Fiji RPCV John Geier readjusts to life in Santa Fe
Another local volunteer said upon his return to the United States he too took notice of the rift between consumer culture and the simpler life of Fiji.
"After living in a community that is not as well off, where people don't have enough to eat, I feel guilty going into the supermarket," said John Geier, 71, a retired businessman who lives in Eldorado. "There are two full aisles of dog food."
Geier served in Nausori, Fiji from 1991-1994 as an adviser to the Fiji Development Bank. Like Reider, Geier also wanted to join the corps in the 1960s, but he was married and in those days spouses had to go together.
"My (then) wife was not interested in ending up in a hut in Africa," he said.
Although Geier's service was officially three years -- helping mechanics, fishermen, village shops and farmers with inventory and marketing -- he ended up staying in the country for
10 years, leaving in 2000 during a political coup. "After living in a tropical paradise for that long, I just couldn't stand the winters here in the states," he said.
As a secondary project, Geier started the Junior Achievement Society while in Fiji, and eventually expanded it to Sri Lanka and Nepal.
