New site and moving back home.

I have a new site. I will be working with the Peer Educator at a small town hospital near Suva as well as with the Zone (Public Health) Nurses. I’m stoked. The area I will work in is considered a “hot spot” for new HIV and STI cases. We’re still working out the details of what exactly I will be doing so I don’t want to provide any false information. From my current understanding, I’ll be working partially at the hospital and with the school health team on outreach. The peer educator is responsible for providing health education talks to primary and secondary school aged children during these outreaches and I’ll be there to help.

So why am I back in the village when I’m working at a small town hospital? The volunteer currently living in the house I will eventually occupy is COSing in October, and because she only has two months left of service, Peace Corps didn’t want to throw any new curve balls at her. Respect. I totally understand. Therefore, Peace Corps had to get creative with suggesting I move back in with my host family and commute into town for work. I have a great relationship with my family, and while apprehensive about moving back in with Na and Ta (Mom and Dad) as a 23 year old adult who hasn’t lived with her parents for six years. Reasonable. However, after talking with another volunteer who had been medically evacuated she told me how going back to the village to visit her family was great for her mental health. I started feeling better about moving back with the family. I felt even better after I called my na a few days in advance to confirm that I was moving back on Friday, and she responded with, “isa, vinaka luvenqu (I’m touched, thank you my child). I have your room already set up.”

I got to the village Friday morning; my parents, nieces, nephews, cousins, and brother were all waiting at the house for me to come home. I was greeted with hugs and kisses and small children following me around. I instantly felt like I had just come home.

Na invited me to a function with her side of the family. The function was the one-year anniversary of a death in our family. I got to go to one of her 11 siblings villages. Yes, I said ELEVEN siblings. My aunties and I went to the graveyard where we draped a tapa over the grave, destroyed the tapa so grave robbers wouldn’t steal it and try to sell it, covered it with bula fabric, removed the bula fabric, and went back to the village for grog and lovo. It was excellent, talanoaing (telling stories) with my aunties and cousins while drinking grog for the first time in about two months and eating delicious lovo, food cooked in an earth oven, I almost cried when I got to eat one of my favorite vegetables here, ota or ferns, with coconut cream. We spent some more time with the family, and then went home. The entire time from when I arrived in the village that morning to when I came home that night I could not stop smiling. Like to the point where my face hurt.

I’m sure that there will be some struggles of living with my host family and settling into my new work site over the next two months, but to get to be home and have a transition back into Fiji life is good for me right now.

1 Week and 6,678 Miles or 10,747 Kilometers Later…

I’m home.

The journey back was long, exhausting, and emotionally draining. Saying goodbye to familiar support networks, good beer, green chili, and delivery pizza was a challenge. I was medically cleared to return to Fiji, but after all the work I put into being medically cleared I realized I was afraid to return and unsure if this is what I really wanted. I had all of two days to prepare to go back to Fiji, and then an extra because I missed my flight to LAX.

I cried so many times those three days, and was so freaked out about returning to the unknowns, the struggles, and trauma I experienced before my medical evacuation. But I finally got on that goddamn jet plane that was delayed by rain and was off, back to Fiji.

I landed in Nadi at 6 AM, exhausted and still unsure if I really wanted to be back I got off the plane. It was dark and the air smelled like Fiji. In a daze, I proceeded to begin the customs process, there was a small hiccup when I couldn’t for the life of me find my bag that went to Fiji on the flight I missed. Finally, I saw it on the conveyer belt and caused a bit of a scene with my jumping up and down screaming, “MY BAG! MY BAG! OH THANK JISU MY BAG IS HERE!”

I then charged my phone back to life at the Vodafone kiosk outside of customs, sent a text off to Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff letting them know I arrived and was about to board the express bus to Suva.

The five hour bus ride was about as you would expect a five hour bus ride would be after a 12 hour flight and a two hour one prior to that. I just stared out the window and felt anxious and like I was going to vomit, which I did, into a cup that I then threw away when I got to Suva.

I made it to Suva, one more mode of transportation and I could check into the hotel to take a much-needed shower. I got off the bus, and a boy offered to help me carry my bag with his wheelbarrow, I declined, and then rolled my oversized duffle bag to the taxi stand. I got to my room. Opened my bag, unpacked a little, started to charge my phone, and jumped in the shower. At this point I was about 24 hours and 6,459 miles or 10,394 kilometers down.

