it has been too long I know and as a result, this blog post is way too long, but it ends strong so get comfy and enjoy.

August and September was an epic 8 week stretch of work for mommy. Groundbreaking workshops, panel discussions and endless travel to help implement response and prevention of violence against women (VAWG) around Fiji and the Pacific. Not to speak in code, but the S. Pacific is both interconnected and independent….open to change and fiercely resistant….collaborative and chock full of strong personalities….warm and understandably distrusting. As you can imagine finding the right path to change takes an authentic, sharp, strong, strategic, wise, patience and fierce mommy with a strong support system.

The best pic that I can find that illustrates the struggle and reward of the past year is the following image of Abby and Shamima Ali. It is hard to introduce Shamima in a few words, but as the head of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Center for 30+ years and recognized around the world for her work, and someone who Abby really admires, I know how much a pic like this means to her.

Here is the Abby’s Support Team at the Road to Change Prevention Meeting in Nadi.

Didn’t take long for Lucy to take to the waterslide…

Fiji’s first ever Gold Medal! I realize that this qualifies as old news, but I need to touch on how big of a deal the Fiji 7’ Rugby Gold Medal was here. Fiji beat all the big powers (NZ, Argentina and even a pretty good US team) on the way to the Gold Medal game where they crushed Great Britain team 42-7.

Go Fiji Go! (Rugby ball art project at school)

Here is the scene from the cafe where I watched the game.

Aside from the size and population of Fiji versus all the other competing countries, it was the combination of strength and humility that made the team so compelling. After winning the gold, they sang their perfect pitched hymns, kneeled before Princess Anne out of respect and simply wanted to hit McDonalds after winning the Gold.

They received a hero’s welcome back to Fiji….here is some pics from the parade through town with a few of their biggest supporters.

Sweet Leba celebrating gold!

Here is the team bus as it creeps up MacGregor Street near our house.

Kiribati (pronounced Kiri-bas) consists of 33 atolls and reef islands, a population of 100,000 people and a rather intense WW2 history (Christmas Island is part of Kiribati). Based on its low lying profile, it has become ground zero for the climate change debate as rising sea levels have already claimed 2 of the islands. Lastly, UN Women has a considerable amount of programming in Kirabati….off goes mommy to a five mile stretch in the middle of the ocean to meet with government and civil society representatives!

Abby Junior. One of our favorite guards Lewa gave birth last month and named their daughter Abigail Dorothy…..which is both a lovely tribute and well…..let’s just leave it at a lovely tribute. We love Lewa and look forward to seeing young Abby grow up.

Another of our long time guards is Losanna. She is an interesting lady that works the night shift and you can usually find her sawin’ logs in our tree house. That said, the kids love heading outside at 6:30am to sit with Losanna and listen to her shark stories. Daddy loves having a cup of coffee on the front porch watching it all unfold while his brain is booting up……

Lucy’s 1st Sleepover. Lucy was super excited for her first sleepover which was a Waldorf organized night of pot luck dinner followed by singing and dancing by the bonfire.

Here is Lucy (with the headlamp) leading the way on her favorite Fijian song and dance…..there is some spinning, some hip shaking and lots of fun.

Fiji Day is a double anniversary for the nation. On Oct. 10, 1874, King Cakobau ceded Fiji to the United Kingdom and on the same day in 1970, Fiji regained its independence. On Oct. 10, 2016, Salote, Will and Lucy had matching outfits made to celebrate Fiji’s unity and religious and cultural diversity.

The Tuesday and Thursday Boys Club started with Jack and Will…and over the months everyone wanted in and it grew to 7 or so kids….eventually getting a listserve and then some parents who didn’t like kids in the house which became a problem…..especially with the boys club founders Will and Jack who liked to put all the couch cushions on the floor and go swimming in the ocean. Long story short, we are back to just Will and Jack…and everyone is happy. 🙂

What could possibly go wrong with these two knuckleheads in your house?

Where does the time go? Parents are always trying to find a way to control how fast the kids grow up…or at least have some significant markers in place so that time doesn’t get away from them. For us, Leluevia seems to be the best way to watch our kids grow up. Our first visit was amazing but super stressful and lacking sleep……as the kids get older and more independent and able to communicate (Will), our time at Leluevia becomes less stressful and more sleep is had by all…..and when I say all, I mean everyone on the island. 🙂

Who has better hair?

Will’s happy place…

A powerful nap….paci’s and ipads strewn everywhere….

Suva Take Two. We are officially into year two in Fiji and that allows us to correct some misses from early in our stay in year one….specifically Halloween, Diwali and on a personal note, since I failed miserably at surfing, I was going to get the best of the rope swing at Colo-i-Suva.

Colo-i-Suva is a wooded area about 20 minutes from our house with some nice hikes and lots and lots of pools of water. At the very end of the hike (or the beginning if you go backwards like you would do with a 2 & 4 year old) there is a good size pool with an awesome rope swing. During our last visit to the park, it was about 90 and humid and I lost a stare down with the rope swing. This time, we went on a Sunday morning while everyone else was at church and outside of a few old timers from a visiting cruise ship, we had the place to ourselves….and daddy thoroughly checked that box off the list!

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights…certainly the biggest and brightest of all Hindu festivals. Diwali spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. I’d say a much needed holiday for all of womankind.

For a week, the fireworks seem like they will never end. This year we got into it and bought a few nights worth of monster fireworks….and the kids went absolutely bananas.

Some fun with sparklers to get everyone in the mood.

….seriously, what could go wrong?

Here is Lucy and her teacher Ms Shirlyn getting ready for Diwali Day at School.

Lucy and Will’s teachers….

Here is our attire…..everything seemed to fit a bit tight in the midsection and shoulders, but we had a blast at the various Diwali celebrations.

Henna hands…

William getting into the spirit.

Mommy and daddy as well…

Trick or Treat! Much like Diwali and Colo-i-Suva, we were determined to get Trick or Treat right this year and as the only Americans in the neighborhood (with Trish out of town), we felt like we needed to show up. We didn’t spend hours upon hours making our costumes by scratch and cooking up all sorts of yummy treats…..we went to a Costco like store and bought a couple of sweet outfits (Super girl…not bat-girl and Marshall from Paw Patrol) from a Trick or Treat display and loaded up on mini Snickers, Reeces, Smarties and more candy than the neighborhood could consume in a full year!

A boy and his bike. Will loves his bike so much that before he gets in the car, his bike must also be loaded up…..doesn’t matter where we are going. He also blazes through the house screeching to a halt at the top of the stairs….then he carries his bike up or down the stairs so he can rip it on the next floor. Tricky parental moment on that one. Either way, we are in a bit of trouble.