life goes on...

Hi from rainy Suva. It's been a busy month, getting a little bit settled in and hitting the ground running at work. Alex arrived on a Saturday, we got to move into our house on Monday, and all my household effects and consumables were delivered on Tuesday. I got a day and a half off from work to unpack, and then it was back to business as usual. Work is never dull--I am continuing to learn something new every day, and I don't expect that to change any time soon. This week I was in charge of coordinating the US Embassy's booth at the annual Hibiscus Festival, a week-long event with carnival rides, talent shows, food stands, beauty pageants, etc. We had a tent for just one day, promoting some of the USAID projects, educational programs and scholarships in the US, the Embassy's facebook page, and, of course, visa information! The local staff did a really good job of pulling everything together and prepping me for my first ever TV interview.

We've done a lot to start feeling at home, but it feels like there's always something else to do. Right now we're still waiting to get tv and internet hooked up, putting in maintenance requests every day at work for small things that need to be fixed on the house, buying more electric convertors and power cords, and figuring out where things should go. We joined the best gym in town (still no air conditioning) and got to play soccer for the first time with a small group from the Embassy on Friday (yay!).  Alex got his computer set up right away and has been busy editing and cataloging photos whenever he has a spare moment. Last weekend we drove almost 3 hours to stay one night at a beach, which was more like what you think of when you hear Fiji than Suva is. It was a long drive, but nice to get to the beach finally!

Despite the many cool things about this job/lifestyle, one of the drawbacks is being far away from friends and family, especially during the rough times. I was saddened to get the news that Grandpa passed away on my birthday, less than a month after I'd arrived in Suva. I wished I could attend the funeral and be around the family, many of whom I haven't seen in quite a while. Uncle Dennis sent me the memorial video that was played at the service, which was a nice way to participate from so far away. I've also been thinking a lot about my friend Anne since arriving. We went through our arrival together at our first post, and I often find myself thinking of things I want to tell her about or wishing we were planning a trip for her to come visit me here. At work when I'm faced with challenges I think of how Anne always confronted the challenges so gracefully and handled them so adeptly, and I am inspired to do the same.

I'm really looking forward to seeing a couple of other close friends in the next couple of weeks. One is getting married in Madrid next weekend, and she asked me about a year ago if I would be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I wanted to say yes, but had to wait until I got to Suva (just 2 months before the wedding) to confirm I could get the time off. Thankfully, my boss generously gave me the time off, and to take advantage of the very long and expensive flights, we're going to stay another week and meet up with a very dear friend in Portugal (she's currently working in Germany). I wish we were more settled before taking off, but I know it will be really wonderful to be around friends who I've known for a while. I'm hoping that when we get back it won't be long before we've got everything up and running and I'll be able to stay in touch a little more easily!