fiji summer hits

School restarts next week, and life will once again move like it did in the end of November. I'm excited for that. I'm excited to dedicate a full year of myself to do whatever I can to improve my villages. I'm ready.

Right now though the days are hot and long. Fiji right now is an unexpected and never before experienced amount of tough. The water shuts off multiple times every day, and sometimes for more than a day. The heat is so bad at times you wipe your brow every 15 seconds, thinking of ice cream, dreaming of snow-covered mountains. Life continues to move back home, without you, and visitors remind you that you are being slowly forgotten, and not on purpose, but because life just moves. It's just the natural progression of things.

I am slowly realizing what a family I have here, though. The volunteers around me are an endless supply of laughter and diversion and fun. Without them, I am not sure I could stay and do the things I am trying to do. What an amazing group of friends I have here. How lucky am I!

I have not mentioned the cyclone, which happened mid-December. It shook me up beyond belief. Without dwelling on it, safe to say, I do not like cyclones. And, with 8 more scheduled to rip through the South Pacific this season, I may have to change locations for a few months to ensure that I never have to experience that ever again in my village. My location is particularly vulnerable, as the river flooded and I was trapped to weather the storm in a tin house that could have easily been crushed by a tree or had its roof blown off. And nearly did.

One thing that has surprised me recently is thinking of religion in a new way. Not as the root of all evil, and as a way to justify persecution, like I unfortunately used to. But rather as a source of strength and help when life is too sad, or too hard. Having never before even considered religion, this is a huge realization for me. But I've always felt there is too much sadness in the world to not believe in something higher. Perhaps I've never before been driven to places so dark as to really seek it out, to need it. But I am starting to really see its value. It gives people hope, and sometimes, that's all you could ask for.

Everything will be ok. And I still, despite it all, would not want to be anywhere else. I am having an amazing experience. Here I am, making my way in Fiji, trying to do something good in the world. That can't be all bad.