To completely contradict

my last post, I've already found a house. On advise of other expat librarians, I took the first house I looked at because it was apparently a lucky break to be getting it. It's about a 15 minute walk to work, door to door, or a taxi costs only $F1.50 if it's raining (which it often is). It's also right by the ocean. Before you get any ideas about my lolling on a sandy beach, my choice of the word ocean rather than beach was deliberate. It's on Suva point which is a jettied point meaning that there really isn't any beach per se. And what there is is really full of litter, I mean REALLY FULL. But still there is a little park there with a playground, public restrooms and a fish and chips kiosk!

It's furnished, meaning I was able to move in right away, but when my shipment comes it may be a bit crowded as there isn't much storage space. There's a TV for company, but the kitchen is still pretty unusable as it was apparently "furnished" by a retarded bachelor. As there's a couple of properties next to each other all owned by the same land lady, the utilities work more like your housemate collecting on the electric than something more straightforward. One of these shared services is that of the "housegirl", yep, yikes! There's no not taking her up on the services, same with the landline first I've had in years, so I have to wrap my head around paying someone to do my dishes and laundry. I remind myself that it's similar to having someone pump your gas in Oregon, providing a much needed job to someone, plus my Sim had a maid, why can't I?

I've been into downtown Suva twice so far, and each time only explored a little before becoming totally overwhelmed and needing to go home. Not only are the streets laid out in nothing at all like a grid, there are alleyways, and stores with multiple entrances. Shoppers are approached more than I'm used to. And as I dislike even the mild "can I help you find something?" in an American Wal-Mart, most of these approaches simply scare me off rather than pulling in a sale. I figure that slowly, I'll learn my way around both geographically and culturally. I've also found the grocery store around campus, although my closest store is the CostULess a Fijian Costco which came in hand when I needed an extention cord (or lead as they're called here).