I got out of the shower and started getting ready. I think I had just taken my wet hair out of it’s towel when I head a banging knock at my door followed by a familiar voice saying, “Open up! It’s your welcome party!” I opened the door and standing in front of me smiling were two of my good PCV friends, Rich and Saki. Apparently, they had gone to the PC office earlier to ask where I was and which room I was staying at. We hugged multiple times, I was so thrilled to see two familiar faces in the flesh when I was still so freaked out about coming back instantly calmed my nerves and started to get rid of the doubts I was having about returning.

The following day, Wednesday, was a rest day. Thank you Peace Corps because I really needed that day to not be in a motorized vehicle. I got to meet up with my friend and PCV Tiff for lunch and another one, Kirstie, for happy hour.

Thursday, I woke up early after only getting three to five hours of sleep. I had been tossing and turning in bed because of the jet lag and the anxiety of returning to Vatumali, my old job site, to pack and clean my house. I met the Peace Corps staff person who was taking me up and helping me at the office at 7:30, and I took off to Navosa for one last time. We got there in good time, packed up and cleaned the house quickly. Some of the teachers came by my house to say goodbye and ask where I was going. I returned my house key to the principal, and said goodbye to the school and staff.

When we got back to Suva, I was dropped off at the hotel and met up with my friend Alan, another PCV who happened to be in Suva for the night. I was thrilled to see Alan and couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have gotten to see so many of my friends since returning. Alan and I had a friend date night, we went and got dinner, caught up, went to see a movie in town, where we ran into one of our PC staff members Warren and his wife, who were also seeing the same movie. Afterwards, I talked Alan into grabbing a drink where we ran into more PCVs. One literally can’t go anywhere in Fiji and not run into at least one person one knows.

Friday, the last day of moving. I just realized while writing this that in addition to moving around a ton during this week I had also packed an insane amount. I packed my bags to leave Albuquerque, I packed up my house in Vatumali, and I repacked my bag to move to the village.

A PC staff drove me to the village from the office. We arrived back in Lomainasau at about 11 AM. My Na waiting for me on the porch smiling, my nieces, nephews, and cousins that are too young to be in school were all waiting to greet me. It was a relief to be back. I had small girls following me around, excited to have me back. My Na, brother, and I went to a family function for the one year anniversary of somebody’s death, I’m still not sure who it was or how I’m related to them. My Na’s side of the family was thrilled to see me, and I was thrilled to spend time with my na’s side of the family. We’re a cheeky bunch and all my aunties all super amazing, intelligent, and amazing women. I had grog, ate lovo, and talanoaed with the family. It was seriously the best welcome back I could ever have. I couldn’t have been happier, my face hurt from smiling so much.

It took me a week, thousands of units of measure, and being welcomed back by familiar faces to get here, but now that I’m back I know this is home, this is where I belong.

Black in Fiji

My friend wrote this great post about returning to and being black in Fiji.

Kito ¡Quito! Kietou

Training: fellow PCVs and the Ratu “chief” of our koro “village”

I was waiting for something miserable to happen before I wrote about my experience of being black in Fiji. Maybe someone would spit at me or call me out my name? Maybe someone would deny me service or subtlety discriminate against me? It sounds stupid in retrospect to expect the worst as a foreigner, but as an American, being black is a major part of the way I am treated, and there is no denying prejudice exists. In the land of the free, I identify as a black woman. In this Fijian land, I am an American woman.

Nothing met my expectations. I have been called a nigger, once; by a schoolboy, running along a fence as I was passing, “My nigga, my nigga!” he sang it with a huge smile on his face while waving…

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Tattoo Mada!

After experiencing anxiety, depression, and other shit at site I am being medically evacuated back to Albuquerque. I’ll talk more about this later, but for now I have a story.

As I was in Suva waiting for my departure date and flight and enjoying hot showers in the capital I decided I needed some tattoo therapy and to finally get the Fiji tattoo that I’ve wanted for months. An arm band of masi/tapa on my forearm. 

