The Travels of Drew & Liss

Siem Reap, Cambodia

2008-11-12T16:03:00.027+12:00

We arrived in Siem Reap with one thing on our mind, Angkor Wat. What else do you go there for? Since millions of tourists come to see the temples of Angkor every year the city of Siem Reap has everything you need. There is every kind of food you can think of, ATMs on every corner, and some body offering you something to buy where ever you look. We had a hard time when little kids would come up to you while you were eating wanting you to buy postcards and when you say no they walk away crying. Real tears or not, it was sad to see children working the streets at night to make a buck.

Another think about Siem Reap is everything is in US dollars which was strange after not seeing the greenback in a long time. It was nice not doing the math to figure out that your dinner costs $2.

The first day at the Angkor Wat we rode bikes to see explore the area. Once we bought our three-day pass we got a map and found out how large the area really was. The first temple we went was the famous Angkor Wat which was surrounded by a giant moat. The actual wat was incredibly impressive with the thousand year stone all intricately carved into designs and figures. The four walls surrounding the wat are all carved telling different stories of the past.

The next temple we saw was Bayon and it turned out to be our favorite. This old temple had tunnels, rooms, and statues all over the place. Each tower of the many towers has a face on each side. We ended the day going to a tower on a small hill that had a great view of the sunset.

We hired a wonderful driver, named Cheam, the second day to take us to some of the temples that were further away. He was a great guide as he explained the meaning of the temples and gave us some of it's history. We saw a few temples that had huge trees with the roots draping over the walls of the temple.

The temples are from the 9th-13th century of the Khmer Empire. The Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses more than 400 square Km and is a World Heritage Site. The Khmer people are the dominant ethnic group in Cambodia, they have beautiful dark brown skin and beautiful big brown eyes. Unfortunately there country is strewn with land mines and there is a high rate of amputees. It was devastating to see so many of them begging at the temples, a result of the genocide done by the Khmer regime as late as the 1970's.

We absolutely loved exploring the temples of Angkor Wat, soaking in the memorizing sunsets, and meeting the kind people of Cambodia.

Laos

2008-10-21T16:01:00.029+12:00

Luang Prabang Parade
We crossed the border from Thailand to Laos painlessly and arrived to find out that it was the start of the annual 3-day festival celebrating the end of the rainy season. Our first day in country we roamed through the streets playing dart games and trying different foods at all the booths lining the streets. Drew won a box of juice for hitting 3 balloons out of 4 and then he tried some BBQ, but couldn't figure out what kind of meat it was. It kind of gave him a scare when Liss reminded him that they eat dog, rat, and many others animals you wouldn't think of eating.

The next day we jumped on a 2-day boat ride to Luang Praban . Our boat was the 'slow boat' and luckily we were going down river. The boat is about 80 ft long and it was packed with tourists. We made the best out of the ride by admiring the natural beauty of riverside villages, lush green mountains, watching the boat races which is part of the festivities. The boat ride stopped in a small town in a steep canyon for the night and we quickly fell asleep despite the continuous firecrackers going through the night. After the second day of sore bums on the boat we finally arrived in Luang Prabang which is a World Heritage Site with strong french influence. We made it just in time for the biggest night of the festival. We watched a parade of people of all ages singing and dancing and carrying bamboo boats glowing with candles. We participated by shooting roman candle fireworks over the parade and then we followed the parade to the temple were all the boats were blessed and then the monks shot off roman candles over the crowd. We also took part of the festival by lighting a floating candle and incense and putting it into the river hoping our wishes will come true. Then we watched all the boats float down river. We barley made it home while kids threw firecrackers at our feet. We then took a windy bus ride through the edgy mountains of Laos, where we realized we had a man guarding the bus with an AK47. We arrived at 1am in Vang Vieng, a very creepy backpacker town where every restaurant plays reruns of Friends or Family Guy. The best part of Vang Vieng was the river tubing. We booked a river tour that took us to a village to see a cave temple and then explore a massive cave. The enterance to the cave was a few small holes where a stream came out of the mountain. We jumped into our tubes and ducked under the rock and emerged into a giant cave with stalagmites everywhere you looked. After the cave tour we headed down to the main river to start floating 5 km back to town. The river is absolutely gorgeous with mountains towering over the river. As we floated down the river there was numerous bars to stop for a drink. The main attraction to the bars was the giant rope swings, water slides, and zip lines. We spent hours on the swings acting like kids at 'Raging Waters'.

Our next stop was the capital of Laos, Vientiane. This city has a strong French influence with many bakeries, french architecture, and a look-alike 'Arc de Triumph'. There was also many beautiful temples, old and new.

We took a night bus to our next stop and this was no ordinary bus. It was a two-story sleeper bus and each bed was the equivalent to a twin but shorter and for two people. It wasn't too bad of a ride and next thing we knew we were in Pakse where we jumped on a van to the 4,000 islands. The 4,000 islands is in the very south of Laos where the Mekong fans out creating many little islands. A short boat ride took us to the island of Don Det that was a beautiful little island with rice fields in the middle and bungalows on the shore. The island was very quiet with many locals busy harvesting rice and fishing in the Mekong. We found the perfect bungalow right on the river that had amazing sunset views, night-time lightning shows, and overlooked Cambodia on the other side of the river. We rented bikes to explore the island to the south which was home to the largest waterfall (by volume) in Southeast Asia. This water streched as far as you could see and massive amounts of water plunged over rocks. At the far end of the island we took a boat to see the fresh water dolphins which are some of the last in the world. We spent a week in the area to take a break from moving around so much and because it was so cheap and the food was so fresh and so good.

We spent our last day in Laos back in Pakse which is a small, bustling town. With not a whole lot to see in town we rented a motor bike to see some of
the local life and that led us to a national park. We saw some incredible waterfalls and had lunch at a beautiful restraurant uniquely built with local timber.

Laos was filled with natural beauty and friendly people and we highly recommend a visit.

Peter, the friendly little monkey at our guesthouse who was saved from a Cambodian BBQ.

Trekking

2008-10-12T15:51:00.017+12:00

Well, we just got back from our 3 day trek to the hill tribes just north of Chiang Mai. The first day we explored a beautiful waterfall, then hiked 3 hours to a Karen tribe village tucked in the mountains. We had one other American solo traveller, and 4 Spanish lady friends who did the trek with us and our guide was a Jackie Chan-look alike named Som Dee. It was up and down slopes through hot sun and misty fog, and then we came upon the small village surrounded by tiers of rice fields and lots of bamboo houses. We stayed in small bamboo huts on stilts and the villagers made us dinner of delicious vegetable curries and rice. The next morning we got up early and hiked for 4 hours again through the blazing sun. Our Spanish ladies complained enough to give us plenty of breaks...which was really very much appreciated and then we finally came down the mountain side into a small valley where 10 elephants and lots of water buffalo were bathing in a river at a small elephant camp. We loved hanging out with the big wrinkly guys, and watching the kids give them all baths before our trek. We rode them for about an hour through the jungle, until we got to the next Karen village. That night Som Dee serenaded us with his Thai versions of American classics...Bryan Adams, "Everything I do, I do it for you" became "Avry doooo, dooooo faaa you"....very entertaining :) The next day was the biggest adventure yet...Bamboo rafting. Which sounded very peaceful and relaxing meandering down a big calm river- We were so wrong! At 8am Som Dee loads up all 8 of our bags on a bamboo tripod and we all line up in a single file trying to distribute our weight. In about 2 minutes our feet disappear, then our ankles and then Som Dee says " Very quick...OFF!" Som Dee and another villager found another piece of bamboo to tie on making it16 pieces instead of 15 pieces keeping us afloat. Drew and the other American guy were given the job to maneuver us through the river, which they realized quickly was much harder than it looked. We were banging against rocks and ducking under trees until they figured out how to put all of their weight on their 15 foot bamboo poles while pushing off the river bottom. Our favorite part was when Som Dee said, "OK, sit down...small waterfall" All of us looked at each other, and stopped laughing when we started going over fast rapids, hitting rocks on the way down. Liss was hanging on by one hand until someone pulled her back on. It was quite the adventure! Next stop Laos.....

Sawadee Ka

2008-10-03T22:01:00.016+12:00

Mae Hong Son Province

We arrived in Bangkok about a week ago and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Henry gave us a royal Thai welcoming. They treated us to a fabulous meal of local cuisine on the river and our train trip to the north.

We are now in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand and we have fallen in love with this little mountain town. We are staying at a nice quiet place near the river with free bicycles for us to wander around town and whiz through all the motor bikes. We are enamored with the food and local markets...and the $0.60 fresh fruit smoothies are divine. We met up with Morgan and Kataneh (Congrats again Newly Weds!) for a Thai Boxing match which was as Drew states "Bloodsport" quality. Ten fights, 2 KO's, bloody faces, and so many kicks to the kidneys made us sore the next day.

