By Ashton Saltz
Bula! Elliot and Ashton here to tell all of you about our Fijian adventures and homestay experiences. It has been a hot, humid, and hectic past couple weeks full of both good and bad. Some of the people in the group hadn’t experienced a third world country before this, and it became overwhelming at times for most.
On October 25, we all woke up at 3am to begin our 13-hour travel day from Suva to Vuadomo Village, where our homestays were located. On the Ferry from Viti Levu to Venua we happened to be sharing the boat with the president of Fiji, whom we all got to meet and enjoy a very firm presidential handshake. We arrived late in the afternoon to a very warm, lively welcome full of smiles and excitement for us to all be there. This was Carpe’s first time staying in this village, and they apparently threw a big party to celebrate the fact that we were coming once they had found out.
Every night we attended the Kava Ceremonies and sung songs with our numb mouths, and danced together until the Kava made us too sleepy to stay up any longer. Gender roles are very evident; the men do the manual work in the village and women cook and clean. We all had to wear shirts that covered our shoulders and women wore sulus. Our service work consisted of creating a cement pathway that went from one end of the village to the other, and it was hot! Many hot days meant a larger consumption of water. The local water and food had, unfortunately, gotten some of the students. A few of the students felt ill in the final days at the village.
After an amazing Fijian experience, it’s off to Aussie Land. Talk to you all very soon.