When Tomasi asked us all to follow two rules during the R+R stage of the project everyone was very receptive,
“Guys please, after you’ve had a few drinks please stay away from boats and stay out of water.” “Sure! No problem!” we all said.
A simple enough request on the face of it but as it turns out it is literally impossible to stay out of swimming pools after a couple of mugs of Fiji Gold. Perhaps the heady flavour of this beverage brings people out in a sweat, but I doubt it. Of course the miscreant Emma Hay is at the forefront of most of these aquatic misdemeanours and whilst at Club Oceanus she took a major part in a late night water aerobics session. After moving to the Beachhouse she has been caught diving into the pool in the early hours of the morning. She also still hasn’t paid her KitKat Kasino bill.
Thankfully the Boat & Water Embargo didn’t extend to the rafting experience which was one of the stand-out days of the whole trip. In spite of the barbarically early start we arrived at the Upper Navua river in good spirits. After the briefest and most Fijian of ‘safety briefings’ we were ready for the off and all hopped into our respective boats. Jack, Gill, Anna and I we’re very pleased to discover that our guide for the day was Joe the man-mountain, who aside from having the biggest triceps anyone had ever seen was a top guy and regaled us with tales of cannibalism and the filming of Anaconda 2. As we travelled down through the gorgeous canyon we saw some truly beautiful scenery with a breathtaking waterfall round every corner and stunning views up at the dense jungle that the gorge winds its way through. The lunch provided on the bank halfway down the run was absolutely delicious and probably provided us with more vitamins in one meal than most of us got in the village in a week. My top tip to the Batiki team who go next week is try the Guacamole.
The last few days have been absolutely awesome. Club Oceanus and the Beachhouse are really great places to stay and the whole team have sunk into the holiday feeling with customary enthusiasm. Of course at the back of our minds there’s always that nagging feeling of missing the village and our families and personally I’m not sure that will ever go away completely. We might be sipping Pina Coladas in the sunshine or paddling the surf in a kayak but there’ll always be a piece of our hearts that longs to be back on that tiny island with terrible weather, hop-hopping into the night.
Tomo
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Boils and Babies
As the noise of the boat engine dies away, like the sound of the last helicopter leaving Saigon, those of us staying behind are left to come to terms with the enormity of what has happened. Tom C, Alyse and Gill are being taken to hospital in Levuka in varying states of disrepair and we are left with the stark evidence of what has happened in Yanuca village. We have accidentally painted the hall blue.
Fast forward a week though and things are looking up; we’re getting good news about Tom Claydon every day and expect him back at home in the village tomorrow for the fun day and hall opening and the girls’ tests came back without any major concerns. Even better news, the Fijians seem to quite like the colours of the hall and although a few expectant mothers have turned up in the village asking to buy a pushchair from Fiji’s first ever branch of Mothercare we’ve slowly become accustomed to the sight of the big blue house at the edge of the village.
The hall has finally been finished and with its completion there has been a much more relaxed air around the village. Volunteers are frequently out of the village with their families, fishing and gathering fruit or in one case taking a picnic over to Daku beach for an afternoon of sun-worship. Others can be found frantically sanding down coconut shells into grog bowls with one hand whilst writing down the recipe for Sammy’s Papaya Juice with the other, frantically trying to finish a to-do list of things before we leave the village.
In the maelstrom of exciting events that has been the last two weeks, and Claydon hogging the skin infection related limelight it has gone unrecorded that last week (well before Tom’s) I had a bloody great boil growing on my leg. A healthy dose of anti-biotics and some bed rest later Escobar the Boil was no more. His life was short and violent, much like his namesake Pablo, but it was also rich and full of experience.
Yesterday Tomos and I went out fishing with the men from the village, it was an awesome afternoon and it really brought home exactly what we’ll be leaving behind in a few days. The stunning blues of the water around the reef, the amazing greens of the jungle stretching all over the islands of Yanuca, Moturiki and Ovalau were all complimented by the riot of colours that made up the ‘fishing outfits’ of the Fijian boys. My favourite ensemble was Lalli’s – a pair of basketball shorts, a ‘welcome to Dubai’ t-shirt all topped off by a rather jaunty Merry Christmas From Winnie the Pooh baseball cap. Watching the Vakatoa, not the most agile looking of blokes at the best of times, outswim both Tomos and I in a pair of wellies and some rainbow coloured swimming goggles must have been quite a sight.