Motorbiking the Mae Hong Son mountains

We headed up to Pai in the mountains for 3 days and had an amazing adventure exploring on a moped. We found waterfalls, canyons, and even elephants! (Aunt Roxanne I did better than an elephant pet, I got a hug :) Pai itself was a very small, bohemian style town, with great live music every night and an incredible variety of international cuisine.

Pambok Waterfall

We met up with Drew's godmother's friend, Ronny, last night for dinner. She is an inspiring woman who picked up her belongings 3 years ago and relocated to this fabulous town, Chiang Mai. She is an amazing artist who volunteers at the blind school for children and who is very much young at heart and who knows how to enjoy every moment of life.

We plan to go on a 3 day trek to the hill tribes via elephant and bamboo raft. Then eventually Laos....if we can pull ourselves away from Chiang Mai.

A tiny bar in the middle of Pai.

The Land Way Down Under

2008-09-19T16:31:00.032+12:00

Sunset over Australia

So, about that slowing down on the Sunshine coast bit, well, knowing us we just couldn't sit tight for 3 weeks straight so we decided to take an adventure packed 9 days to Tasmania.

We apparently could not get enough of sleeping in converted minivans, so decided to dip back into the near freezing weather and explore the place where the Cape Grim Air Pollution Station claims Tasmania as having the world’s cleanest air. (The lack of pollution is due to the island’s southerly latitude, its position in the Southern Ocean, low-key development, distance from other land masses, and the cleansing effect of the Roaring Forties -Strong westerly winds that carry pollution-free air thousands of kilometres across the Southern Ocean. For those of you who were curious :)

Tasmania is a beautiful island with stunning white sand beaches, and landscapes that are rocky and rugged to green rolling hills and fertile valleys. The cities and towns in Tasmania are very historic from the times when it was mainly an isolated prison island. We found big stone building and old churches and bridges in every town we visited. We enjoyed the various campsites where we were surrounded by wildlife. Unfortunately we saw most of the wallabies, possums, wombats, and birds wildlife on their backs or smooshed on the side of the roadl... That's why everyone has big grills on their cars! We also visited Mt Fields National park to see massive waterfalls, rainforest, the second tallest trees in the world (mountain ash eucalyptus), and to play in the fresh snow. We spent out last day exploring the orchards, vineyards, and bays of the Huon valley ending it with fish and chips in Hobart harbor.

Before and after our Tas adventure we were able to spend some quality time on the coast with Lynne and Steve, Drew's aunt and uncle. They have a beautiful house and land where you wake up every morning to kookuburras, and rainbow colored lorikeets songs. We spent our days surfing and swimming at the numerous beaches on the sunshine coast. We spent an afternoon at the Noosa Jazz Festival listening to amazing artist and one young artist, Smokin' Joe Robinson, left us stunned with his brilliant guitar talent. It has been so comforting to stay with family and wind down after living in a van for weeks at a time. We spent a day at rainbow beach discovering the colored sands and the cute little towns along the way. We stumbled upon a small lake with a gorgeous botanical garden. Since it is spring time we enjoyed all new colorful flowers as well as seeing a snake winding its way in the shrubs. Steve even let us take out the boat to go fishing down the Maroochy River. What a fantastic trip we are having so far. Next stop is Bangkok and many more adventures to come.

The Land of the Kiwis

2008-09-08T17:53:00.034+12:00

Wally

Well, we've gone from our lovely tin bungalow on a pristine island, to living in a van down by the river. We've just spent the last 3 weeks putting 4,000Km on our rented camper van, affectionately named Wally. We parked and camped on the cliffs of mountains, to the shores of lakes, on the edge of river mouths, and even in supermarket parking lots.

Our poor tropical Fijian-ized blood had a serious shock with some parts of New Zealand measuring in at a lovely 2 degrees Celsius (36 F). Chilled to the bone, we bought ourselves some serious winter wear, and made it through the night only with the love of 2 hot water bottles.

Our first snow in 3 years!

Damian, a friend from Uni (as they call it here) picked us up at the airport and let us stay with him in Auckland while we attempted to acclimate to our first " real winter" in 3 years. For those of you who didn't know, Drew did a study abroad program in New Zealand for one year at Massey University in Palmerston North.

A view from Auckland's sky tower where we had Drew's Birthday dinner.

If you could sum up New Zealand in a sentence it would have to be: "California as it's own island country with rolling green meadows speckled with sheep, deer, & cow, while all the kiwis (the people) stay happily physically active while enjoying their breathtaking outdoor scenery."

Well, at least that was my first impression. Everyone here was genuinely kind, from the bus drivers to the punk looking high school kid behind the ice cream counter. There doesn't seem to be a lot of overweight people, and everywhere we drove you could find kayakers traversing river gorges or cyclers racing up mountains.

Franz-Josef Glacier

Oh and the landscape was just gorgeous! Sunrises and sunsets beautifully sinking into the ocean all within a days drive. Glaciers, thermal geysers and pools, volcanoes, bays and sounds of islands, hundreds of waterfalls and beautiful sets of waves. Drew scored Raglan, one of the most famous waves in the world.

Raglan

My one mission for New Zealand was to see Penguins and oh did we ever! We camped out at a reserve and watched these 2 foot chubby birds surf in on their bellies, pop up and waddle to their nests. The next morning, at sunrise, one by one they looked like someone tied their shoelaces together as they wobbled down the Big Sur looking cliffs to the beach. Several of them came within a few feet of us as they left for a hard days work of fishing. It was one of the coolest discovery channel moments I have ever had :)

Liss discovering she can no longer eat lamb after this cuddly experience.

Mount Taranaki

The best part of it was that this country seems to really cater to the outdoorsy tourists. With up kept trails and national parks at every turn, immaculate public toilets (my personal favorite), to tons of comfortable campgrounds where your often the only ones...this is the place to go if you want a beautiful budget holiday.

Drew tapping his own beer at Speights brewery.

It wasn't only the cold that had us in shock here, but the never ending rows of restaurants, supermarkets, and shops. It all seems a bit surreal to find ourselves in this fairyland world of luxury again, and to think that we won't be going back to our primitive island again any time soon. We keep finding ourselves in a mix of emotions of excitement for the future and nostalgia of what we've left behind. Don't get us wrong though, we are thoroughly enjoying the civilized world again!

We had an amazing fast-paced adventure in kiwi land, and now

we're ready to slow down on the Sunshine coast in Australia.

Catching the sunrise and penguins at Bushy Beach Reserve.

Last Projects in Fiji

2008-08-21T20:23:00.005+12:00

Teachers and us at our farewell party at the school The Compost Toilet Opening Ceremony The World Map: all paint was donated by Bob and Ann Styles (Gramma and Grampa) The finished compost toilets. The money was donated by

Susan and Tom Loganbill (mom and dad)
The Massy-Greene Family
Friends of Fiji, Madison Wisconsin

Thank you again for everyone who helped make our Peace Corps experience a success! We very much appreciate all of your love and support!

Last Imagaes of Fiji

2008-08-16T17:53:00.004+12:00

Our farewell dinner

Our little church at our very last day project painting the water tanks

Liss giving her last dental presentation

Liss and Pita making sand villages

Drew preparing all of our things for raffling

Titi and Manasa

Farewell Feast: Fresh pig, fish, and palusami

Drew holding our gift to the island a Peace Corps Rugby Cup, which Drew got to present with his Dad.

Melissa Loganbill and her Mom Viri

The last view from our last boat ride leaving Vatulele

Moce Fiji!

2008-08-15T14:57:00.006+12:00

This is officially the last update from Fiji! Can you believe it 3 years and 2 months in this country and we have packed up our bags to move on to the next adventure. We left Vatulele on August 7 and it was one of the most difficult moments in our whole Peace Corps experience. On our last day in Vatulele, we took a run across the island with our dogs, took one last swim in the pristine turquoise ocean at Liku beach, and then we held a raffle to give away everything we owned to the villagers. We went to church for the very last time, and then it was 8 hours of drinking kava and listening to our village sing beautiful songs until 6am. Traditionally in the Fijian Village departing friends and family must stay up all night before they take their leave so that you spend every last minute with the ones you care about. It was a long, tearful goodbye for everyone! We spent a few days in Suva finishing up paperwork and saying goodbye to our office and friends. Our chief is here with us at the airport saying goodbye. He is a very sweet man for making a trip out just to see us...he is 75 years old! He keeps telling everyone here that he's with his Peace Corps :) We were finally able to show him this blog right now and he loved it! We are sure going to miss this place! Well, it's off to New Zealand....Let the adventure begin!

Day to Day

2008-06-30T09:23:00.004+12:00

Many of you have recently been asking us what we are doing with our last few months on the island. Of course we have been busy with projects, but our island life is so full of day to day chores that most people don't realize we even have. We thought we would give you a glimpse into our daily life and what we have been doing behind the scenes living on a tropical island for the last three years .

Every morning a truck rolls down our one island dirt road to the last village to pick up employees of the resort. This is the village's cue to rise and shine and start getting the kids ready for school. We usually take a wake-up jog down to the next village with our dogs, Tave and Qisa, to get us ready for the long days.

