Another Week in Paradise?

Not too much to report this past week from this tiny island in the south pacific. Mostly just rain, rain, topped off with some more rain. Rain in Fiji means the farm is muddy and even more mosquito heavy, our clothes are sopping wet with nowhere to hang but on the makeshift clothesline we hung in our room, and we have few options for entertainment-reading, watching the "fiji one" television channel, attempting to learn Fijian from the multitudes of kids running around the house. Luckily, the sun decided to show itself yesterday morning, after two consecutive weeks of virtual non-existence. We took advantage of the blue sky by paddling out into Savusavu bay in a 2-seater Kayak and rowing our way up the coast.

As we paddled along the reef yesterday, the water was incredibly calm; almost no wave movement whatsoever. While we were worried that all of the rain and runoff would create murky, unclear water, as it has in the past, all we came across was clear, beautiful coral where we could see all sorts of fish darting in and out. After about 2 miles of rowing, we docked the Kayak and Alec did a bit of snorkeling (I'm still a little panicked of what lies beneath). Even from where I stood on the rocks I could see bright blue and green fish and crabs and blue starfish. Paddling back, with no current or wind to push us down the ocean, we realized that 4 miles of ocean Kayaking is quite a shoulder workout, not to mention rowing with the hot sun beating down on us (suffice it to say that both of us got patches of bright red sunburns).



Speaking of snorkeling, I did a little snorkeling the other day (actually night) with a man who lives in the house. Alex decided to not attend this adventure. Peter has been telling me about how he spear fishes at night because the fish are easier to sneak up on since they're sleeping. I watched him pull all of his snorkeling gear out of a closet the other night when he turned around and asked me if I wanted to go. How could I refuse?

We walked down to the bay with our gear and one underwater light. The plan was I swim by his side while he holds the light and the gun and observe how its done. It had rained earlier that day so the water visibility was really low. As we walked in calf deep water not able to see our feet I looked down to see a three foot sea snake brush against my leg. My immediate reaction was to jump on a rock in fear knowing Fiji is home to the worlds 6th deadliest snake which spends most of its time in the ocean. Peter just laughed, explaining "Its only a sea snake, it wont bite." We finally made it to the rock point where we would jump off and begin our hunt, while I repeatedly asked him if this is safe to do.

As Peter put on his fins I noticed a flash of light behind him, lightning over the open ocean, remnants of the days storm. I brought this to Peter's attention telling him it might not be a good idea to go into a large body of water when lightning is visible. He just replied "Noooooo, it wont hurt you." Apparently he didn't get the message. I started getting into the water, ready to go, when Peter stopped me. He said we must say a prayer before we go. After the prayer, which was in Fijian, I asked him what he prayed for, seeing as he had assured me we would be safe. "For God to protect our lives." was his reply. My immediate reaction was to yell "No! You told me we had nothing to worry about!" He explained we shouldn't be worried because we were protected. This somehow didn't take away my fear. Luckily we didn't make it far. The visibility was too low. We went a couple hundred feet then turned around and walked home, which I was okay with. I'd rather not have fish than risk tangling with a sea snake.

In other news, our issue of the moment is: church. Life in a small village in Fiji is obviously quite removed from the goings-on in the rest of the world. In many ways, this is a wonderful thing. However, we are currently facing the difficulties of explaining to the family that Christianity is not as omnipresent where we come from as it is here. EVERYONE in the village goes to church, and multiple times a week at that. Without stepping on toes, and keeping in mind the language barrier, we are looking for any advice as to how to deal with the religious differences we have come in contact with. It is not that the family guilts us or makes us feel unwelcome for not attending church, it more seems that they appear confused as to why we wouldn't want to attend. By the way, all church services are in Fijian...