Escobar Rest in Peace
x
Fast forward a week though and things are looking up; we’re getting good news about Tom Claydon every day and expect him back at home in the village tomorrow for the fun day and hall opening and the girls’ tests came back without any major concerns. Even better news, the Fijians seem to quite like the colours of the hall and although a few expectant mothers have turned up in the village asking to buy a pushchair from Fiji’s first ever branch of Mothercare we’ve slowly become accustomed to the sight of the big blue house at the edge of the village.
The hall has finally been finished and with its completion there has been a much more relaxed air around the village. Volunteers are frequently out of the village with their families, fishing and gathering fruit or in one case taking a picnic over to Daku beach for an afternoon of sun-worship. Others can be found frantically sanding down coconut shells into grog bowls with one hand whilst writing down the recipe for Sammy’s Papaya Juice with the other, frantically trying to finish a to-do list of things before we leave the village.
In the maelstrom of exciting events that has been the last two weeks, and Claydon hogging the skin infection related limelight it has gone unrecorded that last week (well before Tom’s) I had a bloody great boil growing on my leg. A healthy dose of anti-biotics and some bed rest later Escobar the Boil was no more. His life was short and violent, much like his namesake Pablo, but it was also rich and full of experience.
Yesterday Tomos and I went out fishing with the men from the village, it was an awesome afternoon and it really brought home exactly what we’ll be leaving behind in a few days. The stunning blues of the water around the reef, the amazing greens of the jungle stretching all over the islands of Yanuca, Moturiki and Ovalau were all complimented by the riot of colours that made up the ‘fishing outfits’ of the Fijian boys. My favourite ensemble was Lalli’s – a pair of basketball shorts, a ‘welcome to Dubai’ t-shirt all topped off by a rather jaunty Merry Christmas From Winnie the Pooh baseball cap. Watching the Vakatoa, not the most agile looking of blokes at the best of times, outswim both Tomos and I in a pair of wellies and some rainbow coloured swimming goggles must have been quite a sight.
Escobar Rest in Peace
x
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Gambling Comes To Fiji
As many will know, the second phase of Think Pacific’s work on Moturiki will emphasise the importance of building infrastructure within villages, particularly in the form of businesses. With this in mind Yanuca have got ahead of the game and opened a growing concern. That’s right kids; the KitKat Kasino is open for business. Offering games of blackjack and 3 card poker the unfortunately initialled KKK is the hot destination for those who want to have a good time in Lomaiviti. Any members of Emma Hay’s family reading this may wish to start searching for Gambler’s Anonymous meetings in the Edinburgh area. Similarly, Harri has developed a taste for 3 Card Poker which she can surely not sustain much longer – at the moment she’s up about 25 KitKat fingers but this is surely just a peak before yet another dizzying low. At the moment there is only one permanent member of staff in the casino proper as well as out of hours gambling opportunities in Tomasi’s Kreepy KitKat Klub but there are plans to train Seru up as a dealer so that the business is fully sustainable by the time we leave.
Moving swiftly from the vice of gambling to the virtue of patience below are a few lines about Kindi. For the last week Emma, Laura, Jack and I have been on the Kindi rota. This means singing a lot of childhood songs, playing with crayons and scissors and soothing a fair few tears and tantrums. Liza the Kindi teacher will probably soon be recognised by the Fijian ministry of education as a proper teacher which is great news as she can start drawing a wage from the government. I would suggest she also be recognised by the Catholic church as an absolute saint for her beatific calm in the face of 10 screaming Kindians and 4 fairly hapless volunteers. How she manages when it’s just her is beyond me. All this aside, time in Kindi is great fun. Making paper aeroplanes and flinging them about the room was a high point and when one of the kids finally grasps the difference between “Bloo!” and “Porple!” it’s a lovely feeling. Obviously all the teachers have favourites and the kids each have their appeal; Joe is super cool, Ateca is very sweet, even Foto has a certain cheeky charm. This being said, the attachment that Emma has formed to Savate – a 5 year old boy from Yanuca – is nothing short of disturbing.
