one month?

I only have one month left here? WHAT?! The time is absolutely flying by! I have to admit, there are times that go by super slow, and I find myself daydreaming about American food (quite frequently) and my American family and friends- BUT, one day of bulas, cute little kids climbing all over you, riding the busses and looking at the beautiful scenery helps me remember why I'm here. Let me just list a few of the pros and cons of Fiji Fiji with the help of a little statistics and numbers-

lets get the cons out of the way.

-20 people living in a tiny house with:
---1 bathroom
---1 siiiick shower
---4 bedrooms
---1 kitchen
---0 dishwashers, 0 washing machines
---17284 humongous cockroaches
---1 cockroach the size of my palm sauntering across my face in the morning to wake me up
- 3 successful midnight mouse hunts in the house (those are pretty entertaining- adrenaline gets pumpin. Thank you James Brown the mouse slayer)
- 4 nights of finding lizards in my bed
-1 squished frog from my foot. (hoards of frogs appear out of nowhere at night- one day I tried to count the amount of squished frogs on our road- impossible feat.)
- 1 billion projects falling through, or projects failed because of 'Fiji time'
- 10 moldy loaves of bread thrown away (food goes bad super fast here, no preservatives anywhere in sight)
- mystery number of pounds gained. (for me to know, and you to find out- sorry reader.)
-3 worthless internet cafes. ok, not worthless. just really slow.
-105 degrees every day, plus humidity (I'm not actually sure the exact degrees- that's at the very LEAST what it feels like)
-4 stained adobe stove shirts
-0 hamburger meals. daaaang it

Now, the pros. Obviously more important.
-20 people living in the same house (yes, that is a pro and a con- despite the cons, it is SO much fun- the other volunteers are the greatest!)
- 100 consumed blitz bars (i'm addicted. they are toffee ice cream bars that I cant seem to stop myself from buying)
-70 cent (Fijian cent- equal to 35 cents in America) coconut buns (like cinnamon buns, only... mmmmm 100 times better)
-40 cent cream buns
-50 cent scorns with cream (I wish I could better explain what all these were.)
-7 dance parties
-3 traditional weddings attended- both Fijian and Indo-Fijian
-30+ volunteers giving up their summer to help serve the people of Fiji
-8 different volunteer projects
-countless hours of volunteer work
-10 different villages working with our program
-over 2000 people in Fiji taught by our HELP International projects and classes
-30+ music classes taught!
and muuuuuuuch much more! I had the exact statistics for the whole team at some point- but I dont have them with me at the moment. All in all, this summer Help International has made a big difference in little Tavua, and basically everyone on the north side of the island knows who the 'palangis' (white people) are and what we are here for! It's been an awesome experience for me, and i'm looking forward to another month- hopefully I can get everything done that I want to before I have to step on the plane and go back home! Stay tuuuuned. I will update more often this last month, I promise. I think

Every-day life in Tavua

Sorry guys, no pics this time- I forgot my thing to connect my camera. next time, next time. At least I can give you guys a little Fiji update. Here is an average week here in Tavua- Get ready for my biggest blog written update ever.

Sunday morning, wake up at 8 to go to church at 9- which sounds early, but isn't really. My body has never really fully adjusted- so I go to bed reasonably early (11 ish) and get up pretty early (7 ish) I kinda like it that way! Anyways- I get up, make my oatmeal breakfast, make another one, eat some fruit, then eat a pp&j. I then don my church clothes, which is pretty much the same clothes I wear every day- I sorta feel bad going to church in the clothes I wear everyday, so I try to spice it up a little with a little mascara if i'm feeling adventurous, and maybe even brush my hair. Haha just kiddin, I take care of myself here..... sorta. I then go to the Tavua ward- which is one of my favorite parts about Fiji- I LOVE church here! The people are so awesome, and so strong in their callings, and they are so passionate about everything they do. Sacrament meeting is the best, because they sing so high and so loud, and so Polynesian beautiful! (yesterday I was at combined family home evening with the ward, and Suzi Q was scolding me for not singing loud enough). Come home from church, hang around, maybe watch a movie on the projector we brought- then sometimes go to the school across the road from us and play soccer with the local kids. They are freakin amazing at everything they do- soccer, rugby, netball, singing, whatever. they are good at it. That evening, Arietta (our cook) and her granddaughters Arietta and Maggie come and hang out with us, then we eat an AMAZING dinner of curry, chutney, and roti. soooo delicious. Then, we end the day with some card games, ranging from any form of speed, to bloodbath, to five crowns, to nerts.

Monday through Friday, every day is pretty much BOOKED with all of our projects that we can choose which to go to. The projects are: Prism (a project that involves traveling with a doctor (Animesh is his name) who works in America three months out of the year and gets paid, then he comes to Fiji the other 9 months of the year to do work for free for the Fijian villages and Indo-Fijian settlements who can't really afford to go to the hospital or doctor) Square food gardening, Adobe stoves, and classes on Music, Health, Fitness, and Business. Some new projects are just getting started, Solar food drying, and just starting today some volunteers are traveling to a nearby city called Ba to work in an orphanage.

