Wednesday, May 23, 2007
It has been while; I have tried to finish all my work early. It actually has gone well as I only have on major research paper left. However it is the biggest one around 10,000 words, which I will no trouble getting, if anything I will be over. It has been an interesting semester with of course ups and downs. With just over a month left I have started to reflect on what has happened during the semester. I have put up some pictures of the USP graduation a couple of weeks ago; it was a lot of fun. People wear the traditional flowers around their neck, which also tells where they are from. Each village and country has a different one. I am really hoping to do some travel soon as I would love to get to see more villages while I am here. It is so easy to get comfortable in Suva with the everyday stuff and not travel. Just got to make a real effort to get out. Anyway I am going to get back to work, just thought I would have a little break. Once this research is done I will feel better to spend more time on other stuff. Vinaka Justin.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
week 7
After being sick last week I am trying to catch up with what work I missed last week but alas it is not going to well as I now have an ear infection, which is most likely from going surfing over the Easter break. Though not to worry next week is the semester break and as I am not allowed to go into the water for a couple of weeks I wont be going away now which in turn means I can knuckle down and do some serious work and maybe even finish a few major papers that I have due.
So I have put up some photos from the surf trip this last weekend, a much needed time away get some surfing and forgetting all the things on my mind for a few days. I went to the only beach break I Fiji, Sigatoka. There are huge sand dunes and the whole beach is full of driftwood. It is kind of serial and very much doesn’t feel like I am in Fiji.
I would also like to wish John and Joel a very happy birthday and I wish I could have been there. There was a very special cake for you both at Reki Street (see picture).
Being Easter and that chocolate is fairly expensive we decided to paint eggs. This was a lot of fun however due to the humidity the never actually dried in fact nothing ever dries here. I hope that everyone had an awesome Easter and also took time to reflect what it is all about. It would be really nice to hear what other people got up over the weekend and in general.
So that is about it for today, I have my favourite class on this afternoon, Human Rights. I hope I can pay attention, as my ear is quite painful. I don’t think that I have ever had an ear ache this sore. Anyway I am sure it will be alright, I am on antibiotics again which something I am not to sure about but what can I do if it gets me better well it’s all good. It is my immune system that is still a bigger worry.
Take care, which is what I should be doing
Justin.
So I have put up some photos from the surf trip this last weekend, a much needed time away get some surfing and forgetting all the things on my mind for a few days. I went to the only beach break I Fiji, Sigatoka. There are huge sand dunes and the whole beach is full of driftwood. It is kind of serial and very much doesn’t feel like I am in Fiji.
I would also like to wish John and Joel a very happy birthday and I wish I could have been there. There was a very special cake for you both at Reki Street (see picture).
Being Easter and that chocolate is fairly expensive we decided to paint eggs. This was a lot of fun however due to the humidity the never actually dried in fact nothing ever dries here. I hope that everyone had an awesome Easter and also took time to reflect what it is all about. It would be really nice to hear what other people got up over the weekend and in general.
So that is about it for today, I have my favourite class on this afternoon, Human Rights. I hope I can pay attention, as my ear is quite painful. I don’t think that I have ever had an ear ache this sore. Anyway I am sure it will be alright, I am on antibiotics again which something I am not to sure about but what can I do if it gets me better well it’s all good. It is my immune system that is still a bigger worry.
Take care, which is what I should be doing
Justin.
Week 5-6
This week has been very similar to the last few weeks. This last four days I have been sick with some kind of fever with a coughing, sore throat, vomiting, and body aches. Not to pleasant. Went to the doctor who has given me some medication and today I am feeling much better. The only thing I am worried about is that now my immune system is weak is that boils may come. I have been doing what the doctor at home told me to do and so far I haven’t had one, might just take extra precautions.
Apart from that everything is going well enough, been visiting the prison with a group affiliated with the Fijian Council of Churches. There are three reverends and myself. I had to get a dress sulu, nice shoes and a couple of shirts as doing anything that is related to church you must wear your best clothes. The prison is very interesting, very, very small with one patch of grass and about 200 inmates. We are going through a Christian rehab program which I can’t remember who wrote it but I will put it up next time. It is very interesting for me and I am not sure I totally like it but I will continue to go. Most of the talking is in Fijian apart from me so I am picking up the language very quickly. One of the reverends I really like and spend a fair amount of time with him talking. A nice glimpse of light. Any way next time I will take photos if I can, I keep forgetting to use the camera. Not sure I will be able to. Though no one ever checks my bag going in, I think it is because they think I am a reverend and I would never do anything dodgy.
