Mr. Huen

His name is Mr. Huen! The Chinese man.  I know his name, and on the day we said farewell.  He is leaving the guest house today, moving into a new flat because he's staying in Fiji for a year, and (in case you haven't gathered already  by reading in between the lines) the guest house is most suitable as a short-term accommodation.  We'll just leave it at that. I think I'm going to miss him.  Who will notice and comment on how much butter I put on my toast now? (That just happened this morning)

You should also know about roti, because it's an extremely important food item for all of the Indo-Fijians.  It's pretty much a tortilla.  I told them that once and they looked at me like I was crazy, so I've kept that thought to myself ever since.  They make a bunch of them every morning and that's what the kids take to school for lunch, it's what everyone eats with every meal.  In Nepal everyone puts everything on rice. The ladies here told me that Nepali's must be lazy, because what you are supposed to do is make roti every morning and eat everything on that. So... sorry entire country of Nepal. While we're on the subject of Nepal... people there eat with their hands, so it was not a big deal when I realized that's what everyone does here too. But, the thing about roti is that it gives you something to scoop all of the stuff WITH when you are eating with your hands. I am a fan.  Naturally, Dropati decided to teach me how to make it.  I had the genuine privilege of traveling to Nadi (pronounced "nandi") for dinner at Dropati's because her mother had come from the island to visit.  It was so excellent!  Here are some pics to summarize my roti-making experience.

First, Dropati making roti.  Oh yeah, Ghee is an important thing in this process.  They use it like we would use butter to grease a pan or glaze a loaf of hot bread

 Look at the perfectly circular finished product!  Then you heat it up in a pan so it rises and falls, and you're done (just like a tortilla, but don't tell these guys I said that).

 So... here's my attempt at making roti.  Notice the shape of that terrible thing below.  In my defense, that was roti #1, and I got better.

 This was my best product.  Please note the circular shape.  

The success above only happened because Grandmother got involved.  She tried to just sit back and watch, but finally she couldn't take it any more and had to step in and help.  This was hand-over-hand instruction because she doesn't speak any English; and because I needed it and Dropati could only laugh at me and take pictures.  Grandmas always come through for you.  Luckily Dropati is an incredible cook and she made me paneer, so all was forgiven.  

Dropati also had her nephew cut some sugar cane from the garden as a little treat.  I wish so much that all of the kids I love back home could have had a taste.  You chew on it and suck out all of the juice, and there is SO much juice - it's like the most delicious sugar-water ever. And now I know why so many people here have dental issues.

Sugar cane just growing out back.

 I told him that cute American girls would see his picture if he looked up. :-)

 Sugar cane sticks.  Yum!

Happy December everyone!

Update from the animal kingdom

Well, it's back to work for all of us here in Fiji.  This being a day ahead of you all thing is kind of weird!  I am happy to report that it looks like we will be able to finish writing this beast before I have to go.  We're all feeling immense relief about that.  As far as creating courses goes, I'm working on the very last one.  Then I just have to finish the program document, which is rather unpleasant experience.  But, I've been through this kind of hoop-jumping before, so I shall just buckle down and get it done!

This morning I came into my office and noticed about 1 trillion ants on my shelves.  They are the microscopic kind here. But there is something really unbelievable about seeing that sheer amount of tiny little creatures all in one place! Like an idiot I left some sweets in a bag on the shelf over the weekend and it's hard to express just how nasty things were.  I know, rookie mistake!  That's one of the most fascinating things about being here though... just the amount of LIFE, everywhere! It's unstoppable!  Everything grows and  moves and breathes, and the best you can hope for is to somehow influence the trajectory of where it all ends up. But it's completely inevitable that it will end up where you are at some point. I feel like it's just the opposite in Laramie. We have to beg and plead and work our tails off to get things to want to live and grow! That's why we're tough as nails and especially awesome of course, but it's just a whole different way of experiencing the world.  Here's a favorite pic I took at a school I went to visit.  This is their view every day.

I am really enjoying the order that frames all of this life though.  I like the patterns that my rather unscientific mind can see.  I can time it now... the transition from frog/toad/cricket sounds early in the morning to the rooster/dog/birds sounds (in that order) signalling that it's time to wake up. With the time change that happens now at 4:30.  Evenings are my favorite though. That's when I get to chat with Leonard and Loretta, and that's when the toads appear.  They have a meeting on my front steps every night. About 10 of them on the steps and in the grass and flower-beds just out front.  Here's a pic of a big one I saw the other night on campus.  He was better at posing for a picture for me. He had found an ant paradise and was having a delicious snack.  

This little guy below came in our front door the other night and then couldn't get out.  He panicked and ended up in the laundry room where, I am proud to say, I engaged in a toad rescue mission and saved his little life. It was complex and involved me sitting on the sink and using a broom to help him hop on out of there, because he refused to move toward the door as long as I was standing. I don't find toads scary at all, so that was fun.  

Giant cockroaches, however, are not fun.  We had a three-day war with some in our kitchen last week and I just need you to know that I don't like cockroaches... at all... especially ones the size of a mouse.  The Chinese man would come in and I would say, "I just saw a huge cockroach crawl under the microwave."  He would say, "Oh." and then proceed to wash his dishes. He even once told me that they have very beautiful cockroaches in China.  What?! These were unsatisfactory conversations we were having. One night an especially large one became crass enough to forego the traditional scurry under something technique when I entered the room, and instead chose to just hang out on the wall!  Obviously I couldn't walk past it to get to my room. I think it had fangs. So I went out where students were playing volleyball and found someone to save me. It was a girl who volunteered by the way, and it was well worth the $5. But, after a lot of whining on my part I finally got Ganesh to do a death-bomb, and kill them all off.  At least I did manage to make the Chinese man dispose of the cockroach corpses. Ugh, it makes me shiver just typing about it.  In general, though, all of this life is only beautiful and amazing!

But I must admit that reading all about the snow back home last week made me homesick!  I love our seasons!  It's really weird to hear Christmas music here.  I can't wrap my brain around it.  

One other fun thing. Last week the group of in-service teachers below had to do their final project, which was, are you ready for this...  a play they had to write and perform, with dancing and singing about the importance of early childhood education. That is just what you do here. They made the set... did it all.   It was awesome and hilarious to watch some of them dancing especially.  They can just be silly and uninhibited in ways that you don't see back home (at least sober). I loved it! Also, I was the Chief Guest.  They celebrated a few days later by making an amazing lunch to say thanks.  The student-teacher relationship here is so very different, but that's something for another post.   

 This whole group wants to come to the U.S.  I told them if they can pay their airfare I can find them a place to stay for a week or two.  I really hope we can make that happen.  

The big show: Early Childhood Education, The Way Forward.

 A little hula break at intermission.

Only two more weeks to go!

Love you all!