My project (music) consists of these weekly classes that I have been doing for a while now- every Tuesday, I go to the Tavua Kindergarten (which is right in town across from the market, only takes about 10 minutes to walk there) and teach a basic music class, which most the time ends up to be just clapping and singing and handing out stickers. But I love it. Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I teach basic piano and theory lessons to a group of high-school aged kids right after their seminary class in the LDS chapel, because thats the only place that has a piano. Wednesday, I travel by bus about an hour and a half to Lautoka, to teach intermediate music theory lessons to the 'youth'- youth here are about 20 year olds to 30 year olds- I looove that class, everyone is so interested and comes handy with pen and paper to take notes. After, we do a little bit of Ukulele and guitar lessons to a few people who are interested, but only for like 20 minutes. Wednesday evenings, we teach music lessons to a nearby Indo-Fijian settlement in Yasi Yasi- ranging from a few young boys to teenage girls to stay at home moms. That's basically my music project right now! A little more about daily life in Fiji-

There are lots of forms of transportation here- here are the ones that I use the most: First, the bus transportation. EVERYONE gets around by bus here- it's pretty essential. there really is only one MAIN road here on the main island- it's Kings/Queens road, that pretty much loops around the whole island, and goes to all the main cities- Tavua, Ba, Lautoka, Nadi, Suva, Raki Raki- I think there's something like 10 main cities- but those are the ones I know and travel to. So I travel by either express, or stopping bus to those cities - LOVE the bus rides. After bus, there are the taxis- which are lame. They are nice, but they are so expensive, those are rare experiences for me. Plus, every time I get in one, the driver tries to hack up the price cause i'm white. stuuupid. Dont worry guys, I don't let them push me around anymore, I've pretty much figured out how to work the bartering system. I'm a pro. Then there are the mini busses- which are like mini vans packed with seats- I think 10 people can legally fit in those, but they try and pack them pretty tight. Those are great, they are only two dollars. Finally, there are the carriers- my favorite mode of transportation. I showed you guys a few pictures of these- all it is is a truck with like, a cover over it, and a bench in the bed that we can sit on. Those are sweeeet. some of the drivers install their sound systems in the back, so we can jam in the back- haha it's awesome.

Alright, this is only the very basics of Fiji life- but my eyeballs are burning from staring at this internet cafe computer, and i'm sure you guys feel like you are reading a whole bunch of crap. So, to all of you who made it this far, congrats! you are my loyal blog friends. I will reward you with pictures next week :)

Moce Moce, I love you all! happy belated fourth of July :)

Rachelle

hooooray!

Bula everyone! Fiji is just getting better and better the longer I am here- projects are going well, and it is so fun to get to know these amazing people on a personal basis! When we walk down the street, it's like we are celebrities here- everyone is yelling your name- "Rachelle, Rachelle, bula bula Rachelle!" as you walk down the road. It's a little embarrassing because I have no idea what their names are, so I just say "bula! how are you?" back. pretty much every time. But when you finally do learn their name, they seriously LOVE it- they get so pumped. Anyways, I dont have much time, so i'm just going to give you some pictures! they loaded backwards- it's the most recent to the oldest- so just scroll down and look at them from the bottom up, for my sanity. Thanks.
Sorry, I cant get this right side up- just some kids watchin us build a stove
Me, Sarah, Courtney, Lisa, Nicolle- Last night for first wavers sulu party!
Beautiful sunset right in front of my house
Susie-Q and her daughter Fanny! I teach Susie piano lessons

Courtney, Me, and Kayla in a carrier! those are the best. I dont know if I have explained those before, all it really is is you pay to ride in the back of a truck! bomb.
Tavua kindergarten music class! That gets a little crazy, to say the least

peace 2u my brother. Courtney, Sarah, me, Lisa, Nicolle. Thuggin

Beautiful view from the plane!!!!! UNREAL

uh...... sorry mom. proooobably the best experience of my life

I have never enjoyed a mcdonalds meal more. never spent so much money for it either

Tavua market! This is where I buy all my fruit

Teachin the kinnie gartners. at the moment, we are doing the hokey pokey. they love it

Average Fijian house. This is actually on the nicer scale- everyone lives in tin houses

Me and Kayla- temple trip to Suva

Kristy, Kayla, Me, and Sherry- Just chillin in a waterfall. not a big deal

Coolest rope swing EVER!

Delicious Coconut


Lunch at Vanessa's house in Nodolodolo after we built his garden


Me and Courtney looking like raptors. This is just a small taste of what we do every night- I dont think i have ever laughed so much in my life- we are all very good at entertaining each other. this was just last night! recent picture.


Rachelle and Rachelle! me and the girl in black are both Rachelle



korovuo village

here's hopin...

KOROVUO KIDS!

