...he allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.
—Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I decided to start anew — to strip what I had been taught, to accept as true my own thinking. This was one of the best times of my life. I was alone and singularly free working on my own, unknown — no one to satisfy but myself.
—Georgia O'Keeffe
I Am Here! Day One
After a flight delay in Nadi, I safely arrived in SavuSavu. I love my new home. It was made for me to live in. It is a simple design about 300 square feet with a screened in porch that wraps around the front and right side of the house. I am planning to hang my hammock on the side porch rather than under the coconut trees. I don’t want to expire from a falling coconut, although in a Billy Collins poem, his character expires weighing a cloud while in his hammock living the life of Riley, whoever he is. The yard is full of coconut, papaya and breadfruit trees, although the papaya is not ripe yet, the coconuts and breadfruit are. If I could only crack those coconuts.
A brief shower awakened me this morning allowing me the opportunity to dance in the rain (naked of course) before heading across the street to my first baptism in the South Pacific (clothed out of respect for the local customs.) A double rainbow welcomed me as the local fishermen spread their nets across the inlet. I feel as if I am a part of a Hemingway novel. I believe life is meant to be experienced and lived this way.
I don’t have internet yet but my new cousins (landlords) and I are working on it. Don’t forget everything here is on Fiji Time so nothing happens over night. The pace is slow which is alright with me. The people are welcoming and friendly. If it were not for the internet and tourism I would easily believe I traveled back in time about fifty years.
A pair of young mongoose played in the yard, chasing each other. At least I know there are no cobras around but the wasps are huge!! I mean huge!! The locals refer to them as 'pei' and they pack a mean bite so I am told. The geckoes chirped me to sleep last night as the almost full moon rose to welcome me. The time difference obviously has an affect as I went to bed shortly after sunset, 6:00 pm. It’s winter here, so the days are short but the temperature is still around 80 degrees. So June 21st will be the longest day for you and the shortest for me. Except I’m in Fiji and you’re not. Sorry about that.
The ocean I waded in this morning has now receded. I’m going treasure hunting as soon as I figure out how to open this damn coconut!
Photo Credit: SunSet Over SavuSavu Bay, Tao, Digital Image 2011.