Tagaqe

The amazing story of my shark dive will have to wait until I can concentrate on writing the story. I don’t want to miss the details. For now, you get to read about my trip to Tagaqe and my first night here. I was wrought with worry all day yesterday as to my reception in the village. I was relying on the fact that Dr. Aalbersberg from USP contacted Ratu Timoce (aka Chief Jim) and told him that we would be coming. I also sent a letter and care package to the chief several months ago. It’s apparently a very bad idea to surprise the chief with an impromptu visit. I also wasn’t exactly sure of the protocol for presenting the gift of kava. I knew that I needed to say something about an offering for Savu Savu and thank the chief and the village for letting us stay with them and work on the reef. I just planned on winging it.
Once Amy and I packed up all of our gear and supplies, we took one look at our stuff and realized we’d have a serious problem getting to Tagaqe. We had between us: 2 large suitcases, 2 small suitcases, 2 sets of scuba gear, a large Rubbermaid container with all of our food, 2 huge coolers full of lab supplies, some random boxes and bags, our backpacks and the kava. I asked the guard at USP to help me call a very large taxi thinking that (like last time) they would send a big station wagon. This guard didn’t really know what to do, but since everyone here likes to try to be helpful he just went to the road and flagged down a taxi. I could have done that. At least the taxi was a station wagon though. However, as soon as the taxi driver saw our stuff he laughed and said he’d call a bigger taxi. “The BIGGEST taxi in Suva,” he said. Another, crappier station wagon showed up with a huge spare tire in the back. His freakin’ taxi was bigger than the one he called! I know he was also “just trying to help” but most of the time the “help” here just makes things worse. Anyway, we proceeded to load all of our crap into the “BIGGEST taxi in Suva”. Once we’d gotten nearly everything crammed into the back, the driver decided he didn’t want to do it. He would only take us if we took BOTH of his taxis. Cost - $160. I said no way, because if worse came to worse we could rent a van for $130. But, as impossible as it seemed, I was convinced we could get our stuff into a station wagon taxi. So the guard told the guy to leave and he called another taxi service. He said that his cousin had a better car, a bigger car that was gas not diesel. I’m not sure what made gas better than diesel, but okay. We waited for a while and then I heard Amy say, “Oh dear.” I turned around to a four door sedan taxi. No station wagon, no van, just a car with a trunk. All I could do was laugh. I was sure there was no WAY we’d get all our stuff into the little car. Once again, I underestimated Fijians. Those two guys got all of our stuff and US into that little car. It must have been like the Tardis! Small on the outside, but full of extra-dimensional space on the inside. So, we’re off to Tagaqe!!!
During the trip, the cab driver asked me about staying in the village and if the chief knew I was coming. He warned me that it’s not a good idea to surprise the chief. Needless to say, he didn’t help sooth my worried mind. After a very long, very exhausting cab ride (1.5 hours) we made it to Tagaqe. You must also remember that it was Sunday, the day of rest, so I was worried about barging into the village and disrupting their peaceful day. Oh well, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. The cab driver and Amy waited as I went into the village to find the chief. A little girl named Elizabeth Dora escorted me to his cabin. She asked his son to get him, but the chief was asleep. One thing I was sure of was not to disturb a sleeping chief. I told her we’d come back later. However, now we were in a situation where all of our crap was packed into a taxi whose driver, I’m sure, wanted to go back home to Suva. So, I made the executive decision to unload all of our stuff where I thought we’d be staying. As we pulled into the forestry lodge area, I noticed that every single one of the lodges looked full. Interesting. Last time I was here not a single lodge had power, let alone people. Not a good sign. Fortunately, the taxi driver spotted a Fijian woman and told her who we were etc. It turns out she was the chiefs youngest daughter, Kenyi, and she remembered me from last time. Whew! She and Akisi, the chief oldest daughter, moved all of our stuff into their new house (one of the lodges). I learned from them that all of the lodges were, in fact, occupied. Double damn. They told us we could stay with them. That’s very nice of them, but Amy and I need to set up make-shift labs, we both have dangerous chemicals that we need to work with and we can’t afford to be distracted all the time. We really need a place out of the way, to ourselves. I also think that they were just being polite, because we have enough stuff to fill up one of their rooms completely. Oh well, maybe the chief would figure something out.
