On my first day at site, there was a funeral in the village for my counterpart's father.

Instead of going about their days as usual, young women from various villages, cities, and towns, were preparing to battle the floods and storms to arrive the next day for a Women’s Symposium.

Life in Fiji begins with rhythm, whether it is mothers patting their baby’s bums to get them to sleep or hearing the village lali (traditional drum of the south pacific, pronounced “lah-lee”) proclaim morning devotionals at 5:30 a.m. 

Fiji is a nation known to many Americans only by that iconic bottle of volcanic water and an overly dramatized season of "Survivor." As Peace Corps Fiji Volunteers, we have the distinct honor of taking a step beyond most and serving our country in this gorgeous, culturally diverse island nation.

I am currently six months into my Peace Corps service in Fiji. I know this may sound like a vacation – it’s true that my life here is really great – but my home in Fiji is probably quite different from what you imagine. 

Beginning in 1986, I served as an early childhood teacher trainer in Haiti.