The Way The Natives Live

We arrived on campus before everyone else this morning, so we went to the school store and I bought some cheap toothpaste and my first Fiji apple! I haven’t had an apple since the U.S. so even though this 60 cent, imported apple was small, it was amazing. Very sweet and much needed.

We spent today at an authentic Fijian village. I believe it was Waikete, or something like that. They welcomed us to their village with a ceremony that included a lot of chanting and clapping, which I didn’t understand. We were then offered kava, which is a native root drink used in ceremonies. Apparently, the root is a natural muscle relaxant. A mere sip of kava with cause your tongue to tingle and possibly go numb for a few moments. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drink though. It basically just tasted like murky, dirt water (which is also how it looked). I’m proud of myself for trying it though.

Kava ceremony

Walkway in the village

After the welcome ceremony, we were allowed to collect our shoes, which had been left at the door to the community center as a sign of respect, and wander around the village. Our guide showed us how to lay mud traps for the delicacy of crab, follow the call to either the village Catholic or Methodist churches, cook in an underground oven pit, and climb a tree to collect coconuts. The villages in Fiji are mainly self-sufficient, but we were able to see their slight reliance on tourism when they sold us handmade (possibly, we saw some pretty similar items in stores) jewelry and purses.

To me, the village just looked like poverty. There were people living on top of people and the animals appeared malnourished and flea-bitten. However, I can see their appeal. They stray away from commercial goods and allow people to stay close with their families and live off the land. Also, the villages are all most the villagers have ever known. They may be able to go into town now or then and get bused to the surrounding schools, but they still don’t know what it’s like to pay bills and live apart from one’s extended family. So, while I could never live the life of a villager, I understand why they exist.

Following our tour, we were provided with a traditional lunch. I actually ate the crab that they had cooked. It was similar to the crab we caught in the mud traps, but since they had already caught and cooked this, not quite the same. The meal also included taro root (a native vegetable) and possibly a lobster dish. I stuck with the chicken. I also had some shortbread-like cookies that I picked up when we had stopped at a grocery store on our way to the village.

Making our lunch

The villagers danced for us after lunch. The dances were traditional, but appeared quite strange to our American eyes because Fijians do not move their hips much while dancing. It was quite the change. We were invited to join in on some of the dances as well.

Social time took place after the dance and we gathered around the kava bowls with some of the younger villagers. A boy named James tried to befriend me by asking for my telephone number, but since I don’t have one, it didn’t really get him anywhere. We exchanged e-mails instead, but the entire conversation was rather strange because it only lasted about two seconds. I know nothing about him other than his name and the village he lives in. He knows only that I am from America. I’m not really sure where he was going with the exchange of information, but it seems that, as Americans, we attract friends everywhere. Everyone wishes to know more about the American girls (the two guys in our group get to miss out mostly on this wonderment). It’s like they’re attracted to the striking difference between our blonde and red hair compared to theirs.

At the conclusion of the day, we came back to our host family’s home and Nina took us for a walk again around downtown Suva. We were able to see one of the local malls and walk around a few of the stores before it closed. I know we will be returning again on Saturday when we spend our free day shopping. When we came back from the walk, dinner was ready. Our family noticed our appreciation of the bread and made more with dinner tonight as well as roast chicken, mashed potatoes, white rice, and fish curry. All of the carbs and the kava today left us exhausted though, so we called it an early night.