I'm 24 hours away from hanging up my hammer, turning on my email AutoReply, and setting off for the South Pacific. A very good friend of mine is currently serving in the Peace Corps. In Fiji. Yes, Fiji. I know. We'll get to that in a second, but first, Tim.
If you're reading this, you might know the guy. But in case you don't, meet Tim Hatfield:
This is the face of America to a whole slew of Pacific Islanders. I, for one, couldn't be happier.
By the way, we ended up hitching a ride home the night that this photo was taken. The taxis were all full, and we clearly couldn't drive. I vaguely remember some Los Betos, too. Vaguely.
But back to the task at hand. I'll be heading down there to visit Tim and restock his liquor cabinet. You'll have to ask him which one he's more excited about.
I'll be joined by Sam Swift, another very good friend. To give you all a bit of background, I've probably had about 70% of my total alcohol consumption in the presence of these two guys. And remember, I lived out of town for five of my most prime drinking years. (We had to pack a lot into Christmas vacations.) The three of us will be doing our best to explore the country through blurry eyes and a splitting headache. Probably not doing it justice.
Ok, now on to Fiji. The country's general lack of film inspirations or CNN-worthy conflicts means that all I really knew about the place is that they grow some tasty water. So after Tim told me where he was going (and retold me until I believed him), I looked the place up. It's actually pretty rough.
A lot of Fiji's problems stem from the economy (as they usually do). The country's 5th largest export is mineral water. Not oil, not wheat, but mineral water. The GDP per capita is less than $2,500. Ours is $44,000, and we're in a recession.
The other source of local strife is the country's strained ethnic relations. The US State department breaks down Fiji's ethnic groups as: Indigenous: 57%; Indo-Fijian: 37%; White: Tim.
Fiji was first populated by Melanesians and Polynesians 3500 years ago. It was taken over by the British in the late 1800's (during which time they repopulated the island with indentured Indian workers, laying the foundation for the current Fijian/Indo-Fijian tensions). The Brits left in 1970, leaving the island's inhabitants to leapfrog between pseudo-constitutional democracies and military dictatorships ever since. In fact, the current government is the product of a 2006 military coup. Many foreign governments, including ours, feel that the current leadership acquired its power illegally and refuse to grant full relations.
The State department has some great background on the country. Here's my favorite excerpt.
Chaudhry [the first Indo-Fijian prime minister] and most other members of Parliament were taken hostage in the House of Representatives by gunmen led by ethnic Fijian nationalist George Speight. The standoff dragged on for 8 weeks--during which time Chaudhry was removed from office by then-president Mara due to his inability to govern while a hostage.
How would you like that on your pink slip: "Inability to govern while a hostage." Holy crap! That event happened this decade, by the way.
Moral of the story: this is hardly the island paradise that Fiji's tourism bureau would like us to believe it is. Should make for some interesting stories.
Well, I should get some rest. I've got 18 hours of flying ahead of me. And that's just flying. That doesn't include all the time that I'll spend finding my gates, dropping certain boys off at certain pools, and convincing airport security that I'm not that kind of Lebanese.
I've got a pretty long stopover in Auckland, New Zealand. I'll probably check in from there.
M
