Foooood

Just a fun glimpse at my ziplock clogged foodshelf. All must be sealed lest the ants feast on the everything!!

My successful scone attempt - too sticky to mold into balls, so I just made a scone cake of sorts. On top is cinnamon and sugar. Yummm!

Zucchini patties!! Sooooo delicious (see article). Made many people try - making them again ASAP!

My workstation for cooking - here I am in the process of making gnocci. You can see some of the dough balls on the plate pre-boiling.

Tuna wrap on homemade tortillas with herb and garlic flavored tuna from Claire!

Yes, I’m going to talk about food. I love food. LOVE it. Too much so, but that isn’t the issue of today’s post. Today it’s all about enjoying cooking. Despite LOVING food, I never loved to cook it. I was overwhelmed by ingredients and instructions like broil, reduce, or knead. More than 3 ingredients and/or steps and I was out. Just ask my brother Douglas who used to live with me – and cook for me from time to time so my dinner didn’t involve the use of a microwave or a pot of boiling water. Or ask Claire, my roommate of 1.5 years who would also spare me the humiliation of trying to cook dinner and would allow me to “help” (aka run to the local Piggly Wiggly for ingredients) her cook something we could eat together.

Fast forward to Fiji – no microwave, no Douglas or Claire, no Piggly Wiggly. My ingredients are limited these days. My options in the local supermarket (called MH) are REALLY scarce – I have an aisle of tinned foods, an aisle of cookies/chips/cake mix, an aisle of cereals (2 varieties only – luckily I have fallen head over heels for Wheet-Bix)/teas/powdered milks/jams, an aisle of juices, and an aisle of household items. There are also a couple of freezers of frozen goods, but my lack of a refrigerator eliminates those options. Oh and there are potatoes, onions, garlic, eggs and a variety of Indian spices.

Somehow, however, I have come to enjoy cooking!! I have to because I have no microwave to heat up Lean Cuisines (if I could even find a Lean Cuisine here) and I can’t just live off pasta. Soooo … I’m cooking now! There isn’t a lot of variety by any means – pretty much “stuff type A” on top of other “stuff type B” in which I can set up a mix and match situation. Stuff A: tinned tuna, black beans, kidney beans, veggies from garden. Stuff B: rice (white only), couscous (if available, must get from Suva), or Harvest Grains (if available, sent via caring and concerned mother). A variety of spices I have stashed away can be added on top of said stuffs: ranch dressing mix, taco seasoning, mustard, soy sauce, soup mixes, etc.

But not only am I a master of “stuff on stuff.” I have also gotten pretty good at “Peace Corps Oven” cooking. I can’t take credit for the invention of the “oven” because I got the design from Peace Corps. Use a large pot, put 2 stones at the bottom, place baking dish inside large pot on top of stones, cover pot with lid, turn on gas stovetop. Bake! In my makeshift oven I have successfully baked scones (after a couple of attempts), roasted pumkin seeds, and roasted eggplant. Next up to try is to roasted potatoes with Lipton Soup Mix, tuna casserole of some kind, and of course a cake.

In addition to stuffs and ovens, I also make other things. For example I cooked up some zucchini patties recently!! Some may know them as potato latkes with zucchini instead of potatoes. I was so excited at how tasty they were I went around the village passing them out for everyone to try. Au sa kauta mai kakana vinaka! Tavolea mada! (I am bringing good food! Try please!) Props to Carolina magazine for the recipe (and thanks to Natalie for sending me the magazine!). I also managed some lettuce wraps – stir fry some veggies, mix with couscous and mustard, wrap in lettuce leaf (from Preacher’s garden – lettuce be holy … come on! I’m funny!). I can even make some homemade tortillas – they are called roti here, and I used them to make a tuna wrap (soooo good!), a bean burrito of sorts (black beans and rice with tomato, lettuce, and highly processed chedder cheese), and homemade gnocchi (potato dumplings). And yes, I am totally bragging.

