down to the basics.

I’ve been in Lautoka for about a month now, and it is a much better fit for me than my previous assignment. I’m working with FRIEND (Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises ‘N Development) in the programs department mainly focusing on the programs for at risk youth. We’re currently wrapping up training for a peer education theatre group that will now be going out into communities doing a play about relationship between races in Fiji and the history of how it has gotten to where it is. They’ll then engage their audiences in discussion around this topic. We’ll also be doing a youth employment workshop soon that will hopefully provide at risk youth an opportunity to gain self esteem and understand job skills such as resume writing, interviewing, and customer service. The hope is that this type of participatory workshop would empower the youth to pursue jobs they are interested in instead of continuing in victim mode of always needing to rely on others to survive. I’m hoping to implement some informal way for youth to access services at FRIEND since the workshops require a big chunk of time and only allow for a small number of participants at a time. There is another youth volunteer coming to the organization in March, so once she gets here it will be more clear what my longer term role here will be.

I moved into my new home last week, and am waiting for the Australian volunteer to move in with me in March. I also brought my puppy home with me this past weekend, whose name is Maggi. One of the other volunteers saved her for me from a litter under his house, and she and I had an interesting 2 hour trip back up to her new home. I packed the poor furball into my backpack, travelled with her through town, got on a bus, and then arrived to Lautoka which has much more hustle & bustle than her birthplace…she’s still adjusting to the sound of cars & people, as well as not being able to run into the woods whenever she pleases.

I see a lot of the next group of Peace Corps Fiji volunteers have been perusing the current volunteer’s posts. To those of you arriving in May I would say don’t stress too much on your packing. You can get any basic thing like toiletries and clothing here. Of course, bring some of your own…things you just can’t live without while here, but you can find village appropriate wear at the second hand Australian shops around. Think about what it is you really love to do at home…or something you’d like to do while here and use your packing room for that instead. I wish I would have brought more art material, more books, and snorkel gear to begin with (I had it sent from home after I arrived). I was wondering about internet access and phones—contact with people at home before I left. You can rest assured that even those deep into the rural areas have phones they got here, and have access to e-mail fairly regularly (I may stand corrected, but I believe all volunteers can access internet at least once a month…). Have fun in your last three months at home, we look forward to meeting you at Nadi International Airport very soon!