Bula!!!
Our last week in Nananu was AWESOME we had so many fun activities and time with the villagers and our new families.
On Tuesday of last week we took a group hike to a natural water spring where Nananu gets their water supply. Following the Fijians we found the beautiful spring with waterfalls and all went swimming and most of us even climbed it at one point. On the way back from the spring we all learned about Guavas…and let me say picking a fresh Guava off a tree and eating it whole is one of the best things ever…we found the Guavas to be one of our favorite foods in the village.
During the last week we took a couple of field trips outside of the village to explore what Fiji has to offer. Last Wednesday we went to the Fiji Water Plant (yes the plant that sells the bottled water in the square bottles), we learned all about the company and got to see the production line in work. The water is from a stream right near the village we stayed at. That night we had a discussion facilitated by Kareem about the Economics of Fiji Water to work on his PSU credits. It was a lively and intellectual discussion.
On Wednesday and Friday of that same week we went to Voli Voli beach which is a nice beach resort near the village. This was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life, clear water surrounded by flourishing green mountains. it was truly breathtaking. During our time there me, Ryan, Dylan and Lucy enjoyed some snorkeling where we saw some amazing electric blue starfish. There was also alot of Volleyball time (one of the Fijians favorite past times), and many people went out kayaking exploring the sea and the surrounding islands. Ryan and Emily will tell you all that they are super proud that they found their own private Castaway Island and even cracked open their own fresh coconuts.
One of everyones favorite activities was our horseback ride. We all were on horseback either solo or with a Fijian guide and took a long horse ride through the mountains and valleys to a waterfall with a natural water slide. We all showed some of our wild sides sliding down the water slide and jumping off the rocks into the deep pool at the bottom. Unfortunately we were shown up by the Fijians and their crazy fearless jumps and dives. We then galloped off into the sunset…holding hands.
Sadly our time at Nananu had to come to an end. On our last day in the village we had a day filled with fun, family and our favorite village activities. Some of our favorite memories of the village were swimming in the river, hiking the near by mountains (Ryan hiked everyone within distance), eating four meals a day (most of them consisting of cake), playing volleyball in the rain, spending time playing with all the children, spending time with our families (yeah UNO with my brother Patteia and sister Alesie), laying down in the coool nights watching the stars and emerging ourselves into the Fijian community including Sunday morning church with our families with vast knowledge provided by Lucy in an engaging Religion talk. We enjoyed our time working on the footpath and completing our section to help the village out with their muddy area.
On our last night we had a parting celebration starting with a Fijian feast with the chief where we were all dressed in our Fijian best (chambas and homemade Fijian shirts), followed by a Kava celebration where the village gave us thanks for all of our hard work. Kava is a traditional drink made from a Kava root which in the Fijian culture helps to welcome us into their community. We then had a long night of dancing and enjoying our time with the locals before a sad parting in the village the next morning with many laughs, tears and hugs.
I on behalf of the group would like to share our praise and appreciation for the people of Nananu, they are some of the nicest, most caring people that you will ever find in your life. They opened up their homes,and their families and allowed us to become a part of them.We will all miss Nananu but a piece will always stay in our hearts.
We had a great time in Fiji and now are safely in Auckland waiting for our second part of our adventure to begin.
Sending my love to my family and friends from New Zealand!
Christine Natoli
P.s. A big shoutout to Lucy for help with my spelling and grammar.