To wrap up this supersized food blog, a final thought. You don’t really think about your food that much at home. I had so many options and I took advantage of that while there. I did not appreciate supermarkets in which I could choose between many different types of veggies, fruits, and dairy products. Not to mention the ease that goes along with cooking at home – most of the things you need, you have – both ingredient and utensil wise. I have less but have still manage to produce some decent food. So I look forward to sharing my newfound skills with my future visitors. My mother has decided that when she visits with my stepfather, brothers, and Emma there will be an iron chef style competition between my talented-in-the-kitchen brother Douglas and me the formerly-incompetent-in-the-kitchen sister. Normally I would have thrown in the towel, taken my defeat with grace, walked away with head held high, and with luck left the competition with all my fingers intact. Now I look forward to the challenge! Douglas … I am your Bobby Flay. Bring it.

How Do YOU Stay Entertained on a Sunday?

The following videos are all ways I have found to entertain myself on days like Sunday when there is not much to do and you arent allowed to really do anything but relax. I relax during the week a lot so sometimes I get antsy. Enjoy "How Juliana entertains herself in Fiji" videos.



So I KNOW the fish got there by the tides before any of you smart science-y people try to tell me that. ;) But how did it just die, puff up, and end up on my walk!? It was pretty exciting on a Sunday when not much else happens.



SO after I made this video I munched on the "thing" for a bit longer and it turned out to taste not so bad. I got used to it and would eat another!



Douglas and Emma sent Simba a cat toy and I wanted to post this one so they could see how much he is enjoying it. It looks funnier to me to watch the video as you cant see anyone manipulating the fish.

Veitalanoa

Brittle star ... they are in all the tide pools at low tide and I'm always scared of stepping on them when I'm walking out to snorkel.

Welcome to my Shalom House. One of the villagers had this sign made me me and I love it.

No those aren't my legs. Just having some fun after early service training at Nan and Chris's house. Graham loaned me his legs for a bit ...

Melissa helps me do the airplane. Weeeee ... That's the biggest bed I've slept in since moving to my village.

Veitalanoa is Fijian for the telling of stories. How convenient that such a word exists because I have some stories to tell. Unfortunately, for those hoping to hear about cool work I am doing here, none are work related because that is soooooo slow going to the point of flowing backwards. For now, you will just have to enjoy these ....

1) Snorkeling!! The weather here has not been the tropical paradise I imagine – much more rain and cloudiness and chilly! Of course it is winter here I guess. Anyway – because the weather is less than optimal, the few times I get to snorkel I relish (no, not the stuff that goes on hotdogs). One time I got to see a small sea turtle!!! I squealed with delight into my snorkel, which is probably the reason it bolted. I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting with Nemo’s cousins. They send their regards (or lolomas in Fijian - see video above).

2) I had several visitors to my home since I returned from Peace Corp’s early service training. I entertained the preacher and his family over a pot of my home cooked soup. Quite hearty and delicious. My most memorable visitor to date was a woman and her small son. While showing photos to the woman her son was playing outside. All of a sudden “whack!” What just hit me in the head? Pants? AH! The kid is standing in the doorway without pants, penis pointing INSIDE! NOOOO – don’t pee in the house! Phew, he moved. But wait – after walking the mom out, looking to the left and down … POO!! That little boy dropped a load right next to my door. Excellent. Maybe it’s like a welcome basket? Or when people give fruitcakes at Christmas?

3) Tonight was one of my favorite nights since I’ve been in Fiji. The stars were shining brightly – cila sara na kalokalo if you will. Thanks to my Saftah (grandmother aka Buqu in Fiji) I had the ingredients for S’mores! When trying to explain the S’mores to some of the villagers, I realized that most Fijians have never heard of marshmallows let alone S’mores. So I told them we would make them one night, and that night happened to be tonight (10/18/2009). Funnily enough, the kids at the house where we were building a fire were watching some movie in which there was a bonfire and they were making S’mores!! That just made them so much more excited – like it was confirmation that I spoke the truth about these wonderful marshmallow and chocolate sandwiches. They made the S’mores, roasted some more marshmallows and we danced to UB40 under the stars. Seriously – excellent evening. I felt like a true Peace Corps hippie. Excellent. Nice way to celebrate the Dewali holiday.

