People in Suva are super nice, but man they are much too curious and talkative than is conducive for my work. I went in and open-booked everything, which ended up working out alright, but that caused a lot of conversations to be started. I ended up talking more than I was working, it sure seemed like! I had to say quite a bit of “OK, I need to get back to work now”.
I was walking around and getting prices from cafes, and there were a few men talking on the corner. They started talking to me and asking me questions, and one was very curious about my phone. “We don’t have these here” he told me. The nicest phone we have is the blackberry. What is this one called? I let him handle it, though I was weary to. Luckily, he didn’t try to take it. These were grown men, I figured they were reasonable people. One tried to steer me away from my work for drinks, which happened more than once throughout the day. No people, I have to work! Not like I would want to get drinks with you anyways! I can’t even pronounce anyone’s name here.
The food at my hotel isn’t very good. So, on the way back from working tonight I stopped to get something to eat. There are a million Chinese and Indian restaurants around here, and after my India quarter I think everyone knows how well I do with Indian food, so I picked Chinese instead. The place looked like it was 75 years old with no renovations. It was big and grand but really ugly and made you wonder what kind of care they were putting into cooking the food. I was a little nervous, especially when the bill came out to be 11 dollars, which is the equivalent of about 6 US dollars. It was fried chicken with a goopy pink sauce and some pickled vegetables. But, it didn’t get me sick, luckily! Suva is severely lacking in good-quality restaurants. I guess they don’t have enough potential clientele willing to pay the money. After paying my bill, I asked whether there was a tip jar, and the lady just told me no, you don’t have to. And that was it. Where in the world are you ever told “no, don’t tip me?” Fiji!! Suva is super cheap and it seems as though they cater to those clients. A four-hour flight is all the difference between a $6 dinner and a $70 dinner. Quite amazing I must say.
I was walking back from work today, it was a bit late – after 10 pm and I was getting bula bula’s, (the Fiji hello), where you goin baby’s, etc. I had experienced lots of “curiosity” at the mall so I wasn’t all that surprised. But, when I got close to my hotel a cab driver pulled over and got out, so I said hello since its’ customary to do here. A few seconds later, he called after me – so, I turned around. At that point, he didn’t say anything, he just put his hand in his pocket and made a gesture back and forth. I couldn’t tell if he was making a sexual gesture, trying to say he had a gun, or drugs or what. I didn’t wait to find out…. I quickly turned around and walked away, almost to my hotel. He kept on calling after me. I felt a little eerie on the plane when a woman sitting next to me told me that she had had her purse stolen from her in Suva, and a family member had recently had her cellphone stolen as well. Crime isn’t a major issue here, but I think I’ll take a taxi instead of walking home from now on.
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