AMIDST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Through the GERALDINE R. DODGE FOUNDATION’S TEACHER FELLOWSHIP
October 2009
Introduction to Personal & Professional Development
For my personal and professional renewal as an adventurist World History teacher, I left in July on two flights totaling 23 hours, for Fiji. This tropical paradise archipelago of 332, mostly uninhabited islands in the South Pacific region of Oceania, where I stayed for the eco-adventures & cultural immersions of a lifetime, was well worth it! It was the dry season and winter there though temperatures averaged 85-95 fantastic degrees during the day. Fiji has no spring or fall; the only other season is the wet season, a.k.a summer.
Like its two nearest large neighbors, Australia and New Zealand, Fiji is full of scenic landscapes, skyscapes, and seascapes, plus has a fascinating history. This nation, too, preserves a captivating traditional culture, despite increasing westernization and urbanization. Like I initially longed to do in those neighboring countries when first deciding on where to go for this blessed privilege, I ended up taking advantage of every possible eco-adventure, historical, and cultural immersion opportunity from amongst the many, in Fiji.
Namatakula Village Homestay in Korolevu
On the main and central island, Viti Levu, I spent time along the famed Coral Coast, experiencing Fijian cultural immersion during a village homestay in Korolevu at Namatakula Village with a host family headed by a retired teacher and cab driver. They took me on educational and cultural tours when I wasn’t interviewing them about the history and culture and comparing how similar it was there to my rural hometown of kinship groups in North Carolina, as well as most traditional African and Native American societies.
First off, I must admit I quickly backed out of plans to stay in a “typical” Fijian village once learning more about the extent of cultural differences. There would be no hot water, only bucket showers, a sanitation level I was unaccustomed to, no electricity, except maybe through a generator for three hours at night if I stayed in a village with one, etc. Though the latter challenge truly did not bother me so much, I did need electricity to charge my new international cell phone (I.C.E.) and my netbook, bought for this trip to keep uploading photos and film onto it so I could continually add more, post new content onto my Fiji blog, and work on creating and editing the documentary of my trip daily. I was not sure how often I could get to someplace else where I could. I also wanted to stay at a village with lots of interesting eco-cultural activities within it or nearby. So I opted to stay at Namatakula Village in Korolevu. It is one of the most prominent villages because many have found work at the numerous nearby resorts, and my host family was relatively well off. Little did I know, technical and financial challenges would still prevent me from doing much more than just uploading the film during my entire trip (Since returning, the technical challenges have continued, and after seeking various sources of help, I just learned early this month that my new netbook being a lemon is the source of some of it).
Tui Tai Adventure Cruise
Though nestled amongst these Melanesian islands of Oceania, one extremely remote northern island named Kioa, which I was privileged to visit & experience the history and arts of there, is totally populated with Polynesians. Another, named Rabi, is completely populated by Micronesians. Like most other citizens, these two peoples still practice much of their own traditional cultures although they, too, speak Fijian and English. So the northernmost part of Fiji has the three physical/cultural parts of Oceania all in on nation.
That leg of my journey was part of my five day Tui Tai Adventure Cruise, which National Geographic Adventure rates as 1 of the top 25 trips of 2009! This is due partially to its charitable fund for these isolated, unique villagers which are a huge challenge to visit unless on this cruise. I donated medicines and children’s shoes to a primary school in Rabi (including Obama flip flops bought in Nadi, a town on the most populated island). I also visited a captivating secondary school there. In both schools, we were treated to powerful cultural performances which we later joined in as is custom throughout Fiji.
I also held a wild baby goat that my tour guide found in the crevice of a tree trunk! That was such highlight of my trip besides the mountain climbing we were doing in the process on this island named Cobia, I’ve sworn off goat meat, one of my favorite Caribbean dishes, from now on! Another part of the group saw a boa constrictor after one member almost stepped on it during the Mt. climb! We were actually climbing up a mountain in the Ringgold Atolls that is a volcano subsiding into the crust. The crater of it is now full of coral reefs and the Pacific because one side of it has been eroded so much by strong winds over the millenia. The island is only inhabited by such animals as fruit bats (which I entered a cave of), birds, & wild goats--including that baby one my tour guide and I held.
But these were just a couple of the countless cultural and eco-adventures on this cruise where you are welcomed onboard with a flowered necklace and serenade. Ecotourism & sustainable development includes passenger education and opportunities for participation in coral reef surveys which I took advantage of. Films on Fiji’s marine biology (coral reefs and other sea life), history, and culture were presented, along with unforgettable experiences of the latter. Such outstanding fun with nature as kayaking, some of the best snorkeling/ dive sites in the world, hiking, mountain climbing, biking, and swimming amongst breathtaking mountain and ocean views, natural waterfalls and waterslides occurred daily.