4) Bad stories: people have been swiping food from me in many ways. Just today someone stole a papaya from my garden and while I was away for training someone swiped some of my eggplants. Perhaps I need a sign. “Na Turaga so raica tiko” aka “G-d is watching” … that should do it. Also when I got mail recently one of my packages had been pillaged to within an inch of its life. All the candy from my stepmom had been taken. See solution below.

********** Important *********** I had some postal issues last week – the first since arriving in Fiji. Several packages had been left somewhere besides the post office over a holiday weekend. 1 of the packages arrived in good condition, 1 was completely gutted by rats and 1 had been slightly invaded by rats but the only casualty was a bag of chex mix, and the final one had been ravaged and pilfered. I asked people at the Peace Corps Office and they said perhaps all packages should now be sent to the Peace Corps office address which can be found to the right. Letters, however, can still be sent to me on Ovalau to the Levuka Post Office. Packages should probably also be sent in either envelopes or flat rate boxes which can’t be opened and resealed without being obvious like a cardboard box. Food items in Ziplocs might be good as well because of rats. I really do appreciate all the effort and time friends and family have been putting into care packages and letters and I hate that the last few I received had been damaged. I am really sorry about that. Thank you so much to all who have been writing!! You have no idea the smile the mail puts on my face!

100 Things List – Continued …

So I cooked! Harvest grain mix (from trader joe's via mom), chinese cabbage, boiled papaya (not ripened) and some sauteed tuna fish. Not too shabby Juliana!

Oh! How did this picture get in here? It's nothing really, just my sunrise from the garden next to my house ... To be honest, it rarely looks like this but I caught it on a good day (well, I am always awake to see it as my cat paws me awake at 5 am daily).

I'd get in trouble if Kara knew I posted her picture online. But this is the bakery in my village in action. Small, but tasty deliciousness emerges.

I entertained in my house last week - made soup for Vakatawa+family and Inoke+sister and wife. There is also a curry there that Inoke's wife (Sue, the Aussie) brought. I made a tasty soup with onion soup mix, rice, kidney beans, tomato, eggplant, green bell pepper, salt, and love.

So as more random things come to mind while living in Fiji, I decided to continue with the 100 things list when these thoughts come. Here are the next 33 entries into the life and times of a PCV in Fiji.

Meanwhile, just so everyone knows, tsunami-wise all things are good here. I've had 2 tsunami warnings (incidentally, my neighbor pronounces it "toosunami" and it drives me nuts! hehe) in the past 2 weeks here. The first all the FRE7 (Fiji Return Entry group 7) volunteers were gathered at high ground already for early service training so we were fine. The second I was in Levuka town watching a netball tournament and had to go up the "100 steps" that are in town near a secondary school and wait for the alert to end. Had a a great view of any potential tsunamis to hit the area.

101) Bait for fishing here are hermit crabs: deshell and deleg the poor guys before hooking them.

102) I’ve eaten more eggplant in my village in 2 months than I think I ever have – my eggplant plants are growing them like crazy!

103) I can only remember not celebrating 2 birthdays with my family: 1 in Hawaii and 1 in the southern hemisphere in Antarctica. The next 2 without them I will be in the southern hemisphere again except this time in roasting temperatures instead of freezing.

104) The kids here stare at me a lot, but I don’t think they like me.

105) I watched Top Gun here for the first time – man those are some crazy tight pants!!

106) I like that when I peel my purple eggplant, I have a purple paring knife.

107) I’m strangely anal about how I hang my wet laundry to dry – all similar items must be grouped together, undies with undies, shirts with shirts, etc.

108) I’m not as anal about the pegs I use to hang the clothes but whenever I pull out 2 to hang something with, I always think “I should use 2 that are the same color” but I am don’t.

