Exciting things ahead...

Over here in Fiji everything's chugging along with the end of Pre-Service Training. Thankfully I passed my Language Proficiency Exam with flying colors, so now as planned I will "swear in" as a Peace Corps Volunteer on Thursday of this week, and my 24-months of service as a Community Health Promotion Volunteer will officially begin.


THE END OF TRAINING

The Peace Corps Staff picked up all of my luggage from the host family house this morning in order to store it all at the office in Suva, the capital city, in preparation for my traveling. And today is the last official day of training. Tomorrow I'm taking the early bus to Suva (the capital city) so I can buy some of my necessities (like a mattress and a kerosene stove) that will not be provided by my village once I move to site. I also plan do a run to the only supermarket/ superstore in Fiji that carries imported international products (like mustard, antibacterial dish soap, dried fruit and nuts, protein powder, and Nutella) before I truly drop off the grid here.

Tomorrow evening my host village is having a community celebration for us trainees who have lived there over the past nine weeks. They've been preparing traditional entertainment for us (like a dance called the "Meke") all week long, and today the men are hard at work building a "Lovo" (underground, pit-style, oven) for the massive dinner feast they're going to have for the entire village tomorrow night in the Community Hall. Because the village has almost a thousand residents (it's a HUGE village by Fijian standards... my new one will have less than 120 people, and only 12 houses, to put that into perspective), the affair promises to be a good time.

I promise to upload some pictures of this, and other similar events of the past few weeks, as soon as possible. It may be a while, though.


SWEARING IN / MOVING TO SITE

Then, Thursday we're officially "swearing in" as Peace Corps Volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador's house in front of 200 diplomatic guests and the Fijian media (if you care to, maybe you'll be able to find a clip or two on YouTube). And on Friday, my overnight boat to Vanua Levu departs.

When all is said and done, I will arrive in my village (to a house I've heard is 99.9% finished by now!!) to start my new life there on Saturday afternoon. So, wish me luck!


MAIL/COMMUNICATIONS

From now on the address noted below is the best way to get mail to me. So, this means that I can now start receiving fun things for my new house if the mood strikes you to send something.

Melissa Goldman
P.O Box 824
Savusavu, Fiji Islands
South Pacific

[Just a note: I've learned that flat-rate international boxes are--by far!--the cheapest method for sending heavy/bulky items (like food :-) ). I think the smallest one (which a friend already discovered can fit as much as a bottle of chalua hot sauce, a package of dried fruit, three packs of almonds and like 6 lolli pops)costs less than $15 to ship to Fiji.]

I dont want to seem presumptuous here, but a few people have asked me what I would like to receive. So, if you're looking for ideas of things to send, basically anything that reminds me of home will be heartily welcomed. For example, stickers and cards would be nice to put up on my walls. I would also always love to receive necessities like hand sanitizer and zip lock baggies, entertainment like magazines and the front page/comics page of the newspaper, and food/snacks like granola, candy (i.e. candy corn, jelli beans, lolli pops, and any sort of milk chocolate treats), energy bars, and teas.

Also, please note that as soon as I move to site my communication capabilities will be seriously limited compared to how they've been during training. I will only be making the 5-hour round-trip bus trek into the nearest town for groceries approximately once a week. I can only hope tto have enough time to visit the post office and the internet cafe on these busy days. There are no guarantees.

Additionally, I will be getting a new Fijian cell phone in the next week due to coverage issues by my current carrier, so I will be sure to let you all know that information as soon as it becomes available.


THE MONTHS TO COME

All in all, I am very excited to get started with my "real" Peace Corps experience.

The first two-months at site are going to be "learning-only," as determined by the Peace Corps. They do not want us to start any new projects during this time, but instead we are supposed to focus on integrating into the community and learning the language (which is a new dialect compared to the one I've been studying so far) more fully.

Then, after a short training conference in early October, the work will start.

Like I mentioned earlier, I am a Community Health Promotion Volunteer. Luckily, because I am going to be placed in a small village, this really will mean whatever myself and the community decide. I will basically be there to act as a skills-transfer resource rather than a money-providing one. So, I will be able to provide trainings in areas like dental hygiene, nutrition, safe sex practices and the like. I'll also be available as a resource to help existing groups develop their ideas for community initiatives, and I will also be able to assist my community in accessing funding for projects in which it proves necessary to do so (via grant-writing workshops, etc).

The biggest goal of the next two years is to accomplish as much as possible in a sustainable way. That means, when I leave the community should be able to continue all the work that we've done. I know this is a huge task. The work will be slow-going and frustrating at times, but I welcome the challenge. I'm ready to get started.

Please everyone, send positive thoughts my way.
I love and miss you all.

xoxo
Melissa