I dont know what the deal is with the pictures, I wanted them all to go at the end of the post, so it would look pretty. oh well, no big deal. I guess it doesnt matter! Here you all goooo

Marie, Dana, Sherry, Me and Nicolle makin our first adobe stove at Rucilla'sMe, Kristy and Dana with some kids from Korovuo! Greatest village ever
Me and some Korovuo kids at their Kava party- this little kid in the orange wouldnt stop sitting in my lap and holding my hand- and the kid in the red is basically my Fijian boyfriend. He loves hugs, it's the best everrr
Sarah, Courtney, Dana, Me, Lisa, and Nicolle- Lucy in the background
We are so cool. Right before we went scuba diving at the Robinson crusoe island- Kayla, Courtney, Me, Brita
Did I tell you how beautiful it is here?
Picture of our house, his name is Kermit. basically, every square inch of the house is painted different shades of green.This is our living room- all of our furniture was donated. Currently, I am sleeping in the coveted hospital chair. It's surprisingly comfy

mah bed- I sleep in a room with 6 other girls! partaaayDinner time! Fish heads
Nicolle, Sherry, and me with our fijian flowers

Alright! I'm going to give this blog update another whack. If it doesn't work again, so help me, I will punch this computer.

I am just going to try to give you a little update on how my average day goes here in Fiji! So there are fifteen volunteers total living in our little house in Tavua, and we are all in charge of our own projects. The projects vary from square foot gardens, to adobe stoves, to teaching health, fitness, nutrition, and business classes. My project is teaching music! It's going a little slow right now, because there haven't ever been any other people before me to teach music, so I'm the pioneer! Basically, there are two parts to my project. 1) I teach music classes to schools, womens groups, and any community group that is interested. Right now, I travel to Lautoka by bus to teach three different villages my lessons once a week- soon I will be teaching in the schools and womens groups. 2) Me and another volunteer, Sherry, teach piano lessons to the students in the LDS chapel (because that's the only place that has a piano, it's a small electric one) after they have their seminary lesson which is after school. So that's the basics of my project, I will keep you updated on that, hopefully it goes well.

In addition to my own project, I help other people with their own projects throughout the week-almost every day we have an adobe stove or a square foot garden to build- in addition to that, we have fitness and health lessons that are really fun to do, mostly with womens groups. Occasionally we work in the hospitals to help take people's vitals and record them down- a huge percentage of the people living in Fiji are diagnosed with diabetes- it's a huge problem. So most people have to have a check up every couple of months, some every couple of weeks, depending on how severe it is. That's also an awesome project to be involved with, I really get the opportunity to work closely with the people here. Did I mention how friendly they all are here?!! I LOVE it! I wish everyone could have a little taste of the Fiji culture at least once in their life- It is honestly the best place ever. Alright! I'm signin out- next time I will bring my journal so I can share some specific experiences- I have a whole bunch of sweeeeet stories I want to share with you all. soooooo stay tuned.

sorry folks

NO WAAAAY!

guys. I finally got a computer that could load pictures. and I had my entire blog posted, and like 10 pictures to go along with it! then my camera ran out of batteries. and scared the computer. so it froze everything, and deleted my blog!!!! sooooo sorry. I will update you soon haha. And you'll get some pictures with it, cause now i know which computer to go to. update soon!

BULA!

I'm finally here!!
So Thursday at 8 I departed from Salt Lake to LA, and from LA started the 10 hour flight to Nadi Fiji- super long flight, but it wasn't so bad! From there we went on a two hour car ride to where our house is, which is in the city Tavua. There are fourteen of us total living in our little house, and everyone is so great, we are all super close just after 3 days. I guess when there are only three bedrooms, on living room and one kitchen, that's kinda inevitable :).
So, where I live is definitely not what I was expecting Fiji to look like, it kinda reminds me of like, a little town in mexico or something? I LOVE it though! It's so sweet! When we do our projects, we are going to be traveling to the outer villages, which will be a lot more of what I was expecting. And last night we all planned out our weekends (we get the weekends off) for the next six weeks, and we have all sorts of exotic places we have planned to go! It's going to be the bomb. We have like, a horseback ride to some waterfalls planned, a river rafting trip, a weekend to the 'robinson crusoe island' which is apparently the top notch tourist experience (includes snorkeling, beach, fire dancers...), hikes, trips to the temple, and lots more I cant remember. But don't worry, I'll tell you all about them when they happen.
It is soooo beautiful here, but the best part about Fiji by FAR is EVERYONE is so friendly! Everyone loves to wave, and everyone says 'Bula!' to you all the time- which means something along the lines of 'life, welcome, hello,' sorta all those in one. But cooler. But in Tavua, there aren't any tourists that really come, so it's way weird for these people to see white people- especially the kids. They pretty much just stare at us with those big brown eyes in confusion haha. One little girl came up to us in church and just started grabbing our hands and examining them, super confused. Almost all the adults here can speak basic english, both Fijians and Indians alike- but most of the kids don't speak english yet. Last sunday we just went to the local playground and played a game of soccer with like ten Fijian kids, they were so pumped to play with us- it was so much fun!
Since it is their winter season here, it isn't way hot for Fiji, but it's hot for me- it's like 80 degrees every day. Which isn't so bad, but it is just WAY humid- I'm tellin ya right now I have never sweat so much in my life. I'll get used to it though, our house has 8 fans crankin. Feels great.
Well I don't have much time left, we are going to go build some adobe stoves today! Sweeet. So I'll keep you all updated, and next time I will treat you to some pictures if I can figure it out! Bula! Namaste!