Vinaka Vaka Levu Fiji!

My first adventure!

Its quite hard knowing where to begin this life changing story. It involves so many experiences, so many meetings, and so many goodbyes.

Lets review. Since I spent a month abroad in Fiji, I have:

• Met and moved in with my boyfriend (to my parents' surprise)

• Dropped out of University (also to my parents' surprise)

• Enrolled in online university (yay)

• Quit my jobs (YAY)

  
  

• Made plans to travel the world (YAY.)

My time in Fiji signified my not-so mid-life crisis where I finally got the answer to all the life determining questions: be an active part of the world.

Many Meetings

Taking my first steps into Fiji I quickly discovered that island weather everyone had warned me about. I struggled to take my first few breaths as I stepped onto the tarmac; feeling like I was gulping boiling soup and couldn't come up for air. The humidity was like a younger sibling, constantly torturing you and reminding you that they're there.

I was escorted inside the airport for an all-too-brief burst of aircon before going on to meet members of the volunteer organisation and catch the Coral Coast bus transfer.

Meeting the people that you'll be living, eating and sleeping with after a long day of travel is definitely anxiety inducing but the volunteer coordinators and my housemates couldn't have been more welcoming and hosted a movie night for all the newcomers.

After a few days of settling in and adjusting to the climate, I was placed in one of the local schools, assisting with Grade 1's English, Math, Science etc. Meeting the teachers and the children was truly the most fun. Each child was amazing in their own way, I really appreciated their constant kindness and eagerness to learn. I built a good friendship with my teacher, Teacher Abby as well as the other staff, Teacher Eta, Asilika and Sera. They welcomed me into their staff lunches, sharing traditional foods and teaching me the Fijian language and culture.

I learnt that a woman's role in their culture is to care for their families, a lot of mothers began cooking school lunches at 4 or 5 am, sending their children to school with the most delicious, nutritional lunches that I was extremely jealous of!

Volunteering!

The school I volunteered in only hosted Kindy to Grade 3 in one building with different classrooms. This meant the kids were extremely interconnected and I got to know everyone, not just my class.

I began my work by writing and marking papers for my class. Slowly, I started to lead the spelling lessons in the morning. I made up a tune and actions for each of their weekly spelling words and every morning our classroom would quickly turn into a choir.

Different to my schooling days, the children ate morning tea at their desks, giving us a quick break (phew) before commencing math lessons.

Lunch time was also spent with the kids. We would take them out to a small oval where they played tag and bull rush with the rest of the school before commencing a prayer circle and singing religious songs, a few of which I got the kids to teach me.

Kindy would leave just before lunch (I got to witness a parent picking their child up on horseback multiple days) but the rest of the grades stayed for afternoon Hindi lessons. Most children were already bilingual, speaking Fijian at home, English at school and then added Hindi into the mix.

We spent the afternoons running a combination of football, rugby and netball programs with the local kids and a few of the adults. These afternoons were always full of fun, the kids were so energetic regardless of the heat and staged fashion shows and group singing when they got tired.

The Volunteers!

I was very fortunate to have such lovely housemates from every corner of the world during my time living in the Volunteer house. We all became fast friends over drinks at the village bar and did a whole lot together after our programs had ended and on weekends. I did island trips every weekend and spent time at the resorts, having a taste of luxury. The islands were always unreal, their beauty and remoteness, unmatched. We'd spend each Friday night in the Sigatoka night clubs, catching party buses and hitchhiking our way through.

It was always a fun way to get everyone together, debrief about our weeks and celebrate being on one of the most beautiful islands.

It wasn't till my second week in Fiji that Eddie arrived... After a few night swims and beach talks we knew we had something special and started up an 'island romance'? Towards the end of our trip we knew we were meant to be and discussed a future. I couldn't exactly leave Australia alone and come back with an Englishman straight away! We both had to sort out some things, like convincing my parents to let a guy I'd known for 2 weeks move in with us for an indefinite time frame...... we've been living together now for 6 months lol.

We were very grateful for all the friends we made and will visit their corners of the world in due time. Our first stop is New Zealand where we will see our bestie, Rob (Pickles)!

An Anecdote

After finishing teaching one afternoon our friends had the great idea to do a waterfall hike.

We departed from Biausevu village with a local guide, when it started raining. The rainforest was truly magnificent and with the rain everything was greener. Unfortunately though, we had crossed three rivers when it started bucketing down and disappointingly prevented us from trekking any further. 

We were forced to recross the three rivers and make it safely back to the village… ahahaha... sense the foreshadowing.

When I say bucketing I mean bucketing in true tropical rainstorm fashion. The rivers we had first crossed, which were as deep as my ankles, had risen to my waist within minutes and the path was rapidly disappearing! The rate of the current was most definitely a match for us.

With just enough caution and a lot of help from each other and especially our guide, we managed the first crossing.

The second one was much larger (cue crying sounds). For reference, our group consisted of four 6 ft rugby players... and me (I'm 5 ft 2") (rip).

One step into the second river and I was literally swept away. The current dragged me under before my foot even reached the riverbed. Whoops. I, (quite scared at this moment and fighting for my life lol) stuck my hand up to grab something to hold onto. And low and behold my knight in wet armor, Eddie, caught my hand and half dragged me back to the riverbank while I stumbled over rocks and fell a few more times for good measure.

I was no longer trusted to cross the river alone and our situation became a lot more real. So the boys stationed themselves across the river grabbing me at each point of my crossing as the river relentlessly slammed against my body (the water was up to my chest) and with a lot of help and a bit of laughter I made it across in one(ish) piece. We then had the rest of the way back to trek in the tropical downpour until we reached the warm taxi and piled in. Sopping wet, we recounted the afternoons events with amusement and satisfaction, because even though we didn't reach the waterfall, we instead had a shared, uniquely terrifying experience to look back on.

The Bad Parts

Although this trip was lifechanging and I loved every minute of it, I did get quite ill. Being around children five days a week quickly became exhausting, especially once a cold started going around.

I contracted the illness but continued volunteering every day and going out every night. I was completely exhausted. My body was so run down and I was severely dehydrated. One night i got no sleep due to a high fever,  sunstroke and a headache but thankfully, it only lasted the night. Having a fever in 30 degree heat was definitely not a highlight, nor an exclusive experience amongst the volunteers; I slowly recovered from the illness after arriving home in Australia.

The infamous 'Fiji time' also became a bit of a nuisance throughout our journey. I know its controversial as all the tourists love the relaxation associated with the concept but we spent many a morning waiting over an hour for transfers, causing us a lot of stress. One hotel's check in process lasted 45 minutes!

The Important Stuff

One month in Fiji cost me $2800 AUD which averaged at $90 AUD per day. These costs include Program fees (accommodation, food, transfers and daily transport), 3 island day trips and nightly bar drinks.

I could've saved by spending less on drinks and choosing cheaper activities but I do not regret any money spent in Fiji.

I highly recommend doing a volunteer trip as my experiences teaching are invaluable and the memories are priceless.

Vinaka Vaka Levu Fiji! Sotatale!