Running down the beach towards the sunrise.

Before hitting the bucket bath we try to get in a few chores like mowing the lawn or washing clothes. Washing clothes in a big basin and scrubbing them on a piece of plywood took some getting used to. It isn't all that bad unless it's your turn to wash the sheets. It is so hard to scrub every single inch in a small tub.

Drew using his machete, the typical Fiji lawn mower.

What makes it more challenging is you have to walk down the village a few hundred yards to get more water to rinse your clothes. After a good rinse you get to hang your undergarments high and proud for all to see with your other clothes and pray it doesn't rain or else mildew begins to set in.

After cleaning up and breakfast, Drew is off to the Teitei, his plantation to garden. After many months of hard work we are finally eating this season's harvest. He has beautiful yams and lettuce growing right now.

Drew and the Fijian yams, Uvi.

A box of his fresh picked COS lettuce.

Melissa’s off to work at the little health clinic down the road. She gets to help patch up munchkins all day and help out the health workers.

Hanging out with Tagitagivula, and Tai Malakai.

Usually Melissa and Drew meet at home for lunch, but Drew takes a longer lunch break to stay out of the hot sun and get some extra chores done.

He gets to go to the bush and cut down dead tree branches for our firewood and then prepare it for baking over the fire. He also gets to go to other side of the village to feed the pigs our left over food.

We both get home around 6pm and finish up our chores around the house. Everyone in the village makes their own brooms from coconut leave stems to keep their houses clean. Melissa sweeping with the local broom, a sasa.

We switch off washing dishes. We had to get a good system going with 2 basins all done in our little shower room. We usually have to do our dishes each night or else the food will attract more mice and cockroaches from the jungle behind our house.

Then we get to prepare our dinner which usually consists of a couple of fish either Drew has caught spearfishing or from our generous neighbors. Melissa loves her fish filleted so she can marinate it in one of her many homemade concoctions. Drew is a big fan of the local coconut milk cooked with fish. He usually scrapes the coconut with a grater then he squeezes out the fresh milk to boil with the fish.

Drew scraping coconut flesh in our kitchen.

After dinner we usually wind down by the lantern reading or playing with our pets. Then it's off to bed to dream about doing it all again tomorrow!

This is the latest progress on the four new latrines at the school. Hopefully, they will be done this week. We will be having a grand opening ceremony to commemorate all of the effort by our village and the school for completing them so quickly.

This is the latest picture of our namesake, Melissa. She is sporting a new dress from the Styles' Family, and mini tennis shoes from Z'aree Loganbill, Drew's cousin. This was taken after her baptism last Sunday.

Oso Oso....Busy!

2008-06-13T08:32:00.016+12:00

Well, the last stretch is in sight and we are already beginning to pack up our tiny house! You would be amazed at how much you can get into a one room tin shack over the course of three years! Although, Melissa's pack-rat ability is highly exceptional on an international level, our goal is to give as much as we can to our villagers.

In the last month, we unfortunately learned that Peace Corps will not be replacing us with new volunteers. Although they equip us with state of the art GPS, a satellite phone, life jackets and a cell phone, after three years they've decided our unpredictable boat situation is too risky. At this point we agree with their decision, but of course the village is deeply disappointed.

The school compost latrine project coming along nicely.

We also celebrated Mother's Day in the village on May 18. Melissa was promoted this year to play the queen in the annual Mother's Day play in church. Although technically she was demoted because her previous part for the last 2 years as the King's servant actually had lines...2 to be exact.

All the mothers of Lomanikaya.

Melissa with Salote and Ana giving a performance of a lifetime :)

As our departure date is approaching the villagers have become more sentimental and we find visitor coming by more often for tea, chatting, and even dinner- We actually just introduced our chief to chicken tacos..His reaction " ooh, na tokoo is nice."

We also have been trying to teach computer lessons as often as we can. This year we are combining our efforts so one of us can focus on individual typing lessons while the other gives an environmental or heal

th lesson to the rest of the class.

Melissa with Talica and Jone, sixth graders.

The best surprise this last month was our associate pastor naming his daughter after us and bringing her home in May. Melissa Loganbill Naivau was born April 28, 2008 weighing 3.8 Kg. She is just beautiful and we are so honored.

Melissa, holding Melissa, with Drew.

Change of Seasons

2008-05-13T08:13:00.003+12:00

Traditional Fishing with one big coconut net

As Drew and I anchored on our sandy beach of Vatulele we were greeted by a tanned aging man, and a camera crew. He introduced himself as Jack, working on a documentary of the traditional fishing techniques in Fiji for Jack Hanna's Into the Wild TV show. Unphased, Drew and I shook his hand, as we do with all visiting tourists, and continued to unload our supplies from the boat. We both went on our way, and unfortunately, it wasn't until we came in and googled him that we realized that we had been graced with a celebrity's presence!

Spearing the fish onto shore

We thought we would give you some picture footage from Into the Wild Fiji, which should be coming out on TV in the next couple of months.

Flopping Fish

Mr. Hanna and his crew filming the action

Besides the "Wild" excitement Drew and I have been busy entertaining fellow volunteer visitors, attending week long Methodist church conferences, and enjoying the cooler weather. The last few months of our service will be in and out of the main island doing trainings for the next group of volunteers so we are pushing hard to finish up our village projects.

We officially broke ground for the new latrine facility at the primary school. Drew has also been working hard with the school kids to finish up the world map mural. Below is the headmaster painting Fiji on the map. All of the kids are always so disappointed to find out Fiji is so small compared to the rest of the world.

Aside from projects, and trying to figure our next chapters in life we have just been trying to savor every minute with our villagers.

Pita, Moni, and Tai Mala enjoying papaya in our backyard

Village Projects

2008-03-13T09:40:00.014+12:00

With the turn of the new year we have been on a roll in the village. In the middle of January we finally opened the dispensary in Lomanikaya village. The dispensary was funded by guests from the resort and it has taken nearly 5 years to finish. The village conducted an opening ceremony for the dispensary and had the nurse practitioner and Melissa as the chief guests. Now that it is open, it serves the two villages with access to medicine, minor first aid services, and check-ups. It is especially convenient for Melissa because the dispensary is only about 100 meters from our house. She has been very busy with training the village health workers and providing check-ups and health advice for all the villagers. It has actually become a popular place to hang out as all the kids stop by on the way home from school and many villagers come by for a break from their daily chores.

Shortly after the dispensary opening we experienced our first cyclone on the island. Cyclone Gene came through Fiji on Monday, January 29th bringing vast quantities of rain and strong winds. Luckily for us and our village we had minor damage and no one was hurt.

The cyclone did manage to bring down quite a few trees including a 50 foot coconut tree that came 2 meters from hitting our house. Unfortunately, the strong wind and waves pushed the village boat up the beach and a coconut tree fell on the boat breaking off the engine. Once the storm broke there was a big village effort to clean up all the debris and of course swap stories of the wild night.

Recently Drew was able to finish the Water Distribution Project. This project provides the village with easier access to water within the village by pumping the well to three tanks dispersed through out the village. The first two tanks were connected to the pump before Christmas and all the villagers and their visiting families were overjoyed at the ease of accessing water. After the holiday season the village finished up the project by installing a hand pump and covering the well to keep it clean. The third tank was recently connected so now water is easily accessible for everyone. The tanks require pumping every night when the generator turns on and the village men have taken the initiative to begin a rotation amongst themselves.

Thanks to the very generous managers, Nick and Chris, at Vatulele Island Resort we recently got certified to scuba dive. The diving around Vatulele is absolutely beautiful with tons of big fish, reef sharks, and colorful corals. We celebrated Melissa's 27th birthday with a shark dive in the Bega Lagoon. It was an amazing experience to face our fears and observe the huge beasts of the ocean. We saw and touched 8 nurse sharks ranging from 8 -12 feet, white and black tip reef sharks, and two 12 feet long bull sharks came by to have a snack. Other than the sharks there were plenty of giant trevally as well as other fish circling around the buckets of fish. If you are a scuba diver this is a must see in Fiji.

We followed up that dive with a week of work in Suva and then we used the rest of our vacation time to travel around Viti Levu. We went to the island of Caqalai to enjoy a few days of snorkeling and relaxing. Caqalai is a tiny island that you can walk around in 15 minutes and it has amazing reefs filled with brilliant corals and fish. We then took a short boat ride in the pouring rain to Levuka, Ovalau which is the old capital of Fiji. This small town has an old colonial feeling with a backdrop of tall, jagged mountains. We spent a few days touring the town, small museums, and landmarks from the first settlers. From Ovalau we made our way up to Nananu-i-ra to spend our Easter weekend with fellow volunteers. It was a terrific vacation and it makes us sad to think that it will be our last real vacation in Fiji.