Studies are ok, struggling with the research project as I am not sure what I am exactly doing but I am sure it’ll all work out one way or another. Yesterday being Palm Sunday there where marches through the streets, in a break of being sick I took some photos of a march past our house. It was nice. Next week being Easter it will be ever bigger but I think I am going to go away and go surfing for the long weekend. I haven’t been surfing yet since being back and I think I need it for health reasons. I have put up some photos of a really nice meal we had with all my room mates, one of their parents and a women that I stayed with in Matuku. I was a great night with even better food. A huge tuna and octopus cooked in coconut milk with salad.
That is about it, I am going to use my camera more and put up more pictures.
Yours truly, Justin
Apart from that everything is going well enough, been visiting the prison with a group affiliated with the Fijian Council of Churches. There are three reverends and myself. I had to get a dress sulu, nice shoes and a couple of shirts as doing anything that is related to church you must wear your best clothes. The prison is very interesting, very, very small with one patch of grass and about 200 inmates. We are going through a Christian rehab program which I can’t remember who wrote it but I will put it up next time. It is very interesting for me and I am not sure I totally like it but I will continue to go. Most of the talking is in Fijian apart from me so I am picking up the language very quickly. One of the reverends I really like and spend a fair amount of time with him talking. A nice glimpse of light. Any way next time I will take photos if I can, I keep forgetting to use the camera. Not sure I will be able to. Though no one ever checks my bag going in, I think it is because they think I am a reverend and I would never do anything dodgy.
Studies are ok, struggling with the research project as I am not sure what I am exactly doing but I am sure it’ll all work out one way or another. Yesterday being Palm Sunday there where marches through the streets, in a break of being sick I took some photos of a march past our house. It was nice. Next week being Easter it will be ever bigger but I think I am going to go away and go surfing for the long weekend. I haven’t been surfing yet since being back and I think I need it for health reasons. I have put up some photos of a really nice meal we had with all my room mates, one of their parents and a women that I stayed with in Matuku. I was a great night with even better food. A huge tuna and octopus cooked in coconut milk with salad.
That is about it, I am going to use my camera more and put up more pictures.
Yours truly, Justin
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Week Four
Week Four
Right now I am in the swing of things regarding subjects. I am really enjoying the subjects this semester. Human rights raises more questions more than answers as you dig deeper into what really are human rights. The lecturer is an Aussie, which is nice, and she is always referring to facts about Australia and wanting me to back her up. The migration subject is good and looks at what development issues there are around types of migration and what it might possibility look like in the future. My final subject is an independent research subject, which is probably going to stretch me the most. At the moment I am looking at the correctional service here in Fiji and what legislation is about it, whether they focus on the offender or the victim, as it would be with restorative justice. I think I will be working with a couple of organisation that work in the prison, one being with a reverend who once was an inmate and has been going into the prison for 25 years. He has a focus of just being someone that inmates can talk to as this is what helped him the most being able to hear out loud his thoughts. The other organisation is Prison Ministries, which has a focus of rehabilitation through conversion. They run the Alpha course with the 40 days of purpose course. These courses are compulsory for every inmate that gets put in prison. This is an approach that the first guy totally doesn’t like and the have confrontations all the time. So I really hope it works out and I am looking forward to see what my thoughts will be at the end of it all. Both organisations have invited me to visit the prison weekly so I think it should be an interesting semester you will understand if I can take pictures of the prisons.
There is no real important news that has happened lately, though I have been kite surfing a bit but not as much as I would like. The wind season doesn’t start until April – May, so I will just have to be patient. I think I will go surfing in the Easter break and maybe during the semester break. This semester has a complete different feel compared to last semester. Again I think it will be learning and growing experience. I am glad I have come back because there are things that I have been thinking about that I may not have at home and things I would like to follow up upon returning home to Australia.
I hope everything is fine at the places wherever you are at and I look forward to returning home with many stories.