I very reluctantly decided not to try the dive courses due to risks to my life and the instructor’s license from my shortness of breath challenges, despite the fact that the others swam with sharks each time plus a manta ray once like I’d been dying to experience (along with dolphins and whales). That means I didn't even get to do the award-winning shark dive later in Pacific Harbor as planned. Though I did not even get to see dolphins while snorkeling in Dolphin Bay, all the beautiful varieties and colors of fish and coral were enough to keep me satisfied.
And hey, all theses benefits were for a maximum of 24 completely pampered guests (in this case, only 8 the first few days and 14 during the last 2) known by name to all members of the crew and each other! We had such a ball that when I was leaving this leg of my trip, I could not hold back the flood of tears during the singing of the farewell song from the crew, the same one which had ended each visit of Fijian cultural immersion. After leaving there, I flew to the capitol of Suva.
Jean- Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu Island
Another jaw-dropping highlight was staying in the Jean- Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu Island. At this exotic South Seas paradise, I stayed in a beautiful bure (traditional bungalow) combining the best of Fijian and European architecture and design. I delved into their cultural and environmental recreation programs and learned much about their MPA (marine protected area) which includes giant clams and endangered sea turtles), organic garden which all their produce comes from, medicinal plants and coconut palm trees grown from seed for their breathtaking landscaping, and other eco-projects from the on-site marine biologist and medicine man. Cousteau’s “Project Ocean Search” is an adventure in coral reef and other marine and cultural education and conservation programs where you can also participate in reef surveys.
Most employees are from the neighboring Fijian village although there are also Indo-Fijians working there (descended from Indian indentured servants to the British during colonial times). Since there are a maximum of 26 guests there, you and the staff get to know each other by name and the pampering begins with a complimentary foot soak and massage shortly after guests are serenaded at the entrance when their friendly complimentary cab driver lets them out. The resort is designed for honeymooners, families, and water enthusiasts like myself, and if you are blessed enough to bring your babies or children there, they are taken away from you and cared for each day by the staff while you either get as much R&R as desired or take advantage of the activities. Cousteau rotates cultural village visits for guests to various nearby villages on the island to support the local people. I experienced some of the best dance performances of my entire lifetime at one such village visit.
Little did I know at the time, basketball star Shaquil O’ Neal was staying at this poverty stricken village we were visiting at the time and even walked by the cultural performance that held me in awe. I learned later that although he had been offered a mattress to sleep on during his homestay, he insisted instead on sleeping on the handmade woven mat on the floor as the family themselves did every night. He may be building a property in this paradise island. What a guy!
Surprise, Surprise!
I'm so glad I didn't pre-book anything for my 4 days following my Cousteau stay. I ended up staying with this couple I'd met for a couple of nights in a spectacular home where they are creating a botanical garden tourist site that will include events like weddings and musical performances amongst thousands of exotic, endangered, and/or beautiful trees, herbal medicinal greenery, shrubs, fruit and aromatic trees of every sort which they already have. One of the owners just created the Savusavu Arts Society also which was very appealing to me.
As if that were not enough for this passionate naturalist and environmentalist, I ended up staying the next couple of nights on a YACHT with another couple that have spent the last 5-10 yrs. sailing to 33% of the countries in the world & been living on their houseboat in Fiji for the last year!!! They're all a part of "couch surfers" (an organization of free international homestays) which I created a profile on too after learning that some home they had stayed in through it were better than five star hotels!
Rivers Fiji in Pacific Harbor; the capitol Suva; & the gorgeous Hindu Temple in Nadi Town
Later, I left from the adventure capitol of Pacific Harbor to go white-water rafting for the first time, another life-long wish, with Rivers Fiji, a company that helped establish the Upper Navua Conservation Area and Ramsar site that also protects highland villagers in this remote inland enchanting land of emerald green river and countless natural waterfalls, gorges and canyons nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of Fiji.”
On another part of Viti Levu Island, I toured the Fiji Museum to learn even more about the history, culture, and arts of Fiji, and walked around the capitol city of Suva with no problems, despite many warnings and initial fear regarding the 6th coup of the last several years which occurred there in April. It is considered the best place for the most extensive Fijian history education so thank God I took my chances and all went well. Everywhere I went, Fijians and Indo-Fijians seemed to get along perfectly although these coups resulted from Indo-Fijians, which make up approximately half the population, fighting for political office rights. According to some, the country was recently rated as having the lowest crime rate in the world and even some, if not all, of their coup de tats have been non-violent. Yet the mass media of western nations depicted it as a nation now endangering lives. Go figure.
In Suva, I also hung out having a nice time with a newly-made Chinese friend from Fiji and his friends & family a few times, learned about their history, culture, and links to their homeland despite 100 years there; hiked in Colo I Suva Forest Park; ate some delicious Indian food & Chinese food; stayed at the South Seas Hotel before upgrading twice at the Raintree Lodge, and finally, visited the most beautiful and largest Hindu temple in the South Pacific, known as the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple, in Nadi once back there on my last day!