109) Went for a swim in the ocean and got scared of a giant silver fish that looked barracuda-like even though I KNEW it wasn’t one, but without my snorkel gear and fins I felt more vulnerable (was just wearing swim goggles).

110) There was a tsunami alert while I was in Nadave for Early Service Training (EST) and it was kind of exciting, but I was worried about my house 5 feet from the sea.

111) After EST I have lots of projects I’d like to see happen in my village: tilapia fish ponds, coral farming, 2^nd bread oven for bakery, marine protected area monitoring, one laptop per child laptops in the schools, renovated community hall (with added on kitchen, dispensary, and organized area for kindy), ecotourism backpackers lodge, vasua (giant clam) farming, environmental clubs in schools, kids camps, world map mural project, and of course peace in the middle East (that would count for at least 2 projects).

112) I have 2 small tomatoes and 1 small green bell pepper growing in my garden!!

113) Shelly sent me cat toys for Simba, but there was a little boy in here the other day that seemed to enjoy the toy more than the cat!

114) Something has been making a lot of racket on the roof lately at night and I’m too scared it’s a rat to go out and try and figure out what it is.

115) I had a dinner party at my house and served 7 people! I had to borrow plates, bowls and spoons from my neighbor because I only have service for 3. J I made a huge pot of soup with eggplant, green pepper, tomato, rice, kidney bean, onion soup mix, salt, and love.

116) My new teakettle doesn’t whistle when the water is boiled, it just starts spouting out boiling water all over the place!!

117) Saftah sent me s’mores ingredients and I’ve been explaining to a few people what they are telling them we will have to make them soon and it’s just so nuts to me that nearly every child in America knows what a s’more is and most people here have never seen nor heard of a marshmallow. Aren’t they in for a treat!!

118) When I came home after a week of being away, the whole house was covered in yellow dustiness that is constantly falling from the grass roof. I sneeze a lot here lately.

119) I came back from EST with 9 more books (thanks in large part to Shelly, Saftah, and the Peace Corps library) and I read 2 in 2 days already. 9 books would last most normal people at least a few months but mine will all be read before November.

120) I’ve read 4 Jodi Picoult books since coming here, and surprisingly my least favorite so far has been “Songs of the Humpback Whale” – who would have guessed that? My favorite so far is probably still the first I read: “Keeping Faith.”

121) Melissa finally helped me figure out the best way to wear a sulu: don’t tuck in but roll over. Stays pretty well.

122) For Halloween this year I think I will dress up as a kai valaqi, should be easy.

123) I wonder what 2 years of smelling burning trash will do to my health.

124) At home I like my toilet paper to come off the top of the roll, but here it’s easier off the bottom – perhaps this has something to do with the Coriolis Effect. Scientists? Anyone? Bueller?

125) The card game of SET that I brought with me became very popular with the PCVs in the FRE7 group.

126) There is a ferris wheel in Levuka this week and I plan on riding it!! I mean, it’s no Eye of London, but should be fun! Hope someone tightened all the screws. … Just came back from Levuka and the ferris wheel was spinning at like 100mph!! Thanks, but no …

127) My dad sent me the nicest text message ever today – there will be trouble topping it.

128) I brought nearly 5 bathing suits with me but I’ve worn the same one every time I’ve been swimming since coming to site.

129) When I get some ripe papayas on my tree, I will attempt POPO JAMU! I could mix it with banana and make a papaya-banana jam … that almost seems too much though.

130) When I look through old pictures on my computer I get weirded out when I see myself in jeans!

131) Fijians can make this crazy squeek noise with their mouths and they do it to get people’s attention. So half the time I’m out, I am walking about with my head spinning around to see if someone is squeeking at me.

132) My house is perfect for cats because it is made entirely of scratching posts.

133) There is a tree growing out of one of the wooden poles used to build my house. Better oxygenation inside now!

