So imagine you walk outside onto the front step of your traditional Fijian Bure looking forward to consuming a fresh breath of a cool Tropical breeze and Enjoy the Full moon that you had been taking photos previously that night ,when suddenly you realize your precious White marshmallow was being all consumed by the very planet that you currently stood on..!!! At first i was confused and though maybe a stray cloud had covered up the Moon until i looked in the sky and there were fewer clouds in the sky than teeth in the mouth of an English Bride. In about 30 minutes the earth had finished up gobbling what remained of the moon but instead of it dissapearing completely only to be thrown up later, the Moon turned an eary, yet beautiful shade of Blood- Orange.. It remained in this state for another Hour and a half where i decided to retire to my back for a bit on my front step and look through my binoculars at this Halloween production i was witnessing. It was impressive and amazing, if anything for its abrupt appearance that caught me unaware. I had never seen a Full Lunar eclipse before in my life and probably never will see one again quite like this one. Laying on my back, listening to the Waves break on the reef, watching the Flying Foxes swoop past the Moon , staring up at this beautiful Blood- Orange, dim lit, lightbulb, i had forgoten about the 50 misquito's making a buffet out of my viens of my legs.. Who cared.. This was sublime... It was then , thinking that the sublime couldn't become any more enjoyable that the little blaze of a rocket flew past the moon as if to salute it on its fantastic show much like an f-18 would do a fly by at the superbowl. I had seen falling stars before, even more prolific in size and brightness, but it was this one that i will never forget.... Such is the life in the South Pacific..
It is nights like that that make up for the days that leave you depressed , feeling down , and wondering why in the hell you decided to Join Peace Corps..It is the little things... The little things are what make it all worthwile.. Sometimes putting a smile on a kids face or making someone laugh at or with you is larger than any great "accomplishment". In Fact it is the little things that ARE the great "accomplishments". The sum of the whole is often overlooked and was even by me until that night. I am happy the moon showed back up though.. I was getting scared for a bit. :)
So on a side note.. How many creatures live in your house???
Lets count mine.....
1. Cockroaches
2. Spiders(sometimes as big as your fist)
3. Rats
4. Ants(3 different species so far from what i can tell)
5. My dog
6. My cat
7. My dog and my cats Fleas..
8. a multitude of misquito's(About 6 at night is tea time for them)
9.Moths, wasps, many other flying insects...
10. Gheckos!!!( they eat my bugs) :)
11. Land crabs
12. and other miscelaneous creatures..
The fun part is you never know which fun creature you will get to run into on what night.. :)
oh.. and i forgot the mildew.. Mildew forms on everything.. So i try to sun my clothes and everything else i have as much as possible.. keeping things dry here can be a task...
Paradise is swell....
So hopefully my new tooth will be flown or shipped in from Hong Kong here in the next 2 weeks so i don't have to keep this hideous temporary tooth in my mouth any longer...
Its not the purtiest thing you ever saw let me tell you...
Other than that things are good here.. I miss the States, my friends and family, the redwoods, the coast, the mountains, all tremendously, so if you could all just quit what you are doing for 2 more years that would be great. i don't wanna miss out on anything.. I truly do feel like i am living on the moon sometimes here in FIJI.......
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6 comments:
I love the way you are telling the story of your time in Fiji. It's always very interesting to read, even when you are complaining about how hot or wet things are. My package & Nola's have been sent. Hope you get them soon & are happy with their contents. I think Adam is coming over this weekend because Kimberly & Travis have plans on going to Cedar Point. Ohio State has won the first 2 games, but seem to have some problems with their offense hanging onto the ball. Michigan has lost their first 2 games (very embarassing for them). Been watching the games with the Highnams, Schodorf & Murphy.
Better close.
Love you,
Mom
Hey Matt,
I had to have your mom show me how to do this. I have tried several times but it would never go through. I am not smart enough to know that I had to have a account to be able to send. Your mother helped me set up so now I can at least send a hello once in awhile. I have been reading some of what you wrote and it all sounds very interesting. Everything around here is still about the same. Leslie and the boys moved out about a month ago. Guess who is living with them! Yeah the piece of s---. Just can't figure out what she sees in him. Oh well not much I can do about it. Talked to Mom and Sib the other night, they seem to be doing as good as can be expected. Still always fighting. I think they do that just so they don't get bored. My job is okay but I have a problem that I feel responsible for peoples taxes going up. Oh well it helps to pay the bills.
Got to go,
Love you,
Aunt Jacki
Matthew~! Hope this finds you safe and well. How are things going? Do you like Figi? You'll have to take a lot of pictures. I bet the country is beautiful. Are your host family nice? When are you coming back to the states? Any hot women? Mom wants to know if you got your tooth fixed? Take care and I love you. LeslieAnn
Sauce-
The Buckeyes are probably in trouble this weekend...playing the Huskies in Seattle. Do you feel like Gilligan at all? So your mom doesn't have to keep a secret, we might as well tell you...WE ARE HAVING A BABY!
Take care,
Corey & Katie
Hi Matt,
Reading about your adventures is definitely interesting. You should become a writer. Your first book could be about your experiences in Fuji.
I love reading your blog. I not only get to read about all of the interesting things you’ve been doing, but also get to keep tabs on your family by reading their comments. I’m so happy for Cory and Katie. I haven’t seen your mom lately and I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Jackie or Leslie. Maybe, it was at your going away party.
There is nothing new going on here. I do have a field visit scheduled next week for McConnelsville, which is south of Zanesville. That was bad scheduling on my part; I should have scheduled it for October because the drive down there is absolutely beautiful in the fall. Maybe, I’ll do that next year.
As far as creatures living in my house……..I just caught 3 raccoons in a live trap and sprayed for spiders. However, the size of my spiders and mosquito’s don’t even begin to compare to yours. I also, have a dog, maybe an occasional flea, moths and wasps. No cats, rats, cockroaches, geckos, or land crabs. Thank God.
Whoa………..I’m getting kind of wordy.
Later,
Kaila
Hi. I don't know you but I hope you don't mind me asking a question. I googled "peace corps can I bring my dog" and your blog appeared, lol. I'm really interested in joining the peace corps but have a dog I don't think I could live without. Did you bring a dog with you or did you adopt a dog once you got to Fiji? My email is scslug21@aol.com. If you have a chance to email me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
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