Studying the Fijian Culture

My room is off of the kitchen, so I didn’t get much sleep last night. I went to bed fairly early because we didn’t have anything else to do, but the family was still up, so I didn’t get to actually fall asleep. I kept drifting in and out of sleep in the morning too because I could hear animals making noise and moving around outside. I finally got out of bed around 6:30 to get ready for our first and only day of classes at the University of the South Pacific.

Some of the campus buildings at USP

Traditional house built on campus -- apparently the roof is leaking right now

After a breakfast of egg salad sandwiches and cereal with warmish milk that I couldn’t figure out how to open, we drove to the campus. We had a total of four lectures today focusing on the climate change and globalization practices of Fiji. The lectures were interspersed with morning and afternoon tea breaks so that included some really good food. I finally got my chocolate cake :)

Lunch was basically inedible to me. I subsisted on some spicy chicken, but our afternoon tea had amazing banana bread so I was content. I had thought we might have to pay for lunch today, but that didn’t turn out to be true, so I was happy.

We were given sulus to wear on our village visit tomorrow and also met some of the school’s resident artists. A lot of the girls purchased pieces from them, but I’m just not interested in art to the extent that they seem to be. I mean, they were nice to admire, but I don’t want to spend the equivalent of $40 on something that seems abstract to me.

All in all, the lectures were rather difficult to sit though. The only one that involved a good deal of discussion irritated me because I felt like each comment someone in my group made was offensive to Fijians and their way of living. I also couldn’t get a word in edgewise and, even when I raised my hand, it seemed as if the professor was ignoring me. I’m not sure what was up with that.

After classes, we went back to our host family’s and Nina, who we’re now fairly sure is the housekeeper, took us for a walk along the sea wall. It’s really scenic and only takes about ten minutes to walk along it into town. I think I might go running along it tomorrow. The whole family has said it is very safe, so I guess I have my seal of approval.

Dinner tonight included this amazing, light, almost buttery rolls and breadsticks. I couldn’t stop eating them, which is good because the other food was a little spicy for my tastes. I had some more of the leftover chop sui from last night though; I just might be coming around to it.

Falling Off a Cliff

Today has been host to both a near death experience and a very awkward one.

After checking out of our hotel this morning, we visited the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, which are located in the one and only national park of Fiji. These sand dunes aren’t anything like what I was picturing from what I’ve seen of those in Michigan. In Fiji, the sand dunes are almost completely covered in vegetation from mere grass to full trees. The sand just makes things grow, I guess. The only recognizable sand dunes that I saw were when we got closer to the ocean and those are only clear because the winds keep them shifting enough to prevent growth.

The dunes were extremely hard to climb up though. My tennis shoes were completely filled with sand; it was ridiculous. You had to get a running start to even be able to clear the top. They were very picturesque though.

Sigatoka Sand Dunes

View from the top

"Tree hugger" - based on a story from Nepal where  many women were killed as they tried to protect the trees from being cut down

After the sand dunes hike, we cleaned out our shoes and got back on the bus from a trip to the Tuvuni Hill Fort. The trip was fairly death-defying as our bus driver attempted a u-turn on the side of cliff. Lili, our guide in Fiji, actually had to get off the bus and direct the bus driver, but there were a couple of moments when the stick shift stuck and we weren’t sure we were going to make it. Most of us were begging to get off and walk the rest of the way rather than go off the cliff with the bus. Luckily, he eventually managed.

When we finally arrived, we ate lunch of corned beef, egg, and tuna sandwiches (ew!) with fresh fruit before setting off on another hike on the sites of one of the old villages who practiced cannibalism. Some of the girls were a bit freaked out that people would actually eat people, but our guide explained the villagers only ate those of rival villages who they captured as it would allow them to gain control of other villages. The rest of the time they would eat more normal meats. The actual site of the old village is completely torn down. The only remnants are rocks left to mark the sites of old houses and burial grounds. Again though, since it was on the side of a cliff, very picturesque.

View from Tuvuni Hill Fort

Following the fort was a two-hour bus ride that definitely seemed more like three to the town of Suva where we met our host families. The whole meet-and-greet was very awkward. Deirdre and I are both staying with a family that has three girls and one boy. It also appears that the father of one of the parents lives with them as well as possibly a school friend of the boy who may or may not be related. We got off the bus from the fort, unloaded our luggage, and were basically handed off to a woman standing outside the school (the University of the South Pacific). She seemed nice, but it was still strange.

The family has been incredibly accommodating and seems fairly informal, but we’re both still very unsure of how to act and what’s appropriate. We don’t know where any of the others in our group are staying either because we were the first to leave. We’re figuring it out though. The husband travels quite a bit and the wife is an English schoolteacher at the university we’ll be attending.

They served us tasty biscuits (kind of like a shortbread cookie) and cookies when we arrived along with Cola and water. Dinner was chop sui and rice with a cake-like desert. I ate what I could. I didn’t realize that coming to Fiji would be the thing that made me try chop sui.

The kids have all been very shy with us, although it appears one of the girls is a bit more social and willing to answer our questions. We were also able to talk with the two boys for a bit at dinner and they seem to be warming up to us. I guess it’s just a question of how long it will take before things start to feel more natural and comfortable.