Water Water Everywhere

It's hard to believe it's already the week of Thanksgiving and that I've been living in Fiji now for almost 5 months. I love to live in a place where I don't have to deal with the cold and the snow, though the humidity in Suva is not without its challenges. We have 4 large dehumidifiers in the house, which all have to be emptied every other day in order to keep the mold and mildew at bay. We also have window air conditioning units. I was surprised to find out our recent air conditioner troubles were the result of being clogged from the outside with gecko droppings. The geckos are everywhere (there's no way to keep them out of the house), and I originally thought they were cute, but have been slowly learning more gross things about them. Besides the trouble with the droppings, I also found out that they're cannibals and my colleague also caught one drinking the saline out of her contact case on the bathroom counter. Not quite so cute anymore. We're soon entering cyclone season,  and not exactly sure what to expect. Last year the big storm knocked the power out for 2-3 days for most embassy housing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we won't be hit as hard this year

I just got back from my second consular visit to Tonga. Alex went along for some diving and photography. We went a couple days early so I could also do some of the fun stuff. I saw two different kind of sharks (a small reef shark and a leopard shark) while snorkeling. I don't remember ever seeing a shark before, so that was fun. I was also amazed at the different types of coral that I've never seen before and looked like they were taken directly out of a cartoon. I also saw big oysters, sting rays, clown fish and sea anemones, and even got head-butted by a little jellyfish (one of my biggest fears in the ocean). I haven't finished my certification to dive, as I struggle with being able to take off my mask underwater. I think I'd struggle with feeling claustrophobic too, so far underwater. I'm a huge fan of snorkeling and have done a good deal of it. Alex and I enjoy snorkeling together. I get to swim around and find all the cool stuff to point out to him to take pictures of. When he did a couple dives and I snorkeled alone we both realized it wasn't as fun. I had no one to take pictures of the cool stuff I found, and his camera slows him down under the water to the point that he prefers having an extra set of eyes to find cool subjects more quickly. Luckily there is plenty to see while snorkeling in Fiji and the surrounding areas, and since we have our own masks and fins, it's generally a free activity.

check out some of Alex's recent photos here:

Nemo

Low tide

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we'll travel to one of the closest small islands that should offer some more great snorkeling and swimming. While it's not too hard to get away on long weekends and visit the beach, it is somewhat of an effort to get to the beach. Suva is surrounded by water, which is beautiful, but doesn't have beaches or any real place to swim. We're always grateful when we catch a sunny weekend day so we can use the little pool in the back yard.

Not too long ago I finished (hopefully) the final treatment I'll try to kill the parasite I've had trouble with for so long. My health really suffered while I was on it, and I'm trying to rebuild my "gut health", as my doctor calls it. What this means is getting probiotics from as much food sources as possible (as opposed to only popping a probiotic supplement). I recently found a pretty decent greek-style yogurt made in Fiji which I believe has active cultures in it. For the most part, fresh dairy products can be hard to come by, so I'm glad for that. I've also branched out in my kitchen activities to try my hand at making sauerkraut. Other than a bad cut on my thumb, that turned out pretty well. My most recent attempt was kombucha (since there's no such thing as a health food store here!). My first batch came out relatively good. It's not just like store bought, but I am pretty pleased with it. I was also glad to be able to add fresh kumquat juice from the tree in the yard and grated ginger (which cost about $2 USD for a big bag of ginger root!). Kombucha involves a culture/starter that keeps on growing as many times as you care to use it, so I started fermenting another batch immediately and I'll try to get it even better this time. I do feel improved energy to a certain extent, so I think I'm on the right track.

Suva at sunset