Titular Overload

No, not like that. Look it up in a dictionary. Tee hee hee. Since this week has probably been the most ridiculous week of my life, I couldn't pick a title for one all-encompassing blog post. It's been so crazy that I have to have my journal by my side as I write this in order to make sure I don't miss anything. Anyways, I think I'll try to organize this post into sub-sections, each titled separately. I'll start from the beginning. Or from whatever I remember most clearly. Yeah. We'll see.

Goodbye

So, I've concluded that I don't like saying goodbye. I like people and miss them when I have to bid farewell. But I always have the internets to comfort me and connect me with people. That's almost like a real relationship. Aaaaand I'm sarcastic and cynical. Done with that section.

The Game

If Dylan, Cameron, or Tom is reading this, I hope you just lost. But I'm not talking about that game. If you didn't catch that reference, ask one of those lovely young gentlemen what the game is or visit this site to learn more. But I digress.

This here trip in Fiji is supposed to be a "Medical Missions" trip. We're here to do medicine and help the people of Fiji while learning more about "our potential career paths" (I use quotation marks because not everyone here is pre-med, and I don't really like that part of the purpose). I really like helping the people of Fiji, but I want to actually do things in the clinic that are helpful. This week, I saw three eye surgeries - two cataract removals and one cornea transplant. All of which were NUTS. Side note: I considered "NUTS" for the title of this whole post, but I thought that it was to close to the title of my first post ever. The reason I mention these surgeries is because, while they were amazing to see, I didn't really get to do anything to help people for that. And now the game comes into play.

On Wednesday (I think?), Marta (one of the mission's owners/founders) told us (at Dr. Nelson's request) that we need to be assertive and pushy in doing what we want in the clinic. We need to be aggressive, making sure that WE get the best positions and viewpoints, preventing others from doing the same to us, because that's what med school would be like. I cringed. Hard. I don't like that game. I want to help people, not advance my own career, an idea I mentioned in my previous post. Can't we practice some courtesy, letting everyone experience the cool things? For that very reason, I bowed out of the cataract surgery early. It was cool, but I wanted to help people. And I was blessed for doing that. Instead, I thought I could be assertive in a different direction - I was able to follow Dr. Tooma (Marta's husband - the other founder and owner of the mission) and meet with patients, help them feel comfortable, help remember their information. And I LOVED it. I felt like I was actually helping, and I was letting others do the cool thing. But the kicker? I was doing something I thought was cool. I like that part of the game. Cool.

"I know that I'm filled to be emptied again"

Someone close to me talks of wanting to be filled each day with life, to go out and live, and come back empty, waiting for God to fill again. I've felt full and empty this week. I've gotten more sleep here than I probably got in my entire freshman year of college. Just kidding. Don't freak out, Mom. But I have gotten lots and lots of sleep and yet I still feel exhausted at the end of each day. There has been a broad spectrum of experience here. Exhausting days. Relaxing days. Crazy days. Lots of those. Which brings me to my next section.

The Toilet DOES Flush Backwards

Yes. It's true. Here, south of the equator, toilets flush backwards. Sinks drain the wrong way. I know what you're thinking. "This man cannot speak truly! He must be mistaken. There cannot be another way to drain water besides the way I know so dearly." Verily, I say to you. It is so. Toilets flush in a clockwise fashion. I think the main reason I wanted to come to Fiji was to verify this concept, but don't tell my parents that. But seriously, I was brushing my teeth last night and remembered - I hadn't checked yet! I hadn't checked yet. I wrapped up the craziest week of my life. What's that you ask? You want to know about my week? I haven't told you? Well, this may be a bit unorthodox, but I'll interrupt this part of my post to give an update of *nearly* everything that's happened this week.

Is This Real Life?

And now I may be a bit redundant. I'm in Fiji. The first day I got here (after the initial day of travel), I worked in the clinic, where I watched two cataract removal surgeries. Crazy. I really appreciated that the surgeon, Dr. Johns, prayed before operating. I had caught myself relying on medicine to help and save these people, when God is actually the one in control. Nice catch, God. After that, things got even crazier.

My group hopped in the back of a pickup for a quick ride down the Fijian coast. I got to stand the whole way, except if we saw a police or other government vehicle. Then, we pulled into a clearing, got out, and followed Mesake (I asked him for the spelling) into the jungle. He hacked a path for us with a machete, only stopping to point out landscape, give us some food (fresh coconut or cocoa pods), or help the stragglers. We scaled a rock wall and climbed up to a cave. Caves are cool, right? This was a cannibal cave with about 20-30 sets of human bones inside. I held a human skull in my hand, reinforcing the idea that we are not our bodies. It didn't feel real. After that, we climbed (slipped and slid) down, where I got to enjoy the nice Fijian creek nearby. The waterfall was nice, but small. Day 1 - done.

