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Fiji Baby
Travelling, the world of opportunities and truly experiencing other cultures: FIJI
Bula!
This time last year I was preparing to go on a once in a lifetime trip to Fiji with the charity Think Pacific. It was (I know how cliché and gap yah this is going to sound but bare with me) a life changing experience and I will never forget it. I want to write about it firstly to share things about the beauty that is Fijian culture for those who have not experienced it but also to show that these experiences and opportunities are not unattainable. I went with a group of 24 students all from Cardiff University and three students leaders. We leaved in a remote Fijian village near the town of Raki Raki. I could write pages and pages about my experience so I will try and keep this as brief as possible…
The culture and the customs…
As when visiting any country different to your own there differences in culture are always apparent and I love learning about how other people live and their beliefs. At times I found it hard to appreciate aspects of Fijian culture as it was extremely traditional, women had to cover up ALL THE TIME, and at times it was just frustrating and a hassle to comply, but of course we did. This was something I found about myself whilst I was there. It is all well and good preaching about the beauty of the different cultures of the world but sometimes it hard to appreciate why things are a certain way.
Fijian culture is amazing aside from this; they are THE most friendly and relaxed people I have ever met. After speaking to the advisors we were briefed on Fijian customs by our leaders. For example the head and shoulders are seen as the closest link to God, therefore touching someone else’s head or wearing a rucksack on your shoulders is seen as disrespectful, as is standing up when others are sat down, or wearing shoes in a building. We also tasted the traditional drink called Kava or Grog. This is made out of a root plant that is mashed up and mixed with water. It is disgusting, imagine drinking muddy water, but as we found out whilst in the village the social side was ‘quality banter’ (not sure why I am writing like a self proclaimed ‘lad’ but you get my drift).
Lastly 'time' does not exist in Fiji, no one has to be anywhere on a time limit, other than in schools, its ‘Fiji time baby’ i.e. chill the f*** out we are in no rush. Everyone is so grateful for everything they have and for each other and these vibes are something I wish Britain encompassed more.
The Trip! Woo hoo
The first few days were a mix of experiencing Fijian night life, getting to know the team, staying in a number of amazing hostels on the beaches of the pacific and getting to grips with the aims of our trip.
We met Analesi Tuicaumia, who is a member of the Ministry of Education and founder of The Little Ones programme in Fiji promoting pre-school education which as we found out lacked funds and resources. Analesi was incredibly motivating when telling us of the importance of the children leaving school with a good education. Her programme aims to start all children off the right way with a good kindergarten experience. None of the volunteers had teacher training and it was a daunting prospect but her speech gave us the courage and confidence that we could make a difference. In hindsight I think she was one of the reasons I enjoyed teaching Kindy so much. (Fijian pre-schools are called Kindys.) You could see how imperative it was the children had a basic understanding of numeracy and literacy before thy started school.
The Village
The village we were to be entering was in the province of Ra in the north of the main island and was called Naveu Nivi. It was part of the Navitilevu district. Think Pacific aim to reach the most remote villages and this village could only be reached by boat. I loved the boat rides to school and back everyday, especially as we often jumped off on the way home and the scenery was nothing but absolutely stunning!
As soon as we arrived at the village the spokesman, whose voice became very familiar, greeted us. We went to the village hall and a ‘sevu sevu’ (welcome) ceremony was performed. Then we met our host families. My family consisted of (dad) Simeli, (mum) Blow, Grandma (my favourite), Repeka 13, Annasa 11, Meroni 8 and Simeli (who will now very nearly be 2 years old). I also lived with two other volunteers. In Fiji the villages are split into tribes, clans and then families. My family was part of the farming and fishing clan. When we first got there we hit the grog hard. This was partly to celebrate our arrival and partly because in the province of Ra grog is banned for the first two weeks of every month, so this was the village’s last opportunity to ‘enjoy’ it.
Towards the end of the trip we had more free time, which resulted in a family day out to a remote beach and shark hunting! I was petrified and stayed firmly in the boat but the most sinister things that were caught were a couple of octopus and a Puffa Fish. I miss my family so much. When Fiji was hit with very bad weather earlier this year there was a period of time when we couldn’t contact them but through the power of Facebook we found out that they were safe and unharmed.
Meet the Family (some of them...it was extensive)
Teaching…
There were three primary schools and two Kindys we could go to, and had the opportunity to visit them all. Much to my surprise I enjoyed the kindys so much I spent two weeks in Barotu Kindy and one week in Navunibitu Catholic School. Additionally I did my sports coaching in Barotu Primary school. I went to Kindy with three other volunteers. We had themes for the week. Our first theme was transport on air, and although this was limited in terms of learning activities and arts and crafts we made it work. We made a paper aeroplane, which was a new concept even to the teachers, and hot air balloons to name a few arts and crafts.
As part of the money we pay to go on the expedition a big box of resources was given to each school or kindy. Including sports equipment at the schools. We used these for our lessons and encouraged the teachers to use them too. The teachers were so grateful it was very moving.
We introduced structure to the Kindys and our own songs for music and movement (the hokey kokey, the grand old duke of York), and the teachers were really involved! We wrote down all the songs for them. We also introduced toothbrush club, which was a big hit. During circle time we asked the children to announce their age and then ask the next person their age. We could really see their confidence growing by the end of the week!At the end of the week the whole team were invited back to the village to have a feast, grog and hop hop, a traditional style of dance. The Kindy children did a meke for us (a traditional Fijian dance, sort of like Morris men), which was amazing.
Coaching Netball - Squad Goals
I know I’m biased but GO TO FIJI, you will love it and they will love you. I now have a family on the other side of the world and I couldn’t be more thankful.Soppy-ness aside…
Grab every opportunity!!
One of my best friends at Uni told me she has seen it advertised and sent me the link on Facebook. I was keen as soon as she told me but was apprehensive of the costs. However after talking to my parents who were very encouraging I decided to apply. I was still really nervous and therefore not as keen as the other applicants as I have a real difficulty being out of my comfort zone, but the duration of the trip was only five weeks and it meant getting out of the horrendously busy seaside town I live in during the height of summer. I probably sound crazy for admitting that I wasn’t jumping for joy at the prospect of going to Fiji and now I look back I laugh at how nervous I was.
My application gained me a place as a reserve but someone dropped out almost immediately and I knew that I couldn’t say no, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Once I knew I was going I had to pay for flights and £400 towards the trip, Cardiff Uni thankfully subsidized the rest.
Many of the people I went with fundraised and I wrote to family and friends, my old school and local rotary clubs to help me and thankfully I had enough to go. Long story short, don’t just think things are too expensive there’s always ways around it. Also look out for opportunities as without my inquisitive flat mate and the Global opportunities centre at Cardiff Uni I would never have known the opportunity was there.
And thats all for now...Sota Tale (see you later)