A gracious goodbye, bittersweet bon voyage, and a heartwarming hello: this is the final blog post. Back home, my friends and family know I’m not always great at goodbyes but this is no ordinary goodbye. I’m writing on behalf of the amazing, hilarious, adventurous, and charismatic Hongi group that have worked, traveled, eaten, and lived together for 12 weeks. A simple sign off wouldn’t be fair.
If you read back through all of the blogs, you’ll read many reports of where we’ve lived or stayed. Starting in Fiji, Rewasa village was unlike any other living situation we had. To stay rooted for two weeks in one spot was a great way for us to find out footing in a new program, with people from all over the US, in a country none of us had been visited. The illusion of Fiji – white sandy beaches – was quickly dispelled as we acclimated to our new reality. Our village had no hot water, some of houses didn’t have indoor showers, and the food was like nothing we had ever eaten. Once we got past the culture shock, we received such warmth and kindness from everyone in the 200 person village. From the kids helping carry little rocks along side our filled wheelbarrows for concrete pouring, to the mothers who teamed together making meals, and even the rugby team singing for us, Rewasa showed us much love.
Our project in Rewasa was to build walkways so during rainy seasons, people could safely access the church and other locations. On the first day of work, we blew Sam, our leader, away with how quickly we could pour concrete. Working long past the usual stopping hour, our group showed how well we can team up and finish goals. At the rate we were powering through, we agreed to pitch in with our Rewasa contact to provide more concrete for the village. By the end of our time there, we poured enough concrete to be called professionals and learned the Fijian words for “water”, “here”, and “rocks”. Even now in Australia, you’ll here our group call for water when water bottles are low.
We met great people in New Zealand, including the Maori family just outside of Auckland. Being our first introduction to NZ, I’m so thankful for the hospitality we were shown. Delicious food for every meal, a rich family history shared in conversations, and learning the ever popular Haka. Our group took to the haka like fish to water, complete with intense faces, yelling, and stomping. Make sure to ask any Hongi student to haka, as those dance moves and words became a staple in our daily lives. Poo–hoo-roo-hoo-roo!
We left Fiji dreaming of New Zealand’s green hills, fresh adventure, and of course, Lord of the Rings. It’s safe to say, by the end of our time in New Zealand, many of us had reread or read for the first time Tolkien’s great works. Jonesing to introduce a few members to the film adaptations, great relief was had at Sheila’s farm. Great relief, of course, came after working on her or Anne’s farm. For a small amount of time in the evenings, we could watch the films and point out filming spots we wanted to visit.
Working their farms was something new for all of us. On the first day, one of our first jobs was rounding up cattle. Traversing cow pie filled paddocks was a daily adventure for us, but we quickly became aware of how to traverse cleanly. Everyday on the farms was new and hard work – planting nearly 800 plants, clearing out a watering system, reviving plant beds, installing fence posts, removing invasive species, and other various farm work was thrown our way. And everyday after work, we heard great praise for how quickly we worked, the quality of it, and the plans for the next day. It seemed farm work would never end, but our time at the farms would. For future foreign travels, WWOOFing (Worldwide Workers on Organic Farms) is a great resource to have your food and lodge paid for, in turn for 4-6 hours of work on the farm.
Excited about LOTR was a perfect transition to Blue Mountain Adventure Center. BMAC was all about getting us outside to experience heights, climbs, crawls, and deep dark caves. Having a fear of heights was the first hurdle for many of our group, but everyone passed with great success. A hike to Mt. Doom was exciting to imagine that you were walking Frodo and Sam’s path… or that you just really wanted to never hike a mountain again. I was lucky enough to hike some of Mt. Doom and I can say the view from above was magnificent – half of the group exploring emerald pools and the others above me on Mt. Doom, just shy of the peak.