100 things

Above are some photos of an underwater excursion on the reef by my house. The top has a pair of butterfly fish, middle has Christmas tree tubeworms on what looks like a species of Porites coral, and the bottom looks like an anemone of some kind or a soft coral, havent had a chance to look it up.

In honor of it being almost 1 year since I was nominated for Peace Corps Service (it was in November that I was officially invited to serve in Fiji), I decided to write up a list of 100 things I’ve learned/observed/had happen to me so far during my service in Fiji. The idea for a list of this nature and size came from a fellow FRE-7’s blog (Matt and Kelly) who wonderfully gave me permission to gank their idea.

1) Just because it’s the dry season doesn’t mean it doesn’t rain – it does, often.

2) Cold showers are always cold showers and I will always scream out when I have to put my head under the water.

3) Frogs stop dead when you shine a light on them at night.

4) Ants like to eat everything in my kitchen not in a Ziploc bag – and even the stuff in a Ziploc bag if they can manage to find the 1 pinprick hole in it.

5) Fijian children have more snot than any child I’ve ever seen. And they don’t mind it – it can hang out on their upper lip for a full 24 hours for all anyone notices it.

6) Sasas (broom-like things) work amazingly well at getting the sand off your mats.

7) No one in America truly appreciates a washing machine like they should. I do now.

8) Whenever I put on bugspray, I feel like I am back at summer camp because of the smell.

9) It’s shockingly chilly somewhat regularly: like 2 pairs of pj pants and a beany hat chilly.

10) The stars at night shine and sparkle like diamonds.

11) When you plant seeds, they REALLY DO grow into food! It’s exciting to watch your food grow from scratch.

12) I enjoy hearing the ocean without a sound machine in my bedroom at night.

13) Flush-indoor toilets are a blessing and I thank G-d for mine at midnight when I have to go.

14) It’s possible to read a whole book in one day … on a regular basis.

15) It’s like pulling teeth trying to refuse a plastic bag in Fiji.

16) Fijians think my pimples are mosquito bites, so they don’t mind pointing at them.

17) Life is pretty good in flip flops.

18) It’s hard to learn another language.

19) I miss a lot of things, but am living fine without them.

20) I can see 3 other islands from my house.

21) Bread only has 5 ingredients and isn’t as hard to make as I thought - but I still can’t do it b/c the dough keeps sticking to my hands.

22) Fijians have lots of different dialects.

23) Most people who just meet me think I’m a teacher. It’s a little annoying.

24) I’ll drink black tea with lots of sugar in it.

25) You must wash dishes immediately to fend off ant invasions.

26) 1 small drop of anything sweet on the counter means ants in 5 minutes.

27) A cat in your lap makes you feel loved (like now).

28) A cat snuggling with you at night makes you feel less alone.

29) When sand hits tin under the force of wind, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

30) No drug has a more uplifting effect than mail from friends or family.

31) When I was little and dreamed of a princess bed, all I really needed was a mosquito net.

32) Cane knives must be sharpened regularly with a giant file.

33) Breakfast crackers taste good with peanut butter and jelly on them.

34) Breakfast crackers taste good broken up in your sugary black tea.

35) I can eat 5 kg of breakfast crackers in just about 2 months.

36) There is no sustainable substitute for the banana if you live in the US, but it is sustainable if you grow them in your backyard (New York magazine) – how convenient!

37) Reading a book where the main character goes out for sushi is painful.

38) I like dalo best when it’s cooked in the lovo (underground oven).

39) I like breadfruit better than cassava.

40) I like mashed pumpkin cooked, and then covered in lolo (coconut milk) and sugar.

41) A house can have tin walls, grass roof, wood windows, and coral floors and be perfect.

42) Things I keep under my pillow at night: flashlight, LED light, book, glasses.

43) Things I’ve lost since arriving: headlamp, couple of pens

44) Things I’ve broken: watch, water bottle, laptop

45) Things I’ve used my leatherman for: making coconut bilo (cup), making sasa, carving name in cane knife and sasa, opening tuna, making homemade cat toy

46) Papaya tastes the best when it grows low on a small tree and you can pluck it right off with your hands and don’t have to figure out how to wrangle it off with a stick.