Elsewhere the build is all but finished and Big Jack will be leaving very soon. I’ve learnt two things from the HWB*; the first is that if something wont behave in the way that you want just hit it with a hammer, the second is never make a decision on an empty stomach. Vinaka Vakalevu, Jack!
Peace.
Tom Owen
West Inala Panthers JRLFC Under 12s Manager (2005)
*Human Wrecking Ball
Moving swiftly from the vice of gambling to the virtue of patience below are a few lines about Kindi. For the last week Emma, Laura, Jack and I have been on the Kindi rota. This means singing a lot of childhood songs, playing with crayons and scissors and soothing a fair few tears and tantrums. Liza the Kindi teacher will probably soon be recognised by the Fijian ministry of education as a proper teacher which is great news as she can start drawing a wage from the government. I would suggest she also be recognised by the Catholic church as an absolute saint for her beatific calm in the face of 10 screaming Kindians and 4 fairly hapless volunteers. How she manages when it’s just her is beyond me. All this aside, time in Kindi is great fun. Making paper aeroplanes and flinging them about the room was a high point and when one of the kids finally grasps the difference between “Bloo!” and “Porple!” it’s a lovely feeling. Obviously all the teachers have favourites and the kids each have their appeal; Joe is super cool, Ateca is very sweet, even Foto has a certain cheeky charm. This being said, the attachment that Emma has formed to Savate – a 5 year old boy from Yanuca – is nothing short of disturbing.
Elsewhere the build is all but finished and Big Jack will be leaving very soon. I’ve learnt two things from the HWB*; the first is that if something wont behave in the way that you want just hit it with a hammer, the second is never make a decision on an empty stomach. Vinaka Vakalevu, Jack!
Peace.
Tom Owen
West Inala Panthers JRLFC Under 12s Manager (2005)
*Human Wrecking Ball
Monday, 14 February 2011
Claydog Millionaire
It is hard to summarise in just a few paragraphs the activity of fifteen people. It’s made harder still when they’re all living and working in a vibrant Fijian village. So instead I’ve decided to focus on one individual, a unique chap who told me not 4 hours ago that rather than writing his own personal trip journal he just plans to copy and paste the blog once he’s back in Blighty. It could only be – my Buddy and your friend – Tom ‘Claydog’ Claydon.
Tom starts his day cursing the name of Sani the Terrible two-year-old who wakes him up with her unique vocal stylings at 3am sharp every morning. At half past seven ‘Top Cat’ tucks in to some breakfast. At 7.31 he reclines for his post breakfast/pre-briefing nap. And kills a few flies. Obviously everyone loves the morning briefing and Tom is no exception. A standard conversation will go something like this:
TC : What did you have for breakfast?
TO: I had papaya and scones.
TC: I had porridge. It was (awesome / rubbish) delete where appropriate.
So after concluding the meeting by examining one another’s infected toes we all head off to our respective projects. After a morning of hard graft there’s nothing Tom likes more than a good bit of food and a quick nap, be it on the build or at Kindi the lunch break is a high point of the day. He’ll also kill a handful of flies with a hefty chunk of breadfruit. Sooner or later it gets round to crossing the water to Moturiki and to school. At this point in the day Tom likes to taunt the Gods of the sea. He does this in two ways, first by refusing to wear any kind of protective footwear over the stony crossing and secondly by ignoring the Assiki-approved pathway. Tom’s feet are frequently cut to ribbons, but at least he showed that bloody Poseidon who’s boss. After school it’s time for an hour of rugby coaching which typically consists of watching Joe our favourite kid in class 1 run in the wrong direction, eat snails and generally act a bit weird.
Next is rugby training with the village men. Tom dictates play, cuts some lines and generally makes it rain. Standard. Flies everywhere drop from the air, stunned by his raw pace and natural ability. On arrival back into the village a quick lap of the TP houses is in order on the hunt for bread and jam. After a shower Tom bookends his dinner with a couple of naps, then he kills a few flies and it’s off for the evening’s entertainment. Whether it’s a night of hop-hop or the weekly quiz, Tom gives his all. Often to be found hiding in the back of the grog shed to avoid dancing he is still always quick with a Fijian obscenity or a quote from ‘The Other Guys’. To finish the day Tom smashes a couple of flies from the air with his toothbrush as he brushes his teeth and heads for bed.