Bring on 2008

2008-01-15T16:00:00.000+12:00

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season! We got back in Fiji just in time for Cyclone Daman to run its course through the northern group of islands. Peace Corps consolidated all the volunteers to the main 2 islands, so we were sent to Suva for 5 days waiting to see the cyclone’s course. From November- April its cyclone season in Fiji and with global warming they say to expect more cyclones than in the past. Besides dodging Daman, we have been enjoying the slow holiday season. Everything winds down during this time because it’s the “summer break” for all of the kids. Despite the indolent attitude towards working, Drew managed to get his water distribution project up and running before Christmas- just in time for all the visiting family members. All the villagers are so happy they don’t have to draw water from the well anymore. We spent Christmas day with our village family eating lots of roast pig, chicken, and fish, going to lots of church, and playing games on the beach with the kids. We decided to go to Taveuni Island- coined the garden island of Fiji- for New Years. We spent a few days surfing, hiking to waterfalls, snorkeling, and camping on the beach with a few other Peace Corps volunteers. It took us 26 hours by ferries and buses to get there, but the breathtaking scenery made it all worth the journey. Since the date line runs directly through Taveuni we were absolutely the first people to bring in the new year. We look forward to getting our last few projects finished up in the next few months. Drew will finish his water project in the village and help Liss with the construction of the new compost toilet project at the school. Our village is having an official ceremony this week to open our dispensary, so Liss can finally work in our village. All the best in 2008!

Taking a Break

2007-12-03T12:52:00.001+12:00

We are coming to an end of our month long vacation back home in sunny California. The Peace Corps gave us 30 days break when we extended our contract an additional 12 months. We arrived at the end of October to be welcomed to LA engulfed in smoke from the Santa Ana wind fires that took over southern California. We have been enjoying every minute being back home with our friends and family. We can't tell you how nice it is to not have mosquitoes swarming, and dirt between our toes. We have been travelling quite a bit to see everyone this last month. We were able to be a part of Drew's longest friend's beautiful wedding: Congratulations Mike and Nika Starkey! We went up to San Francisco to see our brother Scott and friends in their band, Arcadio (See link to the right, for a sound clip). We also took a few days to go out to Arizona to see Melissa's Aunt Roxanne and check out potential dental schools. Phoenix was a definite highlight of our trip topped off with a Suns vs. Bulls basketball game with Roxanne and our grandma. For our third-year anniversary we stayed at a lodge in the Sequoia National Park to see the giant sequoia trees and take moment to ourselves between all the visiting. Thanksgiving was a whirlwind of family and the of course, scrumptious food. It was Drew's first time doing a double Thanksgiving in one day on Melissa's side and he didn't seem to have a problem devouring turkey dinners back to back. A day later we joined up with the Loganbill family in Cambria for another Thanksgiving at a beautiful house on the ocean. Now we are preparing for our return to Fiji and picking up on the projects we were working on before we left. Liss will continue to teach computer skills at the school, and Drew will begin the construction of his water distribution project. We also look forward to opening our village dispensary, and beginning the construction of a new compost latrine facility at the school which both were greatly supported by our friends the Massy-Greene family. We appreciate everything that all of our family and friends have done to support us over the last two and half years. We thank you so much for the time you have taken to spend with us this last month and we wish all of you a wonderful holiday season! We love you all!

Google Earth Tour

2007-12-01T13:31:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone!

We recently discovered that you can check out Fiji and our island if you visit Google earth. You can download Google Earth for free through http://www.earth.google.com/ or click link on the left.

Below are some images we copied so those of you who are computer challenged can see some satellite pictures of our island.

This is the Fiji Islands (minus a few small outer islands). The large circular island is called Viti Levu and this is the main island we travel back and forth from by boat.

This is Korolevu village on Viti Levu Island. This is the reef passage our boats travel into from Vatulele. It usually takes anywhere between 1 hour- 3 hours depending on the weather. Our boats are 20-25 foot fiber boats with one outboard engine. The open sea passage can get a bit rough, but don't worry because Peace Corps equips us with a gps, life jackets, and a satellite phone.

This is our island Vatulele. The whole island is about 7 miles long and at it's widest about 4 miles. There are 4 villages on the island with 4 separate chiefs. The chief in Ekubu Village (located in the North east, see picture below) is also the paramount chief, and he makes final decisions for all of Vatulele.

This is Lomanikaya Village which is located about half way down the island on the east side. Our village has about 75 people year round and around the holidays about 25 extra family members (mostly children who school on the main island.) You can see our church at the north end, our newly finished dispensary where the red cross is, our house just below, and even our old village boat (which was repossessed a few weeks before we left.) Our house is the only home located on the other side of the road so our backyard is all rain forest.

This is the north end of Vatulele Island where the school and health center are located. Liss rides her bike here everyday and Drew comes to work at the school about 2-3 times a week to paint his World Map with the children. You can see many houses because Ekubu village and Taunovo village blend together creating a small town with about 650 villagers.

This is the other side of our island (the same side as the infamous Vatulele Island Resort.) It takes us about 30 minutes to hike across to the white sandy beaches and turquoise water. We usually do a lot of fishing on this side because the coral reef is much closer to shore making it easier to catch fish. We try to hike across with our dogs about once every couple of weeks.

We hope to keep this post updated as Google earth updates their satellite photos, so stay tuned :)

Time for Family

2007-06-14T09:30:00.000+12:00

It’s been a whirlwind the last few months filled with many memories and lots of family. In May we headed to Hawaii to see Randy (Drew’s eldest brother) and Kristy tie the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony on Maui’s shore.

For two weeks we enjoyed time with the Loganbill family, and relaxed in the American comforts of home Hawaiian-island style. It was a special vacation especially for Drew’s dad when cousins, sons, and friends all shaved their heads on our last night in town to support Tom in his upcoming chemo treatment. Tom has such a great spirit and continues to be an inspiration to everyone.

Dana and Scott (Drew’s second oldest brother and sister-in-law) flew back with us to Fiji to begin the first leg of their 6-month around-the-world trip. We gave them the royal treatment on Vatulele and then to town for a complete “island experience.” Here we are all atop the lighthouse after an underground cave swim.

Between visitors we had our last Peace Corps conference with our group and said our good-byes to all of our friends and colleagues who will be leaving in the next few months. There is 24 left of our group out of 34 people. We were the 3^rd group to re-enter Fiji after they closed the post in the 90’s. For those of you who don’t know we are extending our contract for another 12 months and will be home in December 2008.

To celebrate our last occasion together, a big group of us went on 2 dives in the Beqa Lagoon. It was our first Scuba Diving experience, and we are hooked! Fiji has amazing coral reefs and it was unreal standing on the bottom of the ocean watching all kinds of sea life pass you by without taking notice of us.

Brandon and his friend came a few days later and we were able to do a little Island hopping to Nanu-I-ra, Caqalai, Viti Levu, and then to Vatulele. They both gave art and language lessons at the school and our Saturday Kid’s Club Class, and they also helped paint the World Map Mural with Drew.

It’s been so fun entertaining, it makes us a bit homesick, but we love it all the same. Our doors are always open for anyone willing to take a little pacific island adventure!

Swimming in the Rain

2007-03-20T17:00:00.000+12:00

Wow! We’ve had just under 2 feet of rain on our little island last month, and we have learned that mold and mildew can grow on anything! Lucky for us with all the rainfall we now have a lake behind our house, only downside is that it is the perfect breeding ground for the mosquitos. You can actually hear them coming once the sun sets, it’s like the swarms of locusts from biblical times. Other than humidity and mosquitoes this place feels more like home all the time. H

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

Here's to 2007

2007-02-15T23:23:00.000+12:00

Another Christmas season away from home, and we can’t tell you how much we really were dreaming of a white Christmas. This hot season is not messing around this year, and we have the prickly heat rashes to prove it. You know it’s really quite amazing how tin homes replicate the phenomena of a real oven. Thank goodness this season we invested in battery operated hand held fans, which if you turn them both on at the same time and close your eyes it’s almost like air conditioning. :)

The holiday season brings in all the children who school on the main island, Viti Levu, all year long. Most of them only get to see their families during this one month summer vacation, so everyone makes it extra special with lots of big teas and picnics. Drew and I helped out a lot making bread and scones over the fire and making the Fijian Lovo, an underground oven. We also had the chance to do some workshops with the youth on environment and AIDS. It's bizarre sometimes to have all teenagers missing from the island, but then again that 14-20 age can bring out the rebel in some. In the picture to the right, my village lady friends are buttering up breads for a big tea. With 2007 finally here, we can say confidently that we feel culturally adjusted in the village and quite comfortable with our island dialect. We can now slurp up fish head juice and octopus suction cups, we now too can pull up our shirts to compare our boils, and belt out church hymns while using our machete for every purpose possible from cleaning our nails, to chopping wood, to slicing papaya, and scratching our backs. We feel so Fijian at times it's scary. The left picture shows Liss is in her handsewn Fijian dress she made and Tave is showing off one of his tricks. We took a nice break over New Year’s Eve and treated Drew to a surfing excursion to one of Fiji’s best waves, Frigate’s Pass. It’s a beautiful consistent wave in the middle of the ocean that took about an hour by boat to get to. On the boat ride we also fished a bit and caught two yellow fin tuna, and a Spanish mackerel. Needless to say Drew was the happiest guy in Fiji that weekend.

