Drew’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) or "tabu" (said tom-boo)
area is absolutely amazing! February marked the one year of the MPA which was the orginal agreement with the village. After recently monitoring and comparing results from last year the village decided to keep the MPA for another eyar. The results were astonishing with all the fish quadrupling in numbers and size. The villagers are so excited now that there are species the elders say they haven’t seen since they were children and also lobsters, which no one has ever seen on our east coast side of Vatulele.
This last month was a new experience being involved in a village funeral. The village mayor who passed away was the first person we met from our island, and he was also Drew’s counterpart. His family took us in and fed us while our house was being finished, they gave us our first tapa cloth, and he helped Drew for the first year with all of his projects. He was only 56 and died from stomach cancer. The funeral began on a Friday when they brought him to be buried near his garden, and lasted 10 days. Hundreds of people from the main island and from the four villages of our island came to show their respect.
We helped cook every single day for the funeral party, Liss made all the flowers for the grave site that the children carry through out the day, and we spent many hours helping do things for the funeral party. The tradition with funerals is that for 100 nights the family
wears black and does not cut their hair or shave their faces to honor the deceased. Then on the 100th night a big feast and ceremony is held and the family all cuts their hair and can get back into their colorful muumuus. It was a very difficult time for our whole village, but Joana the widow comes by often and seems to be coping.
Liss has been busy at work with all the humid season health problems. Lots of boils, skin infections, and dehydration. She also was able to assist an Australian dentist and complete a 2nd annual dental survey of the children. Again they found close to 500 cavtities, and they also discovered the children’s permanent molars are rotting within the first year of growing into their mouths. She has been trying to research fluoride tablets to be distributed in fiji, but it looks like she’ll have to get them imported from overseas. If anyone has any suggestions or can help her research that would be greatly appreciated.
eShe also had one of the best birthdays ever! For
her big 26th, it started off as a stormy day and then turned into the perfect sunshine. We borrowed a bike from a villager and rode 1 ½ hours in the mud to the underground swimming cave, then had a picnic at the top of the abondaned light house. That night Drew baked her a chocolate cake with mocha frosting over the fire, and whipped up his special roasted eggplant pizzas on basil crust. Thank you again to everyone who sent their love to her on her special day.
Liss also got a new kitten and puppy for her birthday, not with complete permission from Drew, but they are both so cute that how can you say no. The kitten was abandoned behind 
our house, and the puppy followed Liss home one day when she was riding home from work and she was hooked. Tave, our first dog, is pretty jealous he has to share the house now, and he lets us know with growls when either newbie gets within 3 feet of him. We are official dirtballs now though, with all these pets, and we know the villagers are talking trash, especially since Qisa, the puppy, threw up on our chief last week when he was over. At least we’re holding our reputation as the nutty Americans :) Love to you all!
Meow asleep on Qisa