PEACE
Tom starts his day cursing the name of Sani the Terrible two-year-old who wakes him up with her unique vocal stylings at 3am sharp every morning. At half past seven ‘Top Cat’ tucks in to some breakfast. At 7.31 he reclines for his post breakfast/pre-briefing nap. And kills a few flies. Obviously everyone loves the morning briefing and Tom is no exception. A standard conversation will go something like this:
TC : What did you have for breakfast?
TO: I had papaya and scones.
TC: I had porridge. It was (awesome / rubbish) delete where appropriate.
So after concluding the meeting by examining one another’s infected toes we all head off to our respective projects. After a morning of hard graft there’s nothing Tom likes more than a good bit of food and a quick nap, be it on the build or at Kindi the lunch break is a high point of the day. He’ll also kill a handful of flies with a hefty chunk of breadfruit. Sooner or later it gets round to crossing the water to Moturiki and to school. At this point in the day Tom likes to taunt the Gods of the sea. He does this in two ways, first by refusing to wear any kind of protective footwear over the stony crossing and secondly by ignoring the Assiki-approved pathway. Tom’s feet are frequently cut to ribbons, but at least he showed that bloody Poseidon who’s boss. After school it’s time for an hour of rugby coaching which typically consists of watching Joe our favourite kid in class 1 run in the wrong direction, eat snails and generally act a bit weird.
Next is rugby training with the village men. Tom dictates play, cuts some lines and generally makes it rain. Standard. Flies everywhere drop from the air, stunned by his raw pace and natural ability. On arrival back into the village a quick lap of the TP houses is in order on the hunt for bread and jam. After a shower Tom bookends his dinner with a couple of naps, then he kills a few flies and it’s off for the evening’s entertainment. Whether it’s a night of hop-hop or the weekly quiz, Tom gives his all. Often to be found hiding in the back of the grog shed to avoid dancing he is still always quick with a Fijian obscenity or a quote from ‘The Other Guys’. To finish the day Tom smashes a couple of flies from the air with his toothbrush as he brushes his teeth and heads for bed.
PEACE
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Lessons in Hop-hop
As another week begins it is all too easy to get caught up in the Fijian way of life; munching on coconuts on the long walk home from school is definitely one of the nicer Monday evening commutes I personally have had to do and there is nothing quite so refreshing on this planet as the first icy bucket of water in the shower after a long day on project. The skies in the Pacific are definitely of the Fern Britton variety – big and beautiful. Whether its star littered inky black or huge swathes of red and amber daubed on a perfect blue canvas the views here would have even the most strident Cubist reaching for his watercolours. Yanuca Island, Lomaiviti is fast becoming as much of a home as the rainy north of England.
Projects are all flying along. Watching the community hall take shape over the last few weeks has been fantastic and racing against the elements to try and nail down the last piece of roofing before the whole thing got wet and became slippier than Alastair Campbell learning to ice-skate was a particular highlight for me. School and Kindi remain a mystery at the moment but seeing the exhausted, frustrated and occasionally elated faces of the volunteers at school tells its own story. Huge respect goes to Emilie and Andy especially who’ve been single handedly taking the lessons for class 5 for nearly a fortnight.
Now it may be the case that since packing your loved one off to Fiji and avidly following their exploits online the phrase ‘hop-hop’ has entered your personal lexicon. And it may seem as though we’re doing it quite a lot. What is not so clear is what exactly a hop-hop entails, so what follows is an effort to make that grey area a little more monochrome.
Hop-hop, simply put, is dancing. Usually quite gently. Usually to one of the same ten or twelve Fijian songs that everybody in the village knows. And very often it is done against one’s will. Usually a hop-hop will start as a peaceful grog session but as soon as the ladies of the village appear it’s time to put on your dancing flip-flops. Probably best described by Tomos as “like Dad dancing at a wedding”, Hop-hop is a chance to bust some old school moves – the cheesier the better. More is more seems to be the general rule of thumb in Fijian life and this applies double on the dance floor. There’s no shame in copying something you’ve seen on TV, the Fijians probably won’t have seen it but they will find it hilarious all the same. There is a much gentler option to the standard ‘freestyle’ which involves two partners walking backwards and forwards with their arms round one another’s waist, roughly in time with the music, the plus side of course is you’ll conserve energy but sadly nobody gets away with doing this one for very long. You can’t escape it, you can’t hide from it by sitting near the grog bowl, the ladies won’t take no for an answer, and in the end the rhythm is going to get you.
