It’s exactly one week since we got back from Lutu Village. The end of our trip was as amazing as the beginning! The night after I wrote my entry on the veranda was spent festively drinking kava and dancing with the Lutu community. We had the pleasure of seeing performances from the Kiribati, Fijian, Vanuatuan and Polynesian students! We international students were certainly the highlight of the night – with our incredibly cultural performance of the macarana LOL. It was all in good fun and everyone was humoured by our efforts, so it went as well as any macarana would.
On our final day in Lutu, Apolosi walked Ang and I over to the community church. It was built in the ‘60s on a massive hill, just above Apolosi and Taina’s home. I was in awe at how much effort it must have taken for Apolosi and his friends/family in Lutu to construct their beloved church in that location. Looking out at beautiful Lutu from the church steps with Apolosi was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
After a farewell lunch (where the community sacrificed a cow in honour of our visit) and dance, we shared goodbye hugs and tears – yes, leaving Lutu meant that some of us (who shall not be named) were pretty emotional. This is because (and I am by no means exaggerating when I say this) the people we met at Lutu (and in particular Ang and I’s host family) were absolutely INCREDIBLE people. I’m lucky enough to have experienced amazing hospitality and kindness within the Afghan community, and know what it’s like to feel at ease in the home of a stranger. But the community at Lutu really stood out as the most amazing, hospitable and kind people I’ve ever been fortunate to meet. We’ll really miss being there and seeing Apolosi and Taina. They both honoured Ang and I by calling us their daughters, and Apolosi was in legit tears as he hugged us goodbye. We’re hoping to see them once again before we leave Fiji!
This last week has gone well – we were all pretty busy with assignments and such. I’ve really been itching to get out of Suva in search of one of the many amazing beaches Fiji has to offer, so I’m hoping for a trip away either this weekend or next.
That hall block party I mentioned a couple of entries ago is actually tonight. The residential assistants seem to have been heavily planning for this event, so I’m betting it will be a fun night!
Everything else is going well here, I’m happy and grateful to be here in the South Pacific. I wish some of my friends and family members could come out here and share some of these wonderful experiences with me, but I’m also glad to be away from “real life” and to be exploring things on my own. I hope everyone is well and happy!
With love from Fiji,
G.
(entry taken from my travel journal - March 9, 2012)
Today we are in Lutu Village – a dalo plantation cooperative, which is the only one of its kind in Fiji. It is the second day of our three-day field trip, as part of our Geography course. I am currently lying down on the veranda of my host family’s home, relaxing after an action-packed day.
We left Suva yesterday at 9 am. On our way to Lutu we stopped at three separate farms – one that raises chickens and pigs, and two others that grow ginger and dalo (the fijian term for the root crop commonly known as ‘taro’). Upon arriving in Lutu, we completed the sevusevu (an official Fijian ceremony for greeting visitors and thanking hosts) and met our host parents shortly after. Ang and I stayed with an amazing Fijian couple named Apolosi and Taina. They’re both in their sixties and have lived in Lutu essentially their whole lives. Alongside participating in the dalo plantation, Apolosi and Taina have coconut, lemon and banana trees, a pumpkin patch, and grow several other agricultural goods. Despite their age, they’re both incredibly hardworking and resilient people.
Our first night here went very well, as I experienced a completely different kind of sleep. There was a torrential downpour throughout the entire night, which I loved because I love storms! Then, starting at around 5:00 am dozens of roosters began crowing us awake... I found it pretty neat, having never been awaken that way before.
After waking up to a lovely breakfast of pumpkin curry and roti, Ang and I met up with the rest of our classmates who’d decided to participate in the planting of dalo. We began a long trek to the plantation – walked through mud, took a little rowing boat across a river, and walked through even more mud. After we finally arrived at the site of the dalo farms, we began planting dalo suckers. It was very interesting to do farm work barefoot, in 35ยบ weather, wearing a sulu and t-shirt – I tried to keep mine on the entire time, out of respect for Fijian village customs. This opportunity allowed us to see one of the initial steps of Lutu’s dalo export process. It was amazing to see firsthand the amount of effort that is put into the plantation everyday.
Upon heading back to the village compound, we planned to walk to a nearby waterfall. After a pretty strenuous barefoot walk through bushes, mud, and cow/pig dung, we finally made it to the beautiful waterfall. It was lovely and worth the walk!
Since we’ve been back from the waterfall, we’ve had lunch (where we had the pleasure of drinking Taina’s amazing homemade lemonade) and have been relaxing on the veranda. Ang and I are both pretty pooped from the day’s activities! What inspired me to write this entry was something that Apolosi, Ang and I were just discussing: that one of the best things about village life is that there is absolutely zero noise pollution – no highways, fans/aircon or music. Just the sound of birds, bugs and laughter <3
Everything has been as lovely as ever here in Suva. School’s good, the wonderful people I’ve met are all good, life is good =)
I’m currently sitting at Coffee Central (the only coffee spot on campus) taking a study break after reading about 50 pages for my Sociology class. I’m genuinely enjoying the reading material that I’ve been given for my classes out here... not sure if that’s a result of my lack of interest in the internet since being here, or if the slow paced lifestyle makes me want to pick up a book and read... regardless, I’m happy to be studying during my down time. Not to mention, sipping a long black whilst straining to hear law students’ philosophical debates over the sound of a torrential downpour – in my summer dress & flip flops – makes studying fun!
One of my favourite things about Fiji is the buses. They're windowless and play reggae music so loud that you can barely hear yourself think! Also, boys possess a quality that we seldom see in North America – chivalry. Each and every time a woman (regardless of age) gets onto a full bus, men stand up and offer them their seats – *swoon*.
Last night I was in a full blown battle with two geckos – trying to kindly get them off of my ceiling and out the door. I’ve grown far more confident in my bug-killing skills, but still require poor Ang’s assistance at times... she’s graciously fed up with it hahaha. Unfortunately, such gecko troubles have been commonplace for me as of late. On Friday night we all went out and I found myself trying to shoo out another gecko at 3 am in the morning, whilst not in the clearest of minds =_= On a brighter note, a bunch of us international kids went to the Colo-i-Suva Forest Park waterfalls on Sunday. It was a beautiful day of rope swinging, waterfall bathing & swimming!
There are lots of exciting things to look forward to this weekend! My Geography class is heading over to Lutu Village for a two night field trip from Thursday to Saturday. We’ll be observing the village’s agricultural practices and participating in their day-to-day activities. I’m anxious to learn about subsistence farming and to see what Fijian village life is like. We’re very fortunate to have this opportunity! Then on Saturday night the male & female buildings of 10th hall are participating in a big block party before a night of dancing in town! Suffice it to say, schooling at USP is significantly better than SFU =)