Conclusion to Personal-Professional Development
I had countless unique experiences there to be treasured for a lifetime. The kava and fire-walking ceremonies were interesting. Joining in local dances and hiking up an UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Sigatoka Sand Dunes for its various ecosystem reserves, archaeological sites, and scenic beauty was challenging yet exhilarating, along with a number of rainforest hikes up mountains, including the fascinating and strenuous Ringgold Atolls of Cobia Island. Eating Fijian food from a lovo (food cooked underground) and Chinese food from a hot pot, plus tasting chicken feet, eating other Fijian foods, and different kinds of Chinese and Indian foods than I’m used to was a good experience. Experiencing “Coral Watch,” while learning about other marine protection programs existing there (seemingly more so than anywhere else in the world), meant the world to me.
I stayed in a couple of hostels; my first time ever—one very basic, the other quite quaint, in the capitol. Most unusual though, would be my stay in that lovely rustic home high in a mountain overlooking ocean views and the botanical garden the owners will soon be opening as yet another eco-tour spot, staying on the yacht of another couple, and being introduced to couchsurfing through these “non-Fijians” met there. Fijians are amongst the friendliest, most relaxed, and laid back people on earth, and I believe that being there rubs off on tourists and it gave me more optimism about the rest of the world.
On the gorgeous northern island of Taveuni, another site of the Tui Tai Cruise, in addition to seeing 3 rainbows in one evening, I crossed the International Date Line, the only piece of land on earth where this possibility of taking one step into today and the next step into tomorrow exists. Fiji is 16 hrs. ahead of EST so when I left there on a Tuesday night, I arrived in Los Angeles the next day following a 16 hr. flight on Tuesday morning with the same date!
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Initial plans to be there through an internship were replaced by a trip I customized, with the approval of yours truly, the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, after countless challenges kept arising. I was unable to dive due to health concerns, and sanitation suggestions for the newly-emerged swine flu pandemic increasingly made headlines the same month I was awarded the fellowship and was informed that the initial village I’d be staying in, like most, had sub-substandard sanitary conditions in general. I also cut my stay in half to three weeks, hoping to have the time to finalize my two teacher fellowship reports, from Dodge plus aTimpact, in those last two weeks of summer before delving into preparing for the upcoming school year. Little did I know then that 23 hours worth of flight time and a 16 hour time difference gave a whole new meaning to jet lag, along with the depression that hit as soon as I re-entered the states.
One of my best friends spoke of wanting to give up her citizenship and move to Australia, she was so depressed for three months after returning from a trip there. Savusavu, the town in the Vanua Levu Island of northern Fiji, is not only the home of Tui Tai Cruise and the Jean Michel-Cousteau Resort. It has the greatest population of Europeans and Americans who’ve immigrated to this beautiful country and it is growing rapidly with more. One of my reservationists in Savusavu actually moved there with her boyfriend right after they returned to the U.S. from a vacation in this country—staying just long enough in the states to vote for Obama before taking off the next day! Another acquaintance moved there from Britain after one trip, had a house built for she and her son for $40,000, and has since been living happily on less than $300 per month for years!
I, myself, instantly became so depressed for the first couple of weeks after returning to the states, partially due to countless other tragic events also, that I would probably join them after fulfilling my professional obligations were it not for the fact that every time I had called my mother, she lamented about how worried she was with me s-o-o-o far away. My depression upon returning finally lifted by the time I returned to school as I kept reminding myself of the oft-heard Fijian motto so much that it started becoming ingrained: “No worries!” It also helped to picture the friendly faces uttering the words. Despite what we might consider “their depressing poverty and other living conditions,” the Fijians are a very calm, laid back, appreciative, and happy people. I often heard there how we Americans who visit are always “so stressed, uptight, and worried over nothing” compared to their people. “Fiji Time” is a time for letting your hair down, taking it easy, and taking your own sweet time. Their attitude has really rubbed off and renewed my outlook on life. I feel far more energized and enthusiastic as a teacher again now.
All students in Fiji wear nice school uniforms although many of them, like some adults, had no shoes. Primary school is mandatory and while the literacy rates for the country are high, too many students do not go on to secondary school because their families or a sponsor must pay for it, something challenging to afford. Most Fijians live off the land much like their ancestors did, unless employed in the growing tourist industry. I will conduct a fundraiser for donations to be sent to needy Fijians through Air Pacific’s foundation, Kadavu Connections, Savusavu Community Foundation, and/or others. I plan to challenge my students to learn what “poor” really means and to share my passion for helping the needy.