47) Cats don’t get milk mustaches, they get milk goaties. Dogs get milk lipstick.

48) Cooking bread in an oven made of a metal barrel covered in cement is hard to perfect but tastes good.

49) I think I want to celebrate the Jewish Holidays a day late for the next 2 years so I know I am celebrating with my family in American at the same time.

50) Bats sound super creepy at night.

51) I will never like the taste of yaqona- I’ve tried, but it’s grainy, dirt-like, and numbs my tongue.

52) When I DO end up drinking yaqona, almonds, mints and Tang make alright chasers.

53) Drinking the water from a green coconut is ok, brown coconut – not ok.

54) Wild yams are purple.

55) If you have coconuts, why not boil all foods in its milk?

56) Fish eyes are delicious – via word of mouth, I will still never try them.

57) Motor oil is a perfectly acceptable way to mark the boundaries of a volleyball court.

58) 1 large Fijian foot is the equivalent of the most expensive hiking boot on the market.

59) I like the concept of sulus – wearing simple wrap for bottoms daily with no worries, but I can’t ever seem to get mine to stay on, no matter how far I tuck them into my underwear!

60) Ice cream tastes delicious when made with passion fruit.

61) Ice cream tastes delicious served over Jell-o!

62) If someone looks like they are waving you to go away, it really means to come here.

63) If someone sounds like they are grunting “uh uh (no)” they mean yes.

64) CHOW noodles with Kraft parmesan cheese is a daily staple.

65) Kraft parmesan cheese doesn’t have to be refrigerated after opening. Thank G-d!

66) Sitting on the floor all the time leads to lower back pain.

67) A steel bar with hangers caddy corner to logs is a perfectly wonderful closet.

68) “Cea” is Fijian text slang for “there” or “thea” because c= th sound.

69) I read my first Jane Austin book in Fiji – Sense and Sensibility.

70) Every once in a while I wonder about cyclones.

71) I need to become an expert in drainage, fish houses, coral farming, reef monitoring, seawalls, cooperatives, renovation, waste management, and fund raising.

72) A compost toilet apparently doesn’t smell contrary to popular belief.

73) Pigs make the most horrible, tear-inducing sounds when they are being tied up. I hope I never have to be around when one is slaughtered.

74) Lying is perfectly acceptable if they think it’s what you want to hear and will therefore make you happy.

75) The back of my front door has items mailed to me from USA: advertisement with sushi art, hand drawn picture of sun with shades (courtesy of Maxwell), photos, post cards, and magazine article about my famous and admired Grandpa.

76) I try to do laundry 2/week so my hand wash loads are very small, buts been very rainy and cloudy lately so I am way behind.

77) I can cook if I just do it, but I still get discouraged when there are too many ingredients.

78) Most of the ingredients I would need to follow recipes from the Peace Corps cookbook would NEVER been found on my island and would cost a fortune in Suva.

79) It’s nice that when I first got here, my stomach wasn’t the only unpredictable one in Fiji.

80) I’m going to run out of DVDs to watch – I didn’t bring enough.

81) Jodi Picoult writes really great books, but they all seem to involve going to court.

82) I am slowly getting used to the sound of hermit crabs crawling around the house at night amongst my coral floor.

83) My neighbor asked me to do her homework for her – 2 pages on poverty. Ironic as she lives in poverty and I grew up a Jewish princess, there is no way I know more about poverty than she does.

84) It seems normal for kids to get other adults to do their homework for them here – Inoke tells me it’s because they don’t have proper resources at school. Maybe I’ll raise funds for encyclopedia sets or computers with internet.

85) The previous Peace Corps Volunteer for this village made me tye-dyed curtains. Groovy.

86) Read = wilivola, book = ivola, write = volavola, envelope = wagavola (boat book?)

87) It’s illegal to catch turtles here to eat them, but if they get stuck in your net by accident it’s ok – I sat at a table where people ate turtle.

