What a long week this has been and I’m a little overwhelmed to be blogging but here I go!
So much has been happening. This past week we spent at our beloved village, Vatusekiyasawa with our lovely host families and the entire village. We’ve been learning, living and working with the community in a way that most people don’t get to experience in Fiji. Vatuse (for short) had become our home for the past two weeks and we will certainly never forget it. Every person there was someone special, from Ratu with his scary beard who turned out to be the goofiest guy there, to Pina, the cheekiest little girl in the village.
We made connections with everyone in different ways and learned from them. One day we learned how to make brooms (sa sas!), fans and bracelets from coconut leaves. We learned what they cooked and how to cook it (a lot of fish and cakes by the way…). We learned their history and their ceremonies, from the opening to the closing ceremony, all involving kava (which wasn’t so bad in moderation).
Even more, I learned how to not take myself too seriously, by dancing with everyone in the village at night even though I can’t dance. I saw firsthand the importance of a tight community and extended family. We weren’t just visiting the village, we were living there. So we learned how they spent their downtime, how they survived the rain (there was a lot of it some days) and, when a little girl passed away in the village, we learned how they deal with death.
During the past week, we completed the sidewalk project alongside the guys in the village and cleaned up our work site. We had a lot of time that we got to spend with our families, and we even went to church on Sundays, and a service on Saturday. We went on a hike up a mountain and could see the ocean from the top. Later in the week, we went to a waterfall and went swimming in the river.
On Sunday night we began our goodbyes, and they lasted until noon the following day. They held (another really unbearably long) church service, they had a kava drinking ceremony and prepared a dinner (a feast!) for us. We presented our gifts and thanks to them, and we proceeded to stay up all night for a Fijian farewell (I lasted until 4:30…). Leaving the village was hard but they understood we had to continue our journey.
Right now we’re staying in a hostel in Nadi, at a beautiful spot on a beach. Yesterday we did something I’ve always wanted to do… we went surfing!!! Surfing in Fiji, it can’t get better than that. And all of us eventually stood up and rode some waves! It made for an amazing day. Today we’re relaxing at the hostel and in Nadi, giving us some time to reflect after a pretty full past couple of weeks. And tomorrow…? Tomorrow we go to Auckland!!!
Fiji time!
Liz
Also when I figure out how to post pictures, I will! I promise!