I’d like to finish with something that should be familiar to Daily Mail readers everywhere: a full retraction and apology. In a previous blog post it was implied that a Miss Jones and a Miss Hobbiss were romantically entwined. I am assured by both parties that this is not the case and that they are just good friends.
Moce, Tomo
Projects are all flying along. Watching the community hall take shape over the last few weeks has been fantastic and racing against the elements to try and nail down the last piece of roofing before the whole thing got wet and became slippier than Alastair Campbell learning to ice-skate was a particular highlight for me. School and Kindi remain a mystery at the moment but seeing the exhausted, frustrated and occasionally elated faces of the volunteers at school tells its own story. Huge respect goes to Emilie and Andy especially who’ve been single handedly taking the lessons for class 5 for nearly a fortnight.
Now it may be the case that since packing your loved one off to Fiji and avidly following their exploits online the phrase ‘hop-hop’ has entered your personal lexicon. And it may seem as though we’re doing it quite a lot. What is not so clear is what exactly a hop-hop entails, so what follows is an effort to make that grey area a little more monochrome.
Hop-hop, simply put, is dancing. Usually quite gently. Usually to one of the same ten or twelve Fijian songs that everybody in the village knows. And very often it is done against one’s will. Usually a hop-hop will start as a peaceful grog session but as soon as the ladies of the village appear it’s time to put on your dancing flip-flops. Probably best described by Tomos as “like Dad dancing at a wedding”, Hop-hop is a chance to bust some old school moves – the cheesier the better. More is more seems to be the general rule of thumb in Fijian life and this applies double on the dance floor. There’s no shame in copying something you’ve seen on TV, the Fijians probably won’t have seen it but they will find it hilarious all the same. There is a much gentler option to the standard ‘freestyle’ which involves two partners walking backwards and forwards with their arms round one another’s waist, roughly in time with the music, the plus side of course is you’ll conserve energy but sadly nobody gets away with doing this one for very long. You can’t escape it, you can’t hide from it by sitting near the grog bowl, the ladies won’t take no for an answer, and in the end the rhythm is going to get you.
I’d like to finish with something that should be familiar to Daily Mail readers everywhere: a full retraction and apology. In a previous blog post it was implied that a Miss Jones and a Miss Hobbiss were romantically entwined. I am assured by both parties that this is not the case and that they are just good friends.
Moce, Tomo
Monday, 24 January 2011
After huge amounts of debate and discussion during our downtime the Think Pacific menu has been finalised. If friends and parents would like to prepare a couple of the dishes below ready for our arrival it’d be greatly appreciated.
To Start
Chicken liver Paté served with toast and ‘a nice chutney’ – as chosen by Jenny
Duck paté and melba toast – selected by Emilie
Melon Balls and Parma Ham – chosen by A.J.
Bacon Sandwiches, unlimited – for Tom C
Main
Beef Lasagne with proper chips, salad and two kinds of bread (garlic and French, if you’re asking) – as chosen by Jack
Tuna pasta bake, with extra cheese and crispied up in the oven – as chosen by Anna
Steak, Chips and Green Beans. Medium Rare. – picked by Harriet
Pork belly, with sautéed potatoes – chosen by Nick
Haggis, Neeps and Tatties – picked on behalf of Emma, by Jenny
Chinese spare ribs, from the Wild Swan, Swansea – by Tomos
For Dessert
Strawberry Cheesecake – for Andy
Chocolate Torte – for Tomasi
Sticky Toffee Pudding, piping hot with ice cream – picked by Gill
Huge chocolate fudge-cake, cooked in the microwave with vanilla ice cream – as chosen by Laura
Hobbiss Birthday Cake, with all 4 layers, home-made gooseberry jam and food colouring – Jenny (again)
Also we were delighted to have added a 16th volunteer to Think Pacific team 8. His name is Boris the blister and he lives on Anna’s right foot. He’s a huge character.
Peace x
Tomo
To Start
Chicken liver Paté served with toast and ‘a nice chutney’ – as chosen by Jenny
Duck paté and melba toast – selected by Emilie
Melon Balls and Parma Ham – chosen by A.J.