Right now I am in the swing of things regarding subjects. I am really enjoying the subjects this semester. Human rights raises more questions more than answers as you dig deeper into what really are human rights. The lecturer is an Aussie, which is nice, and she is always referring to facts about Australia and wanting me to back her up. The migration subject is good and looks at what development issues there are around types of migration and what it might possibility look like in the future. My final subject is an independent research subject, which is probably going to stretch me the most. At the moment I am looking at the correctional service here in Fiji and what legislation is about it, whether they focus on the offender or the victim, as it would be with restorative justice. I think I will be working with a couple of organisation that work in the prison, one being with a reverend who once was an inmate and has been going into the prison for 25 years. He has a focus of just being someone that inmates can talk to as this is what helped him the most being able to hear out loud his thoughts. The other organisation is Prison Ministries, which has a focus of rehabilitation through conversion. They run the Alpha course with the 40 days of purpose course. These courses are compulsory for every inmate that gets put in prison. This is an approach that the first guy totally doesn’t like and the have confrontations all the time. So I really hope it works out and I am looking forward to see what my thoughts will be at the end of it all. Both organisations have invited me to visit the prison weekly so I think it should be an interesting semester you will understand if I can take pictures of the prisons.
There is no real important news that has happened lately, though I have been kite surfing a bit but not as much as I would like. The wind season doesn’t start until April – May, so I will just have to be patient. I think I will go surfing in the Easter break and maybe during the semester break. This semester has a complete different feel compared to last semester. Again I think it will be learning and growing experience. I am glad I have come back because there are things that I have been thinking about that I may not have at home and things I would like to follow up upon returning home to Australia.
I hope everything is fine at the places wherever you are at and I look forward to returning home with many stories.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
First week of school
Morning all, this week is the first week of classes and all finally seems to be working out. A couple of the subjects that I wanted to do aren’t going to run because well I was the only student and they need at leats ten. I tried to enrol in a couple of postgraduate subjects and it credit my degree but the rules couldn’t be bent. So after some time of stuffing around as what always happens in Fiji I think I have finally settled on subjects. Today it looks like I am enrolled in migration and development, politics of human rights and research project in sociology. The research subject is a completely independent research project on a topic of my choice, so if anyone has ideas feel free to bounce them of me. This is the only subject that worries me a bit. The final paper for that needs to 10,000 to 15,000 words which at the start of semester seems a lot and added on top of that I have to present my findings in a presentation to the faculty and staff of the development program. Nervous times.
Apart from that latest update about subjects everything else is fine and I am settling in fine and looking forward to seeing what this semester holds and where it leads me. I have committed myself to gaining and learning as much as I can about development and myself during the next six months. This time back has been a different experience since being back, even though I knew what to expect it has still taken a few weeks to get back in the swing of things and used to the culture again.
I look forward to putting my updates over the next few months. I would love to hear what else is going on if you have time. Regards Justin.
P.S. I haven’t been kite surfing much yet but yesterday I meet a couple of other guys who also kite surf so the future is looking good in that sense.
Apart from that latest update about subjects everything else is fine and I am settling in fine and looking forward to seeing what this semester holds and where it leads me. I have committed myself to gaining and learning as much as I can about development and myself during the next six months. This time back has been a different experience since being back, even though I knew what to expect it has still taken a few weeks to get back in the swing of things and used to the culture again.
I look forward to putting my updates over the next few months. I would love to hear what else is going on if you have time. Regards Justin.
P.S. I haven’t been kite surfing much yet but yesterday I meet a couple of other guys who also kite surf so the future is looking good in that sense.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Back in Fiji
Hi everyone, back in Fiji. I have found a place to live of campus, which is really nice. It is the second level of a house with a great balcony that catches the breeze (see photo). The address is No. 2 Reki st Raiwai, Suva, Fiji Islands just in case you would like to send any chocolate or the like. I am in the process of enrolling and hope to be doing postgraduate subjects in development. The weather is extremely hot and well lets just say it is very sweaty all the time. I am thinking I have made the right choice in coming back as I feel comfortable in being back. I haven’t been kite surfing yet as the wind just hasn’t been quite right but I am sure the time will come when I will be out there. There are several familiar faces, which have the transition quite easy, and I think we will do a trip latter in the week to one of the outer islands before classes start the following week. Even though I knew what to expect this time I am still feeling a little like that this isn’t Australia and missing it a small amount. I will post a weekly update and look froward to hearing what people are up to. Take care Justin.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Again to beautiful Fiji
Hi all just about to leave on another trip to Fiji for another semester. I am looking forward to letting you know about all the adventures that I shall have along the way. Will miss Melbourne but after last time I know it will go really quick. Please take care while I am away and I will keep in touch as it will be nice to here from you guys. I am off.
Justin
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