So here I am working in the capital of Fiji, Suva as a Radio Development Officer with the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program (AYAD). This is my first posting so lets start from the departure in Melbourne.My year abroad started with a fair twist as my plane was delayed due to fog and the Melbourne-Nadi trip took close to 24 hours. I wasn't complaining too much though as I was set up in the Hilton for the day.

There are 8 other AYAD's in my intake, making the total around 32 in Fiji. We all met up at the Nadi Bay Hotel. The drive to Suva, where mostly everyone is based, was about 4 hours for 180 km. There seems to be no regulation or laws on emitions in Fiji, so you can imagine what the 1970's buses are spitting out as exhaust.We arrived in Suva and checked in to a Theological College, which reminded me of school camp or something. It was a "dry" area so cards, and drinking games were done in our rooms/dorms to avoid any trouble. After all the mandatory safety and secruity briefings we were free to explore the capital for a few hours. I was amazed at the pollution in Suva, mainly due to bus exhausts. Which play really loud pop or reggae music. Luckily for Suva it has a coastal breeze, because otherwise it would be just like New Delhi. So as you can imagine its hard to find postcards of my daily life in Suva as the rain three times a day is part of daily life here. The Fijians really chose the location of their capital well (a bit like in Australia) as the Western side of the island is the touristic and nice weather part of the island.The rest of the orientation week was taken up with boring cultural stuff and long winded explanations of simple problems.

The last night was a show-case of the Suva night life. It was an interesting experience, especially being white and weighing about 50 kgs less than the average local. I think this explains why there are no scooters of motorbikes in Fiji like the rest of Asia.... just not possible!

At the end of our first week, I finally moved out of the Pacific Theological College and into what looks like a Fiji version of Alcatraz, with its pretty hardcore security features and all. I am living with 3 other AYAD's Ed, Julia and Carolyn who have all been working here for three months already. We have a family living next door in a small bure who look after the house while were not there and do general maintenance in exchange for free accomodation. Their names are R2 (yes as in D2), kara, their numerous children and a wicked puppy named Jumbo who is pictured above.