He walked up my stairway and quietly tapped away, wondering if anybody was home. I only answered after I looked through the window and saw it was a child. (Usually it is an adult from the squatter settlement begging, or trying to sell me some half-dead seafood.) He told me he was hungary and wondered if I had any work for him to do, so he could earn a few dollars to get bread and a drink. I told him I could give him a glass of water and offer him some bread, but I had no work. (He declined the bread, but took the water.) I started asking him his story, as he gulped down the water.
I asked him where he went to school because he spoke english very well and he said an Indian man had recently taken him in and put him in the Hilton Special School (for students with disabilities), although he had no apparent disability, Fiji is a place where if you know someone, you often times can be enrolled. Anyway, his parents left him as a baby and since then he has been living with a Rotuman woman, who has now gone to Savusavu. He has no aunties, or family that he knows of and is kind of wandering the streets now looking for work and a way to support himself. He told me he was 14, born in 1994 and his favorite subject in school is English.
The best I could do for this boy was make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and give him a couple of glasses of water. I listened to his story, suggested what he might do to find work, or relatives and wished him luck. I told him to keep the faith. I didn't have any spare clothes, or shoes for him, but I did send him off with $3.20--a small amount that he could squander and I wouldn't miss, if he was feeding me lies, but a large enough amount to get him a few bus fares and some food if he was in real need. I hope that boy finds what he needs and that I won't be targeted in the future for a break-in. There's a fine line here of who to trust and what to give and I'd like to hope I did the right thing. I saw gaps in his story and made sure to emphasize I was a volunteer, who makes no money here and also I leave with my large boyfriend, who is home most of the time. It saddens me to not be able to trust a child in need, but I think I found a middle road.
On a happier note, I went to an amazing island last weekend with snakes, white sand, teal water, and a peaceful breeze. The island of Leleuvia is a 45 minute drive from Suva and an equal boat ride. It's weather is mainly nice, getting about 30% of the Suva rain and it is inexpensive. I went there with a group of friends and we stayed in grass bures, only 20 steps from the beach and made the island our own little kingdom. It is easy to walk around the island at low-tide in about 5 minutes, minding the black and silver snakes that travel from the small forested area to the water when a cloud comes. I found that on land snakes move slowly and are non-intimidating. However, when in the water--they are fast and supple. (Making snorkeling a bit scary.)
After two glorious nights of sunsets, sunrises and beachy-days, my better half and myself came back to Suva with one extra passenger from Barcelona. As I do, I made friends with this eclectic man named Albert, who has been traveling the world for two+ years, volunteering his time to teach in orphanages and special-needs schools. He is writing a travel book and has really enjoyed escaping the rat-race city life and the fancy job. Can we not all learn from Albert?
I have recently started to read my work-load for next year...Midnight's Children, Love in the Time of Cholera, Great Gatsby, The House of the Spirits etc.... I will be completely enveloped in amazing, but difficult literature for high school students...living the lifestyle that Albert has now and I have taught myself to appreciate...
What is my plan for next year, you might ask? Well, I am moving back to Fiji after a 2 month sabbatical at home to finish my Rotary speeches and share some of the cultural nuances about Fiji. I will be home from the end of November through mid January and have lots of appointments scheduled with family and friends, Rotary clubs, and other civic organizations...I will be a busy girl, stuck in the rat race for two more months before returning to the South Pacific as an English teacher, a thesis student, and a purveyor of the good life.
Do what you love. Live simple. Breathe easy.
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