Bacon Sandwiches, unlimited – for Tom C
Main
Beef Lasagne with proper chips, salad and two kinds of bread (garlic and French, if you’re asking) – as chosen by Jack
Tuna pasta bake, with extra cheese and crispied up in the oven – as chosen by Anna
Steak, Chips and Green Beans. Medium Rare. – picked by Harriet
Pork belly, with sautéed potatoes – chosen by Nick
Haggis, Neeps and Tatties – picked on behalf of Emma, by Jenny
Chinese spare ribs, from the Wild Swan, Swansea – by Tomos
For Dessert
Strawberry Cheesecake – for Andy
Chocolate Torte – for Tomasi
Sticky Toffee Pudding, piping hot with ice cream – picked by Gill
Huge chocolate fudge-cake, cooked in the microwave with vanilla ice cream – as chosen by Laura
Hobbiss Birthday Cake, with all 4 layers, home-made gooseberry jam and food colouring – Jenny (again)
Also we were delighted to have added a 16th volunteer to Think Pacific team 8. His name is Boris the blister and he lives on Anna’s right foot. He’s a huge character.
Peace x
Tomo
Welcome to Paradise
Bula! It is hard to summarise in a few paragraphs exactly what my Fiji experience so far has entailed. There’ve been huge highs as well as some difficult moments. The constant reapplication of sun cream is a bit of a chore but a dip in the balmy Pacific waters can wash away all but the most insistent of worries. Similarly, Hop-hop can be an exhausting activity but the raucous laughter that comes when you execute a particularly audacious dance move is reward in itself. Missing everyone at home is a big factor and sometimes it’s hard to stay positive but the new friendships that we’re forging in the tropical heat help to take the edge off.
Bucket showers (exactly what it sounds like) are something of a revelation within the team, Tom Claydon has even suggested he may stick with this type of bathing when he returns to the UK. Beaver Lumber baseball caps have made their way quickly into the hearts of everyone working on build thanks to a generous donation from Alyse. Card games are also very big on project with Mafia, Cheat and Trumps being big favourites with Fijians and volunteers alike. It just goes to show that you don’t really need an xbox. Or hot, running water. Or a flushing toilet.
Of course in this type of situation where a group of young people are brought together in such an idyllic setting there are bound to be some team members who grow closer together than others. Think Pacific Expedition 8 is no exception; there is one relationship that it has been wonderful for us all to watch bloom. That’s right, the bond between Angharad and Jenny that has grown in these last few days is something that cannot be put in to words. Whether it’s their pet names for one another or their affectionate little tiffs, these two are definitely the hot couple in Fiji right now.
I’d like to finish with the words of Fijian fly-half Nicky Little who, when asked about his sides chances of beating Wales at the world cup, replied “Well, it all depends if the boys are rowing the boat or asleep under the coconut tree”. So far we’re all rowing the boat, but it’s always nice to have a real coconut tree to fall back on when you feel like a break.
Vinaka Vakalevu, Tom
(And by the way, Fiji won)
Bucket showers (exactly what it sounds like) are something of a revelation within the team, Tom Claydon has even suggested he may stick with this type of bathing when he returns to the UK. Beaver Lumber baseball caps have made their way quickly into the hearts of everyone working on build thanks to a generous donation from Alyse. Card games are also very big on project with Mafia, Cheat and Trumps being big favourites with Fijians and volunteers alike. It just goes to show that you don’t really need an xbox. Or hot, running water. Or a flushing toilet.
Of course in this type of situation where a group of young people are brought together in such an idyllic setting there are bound to be some team members who grow closer together than others. Think Pacific Expedition 8 is no exception; there is one relationship that it has been wonderful for us all to watch bloom. That’s right, the bond between Angharad and Jenny that has grown in these last few days is something that cannot be put in to words. Whether it’s their pet names for one another or their affectionate little tiffs, these two are definitely the hot couple in Fiji right now.
I’d like to finish with the words of Fijian fly-half Nicky Little who, when asked about his sides chances of beating Wales at the world cup, replied “Well, it all depends if the boys are rowing the boat or asleep under the coconut tree”. So far we’re all rowing the boat, but it’s always nice to have a real coconut tree to fall back on when you feel like a break.
Vinaka Vakalevu, Tom
(And by the way, Fiji won)
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