Masi/tapa is: “Masi, also known as tapa, is bark cloth with black and rust-coloured printed designs. Masi played an important role in Fijian culture and its motifs had symbolic meaning and to a certain extent still do. It is used for special occasions – in 1996 the Tui Cakau wore masi ceremonial attire at his installation as paramount chief of the Cakaudrove region. Fijian masi is now commonly sought after by tourists and is used for postcards, wall hangings and other decorative items.” Source: makeitinfiji.com reprinted from http://www.gov.fj

Here’s an example of a masi:    

On Thursday I knew I was departing Fiji on Monday, so I started to look for a decent tattoo artist on the main island. On Friday, I google searched something like “tattoo artists Fiji” or “best tattoo artist in Fiji.” And came across Sorby’s professional Facebook page: Bula Ink. He’s a Nadroga/Navosa native and mostly works at a resort inking kaivulagis (white foreigners) and also folks from his home studio. After looking at and loving his online portfolio I Facebook messaged him. He was super professional, got back to me quickly, and offered to tattoo me the next day (Saturday). We decided to meet in Sigatoka town (the town I do all my shopping in) at noon.

Saturday morning, I went to get a coffee and then went to the bus stand to take my 3 hour ride to Sigatoka. It may have been the most bumpy ride I’ve had on the best road in Fiji. I got to town an hour early, bummed around, ran into other PCVs, and went to my favorite lunch spot in town. After I went to the designated meeting place and met Sorby.

We got into his car and drove off to his home studio in a village outside of Sigatoka. We got to work, I explained the tattoo I wanted, and he reminded me that each tapa design has a meaning, friendship, family, life’s ups and downs, energy, etc. Because of my experience as a PCV in Fiji I told him I’d like something that represents strength as well as life’s ups and downs. A sort of this too shall pass and you’ll be strong throughout it sentiment. He showed me the two print designs and I was about it.

He got to working on the design directly on my arm with a non-toxic pen. Once we agreed that it looked right: he put on gloves, opened a sterile needle to put in his tattoo gun, and went to work. I forgot how much tattoos hurt, also he’s a bit heavy handed (I’m not complaining). We got done wth one band’s outline and most of the shading, and the power went out. Really though, what would be a Peace Corps experience without a bit of inconvenience and waiting? 

So we waited, and rested on the ibe (mat woven from Palm fonds) in the sitting room. Meanwhile: I met his sister, mom, wife, five kids, and niece. We talanoed (told stories/talked), I played with his kids, and his oldest daughter schooled me in multiplication tables. After about 30-60 minutes the power came back on and Sorby sprung into action. Finishing the shading of the first band and working on the second one like a boss.   Ok, so I was playing cribbage on my phone too.

We finally finished at about 4 (note we met at noon), and after taking pictures for his portfolio and cleaning up; he gave me a ride back to town. I got in the car along with his kids, niece, and wife where we took so many selfies I expect they’ll eventually find them on Facebook, and copy them into this blog post. On my bus ride back to Suva, I ran into two other volunteers who were visiting another PCV in her village.  

 The triangle-y part closer to my wrist is the ups and downs in life and the other part closer to my elbow is the energy/strength component. 

   Sorby and me!

It was a good day in Fiji. Just enough comforts and joy to keep me going and enough inconviences to keep me humble and grateful. 

I’m thrilled with my tattoo and recommend Sorby to all my friends and possibly go back to him to add to the great work today. It’s exactly what I wanted. 

Ultimately, this experience reminded me why I love Fiji and even though I haven’t left yet I can’t wait to come back here and kick ass, take names, and get shit done. But man, constant hot showers, good beer/food/scotch, and laundry machines sound great right now.

#UULent2015

As a Unitarian Universalists, I share theological roots with my Christian siblings. However, instead of practice self-denial during the Season of Lent, I have taken the opportunity to spend Lent engaged in a spiritual discipline of deep intention and appreciation of the world, my place in it, and an openness to Grace in my daily life. Theoretically, there was supposed to be a photo for every day, but I wasn’t on top of my photo taking game, so there might be some, but not for every day. Next year I will try to rise to the occasion to have a photo per day.

If you’re curious about this year’s practice feel free to check out the UULent Tublr account: http://practicinglent.tumblr.com/HowItWorks

18/2: Practice
PST Phase II practicing our skills of being PCVs.