Kenyi and Akisi walked with us to the village so we could see the chief and they could deliver a batch of four new puppies to him. I’m not sure what they do with the puppies, but the chief did keep saying something about “if I eat dog, YOU eat dog.” I don’t THINK they really eat dogs, but who knows. I certainly won’t be eating dog, even if it causes and international incident. Anyway, the girls took us to Una, the chief’s wife. She didn’t recognize me at first because I wasn’t wearing my spectacles (glasses). The chief had gone to evening church, so we had to wait for him. (Really?!? Evening church? The morning church service is 2+ hours long! Do they really need an evening service?) Anyway, we eventually went into the chief’s house and sat around on the floor waiting for him. It was kind of awkward because we ended up having to wait for an hour. Finally, I saw a large, looming shadow of a man in the doorway. He was looking at me very confused for a minute. Then his daughter spoke to him in Fijian. I’m not sure what she said, but he sat down still looking very confused. I introduced myself and once he realized who I was he freaked out, grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss. Okay, that’s a good sign. He told me he didn’t recognize me without my spectacles. I offered him the kava and all went smoothly. Then he started asking me questions etc. He asked me if I was married and I told him yes. I hate lying, but it really makes things easier here. (Although, I must not be a good liar, because his daughters still don’t believe me that I’m married. Interesting.) BTW, my husband’s name is Mark, and he’s pretty much a collage of all my past boyfriends. Anyway, I’m really irritated with Bill Aalbersberg because he didn’t tell the chief that we were coming until a few days ago. The chief said that if he’d known sooner (i.e. back when I ASKED Bill to tell the chief we’d be coming) he would have saved one of the lodges for us. As of right now, we don’t have any place to stay except for with his daughters. I don’t think they’re any more happy about it than we are.
Anyway, so we chatted it up some more with the chief, said our good nights and then headed back to the lodges. The four of us hung out for a bit and drank some tea. Kenyi and Akisi were fascinated that Amy and I are vegetarians. They couldn’t understand what we eat if we don’t eat meat. They also assumed that anyone who goes to University is vegetarian. We tried to explain it and let them know that we’re the exception rather than the rule. Anyway, the night wore on and I was getting tired. I thought we’d be staying in the extra room, but they said it was too dirty and they’d have to clean it before we could move in. So, Kenyi gave up her room for the night and moved one of the beds from the extra room into her room so I’d have a place to sleep. Amy took Kenyi’s bed and Kenyi moved into Akisi’s room. It was very nice of them, and Amy and I felt bad, especially since both of them had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to be at work at the resort up the road (the Hideaway).
I lay down on my bed and pulled out the book that I’ve been reading. I was very happy to be settled down and able to read for a while before going to sleep. That sense of peace and comfort was very short lived. In the middle of the paragraph I was reading, I noticed a large bug that looked like a mix between a really big flea and a tick. It was reddish brown, with horizontal stripes and was, literally, paper thin. It was so thin that I could see through it and make out its organs. I also tried to smoosh it to death by slamming my book shut, but that didn’t do anything. I ended up smooshing it between two pages with my hands. If you didn’t know what a bed bug was, you do now. Before I go any further, let me describe my “bed” to you. It is essentially a rectangular piece of foam, like the kind used in car seats, with a sheet over it. That’s it. So after I killed the bug last night, I pulled back the sheet and about fifteen other bed bugs turned around quickly, gasped and scurried around in confusion trying to hide in the nearest foam hole they could find. Every hair on my body immediately stood on end and I was in the air before I could blink an eye. I knew that for every bug I could see there was probably 100 more that I couldn’t see. It made me physically sick to my stomach. I showed Amy and she freaked out. I didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t any place else to sleep. Amy was in a tiny twin bed. However, her bed was at least off the floor and had a regular mattress (it was Kenyi’s regular bed). The only thing I could do was cram into bed with Amy. It was really uncomfortable and both of us kept feeling like we had bugs crawling on us all night. In addition to the disgusting, repulsive bed bugs, Kenyi and Akisi have a female dog named Jay Jay (she’s the one who just gave birth to the pups). Anyway, Jay Jay is apparently crazy and barks at everything including the wind. She decided to spend the night right outside of our bedroom window and bark all night long. It wasn’t a low, deep bark either. It was a high pitched ear-drum piercing bark. She also attacked a cat, a pig and something that was probably a chicken in the middle of the night. Needless to say I’m very tired today. Amy and I have one goal… to find air mattresses in Sigatoka. Bed bugs won’t get on air mattresses will they? There aren’t any hiddey-holes for them to burry themselves away. Oh, that brings me to one last comment. Amy and I moved the bug ridden mattress onto the front porch this morning. I hope it’s not insulting, but I figured Kenyi wouldn’t want the bed bugs in her bed (if they aren’t already there). Also, I did a closer investigation of the foam this morning, in the light… I found multiple clusters of hundreds of baby bed bugs all OVER the foam pad. Eeewwww!!!!!
I can’t believe I have to stay here for another month. I don’t think I’m going to make it. My love to you all if I never see you again.