We are working hard right now with about 8 grant proposals pending right now between the two of us for four different villages, the school, and the health center. It’s a very busy time, but we really feel like we have been making great progress with all of our work.

We are happier than ever right now. Surprisingly, it seems to be getting easier as we assimilate more and more.

Drew at the Covula (sacred red prawn pool) with Marica and Tukala

On vacation in Yanuca Island for New Years.

Top Ten Things We're Thankful for in Fiji

2006-11-27T17:28:00.000+12:00

1. Tave, the koli ni vavalagi (foreigner's dog). A recent new father to four new puppies, they all have been keeping us entertained everyday. We love having him greet us on the beach after a long boat ride, sleep under our mosquito net with us at night, and having him use our kitchen window as a doggie door. Tave makes Vatulele feel like our home.

2. Completion of the first dry compost toilet on Vatulele. Drew, his counterpart Emori, and the carpenter, Joe, helped coordinate a grand opening complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony, a traditional kava ceremony, and a village wide BBQ. They invited a representative from the resort to stand in place of the Massy-Greene Family, the kind donators, who share our vision in improved quality of life and environmentally friendly practices on Vatulele.

3. Our Kids Club. Every Saturday we spend 3-4 hours with the 25 village kids teaching, reading, playing, and mentoring. We have found this to be our greatest accomplishment yet because every meeting we see them grow in leadership, creativity, and confidence. We feel like we are really shaping the next generation of Vatulele Island.

4. Our chickens. One mom hen, four chicks, and two adopted new borns we’ve had our hands full, and we are anxiously awaiting fresh eggs. We've been keeping the newbies in our house because the mom hen isn't accepting of other chicks- so we've become quite the barn with puppies, Tave, all the geckos, mice, and I think the giant spiders count if their bigger than the chicks.

5. Our TeiTei (garden). We have one giant plantation next to the red prawn sacred pool and another small one behind our little tin abode. Drew has become quite the farmer sowing tomatoes, squash, string beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, carrots, eggplant, plantains, basil, beautiful flowers and soon to come- watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe. We have found it is very satisfying and humbling trying to live off the land.

6. Beautiful scenery. We were crossing our fingers for a country with just a patch of green grass after our first invite to Niger, Africa. Fiji has been a dream come true and we feel so blessed with more lush greenery than we could have ever imagined.

7. Our first annual non-communicable disease awareness week. Liss helped get funding for a week of events and helped teach screening techniques to a new group of health workers she has been training since October. They screened about 400 adults more than 40 % of our population for diabetes, cardiac disease, hypertension, and cancer.

8. Our village community. We feel very blessed to experience this new sense of communal living in a new culture. We love laughing with our neighbors and sharing the fish we've caught for the day. We love eating and celebrating with our mataqali (our extended village family) for big events like a new baby coming home, or a church event. We love working together building new projects or just doing a village clean-up. It helps to give you a sense of love and support from your entire environment and a feel for the beautiful Fijian Culture.

9. Friends and Family. You all may not be physically with us, but all the letters, emails, calls, and love you send provide so much encouragement to support us so far away. We very much appreciate you all in our lives and we thank you for giving us this time to spread our wings and experience new worlds.

10. Each other. It's been two years married on November 20, 2006. We couldn’t be happier we made the decision to join Peace Corps together. Many of you know that we discussed our dreams the first day we met, and we knew we had something special with all the common passions we shared. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to believe that we are already living our most amazing dreams and we get so excited to think of all the adventures we have to look forward to in our life together.

We love you all so much! Happy Holidays! Here's to finding new love, adventure, and happiness in 2007!

My Grandpa

2006-10-29T21:15:00.000+12:00

Hi everybody,

I hope you all don’t mind, but I wanted to say a little something about my Grandpa Styles. For those of you who don’t know, he passed away last week on Monday October 23^rd, peacefully in his home. He was 70 years old, and was still very young at heart. His last day was spent in Morro Bay at his recently rented beach house just ½ a block down from my parent’s house. He beat my dad in golf that morning, my brother took him and grandma out to a nice lunch, and he spent the evening helping my dad grade his hydrology and structural concrete class’s homework (two classes my grandpa took himself at Cal Poly almost 50 years ago).

My grandpa was a very special man. He taught me many things, like how to hip-check on a basketball court, and how to be a humble human being conscious of their values. He taught me family is the most important thing we have on earth, and it is very important to put them as a top priority in your life.

The last time I saw him was in the picture below. It was just 3 weeks ago now. He and grandma drove me from Morro Bay to Thousand Oaks so they could see Drew before we returned back to Fiji. We chatted the whole way down mostly about family history- Grandpa loved learning about our ancestry.

We are very blessed we got to spend time with him, and that we got to see most of you on our visit home. Because his departure was so sudden and unexpected it left many of us quite heart broken, but my grandpa could not have chosen a better way to go. He lived his life to the fullest until the last day. He really did have a beautiful life, and it should make us all realize how precious our time really is here together. I hope everyone is doing well, we send all of our love to you and your families.

Love,

Liss

Ena Ka Sewa- It’s the Little Things

2006-08-03T16:45:00.000+12:00

Our little island of Vatulele, as we fly over by sea plane. Well there are so many details about our everyday life we feel we have yet to share with all of you, so we thought we'd dedicate this entry to all the small experiences of our life. *The beauty of the traditional art and the work that the whole island puts into producing the tapa cloth is just amazing. The men plant huge plantations of the mulberry trees, and harvest them after 9 months. The women and children peel the bark, and let it soak. Then the women spend countless hours beating it thin, letting sundry, and then printing it with paints made from other native trees. It is a long tedious process, but the most beautiful creations are made everyday. Keasi our neighbor is printing a 14 ft x 14 ft piece at 11pm at night in her home. *The solidarity of our new culture. Everyday having someone come over and ask to borrow our hammer, or some salt, and then asking them later if we can borrow some sugar or their bike- this is called the Kerekere system. Saying hello to every single person you pass down our one dirt road. Usually you ask where you are going and where you're coming from, but it's not a stopped conversation it's usually a yelled out "Mai Vei or Lai Vei" followed by a village name. *Our favorite past time activity is a game of cards. Great Grandma and Grandpa Barnes are smiling down on us, because we have taken over their friendly competition of cribbage. Here we play our favorite game, 'Shipwreck'.

*The fact that after you build a home you get to name it anything you want, usually after another village or city in Fiji. Instead of saying I'm going to Emori's house you say I'm going to Rakiraki. We named our house after our first hometown together, Ventura. *When your ideas and suggestions are put into action and projects actually get started. Here Drew helps our carpenter Jo, begin the framework of the compost latrine. Composting toilets have been a breakthrough in Fiji, stopping pollution into the ocean, and creating a cleaner, more hygienic living space. It has been very trying convincing them that they can reuse all their organic waste, but they are now excited to see what we have been talking about. *We have the most gorgeous bush roosters you have ever seen. They are fast little suckers and I'm still working on getting a picture. They are all different in colors, but my favorites are the brilliant spotted orange ones with teal green tail feathers. They start their crowing every morning at 3am. *Every morning all the children from the south end village, Bouwaqa, ride by on their new bikes. Our pastor recently had an Australian friend round up about 40 used bikes, from small kids bikes to classic cruisers, and ship them by barge to Fiji. Now the children can leave their homes at 7:00am instead of 6:00am (before dark) and even stop and have breakfast in our village. As they ride by in little groups, about every 10 minutes we get shouts of "Yadra Melissa, Yadra Adriu...Moce Melissa, Moce Adriu" (good morning and good bye). We love having our home right on the road to pass out ripe bananas or plastic bags when it starts to rain.

*We love having extra down time to perfect our cooking skills and try out new recipes. Everyday we cook at least one meal together in our little kitchen. Our favorite dishes at the moment our fresh tortilla chips, and aFijian variation of ceviche called Kokoda (marinated fish cooked in lime juice, onion, and coconut milk).

*We love exploring. Our island is small, but you can walk around the entire island through small plantation paths. Last week we hiked to the furthest point south and found two small islands about 10 meters through crystal clear shallow turquoise water.

It's amazing to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of village life and have no privacy, and then hike about 2 hours and have an entire beach to ourselves that is so pristine we have to bring our machete to hack back overgrown vines and giant spider webs.

*Oh the mosquitoes! Definitely better than they were in the humid season, but still always buzzing. People tend to think the tropics are all warm sun, and beaches, but the mosquitoes can make you insane. Just thought we'd give you an idea of the giants we have to defend ourselves from every single day (notice the needle like mouth- and yes you feel them prick you!)

*Drew especially, appreciates the hard work it takes to garden everyday. Here is Kumala (sweet potato) planted in giant mounds, the sand on top is to deter island rodents.