We started work on a greenhouse for the mission. Joe and I would make terrible masons. Then in the afternoon, I followed Dr. Tooma around in the clinic. You already read about that, except I'll add that I was able to meet and comfort a small boy named Jone ("choan-ay") who could not see in his left eye. He would have surgery the following day. Day 2 - Done.

Day 3 was pretty simple, but here's where I really started to feel emptied. I was exhausted. But I did get so see Jone, who thanked me. He thanked me, when I had so little to do with helping him. I was so touched, but writing about it here doesn't do it justice. Just know that I was pretty impacted. You can ask me about him, if you like. Anyways, Quick walk to Mesake's farm to farm some cassava (a plant whose roots look like large, mutant potatoes). Quick nap before lunch, another one after, then back to the greenhouse. More masonry! But this time, all I had to do was set the bricks down - no dealing with mortar. It's looking good so far. At night, we joined Mike (man down here running the mission with his family), his family, and some Fijian natives for GenY (pronounced "jen why"), a gathering very similar to an American youth group. It was great to see that we all serve the same God. The speaker shared his testimony, which was good, but one particular thing stuck out. He mentioned chasing after other peoples' dreams and the emptiness there. I may write a later post on this subject, or you can just ask me about it when you next talk to me. I got a lot of reading done.

Reading is good - I'm solidifying my claim in the nerd kingdom by rereading Dune, then reading the rest of the series. Don't hate.

Oh, p.s. Mesake gave me a machete on Day 3( - done).

I went scuba diving in Fiji. WHAT. That is all. I'm laughing at myself for how crazy that is. Yes. I went scuba diving in Fiji. Once in a lifetime (maybe?) chance - had to take it. I'm in Fiji, so I may as well experience it. Day 4 - done.

We then went to Taveuni (the second island we landed on initially) and hopped on a bus to the other side. I peed behind a building. Sra. Annibal (spelling) told me it was okay, since the bathroom line was very long. Don't know why I'm posting this on the internets. Whatever. Anyways, got to our destination, ate a gluten sandwich (for Marylyn and Anna, if you ever read this, it was pretty nasty. Don't feel neglected), which wasn't the tastiest, but it was food. So I ate it.

Then, I hiked to three separate waterfalls, swimming in the pools below numbers two and three. I even got to jump off the third one. It was so beautiful. Good good good good good day. Now comes the aforementioned toilet flush experience. I showered for the first time in over 72 hours. Once again, don't hate. Then I flushed the toilet, which brings me to the rest of

The Toilet DOES Flush Backwards

After the most ridiculous week of my life, I was still almost as impressed and amazed by the simple fact of reverse drainage as the rest of my experiences this week. Which, in itself, kind of blew m mind. After all the madness this week, I was still amazed by something simple. Something (not so?) elegant. God's beauty is huge - Fijian coast, jungle, coral reefs, mountains - but it is also small - a thank you from Jone, taking afternoon naps, flushing backwards. God is good.

Loose Ends

Though I feel like that last section would pretty well end the post, I have to add a few things.

1. I like hearing about your lives back in the states. I may not respond in detail to what you send me, but I like to know you're all alive. Email me!

2. I want meat. Everything served here is vegan, with the occasional sliver of meat or fish. I won't complain, though.

3. Don't take it personally if my emails aren't very long.

a.) The tubes are clogged here (for Cameron). For everyone else, that means that the internets are (read: the internet is) colossally slow. Yeah.

b.) Being online requires being outside during free time, which occurs before and after dinner. Since I like to play volleyball with the natives (thug life) before dinner, I do most of my internet-ing after. Which means that it is dark. Which means that there are bugs. Which means I get bitten about once for every minute I spend out here. It's joyous. And I also sacrifice group or sleep time.

4. I forgot to mention that I went to a Fijian Catholic church this morning. So good, though I didn't understand a word of it. I wore a Sulu. Look it up. The walk back was good (we got a ride there), but I'm worried that I may have picked up a slight Texas accent courtesy of Matt and John, since I spent at least an hour listening to them banter about the great nation they call home. That's beside the point. God did some work on me despite the language barrier. I'm selfish. That's basically what I realized. Okay. Enough.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading about my life, because it took a lot of effort to write this (sacrificed slackline time). I hope all is well. Peace.