And the trouble begins...

Entry: 7/18/06

Yesterday (Monday in Fiji) our group went to the University of the South Pacific in Suva. Part of the group has been here for a while, so they were working on experiments that had already been started. The rest of us needed to organize, get paperwork done, and prepare for our upcoming departure to the Coral Coast. I expected it to be a slightly stressful day with glitches to fix and plans to modify. However, I’ve spent the past several months getting things ready for this trip and trying to make things go as smoothly as possible. I’m not naïve. I know that there will always be glitches, but if you minimize the biggest ones, then it’s easier to take care of the ones that follow. Anyway, my biggest concern was in getting TRIzol to Fiji. TRIzol is a toxic chemical that I need to preserve my samples for RNA extraction. It is essential for what I do. It is also very difficult to ship because of its toxicity. I was already aware of this, so I made arrangements with a company in Australia that distributes TRIzol. It was shipped to Fiji last month, and although the shipping alone cost enough to fly my whole family to the moon and back, at least I would have it in Fiji and that would be one less glitch to repair. I was confident that TRIzol would be the least of my worries. Oh! How I underestimated Fiji.

I’m sure those of you who have read my previous blogs realize that there is a certain culture in Fiji. It’s very laid back with a sense of communalism. This aspect of the culture is somewhat muted in Suva, the “Big City”. But, compared to big cities in the U.S., Suva is a small, lazy town where life is slow, nothing’s overly important and things get done in their own way. I’m absolutely stunned that anything ACTUALLy gets done though, which brings me back to my TRIzol. As I mentioned, I had it shipped from New Zealand a month ago. It was suppose to arrive within a few days of shipping. To my surprise, when I went to find it… no TRIzol. I asked Klaus, the professor to whose attention it was shipped, and he had not seen it or heard anything about it (other than my emails letting him know it was on the way). We went on a wild goose chase trying to figure out where the hell my TRIzol was. Was it still at the docks? Was it held up in customs? Had it been shipped to the wrong place? I spent hours trying to call out of USP (which is ridiculously difficult) to get in touch with my sales rep at the company. He began to frantically track the shipment. After hours of my blood pressure and adrenaline skyrocketing of the scales, Klaus asked one of his students if he knew anything about a package that was suppose to have arrived several weeks ago. “Oh, yeah. That’s in your lab under the bench.” What the &$@#*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who doesn’t tell someone that they’ve received a package? Did this guy just ASSUME that Klaus could read his mind and figure out where the package was? I was, to say the least, infuriated. It cost me hours of my time and probably took days off my life from the stress…. All because this guy was too damn lazy to simply TELL someone they received a package. Aaaarrrrrggghhhh!!!

