We landed on the island of Nadi Fiji and took a 2 hour “pick up truck” ride to the village that we would be staying at for the next week and a half.  The name of this village is Nasivikoso which means like a place between mountains, which is exactly how the village was.

Once we arrived, each of us were paired together and assigned to a host family. This is where we would sleep and spend our time with the locals and truly immerse in their culture. In many cultures around the world, people live in communities and regard one another as uncles and aunts even if they are not related by blood. We do this in my culture and also in the culture in Fiji. My host family consisted of my host mom, my two host grandparents and my host baby brother. Throughout my stay, I called them by these names (mom, grandpa, grandma and baby brother Marc) because they became family for me very quickly.

In Fijian culture it’s a custom to welcome visitors entering the village with a traditional Kava ceremony. Kava is a root plant found in many parts of Fiji which is grounded and later squeezed in water to be shared and drank among a community. This traditional ceremony is usually very solemn and great way for community members to catch up with one another. On our first night, we were invited to our first of many  Kava ceremonies to officially welcome us as guest to their village. the ceremony begins by usually an elder of the community who gives 3 firm claps and says “Bula”, which is a phrase in Fijian which means like “well wishes” “greetings” or “hello”. Anytime you see anyone anywhere even a stranger you greet them with a “Bula”. After the elder says Bula and gives three claps he is handed a small bowl to scoop the Kava in the pot from and to drink in one chug. It is considered “disrespectful” if you slurp away at the Kava, so if you ever plan on going, remember–take it all in one drink. After he drinks he gives three more claps and passes it to the next member in the circle. The three claps and a chug are then repeated until everyone in the circle has received it out of the same bowl. After this, you make respectfully leave by saying “Moce” which is goodbye in Fijian, or you can stay for another round. Usually, I would stay just because these were some of my favorite moments while there. These nights would go on forever with music filling the dark sky until you could see all the stars. While in the village, I did not have any internet which was so comforting because I felt as though I was fully present for most of the time.

A typical day in Fiji would go a little bit like this. In the morning our group would meet or a group breakfast in our common house. All of our meals were in this common area so that we could all be together and we sat on the floor for our meals. A typical breakfast would be Fijian pancakes and some crackers jams and such. Breakfast was cooked by the women of the village for us and we were responsible for washing the dishes. Many times I would help out with cooking just because I wanted to see how they made food. After breakfast we would have a brief meeting and head up to the top of the mountain where most of our service was done at the local school. After about 3 hours or so, we would head back down the mountain for tea time. After tea time we would head back up the mountain to finish our project for the day and return down the mountain to bathe in the local river. After bathing and free time we would meet again for dinner and additional free time with our families. All of the locals soon became family. Some of my friends would not spend that much time with their families, but I made it my goal to hang out with my family for most of the time which ended up tightening our bond and allowing me to really learn about the culture.

My host mom would always ask how my day was and make sure I was comfortable with everything and would even give me some extra snacks to bring along with me as we did service.

This routine continued on for one week and a half, and then we were off to our next location in Fiji.

This was sure one of the hardest goodbyes and I cried like a baby as you can imagine. It was so hard to say bye to Nasivikoso and all of the people that I loved so much. It was especially hard since a lot of them did not have access to internet, so It would be hard for us to communicate.

For the remainder of our time we went to a dam owned by one of the villagers about an hour away and did various infrastructure projects for about 3 days.

This location was a lot different from Nasivikoso as there were no other villagers that stayed there. It was only my group at the top of a mountain. It was actually very relaxing and peaceful to kind of relax and reflect on all the hard work we did over the past week. The traditions however did not die down and some locals would come to the top of the mountain and join us for Kava ceremonies and to serenade us under the stars. After our time spent there, we took a boat to a separate Island and spent the weekend there adjusting back to “reality”.  During this time, I actually decided to skydive lol which was so amazing!

Overall, my trip to Fiji was something that I still talk about today because of how much it actually did change my life. I made life long friends and family across the Pacific Ocean that I can not wait to meet again as I say with every travel. I am so excited to see what else the world has to offer and to continue to learn about more cultures all over the world.

If you have any follow up questions feel free to reach out to me I love talking lol!