19/2: Notice
Notice the small changes you can make, not the big projects you want to take on.

20/2: Waiting
End of training dinner means hungry PCVs waiting for food

21/2: Hospitality
After being gone for a 2-week long in-service training with PC. I ran into my talatala (minister) on the bus yesterday and she greeted me by saying, “welcome back to Navosa.”
Sometimes hospitality comes from other people letting you into the community and just noticing you’re home.

22/2: Friendship
There are a lot of different types of people in Peace Corps. Some of them one would never think one would become friends with until one realizes that some of our closest friends are people we once were in competition with, thought were idiots, or just couldn’t stand. I love my PC Family and I have learned no matter what the first, second, third, or tenth impressions of a person is, all people should be given a chance and deserve friendly companionship.

23/2: Home
No matter what complaints I may have about site, it has become my home. Thank you all for inviting me to have tea, drink kava, and share meals up here.

24/2: Trust
When things aren’t going well at site I have to trust that things will get better

25/2: Listen
Sometimes we just need to be listened to. Thanks PCMO and Program Managers for listening to my problems with my site supervisor. Seriously, our staff is the best.

27/2: Kindness
PC staff shows kindness by telling me after a rough week that I need to go to Suva to take care of my mental health and see my friends. Again, the PC-Fiji staff is the best

28/2: Struggle
Sometimes we need to get out of the struggle, and go to the Capital so we feel better about life and can carry on.
PCV Based in Suva: My beer is too cold.
Me: The struggle is real

1/3: Purpose
A break from site helped remind me of my purpose here as a PCV in Fiji.

2/3: Connect
We forget that connection is a basic human need. So I’m connecting with PC staff and volunteers today before I jump on the bus and go back to the bush.

3/3: Wonder
Doing yoga on my front porch inspires wonder from the other teachers. As noted by the stares and questions I receive during and after my practice.

4/3: Courage
It takes courage to serve and serving makes us courageous.

5/3: See
Seeing the new principal’s quarters finally complete gives me hope that if the army soldiers can build a beautiful house in a matter of months I can make a small change in my school and community in two years.

6/3: Joy
Going into town for groceries and getting to talk to PCV friends on the phone while drinking a beer at a bar overlooking the river brings me joy.

7/3: Hunger
Satisfying my hunger with a cheese and guacamole melt and Fiji Bitter Beer.

8/3: Worship
I now worship in two places on Sundays. First during breakfast while watching the prior week’s sermon from the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. Then by attending the Fijian Methodist service at the Navatumali government station. I don’t always understand the words, but I love listening to the singing and offers to each lunch with families and friends after service.

9/3: Imagination
Trying to use my imagination to figure out how to do my triannual volunteering report form that documents my work as a PCV.

10/3: Change
I can feel the change in weather and pressure from impending Tropical Cyclone Pam.

11/3: Sacred
Sacred space does not have to be a structure or building. Sometimes our sacred space is somewhere we create within ourselves.

12/3: Play
After a full day of outreach with a visiting team of doctors and nurses from overseas, I don’t have the energy to go out and play with the other teachers and drink grog.

13/3: Share
In Fiji, we share our nothing.

14/3: Mercy
Hoping that some cosmic being takes mercy on Vanuatu, and the island and people survive this storm with minimal destruction and casualties.

15/3: Hope
I can only hope that what I’m doing will be successful.

16/3: Neighbor
One’s neighbor is not always the person who lives next to you or is from your same background. A true neighbor is a samaritan who takes care of others when they are in need.

17/3: Duty
I feel it is my duty to support people, especially adolescents and youth. Who are in need of a caring and empathetic adult

18/3: Passion
Gender equity is my passion. I am always thankful when I get to talk with a village youth group about it.

19/3: Community
When the nurses and doctor from my health centre show up at my house unannounced to invite me to come on an outreach, I truly feel I am part of my community.

20/3: Ally
I found out one of my form 6 students is from a neighboring village to my host family. Good to find an ally from Tokatoka up in Navosa.
Whenever I get to talk to people who are supportive and empathetic to public health issues I get excited that I have an ally on the changes I hope to make.

21/3: Love
Having a day to do laundry, drink wine, cook, and read a book reminds me that I love myself.
Talking with one of my babies from Albuquerque reminds me that while we might be far away from each other we are still loved.