Before I even left for my trip, I started working on ways to get discarded district textbooks and library books donated to some needy schools. The Fijians communicated with were quite overjoyed to learn this since they are most grateful for anything donated, especially on the remote island of Kadavu which basically has no roads. There are still a few challenges being worked out regarding this but I am confident it can happen. Most classrooms visited did not seem to have many textbooks and instead, teachers taught mainly through handmade posters in all subjects. Several areas of floors, walls, and ceilings viewed in the three schools I visited were dilapidated but all the children seemed happy and glad to be there.
This is one reason why I fell in love with the Savusavu Community Foundation, on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Savusavu/118687012830. Founded and managed by the manager of Jean-Michel Cousteau, which provides villagers of the town with much needed medical care and educational supplies, I am trying to get discarded district textbooks and library books donated to it and other rotary clubs of Fiji. This resort’s affiliation with the Good Night Foundation also captured my heart.
The Cousteau resort also proves how well people can live sustainably, so much so that it was voted #1 resort in the world on Conde Nast Traveler’s Green List in 2005 and has received numerous others awards as Fiji’s best resort. It is a model that I plan to hold up to my school and community to get the dialogue going: When will we join this movement for sustainability?
In the Micronesian high school I toured, after being treated to another one of the best musical and dance performances of my life, I announced that I would try teaching the dance to my students. The principal, who was taking me on the tour of the school, then requested that I send him a copy of footage showing my students doing their dance and musical performance and an American one, which his students could in turn try to learn. I cannot wait to experience this outcome and establish pen pals between my students and his.
I already had my World History students last year anticipating international trips of their own after providing them with a list of great global travel planning sites based on those I had utilized when deciding where to go through Dodge myself. They then typed reports about the nation they most want to visit based on this research. I will assign a more extensive version of this same project this year and future ones. I am also using some of their suggestions for applying my own trip to school lessons on Fiji.
I have tons of footage, photos, and postcards from these adventures, and with the aide of another Arts alumni Newark teacher friend, TV Production majors, teachers, and their supervisor here at Arts High where I teach, I'm even more thrilled at the prospect of applying my own TV production and
screenwriting skills learned in a couple of workshop series a couple of years ago, towards producing my own documentary series on Fijian arts, history, culture, adventures, geography in general and marine biology and environmental science in particular which will air on classroom monitors and local cable stations, if not greater places! If approved, these may be used for cross-curricular interdisciplinary lessons during Fijian theme teaching day(s) at my school and others. I hope to also gain a requested permit for interdisciplinary community evening program(s) resulting from Fijian projects and performances at my school and/or others and these will be added to the documentary series.
My video documentaries and countless photos will moreover be used to teach some of these lessons about Fiji and environmental sustainability in particular, plus geography in general, to my own students. I have already begun sharing my ideas for a cross-content Fijian Theme Teaching Day at my school during 2nd or 3rd cycle because each school subject can do some exciting projects tied to it and it is looking good so far. We might also do the same for Earth Day and World Ocean Day although the latter may have to be belated or early due to final exams which are also scheduled in June.
Regardless of this, the Fijian travel blog I am creating will be used to persuade people to help save endangered coral reefs and the environment in general and at least my own students will read such assigned posts. I began heavily infusing the arts in my teaching again and fell in love with blogging after creating my own art therapy blog because of my unforgettable aTi (Artist/Teacher Institute) experiences in oil painting, creative movement, etc. following the deaths of several loved ones three years ago, especially this month, so how could I not create a blog of “My Travels to Fiji?”
Speaking of those life-altering gifts, I cannot wait to use some Fijian photos to paint the beautiful scenery existing in that tropical paradise! I invested in photography courses plus more oil painting workshops at the Newark Museum Arts Workshops plus a worthwhile camcorder-camera (finally) and a netbook to prepare for this trip! Although most of those workshops were either cancelled by me due to overload of school work or the museum due to lack of sufficient enrollment for the teachers, attempts to have my photos and potential Fijian paintings exhibited in as many shows, art galleries, and museums as possible will follow when time permits. These talents and Web 2.0 skills mentioned above, will be shared with members of my school, plus people in and outside of my school district. What else would be expected from a teacher who is also amongst alumni of art majors from “Arts High?”
To further expand the reaches of my two fellowships, aTi (Artist/Teacher Institute) Impact and Dodge (the former was also sponsored by G.R. Dodge), I anticipate conducting more workshops on arts-infusion across the curriculum and Fijian-infusion ones for NPS, NTU, NTA, NJ Council for the Social Studies, National Council for the Social Studies, Newark’s educational and community cable stations plus other ones, etc. First, I will conduct workshops at the Fall Conference for AENJ (Arts Educators for NJ) on October 6th.
I’d love getting Newark students involved in a student exchange program with Fiji or elsewhere, more global pen pals, and international trips in general. Of course, some of these goals must first be met with approval from the powers that be. I know our kids will benefit enormously from the outcome just as I already have. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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