*The Preschool Brigade as we affectionately call them: Mala 2yrs, Pita 3 yrs, Tagitagivula 3 yrs, and Bubu 4yrs. These are the ring leaders of a group of about 8 munchkins. We get them over practically everyday, just charging through our door curtain and starting up with a thousand questions "Where's your mom, where's your dad, where's Soxsan (Aunt Roxanne), where's Tave, What are you doing and between each question they ask Can we have a biscuit?) This particular day they were munching on raw sugar cane and we kicked them outside because they were spitting their fibers on our floor inside.

Break out the beanies

2006-06-21T11:48:00.000+12:00

It's Wintertime in Fiji!

Believe it or not we have been so cold and we actually sleep with 2 blankets.

When we first arrived in Vatulele in August last year, we laughed at everyone in scarves and jackets, but now we are right there with them. We have definitely adjusted to the climate and we actually think 65 degrees is cold. We are going to die when we go back home. And just to think about the water in Cali makes us shiver. Aunt Roxanne paid us a visit in mid-May. She actually thought it was humid and as she was fanning herself, we were unpacking our long sleeves. We had a fabulous time entertaining her for 10 days.

Aunt Roxanne and Liss after a wet boat ride from Sigatoka

She got exclusive tours to Liku, our pristine beach on the other side and the limestone caves where we went for a nice swim in glowing candle light. She also helped us with our Saturday class, reading, blowing bubbles, and trying our first jump rope out. Everyone still thinks she was Drew's sister no matter how many times we try to explain. She was our savior stocking us up with some much needed goods and she was our lucky charm to get our electricity running again.

Aunt Roxanne reading to the village kids

We have been teaching like crazy these last few months. Luckily, Aunt Roxanne and Aunt Lynne's friend Marty from Australia gave us art supplies so the children have been having a blast painting and coloring. Titi and Mala are our biggest takers trying to come over everyday for more rokaroka (coloring). Drew played his first rugby game last week and fit right in except for his pale white skin. Even though he doesn't understand the rules all that much, they really encourage him to play. We think it may be a source of comedy for the fijians to watch the tall, clueless, white guy get creamed. We are finally going to be building some tangible projects next week, so the villagers are very excited. A wonderful family from Australia donated money and we will be putting it towards the village and a workshop. We love and miss you all. Until next time, stay healthy.

The kids after Saturday school with their ocean artwork.

Drew with our gang after a beach clean-up

Back in Suva…again!

2006-04-26T08:42:00.000+12:00

The Lost Fiji Boys It sure seems like we have been on the main island Viti Levu a lot lately, but we promise we really are getting work done in the village on Vatulele. Since we last wrote so much has seemed to happen, which is really quite unlike the typical Fiji Island way of life. Back in Lomanikaya village, the most exciting event in our personal lives was that we managed to catch 6 wild chickens. Yippee fresh eggs and chicken! You may think that sounds like an easy task, but an angry Hen with her 5 chicks is quite a challenging feat. Armed with a cane knife and beach towels we cornered them by our garden and jumped on the chicks. After putting them in our homemade coop, the mom hen just walked in- that was the easy part. Twice after trying to feed them though, they escaped, and we had all of our neighbors running in the bush clucking and cooing trying to help us get back our new livestock. They have never contained them before, but they do trap them to eat. It sounded great to us, but they don’t quite understand and yet again, we manage to look like the “crazy foreigners.” We taught our first swimming class to all the children, which proved to be much harder than we expected. Almost everyday you can find all the kids playing in the ocean, so most of them know how to dog paddle, but that’s it. Before we jumped into the water the kids serenaded us with a Meke song and dance.

2006-03-31T10:45:00.000+12:00

Hello everyone!

We are back in Suva getting some work done and enjoying the city luxuries. Island life has been wonderful as usual, but lately we have been feeling the pressures of cultural differences. Gender roles have always been somewhat of a challenge to fall into, and we always seem to be trying our best to set a new example of equality in a relationship. This year seems to have brought an increase in domestic violence, primarily spousal abuse, and as sensitive as that issue may be we are trying to figure out ways to educate and make some change. We knew aspects of living in a new culture would prove difficult, and we just thank God that we have each other.

We are finally feeling like we are falling into a bit of a routine

and it's starting to make the days really fly by us. We taught a nutrition series together in the 8th grade and had so much fun laughing at each other because of all the kid's blank stares. We have also started our Saturday class for all 25 of the village kids.

So far we did a physicl health class where we taught them the hokey pokey, a little yoga, and played 20 games of freeze tag. We also did an adopt a tree class and the kids just loved it!

We went from tree to tree where Drew taught them about the differences and they did some climbing, and collected the seeds. Then everyone collected a plastic bottle from the beach and they each picked which tree they wanted to plant. It can be quite challenging with the kids all ages from 2 to 12, last time we had the waterfall effect where 4 of the youngest ones started a cascade of crying.

It is such a blast though, and the parents love the break.

Liss had a fabulous 25th birthday complete with a Betty Crocker double layered yellow cake with Chocolate frosting (compliments of Drew's fire baking skills). We actually found a cake mix in Suva at a big supermarket and real frosting. She took a run with Tave in the morning to watch the sunrise, and then we all hiked to Liku Beach to watch the sunset. Drew made a big sign, and built a table out of bamboo for her present.

The weather is starting to cool down a bit and the mosquitos are beginning to dwindle. The garden is healthy with beans, eggplant and the corn has just sprouted.

Malakai (Mala) has been over everyday pestering Tave, and eating all of our peanuts (he loves them!).

His Mom is always beating the tapa cloth so he's allowed to roam freely- which usually means he finds his way to our house. He's still not talking, but we have a feeling he's going to be a chatter box when he learns. On this particular day he showed up naked, and I walked in from the garden to find him riding Tave like a horse. Drew has been successful in monitoring the reef in front of our village (the main fishing area) and is already seeing an increase in more fish and octopus in the taboo fishing area. Melissa has been busy since we got a new nurse on the island and they have been planning a workshop, and a grand opening ceremony for our new village dispensary.

We completed a few project proposals this week so we are hoping they are accepted and so we can get some funding and start on some bigger projects in the village.

We hope everyone is healthy and doing well! We miss you all!

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory!"

Little Pita here knows all too well what Gandhi means by victory!

Another Day in Paradise

2006-02-17T13:27:00.000+12:00

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's been 8 months since we left? Only 19 more months to go and we know they are going to fly by! Life on Vatulele is heating up everyday. Now that it's the rainy season, it really has been coming down and everything is growing at exponential rate including the humidity. You know it's harder than you think to cut the lawn by hand. The mosquito's have hit frenzy status but somehow we are managing to cope with them. We recently received a small plot of land for a garden with the help of the village men and planted nearly 100 cassava plants (root crop that is eaten almost everyday). There is lots of room for vegetables still so we will see what the next season will bring. Since we came back after Christmas we have been very busy working on projects on the island. Drew is working to get running water into the village and is on the paper work phase of the project. Melissa has been working at the health center and recently conducted a dental survey of all 175 school children. We realize education is the key and we are pulling together our resources to get on it. We're still teaching at the primary school and we've decided to start a Saturday class for kids to teach them first aid and other life skills. Melissa's getting her yoga/nutrition class started while Drew is refining his fishing skills. We decided to go to Suva, the capital, for one week to get back in touch with the real world. Of course we have been enjoying all the popsicles, and cold water we can possibly drink, but it's really been meeting after meeting with Peace Corps Staff, NGO's, and other government ministries. It has been nice to have some good dinners, see a couple of movies, and not worrying about combating the bugs. We still love our little abode and our garden is booming right now with basil, eggplant, tomato, melon, and papaya. Our puppy 'Tave' is still keeping us entertained. He follows us everywhere, which can be annoying when he runs after you all the way to the next village. We taught him how to shake with saying "Bula" and he is pretty good at sitting and laying down by command. We still receive tons of seafood and recently someone gave us a lobster. It was such a treat! We are staying healthy with fresh island lifestyle and we are as happy as ever. We love you and miss you all!

Marau ni Siga ni Sucu! Merry Christmas!

2006-01-25T07:37:00.000+12:00

We hope everyone had a beautiful holiday season--it's hard to believe this year is over. 2005 brought so many surprises an life changing events, but everyone sems a little bit wiser and more compassionate. Our hats are off to Tom "Dad" Loganbill! He is the man of the year in our books as a cancer survivor and eternal optimist! Well, it's the first week of the new year here and it seems the children have taken over the village. There is constant beating of the lali (the village drum), kerosene compression bombs, water fights, and so much shouting and singing you'd think a carnival was in town! The Styles Family came before Christmas and we had a lovely time on the island. WELCOME AT THE AIRPORT The villagers just loved seeing family and of course the food just kept coming. WITH THE VILLAGERS We then went on an express tour in Australia with the Fam covering most of the east coast. THE FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA We spent our Christmas with Aunt Lynne and Steve in their beautiful home they built just north of Brisbane. We spent time exploring the coast and chatting with their friends who were the first Aussie's to sail around the world! It was just wonderful to gorge on good food, good wine, unlimited ice, and of course, to spend time with family. DREW AND AUNT LYNNE After all the indulgence coming home was a bit hard, but we are still in love with our village life and especially our big bellied dog, Tave. We hope this new year brings new inspiration and happiness! Our love to everyone. "Be the change you want to see in the world" ~ Gandhi HERE ARE A FEW MORE PICTURES! MELISSA BAKING COFFEE CAKE MAKING TAPA CLOTH IN LOMANIKAYA READY FOR CHURCH SWIMMING IN VATULELE WATCHING THE AUSTRALIAN COAST

New Pictures!