posted 7/21/06

Entry: 7/18/06






So, it’s 5:00 in the morning. Tonya has been up since 12 am. I’ve been up since 4:00. The first entry in my journal was going to be about our travels to Fiji and our initial experiences upon arriving. That will have to wait. There are more pressing matters right now.
Let me paint a picture of the idealic resort in which we are staying. It’s actually quite lovely nestled in the rainforest blanketed hills surrounding Suva. We have a cozy room with a balcony that overlooks a beautiful pond with the most fairytale waterlillies I’ve ever seen. There are beautiful birds that are like jewels in the trees and the breeze is absolutely delightful (although a bit cold for Fiji). But as the sun goes down and the night wears on… the fairytale becomes a ghoulish nightmare. The pond transforms into a dank, bog inhabited by the most vile frogs that evil could create. Actually, it’s more like one crazy-ass frog that WON”T SHUT UP! It sounds at times like a car alarm and at other times like an overly dramatic actor screaming “ee-ya-o”. And sometimes it just goes “CHIRP!” It really does sound desperate. Tonya and I have decided that it’s the biggest loser of all the frogs and is trying to get someone, anyone to give it attention. Every once in a while, we can hear a frog return its call from far away. I don’t get it…. What’s that point? I don’t find the ecological relevance in screaming all night long in the hopes of finding a mate. Aren’t there other frogs in the same pond? Can’t you just quietly call for them to let them know you’re interested? It seems like a waste of energy to megaphone your call across the island to distant ponds. Maybe he’s tired of all the frogs in the little pond and wants the wild life of the big pond with all of its different kinds of frogs. I wish he’d strike out on an adventure and either find the pond of his dreams or get run over by a car. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but Tonya and I have already been plotting his death for several nights now. It would just be easier than having to find night vision goggles and a BB gun. But, I suppose that since tonight is our last night here, we can spare his little life. Who knows, maybe he’ll get lucky.

Fiji 2006! So far, so good?

I have WAY too much to put up right now regarding my trip to Fiji and my time here so far. Getting drunk on the "Best Mai Tai's in Waikiki" during my layover in Hawaii, our REALLY grumpy cab driver who took us from Nadi to Suva (3 hour trip. He didn't speak to us for the first 1+ hours), getting eaten alive by mosquitos as soon as I got here (I still have scars on my legs from the bites).... Although, there's uncertainty as to whether they're actually mosquito bites or bed bug bites. I've seen countless sharks, sea turtles, beautiful reefs etc on the dives so far. That's excluding the shark feeding dive that I just went on! (Another story for another blog). I still haven't partaken in any Kava so far, thank jeebus.
Amy and I leave for Tagaqe tomorrow. So long to hot showers. (Just to let you know, I'm physically weeping about that right now). But, it will be nice to settle down in one spot for a while. I'll miss the luxury accomodations, but not the moving from place to place and keeping very wet, very stinky dive gear in our tiny van, which we've named "Pork" (i.e. the "other" white meat - get it? Fijians = cannibals = we're the other white meat... yeah, I'm pretty sure we're delirious). I'm not sure we're going to be able to turn in that rental van. It's smells like a mixture of foot infection, rotten milk and mildew... with a dash of urin marinated wet suits. (Anyone who says they don't pee in their wet suite it lying).
Anyway, I have to run pack my stuff up for the move to Tagage. I also have to go buy some Kava for the cheif, a bribe/peace offering/payment. The root needs to be from a 7 year old plant. The stem should be at least twice as long as the actually root and the inner part of the root should be a tan/cream color with a dark brown skin. It should also be from a region called Kadavu. That's where the best Kava is grown. Anyway, it cost $50. I hope the bribe works.