/εks'peıtriət/, n. 1 one who has taken up residence in a foreign country.
Well, first of all I should apologise to those who have been checking this page in the hope of an update, but been bitterly disappointed. I have been pretty busy, and there haven’t been too many chances to access the ’net. But anyway.
Things are going really well. I have now been in Suva, Fiji for a little over one week. Mainly, I have been getting myself oriented with the other volunteers. I am flatting with two others, Wes and Janet, and this past week we have been having fun decking out our new digs. We had a table and some chairs, a few bed frames, and a stove, and that was about it. So it has been a fun experience buying everything else from scratch. We are still living the Spartan life, but hey, it’s all good. As soon as I work out how to do it, I’ll add a photo here so you know what our house looks like.
A lot of this week we have spent travelling in and out of Suva. The streets are pretty higgledy-piggledy, and it has taken a while to learn where the main landmarks are, but I’m sure I’ll get there slowly. I have noticed that there has been heaps of change since I was here in 1998. People are saying that things really started to change after the political coup six years ago. There are many new buildings I don’t recognise, but every now and then something will pop up, like the president’s house, the Hilton Special School, and (sad to say) the McDonald’s in town.
I am living just a short walk from the water, and there are some impressive looking mountains to the west. When the sun sets (if it’s not too cloudy) the scenery is beautiful. I haven’t had a good chance to take some photos yet, but when I get a nice one, I’ll put it on here for you to look at.
We have all had lots of taxi and bus rides. Both are interesting, and both have their pros and cons. For the moment, I’m catching two buses to work, which takes me about an hour. This is an exciting journey of open windows, exhaust fumes, the crowded Bus Stand, and blasting music (I could see the speakers moving violently, no exaggeration — I’m not kidding). On the positive side, it is just a little over $1 for a one-way journey.
One of the greatest things I have appreciated here is the chance to interact with the other volunteers — especially the ones who have already been here three months or more. Their advice has been invaluable, and their help has been fantastic. We were even invited to dinner with some of our neighbours a few days ago.
Anyway. That’ll do for now. I’ll keep you all up to date, and will write again when I get the chance. Thanks to everyone who’s written to me … keep them coming, because it’s been great to hear from you.
Well, first of all I should apologise to those who have been checking this page in the hope of an update, but been bitterly disappointed. I have been pretty busy, and there haven’t been too many chances to access the ’net. But anyway.
Things are going really well. I have now been in Suva, Fiji for a little over one week. Mainly, I have been getting myself oriented with the other volunteers. I am flatting with two others, Wes and Janet, and this past week we have been having fun decking out our new digs. We had a table and some chairs, a few bed frames, and a stove, and that was about it. So it has been a fun experience buying everything else from scratch. We are still living the Spartan life, but hey, it’s all good. As soon as I work out how to do it, I’ll add a photo here so you know what our house looks like.
A lot of this week we have spent travelling in and out of Suva. The streets are pretty higgledy-piggledy, and it has taken a while to learn where the main landmarks are, but I’m sure I’ll get there slowly. I have noticed that there has been heaps of change since I was here in 1998. People are saying that things really started to change after the political coup six years ago. There are many new buildings I don’t recognise, but every now and then something will pop up, like the president’s house, the Hilton Special School, and (sad to say) the McDonald’s in town.
I am living just a short walk from the water, and there are some impressive looking mountains to the west. When the sun sets (if it’s not too cloudy) the scenery is beautiful. I haven’t had a good chance to take some photos yet, but when I get a nice one, I’ll put it on here for you to look at.
We have all had lots of taxi and bus rides. Both are interesting, and both have their pros and cons. For the moment, I’m catching two buses to work, which takes me about an hour. This is an exciting journey of open windows, exhaust fumes, the crowded Bus Stand, and blasting music (I could see the speakers moving violently, no exaggeration — I’m not kidding). On the positive side, it is just a little over $1 for a one-way journey.
One of the greatest things I have appreciated here is the chance to interact with the other volunteers — especially the ones who have already been here three months or more. Their advice has been invaluable, and their help has been fantastic. We were even invited to dinner with some of our neighbours a few days ago.
Anyway. That’ll do for now. I’ll keep you all up to date, and will write again when I get the chance. Thanks to everyone who’s written to me … keep them coming, because it’s been great to hear from you.
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