22/3: Awe
I am consistently in awe of how much and how little I understand the iTaukei language.

23/3: Bless
In spite of the bullshit, isolation, and daily frustrationsI have to remind myself that I am blessed to have this experience

24/3: Help
Sometimes I just want to scream at people, “I’m here to fucking help! Give me something to help you with. God damn it!”

25/3: Life
My life as a PCV is not how I expected or imagined, and that’s ok. Because the life that I’m living is full of unexpected challenges and delights.

26/3: Alone
I often feel very alone in my service because I can’t contact other volunteers very easily and I’m the only volunteer within a 60 km radius, but having other teachers and friends from my site check in on me and invite me to go drink grog makes me feel a little bit less alone.

27/3: Savor
When things are bad I have to savor that feeling, and when things are good I savor that as well. Regardless of my emotional state good or bad. I have to acknowledge my emotions and recognize that “this too shall pass.”

28/3: Justice
I often wish that I could see more justice and equity within my school and community. Progress and change takes time. However, I am thrilled that more female teachers are “coming out” to me as feminists. So maybe we aren’t that far from a more just and equal world.

29/3: Listen
Listening is the majority of what I do. Today, I enjoyed listening to the Palm Sunday services lead by the children (3-17 year olds) followed by the cheering of my friends, teachers, and neighbors as the Fiji Sevens team beat New Zealand winning the Hong Kong Sevens Match.

30/3: Doubt
I have had a lot of doubts about myself and my abilities recently. Examples: is this appropriate to wear for this event, do my students understand my lessons, will my students pass their end of year standardized exams, and do people like me? I’m going to try to curb these with self affirmations such as, “fuck you negative thoughts and emotions! You ain’t more zen than me bitch!”

31/3: Faith
I have faith that my mental health status will improve.

1/4: Sustenance
When I need to take care of my mental health I remind myself that sometimes I just need sustenance to feel better. Tonight I enjoyed red chili mashed potatoes, a Fiji Gold beer, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (movie).

2/4: Silence
Attempting to get students to be quiet is a struggle. I always enjoy a bit of silence when I go home to take a break.

3/4: Surrender
I went with a group of PCVs to get a goat to eat. We didn’t get a goat, but we did end up with a duck in the trunk. I have no idea what this has to do with surrender but it was a good story. So I guess I surrender to trying to connecting the word to my day.

4/4: Transcend
Spending a weekend with other PCVs transcends my life. I feel better.

5/4: Rejoice!
Rejoicing with other volunteers. That was a hell of a good meal. Scalloped potatoes, veggie Shepard’s pie, cake, brownies, and a bottle of wine. Followed by happy hour at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Good day to be with Peace Corps family and friends.

Na liqu cola e na higa nikua/ A day in my life

I wake up between 6 and 7

Then I make breakfast

Mmmm real coffee, oatmeal, and passion fruit from my tree outside.

Bucket Bath Time!

It’s been getting cold, so lately I’ve been boiling water to have a warm bucket bath.

The lali’s beating, I’d better get to school

The row of teacher’s quarters

The secondary school

8-8:30 AM Form Time
I’m an assistant form teacher for form 402
Morning devotional

Flag Raising

Weekly Morning Assembly

Students waiting for the principal to give his address

Family Life Education Class

Form 301 students being cheeky

Form 502 students taking notes

Lesson Prep and Other Work

My desk is constantly cluttered with MOH and homemade charts, notebooks, my teacher’s workbook, my water bottle, chalk, my duster, and this week soap and glitter glue.

Daily Rounds
If I don’t have classes to teach I’ll stop by the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA)’s satellite office and the Health Centre

ADRA/District Officer’s Office

Health Centre

Kana/kani/kania vahigalevu!
Fun Fact:
There was a debate among my co-teachers if kana in the Navosa (pronounced Navoha) dialect is kana, kani, or kania.
Teachers up here are from all over Fiji so getting the dialect down has been a challenge.

Sometimes the other teachers or my neighbors bring me food.

Time for Outreach!
I generally go on at least one out reach every week either to village youth groups, with the health centre to do health checks with a village in our district of care, or with ADRA for a workshop.

