As my fellow trainees and I were hobbling down the road after class last week, we were chatting about things we which we had done or known before coming to Fiji.  Here are three things we came up with:

1.  Brought earplugs so we would be able to sleep through the nightly dog fights.  There was an especially vicious fight a few nights back that lasted from approximately 3am to 5am, and I now no longer consider myself a "dog person."

2.  Insured our stuff.  I had my things (wallet, camera, 1 day old cell phone) stolen while I was at a bar the other night.  Don't worry, no violence was involved, I was just careless and didn't watch my purse closely enough.  Unfortunately, buying insurance was one of the things that I kept meaning to take care of before I left, but it kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list.  Now I am paying for it, literally. 

3.  And my personal favorite, thought up by a fellow Lauwaki trainee, Porter, was that we should have practiced sitting cross legged before coming to Fiji.  In fact, the reason we were hobbling back from class instead of walking energetically or even just meandering was because we had just spent the last 2 hours in class sitting cross legged.  Before coming to Fiji, I considered myself a fairly flexible person; I think I even sat cross legged by choice sometimes.  This has changed.  I now cringe when I find myself sinking into the criss-cross applesauce.  If only we had known!  Some extra predeparture yoga would have really made a difference, I think. 

It's amazing how much cross legged sitting there is in this country.  I believe it's the result of two very frustrating, painful taboos.  First and foremost, it is taboo to point your feet at anyone, especially during formal events.  What's the best way to sit without pointing your feet at anyone?  If you guessed, "by sitting in a chair," I'm sorry, that is incorrect.  Why?  That brings me to my next taboo: you are not allowed to sit above anyone if you are younger or of a lower social rank.  The solution?  Everyone sits on the floor (kind of silly, especially when everyone owns couches).  The best way to sit on the floor without pointing your feet at people, is of course, to sit cross legged.  Now, Fijians are not big on padded carpet.  Maybe this is because of wet conditions, maybe it's too expensive, I don't know.  I do know, however, that no padded carpets means that we are sitting on concrete floors, cross legged, for hours at a time (these meals, parties, kava sessions, and other events can be unbelievably long).  My legs have never been poked by so many pins and needles.  Volunteers who have been in Fiji for a year or two already claim that it gets easier, but I have been here for two months now, and I still find it to be outrageously painful.  The only progress that I do have to show for the last two months are the large, sexy calluses developing on my ankle bones and on the sides of my feet.  Baby steps, my friends, baby steps. 

In other news, training is almost over, and we are about to head to Suva for swearing in.  This time next week, I'll be living on my own in Namatakula!