88) I set up my smoke alarm first thing when I moved in because I know it’s important to my dad and I’m paranoid because half my house is made of grass.

89) My house doesn’t fit into one of the 3 little pigs: not sticks, not straw, and not brick. What happens to the tin house when the wolf blows? Might be good to know in cyclone season.

90) Fijians all seem to be quite friendly but I still hate when they laugh and I don’t know why!

91) Moli means orange AND lime – it’s an unfortunate set of foods to mix up.

92) Wonder how long it will take for my laptop to break.

93) I’ve tried 3 times to grow tomatoes but I don’t seem to have luck with them yet.

94) I used to be scared to leave my mosquito net at night, so I wouldn’t go to the bathroom even if I had to. But I’m braver now!

95) The word for going to “pee” is “mee” – I’m not sure if “poo” is “moo” but I think not.

96) Powdered milk smells bad, but tastes OK in Weet-Bix cereal (with lots of sugar!).

97) Parrot fish probably taste delicious but whenever I eat one I can’t enjoy it because of the guilt.

98) Despite living in Fiji for almost 4 months now, I’m still not very tan.

99) The plants in my garden go through major growth spurts after heavy rains.

100) You can’t climb a papaya tree – it gives under your weight. Trust me.

Home Sweet Home ...

Learning to mix the yaqona. Doesn't look like I'm doing it right.

Scraping the coconut as fast as I can, subsequently winning the coconut scraping contest!!

My Fijian Ta and I at the homestay family appreciation day. We match ... awww.

Video of my new home in the village.


YAY! So the video FINALLY loaded, and now I feel the pressure to write a small blog as well to go along with it while I'm online. The video is a bit long, I apologize, but I hope it gives you a good idea of where I am living these days. You will notice that it is not insulated or sealed from the environment in anyway. The small broom leaning against the wall is the "sasa" I made from coconut palm fronds. How handy am I? There has been a few rearrangements with the arrival of a small table to go in the corner by the door. All the tubs on the counter in the kitchen house dried beans, rice, sugar, and powdered milk because I have no fridge. Even with the tubs and putting EVERYTHING I open in ziploc bags, ants are prevelant. So far (knock on wood) I have not seen a rat. Perhaps Simba is scaring them away by his king-like presence.

Besides the ants, I have what can only be called a hermit crab infestation. I know you think such a thing sounds crazy, but hear me out. The floor of my house is dirt. On top of that dirt (this is also in the video) is coral rubble, then dried sasa, then the mats. Inside all of the coral rubble happened to live hermit crabs before they were so rudely displaced to become my floor. They then like to crawl around the mats at night and against the tin walls and be all "clickedy clickedy like" ... is this not an infestation? Newest form of entertainment sans tv is to watch the kitten attack the hermit crabs.

Attempts at cooking in my kitchen have led to many failures. If you have any good recipes for how to cook dried kidney or black beans, please share!! I attempted to cook them and they didnt pick up the spices I added and just tasted bland and dry. My 2 attempts at making dahl (aka split pea) soup also ended badly: once because apparently chic peas are NOT split peas and 2 because the split peas never softened despite constant boiling attempts. Sigh ... I need Bobby Flay or that hot girl from the food network.

I would like any veternary advice anyone has for me: my kitten had what appears to have been a grand mal seizure yesterday. I've googled it and found out that cats can indeed have epilepsy. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and advice to give me. The whole thing lasted about 5 minutes. He started to twitch and contort his body, lost control of his baldder, eyes were rolling about, and he started to foam at the mouth. Then he was fine and slept for like 2 hours in my lap and has been fine since ... back the annoying habit of sucking on my face at 5 am.

And on a final note, I guess I could bring up work. I've met with a few people in Levuka town on Ovalau that would like my help with some things like environmental impact assesments and giant clam farming, etc. Hopefully I will get busy soon because as of right now, I've read 5 books in 2 weeks.

Hope this has satisfied your Fijian thirsts and please stay in touch!