This week’s outreach was with the group Youth Champs 4 Mental Health from Suva to talk to the youth groups in the villages about mental health and suicide prevention.

Vatubalavo Village

Keiyasi Village

In order to encourage physical health and NCD prevention some of the teachers and I go on an evening stroll before sunset.

If we don’t go out for a walk, I do yoga on my front porch. Yes, people stare at me.

Dinner, Movie, Tea, then Sleep.
Some nights I’ll spend time with my neighbors, and on Friday and Saturday I’m out drinking grog with the other teachers integrating, but on weeknights I’m generally home and in bed by 10 PM.

Your Time Here is a Mandala

Yoga Jones: Do you know what a mandala is?
Piper Chapman: Um, those are those round Buddhist art things.
Yoga Jones: The Tibetan monks make then out of dark sand laid out into big beautiful designs. And when they’re done, after days or weeks of work, they wipe it all away.
Piper Chapman: Wow, that’s, that’s a lot.
Yoga Jones: Try to look at your experience here as a mandala, Chapman. Work hard to make something as meaningful and beautiful as you can. And when your done, pack it in and know it was all temporary.

This conversation from Orange is the New Black is one of my favorites. It also is how I sometimes feel about Peace Corps service. I have no desire to wipe my experience away, but I think it’s valid to “Work hard to make something as meaningful and beautiful as you can.” Because sometimes in the midst of projects or day to day life you think this small thing is the end of the world or this day/week/month/2 years will never end, but what I have to remember is that “… when your done, pack it in and know it was all temporary.”

Challenges of Teaching in Secondary School

It’s week 10 of Term 1 at the secondary school I am placed at. I have been giving an exam based on the small amount I have been able to cover in my classes. I haven’t covered much information because:

• Usually, at least one of my classes if not all of my classes get canceled at least once a month due to various reasons, some of them including:
  • It’s too hot
  • It’s raining
  • We have to cancel afternoon classes to prepare for the prefect induction (this one made me feel like I was at Hogwarts)
  • The year whatever students have to help clean up the school compound. (This one actually happened this week when I was supposed to give my exam to the form 5 students.)
• Because my classes are in a weird time slot, best-case scenario my classes run once a week for all the years I have to teach.
• Traditionally, the Family Life Education class that I teach has been part of a non-curricular program along with Religious Studies, Conversational Hindi, and Physical Education. Which is why it hasn’t been a big deal to just cancel these classes for whatever reason. However, now the Ministry of Education is changing this and made both Family Life and Physical Education part of the curricular classes both with a standardized end of year exam from the Ministry.
  • Despite telling this to my principal over a month ago, he has just chosen to acknowledge this now, when there are only 3 more weeks left in the first term.
• My classes have been in a weird time slot from 3:30-4:30 after the curricular classes (subject that are traditionally tested on and marked such as: English, Maths, Science, Social Science, Agriculture, Commercial Studies, Fijian, etc.) are taught.
• There’s a language barrier between my students and me. Because I am in a very rural area, most students have a limited understanding of English, and the dialect in my region is very very different from the standard Fijian dialect I learned during Pre Service Training.

When my classes get canceled for the 3rd time in a row.

Those are some of the challenges I’ve been having with my school lately. Things will get better though. My school’s administration has finally acknowledged that my class has a standardized end of year exam for all forms 3-5, and they’re putting it within the curricular school schedule twice a week starting week 11. Better late than never, I guess.

I am now going through the curriculum provided by the ministry and worrying about all of the information I have to cover in the two terms left in the school year that my students will be tested on. I now have a deep understanding of why public school teachers in the states hate No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and whatever standardized testing they’re putting students through now. It kills the joy of teaching; it takes away the power we have to impart knowledge and wisdom on students, and it removes our ability to teach what we think is important what we feel the students need to and deserve to learn. Because we are afraid of our students failing a test written by people who don’t know our students, and that reflecting poorly on our school and us. We are now having to put more time into night and afternoon classes, block schedules, and homework timetables which puts students and teachers alike in a state of stress that is not conducive to learning, but is great for burning everybody out early on. Especially when your school has to change the schedule on a weekly or monthly basis. Administrations, Ministries, and Departments of Education shouldn’t just say that there’s one size that fits all for education, some students need to be caught up, others need to be pushed beyond what is asked of them, and sometimes teachers want to teach what interests them and what they believe the students need to know.

