Our Ship Came In!

A full ten days after our shipment from the US arrived in Suva, it arrived at our appartment yesterday. When it showed up I had to eat my hat. At the last minute, I had a bit of a panic "what if that's somebody else's stuff in there?", but it was our stuff, and all of it, and none of it broke. Customs was a snap. All I had to do is tell a woman that the computer was used. The woman from quarentine seemed convinced I hadn't packed any cane toads or kudzu. I was quite worried that there wouldn't be room and that the place would feel cramped once our stuff came, but that turned out to not be the case. We have an extra bedroom that only has extra beds instead of an office, but other than that, everything fit fine. It did take over an hour for them to assemble the bed. We've done it ourselves in much less time, so it was agonizing to wait, and occasionally peek in and see what little progress had been made. But that's how Fiji is, as pointed out in this article. [thoughfully sent to me by my aunt]

Now that we've got the shipment and our residence permits, the next beurocratic hurdle is actually getting R, registered for classes and cross-credited. Then perhaps we'll tackle the confusion that is getting the internet at home. You can only really concentrate on the red tape right in front of you, but as soon as you pass one hurdle there are just more waiting.

"To endure whatever befall" I think this line from the Fiji National Anthem is telling about what sort of an attitude you need to live here.