With a week of free travel and backpacking, we were crawling to the airport with Australia on the brain. Hot sun! We had been experiencing the cold of New Zealand and were excited for warmer Auz. And Auz dished it out for us. Thankfully, we found relief at Chenrezig Buddhist Institute. Personally, this week is what sold me on Carpe Diem originally, and I was not disappointed. With a day of silence asked of the group, it was bizarre to hear our beloved extroverts silent. As we all tried to sustain quietness with minimal pantomiming (it’s hard when you need to ask where the bathroom is!), we learned about the great basis for Buddhism: loving-kindness. Also stated as “love and kindness”, the guided meditations, education sessions, and peaceful environment was a new experience for us. People purposefully told us to slow down – this group doesn’t slow down much! A few group members chose to extend their silence, as other explored the purpose of mindful speech. With a sense of renewal, and a quick visit to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, we moved on to our next great adventure.
It was around this time that we became aware of an unfortunate truth – we only had so many days left of the trip! How could it be after weeks of hard work, laughter, rough days and growth, and enjoyable experiences, we had to think (or not!) about going home? Ryan and Cheridyn reminded us to stay in the present and seize each day – hence Carpe Diem!
A quick respite at Noosa Beach and then right back to work! Conservation Volunteers of Australia is a program to help sustain natural environment while removing invasive species. Our group, for the first time, was split in two. My group was with Stefan, an energetic and highly intelligent individual with a huge sweet tooth like mine. I’m so grateful for Hongi for encouraging me to bake and cook for them when I can, and Stefan was also grateful. Baking at night after long days in the sun, removing lantana, asparagus vines, and other weeds was new for him. Typically his groups are constructed of people who have never met one another and he said having a Carpe group was unique to him and loved having us. On the last morning, we gifted him a batch of fudge as gratitude for his work and he promised us a picture of him eating it. We’re still waiting, Stefan!
Remember when I said we wanted heat after the cool of New Zealand? Well, I should have clarified. We wanted warm, what we got was 105 degree heat with blessed relief in the form of Rusty, Tam’s safari bus as we journeyed the Outback. Way Outback Adventure is a grand program and we had a fantastic leader. Tam came recommended to us, for good reason. Her energy was key at 4:30am as we dragged ourselves out of the damp swags, questioning the “slightly waterproof” guarantee, until we saw the sunrise. A sunrise in the outback is unlike any sunrise you’ll ever see. The colors are gorgeous and even the most sleepy person could tell you it was worthwhile. Everyday Tam took us to important Aboriginal sites, rich with history, stories, and current issues revolved around preserving the monoliths. As cultural stories were given to us, each story had three important morals and one was always about not climbing on the sacred site.
Saying goodbye to Tam meant saying hello to another realization: we only had 7 days left together. 6 of our ladies are continuing on the Latitudes program, continuing their volunteer work abroad starting as soon as 3 weeks after returning home. Some of us return to college and others continue on to exciting other programs. With those realizations in mind, we began talking about a reunion, road trips, and how much flights cost between two hometowns. Those plans continue to be talked about and hopefully all come true!
Our final week, as Caitlin wrote, was about SCUBA diving. Due to medical reasons, I snorkeled the whole time and was not disappointed! Seeing the Great Barrier Reef was a dream of mine since I was young and to see one of the largest living ecosystems (you can see it from space!) was phenomenal. I wish you all could see it with us and should you ever get a chance, please go see the natural beauty under the sea.
So, here we are now. I write this in a free internet hub, trying to figure out how to end a blog post about a program that won’t truly end. Sure, we won’t be together all the time, crammed in close spaces, sweating like crazy on hard work projects, being that literal shoulder to cry on, but Fall Hongi 2013 doesn’t really end. The goodbyes we say at the airport aren’t for long – we’ll get our phones and laptops again, using those to connect while we count the days to see each other, face to face. Returning home will be bittersweet – sleeping in your own bed, seeing your family, friends, and pets, and eating that one dish you’ve been craving since September. During all of that, you’ll be thinking about that one time you saw every star in the Australian sky, creating your own Carpe family, and eating so many Tim Tams, you might as well have invested in stock. And finally, we’ll say hello to you – our parents, best friends, cousins, everyone we’ve not seen in months. We’ll share the lessons, stories, jokes, photos, videos, and everything else we’ve accumulated on this trip, just as we hope to hear the same from you. All of us have grown and as we start to understand exactly how, our future paths will appear. We just need to remember Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring: “Not all those who wander are lost.”
With love,
-Anya.