Third night in Fiji...

Archival work sucks. Hours of staring at old, faded, absurdly illegible handwriting in the hope of discovering the little nugget of joy that has eluded so many others. It is boring, yet painful, like a seven hour tooth cleaning. Well, maybe not that bad, but it is pretty dull.

No pics today as it rained constantly. Warm, tropical rain, but still the wet kid precluding the use of my camera. I did get in touch with the local tramping club (the Rucksackers) and will be going on trips the next two Saturdays. Also signed up for an open water scuba certification course. So I have nothing at all in this world to whine about, save the absence of my baby.

Suva pulses. It is dirty, it smells bad, the cars all seemingly burn mentholated peat rather than petrol. The street food is questionable, the parks have packs of abandoned dogs, and the tourists are non-existent. It is not a life I would want, but it is fascinating to orbit the perimeter of. I have chosen small towns to live in for their pace, and the cities I have moved to over the years have been far northern or southern, sharing that reticence of the deep temperate zones. Places where ETOH is more common than soap, but a conga line is considered grossly offensive. Okay, conga lines are offensive, but the far north and south are stolid and reserved.

This attraction to the scandinavian makes the tropics a full body experience. Wandering Suva is like drinking a couple of Jolts and eating a Twinkie after years off of sugar. Overwhelming, dizzying, hard to process, but damnedably fun. The people vary widely between the Polynesian stock of the eastern isles, the Melanesian of the west, and the denizens of the subcontinent. Huge men in fringed skirts (yes, I know, sulus) small women in moustaches. Fiji-country. Indo-hip-hop. Everyone going someplace else. I have seen eight caucasians in the last two days. Glorious.

Time for bed and to give my mind a chance to rest. Tomorrow it is back tot he books, then perhaps a trip to the Museum, or inland if the weather breaks and I can find a guide. If so, pictures will ensue.