Yasawas

We’re now in the final days of our mid-semester break here at USP. It’s Saturday, which means tonight will consist of a reunion at good old O’Reilly’s with friends who are all back from their respective vacations!

 Josh, Jo and I got back from the Yasawas on Thursday night. Having never been to a tropical destination before, I was beyond stoked to get to those white sandy beaches caked along turquoise waters! My friends here in Suva always make fun of my obsession with seeing “blue water,” which is a result of the fact that beaches in Vancouver consist of murky, cold water. Well, safe to say that the Yasawas were the ultimate beach destination!

 We left Suva for Lautoka last Thursday night (Kelly and Mara were also with us at the start of our trip). Our first night was spent in a dingy little hotel where we were greeted by two roaches (thank God we had Josh along to kill them). After a short sleep, we caught a resort boat at 5 am, which was our home for the next 7 hours. We finally arrived at Coral View Resort on Tavewa island by midday, where we got our first glimpse of real Fijian beaches. The resort was essentially a backpackers lodge, so we met some cool people right off the bat. Staff members at Coral View became friends pretty quick too. While on Tavewa, Kelly and I decided to go on a cave trip to the famous Sawa-I-Lau limestone caves on the great Yasawa island. This trip had us on a spectacular 30 minute boat ride to the cave, which sat on one of the loveliest beaches where scenes from the movie Blue Lagoon were filmed. We went inside two caves – the first one was easily accessible, as it was at the end of cement steps, so we just hopped straight into its waters. The second cave required us to hold our breath and swim through a little underwater canal to get to it. In this cave, we could only see with the help of the guide’s flashlight, as there was no natural light shining into it. I put on my goggles and looked beneath the water into the depths of the cave and was blown away! It was an amazing place to visit. That day we also took a short boat trip to the infamous “Blue Lagoon” waters. The actual beach that rests along the waters is privately owned, so we were only able to stay in the boat on the water and feed some fish. Several meters away from that particular beach however lied another beautiful beach that was open to the public, so we spent a few hours snorkeling and sunbathing there. Later after dinner that night, I enjoyed some Fiji Golds next to a bonfire on the beach with new friends and island locals. We visited 3 different islands in the span of 24 hours (Tavewa, Yasawa, Nanuya Levu) and had a great start to our week in the Yasawas!

 Mara and Kelly had to come home for a field trip after our time in Tavewa, but the rest of us headed out to my all time favourite island – Nacula. We stayed at the backpackers’ dorms at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. I instantly fell in love with the beach and turquoise waters of Nacula... it was a spectacular place to spend 3 days snorkeling and relaxing. I met some great people and formed a couple of lasting friendships, as one of the couples we met live in Suva as well! One point to note is that the food at Blue Lagoon was absolutely amazing – we were seriously spoiled in that regard – indulged in gourmet meals and desserts, it was fun!

 I loved Nacula so much, that I ended up staying an extra night longer than Jo and Josh... they left for Waya island, where I joined them a day later. Waya was beautiful as well – its mountains and vegetation left me feeling like I was in an episode of Lost. We spent one night at the Octopus Resort on Waya, and it was a great way to end our trip. After 6 nights in the Yasawas, we headed back for the mainland where we caught a bus home. Coming back to USP made me realize just how comfortable and happy I am out here... Suva really is home, and it is sweet <3

Life after Lutu

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.

Lutu

(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 35º 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

Life at USP

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 =)

Start of my blogging efforts...

So after much nagging from my loves back home, I’ve finally been both inspired and motivated to sit and type my thoughts. I haven’t written electronically as I’d promised friends/fam that I would, but I have been jotting down some stuff in my travel journal. For those who are interested in what the last eleven days of my life have consisted of, I’ve taken those journal entries and written them in here (dates and all, just start at the bottom). Here goes...

With love from Fiji, xoxo

The Coral Coast

It's a lovely Sunday night in Fiji... Ang and I are hanging out in the lounge of our flat, listening to music and writing whilst enjoying the breeze from our balcony – a lovely way to end a lovely weekend.

We got back from the Coral Coast a few hours ago... it was was so beautiful! About 30 of us exchange kids got on some buses and headed to a backpackers resort called The Beach House. Our little crew of ten (Ang, Christy, Kevin and I; Johanna, Mara, Kelly, Brendan and Josh from the U.S; and Greg from Germany) spent a night there - just enough time to have some fun in the water and relax on a white sandy beach! It was great – so many activities to take part in and the staff was super friendly. We had the opportunity to learn how to make jewelry from coconuts (Fijians LITERALLY use every inch of a coconut for various things, including food, weapons, accessories, tools, utensils, medicine, baskets, rope, and the list goes on). I made a really neat ring which took two hours of sanding and shaping. By the end of it I was pissed to learn that such rings cost roughly one dollar to buy at tourist shops, despite requiring so much effort to make... not right.

Since Suva doesn't have clean/clear water like most of Fiji, we were all really looking forward to being able to swim in the ocean. I went snorkeling for the first time today and it was absolutely incredible. There is literally a whole other world under the sea and it's a beautiful one! We celebrated Christy's birthday at the Beach House last night. The highlight of the night was sitting on the beach under a ridiculous amount of stars, discussing international development issues, and watching lightning in the distance brighten up the entire sky! So magical.

I'm hoping to get out of Suva as frequently as possible and explore Fiji thoroughly... the Coral Coast shall be the first of many weekend trips =)

First weekend in Suva =)

We’re wrapping up our first weekend in Suva and it has been lovely. We went on an excursion to Pacific Harbour yesterday, as part of the Orientation Week. It was great because we went to the Arts Village where we got to see what village life was like in the past and how its influences remain in Fiji today. Fire walking, kava drinking and ocean swimming were what our day consisted of. We got a greater feel for Fiji’s history and incredible culture – ‘twas great!

Today is a Sunday, which in Fiji means all businesses and shops are closed (Christianity is highly prevalent here and people set aside Sundays as a day for worship and family). Fortunately, there was a little flea market going on in town that Ang, Christy, Kevin and I checked out. I bought honey that was made here on Viti Levu, Noni Juice (which is ridiculously overpriced at home and well-priced here), and lovely locally made jewelry. Safe to say it’s been a good end to our week :)