A care package

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The following plea is from my wife:

While in Fiji, we enjoyed a visit with the students and teachers at the primary school in the village of Tiliva on the island of Kadavu.  The students entertained us by signing songs, and the parents Bokelman entertained them by making balloon animals (in between frightening them by loudly popping about a dozen).  The school building has four rooms for grades first through eighth and serves about 120 students if I remember correctly.  Students from outside the village spend the week boarded at the school. From the posted schedule it appears that they devote the entire week, evenings included, to their studies.   The local guide said that while it is a public school, government support does not quite reach the smaller islands, and families are required to pay some form of tuition.  While the students are polite, well-mannered, and seemingly eager to learn, their supplies and resources are slim--which is particularly sad to those of us who work in education and are familiar with the educational interest and devotion of most American students.

We'll be sending some supplies to the school, and we invite you to help us.  You can send money to me via PayPal (hbokelman at gmail.com) or to 125 Oregon Road, Cedar Falls, IA  50613.  I plan on sending a donation in addition to basic, consumable supplies like pencils and crayons as well as teaching materials that the teachers can use for the long term.  Our travel books said that the Fijian people were the most hospitable people you'd likely find in the South Pacific, and our hosts proved that true.  Please help if you can, and thank you!

Tiliva School

Bula from Nadi, Fiji

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We've made it as far as Nadi, Fiji, where I'm using the world's worst keyboard to type this out as I wait for our plane tto Kadavu. The plane only holds 8 people, and there were 9 in our party, so 3 of us are catching the second flight. We killed a few hours taking a taxi into a nearby city, but I don't know the name. Was a bit strange, we were the only white folks around, and it was an Indo-Fijean area, so it was sort of like suddenly finiding yourself in Bombay. We bought a few things, braved a sidewalk food stand, and then came back to the airport to catch our next fllightt. I wouldn't expect to hear from me for the next 8 days though, I doubt I'lll find a computer annd net connection there, though the keyboard has to work better t han this one.

Last working day before Fiji

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Today is my last working day before our vacation to [[Fiji]]!  I won't have Internet access on this trip, heck, I'll be lucky to have electricity, so don't expect much in the way of updates.  We'll be staying at the Waisalima Beach Resort on the island of [[Kadavu]], assuming all the travel goes as planned.  I've been tanning (yes, in beds, like a girl) to brown up for the trip, as I plan on doing some snorkeling.  I also have been reading a couple of books about Fijian culture, which is vastly different from our own, and from the culture of Tahiti.  Anyone care to place bets on whether or not we can get my wife to drink Kava?