Karen consults and edits for
published and yet-to-be published writers of fiction, nonfiction, and book
proposals. She writes in a number of genres and conducts writing workshops in
various venues, including on cruise ships.
If you missed her previous blogs
regarding Teaching through the Islands, you might enjoy reading them before
this installment, as she first shared her preparations in
anticipation of teaching classes while on board her latest cruise, discussed
some of the downsides to teaching on
a cruise, introduced us to new tablemates and the
private beach on Moorea, how she was bit in Bora Bora, and then
she described her first class while teaching en route to Fiji. On July 30th she shared: Second Lecture en Route to Fiji: A Great Story to Tell.
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As we headed
toward Fiji ,
I taught Have an Idea for a Nonfiction Book? to a good crowd in a new
venue, the Wheelhouse Bar.
I worried,
initially, that people would have to wrench their necks to view the PowerPoint,
but they were able to settle in and adjust to the nook style room
configuration.
Everyone is
an expert at something and the audience agreed.
Participation went up. People
enjoyed sharing their knowledge of history, hands-on expertise, even modern
interpretation of Biblical allegory. I
came back to the room satisfied with yet another class that went smoothly in
every way. It was time to strip off my
business attire (jacket over laced camisole) and get into my swimsuit to hit
the Jacuzzi and have a cocktail with Wen.
I don’t want
to seem like a complainer, but damn it, I’m going to bitch and whine about Fiji . (Like that rhetorical device? It’s called an APOPHASIS. See below.)
We arrived
at King’s Wharf, Suva
(the capital of Figi), only to discover that we were on the wrong side of the
island, super disappointing since it meant we were nowhere near any good
snorkeling. Fiji is supposedly one of the
world’s best diving and snorkeling spots.
We’ll never know. We had to hire
a car to go quite a distance from the port just to get to a yucky beach at a
resort where we were trapped and had to buy anything we wanted to eat and drink
from the overpriced hotel bar.
We left our
backpack near the boardwalk entrance to the beach so we could walk along the
shore hand-in-hand in the rain (growl) and make the best of it. We returned to find our money had been stolen
from it! Not wanting to sound bitter or
judgmental or anything, but can’t people be civilized or at least decent? (APOSHASIS)
Not that we should blame ourselves for someone else’s crime, but we sure
needed to take a few smart pills next time we’d hit a beach! (another APOPHASIS!)
It was
towel-blanket cold.
Heading
back, we told our driver/guide what happened, and she said, “Someone will feel
bad this afternoon.” The idea of Karma
is alive and well on the islands.
We had
agreed to pay for the privately hired car upon arriving back at the ship and …
well, we didn’t have the money. So I
stayed on shore as collateral while Wen went on board to fetch more money from
our safe. Meanwhile, I cooled under a
canopy, chatting with walnut-dark local women.
One of them, possibly weighing 400 pounds, was oiling down a tourist’s
feet. Warning: here comes another
APOPHASIS. Not trying to be gross or
anything, but those feet were the worst kind of athlete’s feet and the
recipient was enjoying the rubdown way too much.
Under the
tent we talked about dollars. American
was the best deal for them since the Aussie dollars aren’t quite as
strong. The Fiji dollar is worth even less at
.636.
The vendors
and guides were happy to take U.S. dollars from Wen once he returned with the
ransom to buy me back.
Our Fiji experience
was not what we’d hoped for, but as Wen says, “We can check it off our
list.”
Apophasis - The mention of something you claim you
won’t mention--or pretending to deny what it really affirms. (an example
from my all-time favorite TV series: "I don't want to say anything bad
about another doctor, especially one who's a useless drunk."- Dr. Gregory
House in "Acceptance," House, 2005)
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Thank you, Karen!
I hope you'll join us on August 20th for the next installment: On the Way to New Caledonia!
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