2005-12-11T10:52:00.000+12:00

Liss doing first aid to a local girl Here's a picture of inside the house From the kitchen into the bathroom Drew's Harvest Drew with the neighbor and Tave "the puppy"

Running into the Wet Season

2005-11-01T01:13:00.000+12:00

Yadra Vina (Good Morning), Spring is upon us on Vatulele! Never have you seen so many beautiful flowers and never have you felt so many bugs. We do believe butterflies fluttering on the beach is one of the most beautiful sights of nature on the entire island. With abundant tropical showers and the summer humidity right around the corner, our island is becoming a breeding ground for some interesting creepy crawlers. Palm-sized spiders, bat size moths, terydactyle dragonfly, black hornets, finger-sized cockroaches, beetles galore, and our all time favorite the black and white striped mosquito. Of course the mosquitoes are the worst, making anywhere outside our safety zone bed-net a battle ground. Night time is the worst when making an unexpected bathroom call and exposing your undeeted skin to the enemy. After running for cover, we always count how many times we were hit and tend to our injuries with vats of cortisone. We've discovered you have to thoroughly bathe in repellent several times a day due to their highly intelligent detector system. They have no mercy and they'll aim for below the belt, for between the eyes, and between the toes. The other crawlers aren't so bad, its only when the terydactyle flies into the house and you have to run and hit the deck or when you reach for toilet paper with morning grog to see your hand 1/2 inch from a spider that can literally cover your face. We both have let out more screams that have most likely been heard by the 22 houses of our quaint little village. And we wonder why we don't always get invited over :) Aside from the battle of the bugs, we are very much enjoying finding a productive balance. We both began teaching at the primary school. Drew is teaching about the environment and Liss on life skills and health. Liss is still working in the health center 3-4 times a week and has became the village health advisor as people come to her with aches, pains, rashes, and boils. Drew recently went to a workshop for composting toilets with a fellow villager and he has two compost toilets scheduled for construction. This will be a major milestone for the entire island as these new latrines require no water which will increase overall health and sanitation. Due to the scarcity of water, villagers either flush seldomly or go anywhere around their houses. It feels good to see some progress made and know there is still so much to do. Life as been a little more exciting last week since we adopted a 4 week old puppy, named Tave (means black shell in Fijian). He has given us a many sleepless nights with his whimpering and howling, but we just love having him around. He is definitely an island puppy because he can't get enough of the coconut, papaya, and the freshly fallen mangoes from our tree. Having a dog is making Lomanikaya feel more and more like home. We are just getting back from Diwali Festival of Lights in Raralevu. We spent our time with our host family eating tons of Indian sweets, scrumptious curries, and lighting off heaps of fireworks :) We just love spending time with them because they make us feel so at home and it's the closest feeling to family that we are going to have for a long time. We miss you all so much! Garcia's our prayers are with you everyday! Happy Birthday Mom Styles and Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad Loganbill!

Cola Vina (Vatulele dialect for Bula Vinaka)

2005-09-26T12:48:00.000+12:00

These last few months have flown by, but it has been a truly wonderful eye-opening experience in our new home. OUR LITTLE ABODE!

Everyday we learn more about our hard working village, Lomanikaya. The women continue to beat the tapa cloth from the masi tree from dawn till dusk. The noise has dwindled down to a dull hum now instead of a hammering carpenter's convention like when we first arrived. The men of the village continue to play outside all day ~ fishing, gardening, and of course drinking the kava- bilo after bilo (coconut cup). They continue to give us food everyday, so much food! You would think we had six children the way they haul over bananas by the hundreds on the massive stalks. We also have our garden sprouting so rapidly we have about 50 Chinese cabbage ready to pick and eat. We love being apart of a community that shares everything. DREW IN THE GARDEN/BACKYARD

Our biggest obstacle at the moment is the language barrier. The island dialect is completely different from the dialect the Peace Corps spent 2 months teaching us, so we are in a constant state of confusion. We usually just nod or give the Fijian equivalent, a double eye-brow raise, followed with an "Io, Vinaka." Which translates as "Yes, Thank you" or "Sure, Good". We never quite know what we're agreeing to, but so far we seem to be staying out of trouble. The island nurse has been tutoring us 2-3 times a week which has been helping- gradually.

HEALTH CENTER WOMEN/Liss's Co-Workers

Lately we've been helping with the village projects-- mostly fundraising events for our new church.

ROAD TO EKUBU AND HEALTH CENTER We walk every single day

A few weeks ago Drew helped with a fish drive where all the men of 2 villages (almost 100 men) made a giant Fijian-style net out of palm leaves ( around 1000 meters long). They dropped boat fulls of men out at the reef and they swam in with the net scaring the fish towards shore. They gradually enclosed the fish wrapping the net in half circle next to the beach while the men held it secure ensuring no escapes.

THE FISH DRIVE

One by one the fish were speared and thrown onto the sand while the women gathered their share. They drove about 300 fish up ranging from 2-3 pounders to 30-40 pounders. They sold all the fish to one man who sells them on the mainland making $1500FJ. We took home 10 fish including a 15 pounder which we happily made tempura filets. We also helped with their eco-tourism project when 13 toursist came for a day trip to the island. It is purely arranged by the village and begins when enough people sign up with a villager working on mainland. They do no advertising, so people only hear about the opportunity by word of mouth. We were impressed to see the whole day in action and the mass effort behind it all. LIKU BEACH

They arrive by our village boat about mid-morning to a small band playing traditional island music at the entrance of the palm tree lined project area decorated with tons of flowers. They are served fresh coconuts to drink and they relax in the bures ( traditional houses made of bamboo and palm). They have a sevusevu with the chief (formal kava session) and spend the most of the afternoon at the remote beach Liku. They return to a feast of roasted chicken, fish, fresh picked veggies and fruit, and traditional dancing and entertainment. We tried our best to hide when they arrived, hoping to blend and not look like vavalagi (foreigners), but as we were ducking in the trees the chief yelled "Peace Corp" and we had to graciously wave and help entertain. When it was all over we felt more blessed than ever just thinking that we live amongst this beautiful culture and paradise island. Plus anyone who visits will get so much more than the average vavalagi vacation!

LIKU BEACH SUNSET

Dad Styles, Dad Loganbill, and Brother Brandon Happy August Birthdays! Prayers to the Garcia Family ~ We love you all.

Disclaimer

2005-09-26T12:46:00.000+12:00

"The contents of this website are ours personally and do not refelct any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."

Lomanikaya Life

2005-08-26T12:10:00.000+12:00

We are officially Peace Corp Volunteers and we even made it on the six o'clock news. We are now living in our small house on the island of Vatulele in the smallest village called Lomanikaya. There are only 90 people in the village and about 1000 on the whole island. It is absolutlely beautiful and the people are so kind. They bring us food almost everyday ranging from banana scone to fresh octopus. Our house is surrounded by breadfruit and mango trees and we started a little garden with around 160 cabbage and 50 tomato seedlings from the mayor's garden. It's been two weeks and we already facing the issues concerning the villages. There is no running water and we have to fetch all of our water from the well. We get our drinking water from rain water collection. Melissa has been working in the health center with the only nurse on the island in the neighboring village. Drew has been scoping the out the island checking out the eco-tourism project and looking at the water situation. We are very happy here and living healthy with the large amounts of food we get from the villagers.

Our going away dinner in Raralevu

2005-08-13T11:55:00.001+12:00

Our going away dinner in Raralevu
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Liss, Katie, and Tina

2005-08-13T11:55:00.000+12:00

Liss, Katie, and Tina
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Wearing Indian outfits at our house in Raralevu (Indo-Fijian community)

Family in Vunivaivai

2005-08-13T11:53:00.000+12:00

Family in Vunivaivai
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Drew, Cama, Nasoni, and Runuku ready to go to church in their sulu's

House in Vunivaivai

2005-08-13T11:52:00.001+12:00

House in Vunivaivai
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Kids in Bega

2005-08-13T11:52:00.000+12:00

Kids in Bega
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Starfish at Beautiful Bega Beach

2005-08-13T11:51:00.002+12:00

Starfish at Beautiful Bega Beach
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Bega

2005-08-13T11:51:00.001+12:00

Bega
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Grace (the volunteer living in Bega), Devon, Liss and Drew outside of Grace's house

Drew's Mustache and Award

2005-08-13T11:51:00.000+12:00

Drew's Mustache and Award
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Our brothers and sisters

2005-08-13T11:50:00.000+12:00

Our brothers and sisters
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

In the living room in Vunivaivai

The Family-Vunivaivai

2005-08-13T11:49:00.000+12:00

The Family-Vunivaivai
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Paulini next to Liss, Runuku in blue, Bu Lo and others

We're going to Vatulele!