To summarize: When my classes are constantly cancelled I get annoyed that they’re not being taken seriously by my school, but at least I can point to that and say, this is why students didn’t do well on their end of year exam. When my classes are finally taken seriously I’m thrilled that I will be able to cover more information and my classes won’t constantly be canceled, but worry about how well my students will do on the end of year exam and if I will be able to cover everything that the Ministry has in their curriculum. So there you go, challenges all around.

A Beginner’s Guide The Fiji School System

When I first came to my secondary school I was all kinds of confused about which way was up, why things are done in this way and that, why are we praying every morning and at noon, what the difference between form 401 and 402 and where does that put year 10 A, and what are prefects and what do they do? Other than show the first years to their dormitory and how to get past the portrait of the fat lady or whatever secret passage they have in order to get into their house dormitory.

I’m just now starting to figure some of these things out, and I’ll be thrilled if by the end of my two-year service I can explain my secondary school as well as the Fijian school system effectively.

Note: this is mostly based on my observations and conversations I’ve had with school staff and administration. If your secondary school in Fiji is different please tell me how so and what they do differently.

Years and Forms

A vs. B or 01 vs 02

Students that are in Form 301 aka Year/Class 9 A are students that, in my school, take iTaukei (Fijian) language classes instead of Agriculture.

Students that are in Form 301 aka Year/Class 9 B are students that, in my school, take Agriculture classes instead of iTaukei.

Fijian School                                                        American School

Form 301/2 aka Year/Class 9 A/B                       Freshmen in High school

Form 401/2 aka Year/Class 10 A/B                     Sophomore in High school

Form 501/2 aka Year/Class 11 A/B                     Junior in High school

Form 601/2 aka Year/Class 12 A/B                     Senior in High school

Form 7 aka Year/Class 12                                   Super Senior

For the most part this is similar to American schools, except for the form 7, which is required if they want to attend university. Just kidding, I just asked another teacher for clarification, and am now even more confused.

Apparently:

One can repeat form 3 multiple times or one can drop out and stay in the village for the rest of one’s life if one does not want to continue with schooling (theoretically, I’m not sure what the “it’s ok to drop out year” is, but I think there technically is one. It was hard to get a straight answer about how many times one can repeat.)

One can repeat form 4, 5, 6, and 7 once each if one doesn’t pass one’s final marks (grades) or exams. If one doesn’t pass form 4 the second time around then they are sent to the vocational school to learn about catering and tailoring (hospitality services) or carpentry and jewelry (C&J). If one wants to attend university, they must complete Curricular or Vocational School until form 7.

Most of the students in my school will likely remain in the village and work as farmers or housewives. Some might go into the hospitality or service industry, and we have very few students who attend University that will ultimately end up in white-collar jobs, but the number is rising.

Student Council

The student council is comprised of (in ascending hierarchical order) Form Captains, Assistant Form Captains, Prefects, Deputy Head Girl/Boy, and Head Girl/Boy

For every class (A and B) there is a Form Capitan and Assistant Form Captain. Their role is:

• Make sure classroom duties are done
  • Classroom duties include:
    • Sweeping the floor
    • Disposing of rubbish (trash)
    • Cleaning the rafters (window pains)
    • Maintaining the outside of classroom garden/flower space

• Keep classes quit when teachers aren’t in the classroom
• Maintain some sense of order in the classroom
• Generally take responsibility of leading the form
• Lead morning devotional
• Pass out RSL (carrier) and bus tickets that take students to and from the village to school and vice versa
  • Sometimes, this is in the event that the form teacher (think homeroom teacher) is lazy. Generally the form teacher or assistant form teacher is responsible for this.

I’m not 100% clear what Prefects do, I’ve tried asking people, but I haven’t gotten a straight answer. From my observation I believe they are and do these things:

• They are students in forms 5, 6, and 7
  • Students in lower forms 3 and 4 do not have prefects
  • There are two prefects in each class (A and B), one boy and one girl.
• Assist teachers with order and discipline
• Help lower forms 3 and 4 with order and duty time
• Assist lower form captains with their roles and responsibilities
• Perform Flag Raising
• Lead/Run Afternoon Assembly
• In my school they do not show first years to the dormitories and teach them how to get through the magical portal into their house dormitories within Hogwarts.

