s/v Field Trip

Mud and Candy By: Elizabeth You are probably wondering what's going on and what we are doing down here in Fiji, so I will tell you everything!  A few days ago Mom, Dad, Michael, and I got dressed in our skirt like Sulus and our short sleeved Chumbas for the Sevu-Sevu ceremony of welcome.  We had to do this on Halloween night because Dad wanted to get it over with.  As we dinghy closer to shore I see the women fishing with nets in knee deep water and the 16-20 foot Long Boats tied up to the cement dock.  Everything seems fine.  Except the fact that it is low tide and there are yards and yards of one foot deep black mud but it looks like it is a centimeter deep from the top!  The dinghy engine touches the bottom so Dad lifts it up out of the muddy water.  He then hops out and starts pulling us closer.  He says, " This mud is up to my shins!".  But we think that he is just joking until Michael gets in.  Mom and I crack up laughing...

(Looking back on our experiences in Fulaga, Fiji) Once a month.  That’s how often a rusty, heeling supply ship arrived in the Fulaga harbor delivering food, supplies, and loved ones from the large city of Suva. From our boat, we could see villagers gathering on shore, hustling about, anticipating its arrival. Women shucking clams by the basketful. After school, we went ashore to see what everyone was up to.  Groups of people were gathered around enormous pots set atop wood fires.  Curious, we asked one woman what she was cooking.   “Clams,” she answered, “to send to family in Suva on the ship.” Pu Mata boiling clams in seawater Beside the pot, empty clam shells were piled up by the hundreds.  As she lifted the lid, steam billowed out, blocking our view momentarily.  When the steam cleared, we could see hundreds of clams - bright orange, brown, and flesh colored - vibrating in the boiling sea water.  PuMata offered me one, but ...