2005-07-21T16:01:00.000+12:00

After weeks of antagonizing anxiousness, we finally found out where we will be spending the next two years! The Peace Corps staff set up a large map of Fiji on a big field with rope, and put little trees on each site where each of the trainees will be going. Slowly, one by one, they called our name and walked us to our little tree and gave us a sheet of paper that describes our job description, and village. We were ecstatic when we found out we will be living on a small island called Vatulele, famous for its bright red prawns and beautiful tapa cloth. We will be the only volunteers living on this island in a small house recently built just for us. There are only 4 villages on the island, one resort, and roughly about 1000 people. The island is a one hour boat ride from Sigatoka town on the southwest side of Viti Levu the biggest island. Also, we found out that it is only $25 for family and friends to fly to this little island from Nadi (the international airport). Drew will be working on an ecotourism project, monitoring the coral reef, and doing environmental education in the village. Melissa will be working in the only health center on the island with nurses promoting health, and also counseling single moms, teens, and people with long term diseases. We will be arriving on site around the 14th of August after our official volunteer swear in date on August 12th. Congratulations Scott and Dana! Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad Styles!

Back from Beqa

2005-07-15T11:12:00.000+12:00

Think long sandy beaches, palm trees lining the sea, and a small village on the water front with beautiful green flora rising up the mountains. This is Bega, the island of the firewalkers. This last week we spent 3 days with a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) living in a beautiful two bedroom home on the western oceanfront of this small island. Beqa only has 9 villages, 4 resorts, and no cars in sight. The people live off of the land and the sea, and they truely seem to embrace the beauty that surrounds them. During our stay we got to visit the school that the PCV is a librarian at, we snorkeled the beautiful coral reef that surrounds her village, and we even got to hike up into the mountains to the villager's gardens. Drew also learned how to harvest cassava plant with the village pastor. This was truely the Fijian Peace Corp experience we imagined. The visit was such a nice break from our host family and language classes everyday. It is becoming more of a challenge everyday to not have privacy, cook what we would like to eat, and to babysit several children all the time. We are truely looking forward to living on our own. Only 4 more weeks!

Life in Vunivaivai

2005-06-28T12:20:00.000+12:00

Well, we are officially villagers in the 'koro' of Vunivaivai. We are staying with our host family who has adopted us already as their own. We have a host grandma we call Bu Lo (bu is grandma in fijian and Lo is her name) and she has 7 grandchildren that live in our house with us and a smaller house next door. They range in ages 5 - 22. Ranuku, the youngest, is our best friend! He follows us everywhere and pretty much everyday Ranuku and Drew play touch rugby with all the boys. All the other children help out with cooking, cleaning up, and helping teach us fijian. Our room is quaint, but we have electricty and cold running water. Brrrr, fijian morning showers are the worst. Fortunately Bu Lo is a fantastic cook, as she was a professional cook in a boarding school for 10 years. We spend most evenings with the family talking or playing cards- we just taught everybody "go fish" and they loved it! During the day we go to language lessons in the village for 4 hours in the morning. After that we have community time which we learn cultural crafts and activities. Late afternoon we usually exercise with the rest of the kids and villagers. Melissa has been teaching yoga to the chief's wife and 6 daughters, when Drew has to teach 8th grade at the local school. Today we learned how to make brooms out of palm leaves by braiding them between your toes :) We are really enjoying the village life so far. There is only about 200 people in our little village and they are all so welcoming. The first day we walked into our house they draped us with flowered lai's with long pieces of fabric tied on like capes. That night we had to eat dinner with the chief of the village, and drew had to spend the evening drinking kava with him. We are so glad to hear about Dad Loganbill's news of being cancer-free! Good luck with everything and we love you all so much!

Message from Drew and Liss--June 17th

2005-06-19T06:40:00.000+12:00

Hi guys!

We just wanted to update you really quick on our current experience. We were supposed to move into our host family yesterday, but thursday evening liss got kicked in the head by a fellow trainee during a ultimate frisbee game. She had a concussion and even though she was fine the Peace Corp medical officer advised that all necessary precautions be taken. She had a catscan and everything looked good and they made us spend the night in the private hospital to monitor her over night. They also booked us a hotel in the city for the weekend just to relax before having to have to much excitement in the new adjustment with the family.

Everything is fine now, really it wasn't necessary for the whole ordeal, but always better safe than sorry. We are enjoying our city time with hot showers, tv, and a refrigerator :) (ahh cold drinks). We even got to see game four NBA in our room!

We are off to a movie now, but we were hoping somebody might be able to post a couple fo pics that we tried to send on our blog for us. We don't have enough time to download all of the software.

Pics are of our lovo night, our bure, our view from our bure, and the rest are from Colo i suva the rainforest reserve.

We love you so much and we will write again soon.

Love,

Drew and Liss

Our Bure Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

View from the Bure

2005-06-19T06:37:00.000+12:00

View from the Bure
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Colo i Suva Rainforest

2005-06-19T06:36:00.001+12:00

Colo i Suva Rainforest
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Rainforest Reserve

2005-06-19T06:36:00.000+12:00

Rainforest Reserve
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Liss Enjoying a Swim

2005-06-19T06:35:00.000+12:00

Liss Enjoying a Swim
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

Lovo Ceremony

2005-06-19T06:33:00.000+12:00

LovoCeremony
Originally uploaded by Susan & Tom.

This is a pic from Lovo Night described in the Bula Vinaka blog entry.

Bula Vinaka!

2005-06-15T14:51:00.000+12:00

How is everyone doing? We are just finishing up our 2 week stay at Nadave. We have been staying at an all boys technology training academy and we have had classes all day everyday with a few fun things in between. It's beautiful here! Our bure (hut) looks over a river and we can see a few islands in the distance. It's been pretty rainy, but the last few days the sun has poked through a for part of the days. We have been learning the Fijian language which has been interesting learning from our native teachers Vili, Filipe, Kini, Moce, Elenoa, and Joe. The food has been a difficult adjustment for Liss, the strange cut of meats like spinal cord are too much for her weak stomach. Drew on the other hand has no problem taking anything down. There's a lot of mystery meat and extremely dense root crops that make you feel like you've just downed a bag of flour. We did have a traditional Lovo night which is where they cook many meats and veggies underground. Then the whole meal is set out on long runners on the floor and everyone eats buffet style with their hands. That feast was delicious, especially a seviche like dish called Kokoda which was raw fish in coconut milk. We ended the night with a sevusevu where everyone partakes in the Yaqona (kava). It really does taste like muddy water and makes you feel like you've been at the dentist all day. Last weekend we went to a rain forest reserve park and went hiking and swimming all over beautiful waterfalls and trails. Now we are in Suva, the biggest city in all of Fiji where over half of the population resides. It's your typical big city with big buildings, malls, McDonald's, KFC, and robbers. Starting Friday we will be at our host family's house for the next 7 weeks. We don't know what village it is in yet, or where our permanent site will be yet. The culture so far has been very friendly and welcoming. Walking down the street people yell from their houses "bula vinaka"! The scenery has been just gorgeous lush and green like we hoped. We are looking forward to December when the mango season starts! We hope everyone is well, and enjoying the summertime. Take care and Moce mada for now!

Departure

2005-06-03T14:59:00.000+12:00

We are now just sitting in the airport enjoying our last meal. It's been such a hectic time of mixed emotions and intense training here in Los Angeles. The last few days we have had several hours of training from returned Peace Corps Volunteers learning what it means to be an American and what the Organization encompasses. They focused on our American perspective and how to remove those lenses when we arrive into the Fijian culture. We will arrive in Suva on Saturday morning and then we will be off to stay with our host families for several weeks. On August 12, we will officially be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers and then taken to our permanent sites for the next two years. It's crazy to think that in just 12 more hours we will be in a new world! Everyone in the group is amazing. There are 34 volunteers in our group from all over the country and of all ages (mostly in their 20's). We are very excited to start this adventure and we will update as often as possible. Take Care and Stay happy and healthy!

2005-05-17T05:28:00.000+12:00

Melissa and Drew, November 20, 2004.

Pre-Departure update

2005-05-17T04:59:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone! We just wanted to let you all know that we are coming down to the last few days before we leave for Fiji on June 2. We are putting the final touches on our packing lists and we feel like we are prepared for this long adventure. Drew has been managing his packing anxiety, but as we all know the Loganbill packing anxiety usually is in full swing the last few days :) We hope everyone is doing well and ready for a beautiful warm summer!