The Head Girl and Boy and the Deputy Head Boy and Girl

• Form 7 students
• In charge of the prefects and form captains
• Have the same responsibilities as the prefects

Breakdown of the School Schedule

8-8:30 AM- Form Time

• Morning Duties
  • Students are expected to clean the classroom and special areas (Library, Office, Staff Bure, Washrooms, Home Ec Room, etc.)
• Flag Raising
  • In the US we have the morning Pledge of Allegiance, in Fiji we all stand while somebody beats the lali as the flag is raised on the daily.
• Devotional
  • Students read a passage from the bible, sing a hymn, and then lead a prayer.
  • I know what you’re thinking, and yes. There isn’t really separation between church and state in Fiji. Most of the schools are funded by some religious entity (mostly Methodist), and the government funds very few schools in the country. Our school has a talatala (reverend) who is our school chaplain and the guidance counselor.
• Staff announcements

8:30 AM-10:30 AM- Morning Classes

10:30-10:45 AM- Recess/Tea Time

• On Thursdays the staff contribute to a morning tea held in the home ec room. Generally I’ll try to bring something either from the states/New Mexico. I made guacamole and the teachers loved it.

10:45-12:45 PM- More Classes

Noon- Prayer

• Either the form students will lead their classroom in a prayer or our talatala will lead the whole school in prayer over a sort of PA system.

12:45- 1:30 PM- Lunch

1:30-3:30 PM- Afternoon Classes

3:30-4:15 PM- Extra Afternoon Class

• This also includes school compound clean up and beautification meaning, students rake the grass that’s been cut, cut away overgrown plants with machetes, take the raked up grass and bush to be burned, pick up the rubbish, sweep and mop the footpaths, clean the washrooms, sometimes clean the outside and inside walls of the classrooms, and generally clean around the school compound.

4:15- 4:45 PM- Afternoon Form Time

• Afternoon duties, exactly the same as the morning ones
• Form teachers or captains distribute RSL and Bus Tickets
• All school assembly
  • Students line up according to which village they are going home to or if they stay in the hostel (dorms).
  • Lowering of the flag, assuming it hasn’t rained and been taken down earlier in the day.
  • Prefects and/or Head Girl/Boy give all school announcements.
• Dismiss Students

7-9 PM- Extra Night Classes for Form 6 and 7

Students stay in their form room the whole day while the teachers move from classroom to classroom. When we don’t have a class we either stay in the staff bure, library, computer lab, or go home to rest.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or general bitchiness please leave it in the comments section, and I will try to answer them in a follow-up post.

Sex and Beer

This post came from a recent conversation I had with an old and dear friend of mine who, after telling him I have:

A super fancy life filled with electricity, running water 24/7 (unless there’s a blackout or water shortage), AND I have a flush toilet, mini fridge, and gas camp stove. As well as house guests of horses, mice, geckos, ants, and cockroaches that plague my house.
He told me that “GECKOS ARE THE GREATEST THING EVER (aside from sex and beer of course).”
Then he asked me, “How much of those two are there? (Giving you the idea of how little I know about the Peace Corps)”
My response was this:
“Sex: I’m not getting any, and I’m pretty sure [most of the] other volunteers aren’t either. Relationships between men and women in Fiji are super weird (meaning friendships between the genders don’t really happen and if you want to date somebody be prepared for all of your neighbors to know and talk about it) and the men here are [generally] either super creepy or hella shy and awkward [towards women]. Out of the 10 guys in my group, 3 are married, some are gay, a few are in committed relationships, and the rest… sega ni noqu jamu (that’s not my jam).
Beer: it’s mostly in the cities/towns, and since I’m in the interior I mostly drink kava with my neighbors and other teachers. There’s two choices of mediocre pilsners, gold and bitter. There’s also technically vonu, but that’s tourist shit that tastes like the other two and usually costs $2 more. Sometimes I buy beer in Sigatoka town where I do my shopping or at one of the small shops at my government station, but there’s not a lot of social drinking of alcohol.
Also the geckos are awesome because they eat bugs and make silly chirping sounds.”