I have been attending a training of trainers at the Methodist Conference Center in Nadave, Fiji. This is a spin-off from the ECREA National Peace Conference held previously. Members of different faiths are present and most of the participants are strangers to me. Yesterday I was very impressed by a small Indo-Fijian woman who courageously stood up to a massive I Taukei man who was quite prejudiced in his arguments.
I was unhappy with the sleeping arrangements. I had hoped to have a private room because previous companions have told me that I snore. On one occasion in Ireland a group of about 50 of us were doing a pilgrimage walk. After a walk of 20 miles on the first day I didn’t sleep a wink on the floor of the community center. The next night after a walk of 18 miles, I had a great sleep and woke refreshed. I did notice that the youth beside me was a bit embarrassed when I told him how well I slept. It seems that I snored so loudly that no one else in the hall was able to sleep. I was banished to sleep in the toilet on the following night.
Last night I was enjoying a good sleep until I was awoken by loud radio music from the other side of the flimsy partition. I was annoyed. “You would expect people to be more considerate in the middle of the night,” I mused. I was about to request that the music be turned off or at least turned down when suddenly it stopped. Then it hit me. I must have been snoring. Turning the radio volume up was the indirect way that my companions had used to get some quiet so that they could sleep! This goes to show that people in Fiji are smarter and gentler than in Ireland!