Hey You.....Fijian Girl

Kuata Resort, Kuata Island, Fiji
Thursday, August 5, 2010

Today was a very busy day. I probably accomplished the most that I have since I arrived on these amazing little islands. It was my second day here in Kuata, which I think is my favourite resort. Ignore that fact that the water seems to run out several times a day and they turn the power off from 1300-1800 and then usually around midnight because the people and the food and well everything else makes up for it.

After an excellent breakfast of deep fried pancakes (think donuts but not as sweet and heavier like cake), we headed out in the boat to do some swimming with sharks. Now of course these are reef sharks that are perfectly harmless but still when I think shark I still think “shouldn’t be in the water with them”. But of course I had to do it so I hopped on the boat with a few other brave souls. We took a short ride out and then the boat dropped us at the reef.......which was in the middle of nowhere.

Today's boat captain Solomon, AKA king.

It’d be a good hour swim to any island in any direction from where the reef is. They tell us to get off the boat and follow our guide along the reef. Today;s guide was Dani.

Dani jumped off the boat somewhere early to catch this guy to feed to the sharks. He was a good sacrifice.......but probably not very willing.

Dani and King know where to head to find the sharks so we just have to swim there. Almost immediately when I hit the water I saw one…..and was surprisingly un-alarmed. It was just a little guy. We did meet a bigger one a little bit later but really the 3 sharks that hung out with us were cute and fun and there was no problem.

This is the big guy....or girls. I can't tell the difference between girl sharks and boy sharks.

These sharks were kind of funny. You could tell there are use to the tourists being around. They seemed to come out and eat a fish for a few minutes almost to humour us and then they would head back and do whatever they were doing before.

A video of my shark encounter just to prove I really was there.

Once back on dry land I took a nice nap in a hammock. I’m not sure you appreciate how comfortable a hammock is until you attempt to read in one and quickly fall asleep.

Dani showing off his catch. That's an octopus in case you weren't quite sure.

Anyway, my afternoon was filled with a visit to a local village, Naramara. It was a quick 10 minute boat ride. Here we got to look at how many Fijians live when not catering to tourists in the resorts. The population of Naramara is about 90 to 100 people. They tend to be very close and almost like family……even if they are not family.

Naramara Village from the water.

A few of the kids we met who aren't quite old enough to attend school. Not a lot of supervision for these kids. Guess they just know not to get into trouble.

Our first stop was at the local school. Now the kids are very use to tourists coming to visit and love having there pictures taken.

The school is about 95 kids from 3 different villages. Kids who don’t live in Naramara live in dorm rooms from Sunday afternoon (after church) until Friday afternoon when they head home to their villages. The families of those children take turns cooking meals for all the children in the dorms.

This is the girls side of the dorm (if you couldn't tell from all the purple and pinks in the room). It was very interesting to note the the boys side of the dorm was not only not nearly as tidy and also not as personalized.

The school yard where they play a lot of rugby (the boys) and Net ball (like basketball.......and for girls.)

The school houses kids from kindergarten to Year 8. There are no high schools on any of the islands so kids have to attend high school in Nadi. I also learned that the government does not fund kindergarten and when kids start school in Year One, there education is in English but they grow up in the villages mostly speaking Fijian.

I think this is a pretty good mission.

Because of this most villages feel early education is very important so will fund their own Kindergartens so kids will be starting to read and write in English before the start the very challenging English curriculum in Year One. When we were there, they had 2 volunteer teachers (one from Ireland, one from the USA) who were working with the Kindergarten class.

The school house.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of those school kids.

A few of the youngest kids we got to visit.

A few of the girls we met at the school. You will notice quickly that they never just stand and smile. Always have to pose. This group of girls was able to point out Canada on the map without hesitation.....and were very proud to do so.

Some of the Year 8 girls....

.....and some of the year 8 boys. They were in the process of preparing for a very big test but their teacher was kind enough to give them 3 minutes to talk with us and ask us questions. I have to say these kids, have some of the best hand writing I have ever seen.

Once we had disrupted the classes enough we headed over to wander through the rest of the village and made stops at the Shell Market, hosted by many of the ladies in the village. They mostly sell jewelry and little souvenir items. We also made a stop by the church which is the center of many social occasions in the village. There were a lot of people just hanging around, trying to stay cool. Many of those in the village who are employed, work for the local resorts. Most of them work a 6 day week and will be lucky if they can head home to their village for a day a week.

The main street in Naramara village.

Some one has to do the dishes. Of course there is a shortage of fresh water so it normally isn't wasted on scrubbing pots.

One of the families we got to met while visiting the village.

Super cute kids playing in an old fridge.

Eventually we had to leave and head back to Kuata. Before dinner I prepared for a hike to the summit of the mountain here on Kuata Island. It turned out I was the only one interest in making the hike so me and Bill made the trip (my guide…..they force someone to walk you up there). I was once again very happy to have dragged my hiking boots to the island. Now a few days later however, my socks seem to have disappeared. I have a memory of hanging them on my bunk in Coral View to dry. I have no memory of taking them down and putting them back in my pack so I am guessing they are still there. So I did what I shouldn’t and walked in my boots with bare feet. Still better than flip flops and well worth the difficult climb to enjoy the view.

My guide Bill. He did the hike in flip-flops but I think he has done it before.

The sunset. So beautiful.

See I was there. It was a great view. Just over my right shoulder you can see the resort.

After dinner I spent the night with the men and women of the resort enjoying a nice Kava ceremony. I even helped out by crushing some Kava……ok I didn’t do a very good job but that stick is very, very heavy. I am very happy to keep that being “men’s work”.

The tourists started with a bonfire but eventually I left and found some kava and some music and a great time.

The boys crushing the kava. They made it look so easy.

Me crushing the kava. Seriously I could hardly pick up the pole let alone crush some root with it.

Dani, Bill and "King" also enjoying the kava and some music. Tonight everyone was gathered to pay respects to a friend who had recently returned from Nadi to attend the funeral of a family member. Although respectful the mood was very upbeat and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Drinking the kava. I went round for round with the locals....however my bowl was much less full than the others. I would not have lasted long if I attempted to drink their bowlfuls.

I can't apologize enough for the poor video quality ( I really hope Blogger will include an HD video uploader soon!!!!). I would have liked you to have seen my friends. However I had to at least share some of the music with you. I really enjoyed it.

Eventually my night ended (just before midnight). The kava was starting to go to my head. For the Fijians though, the night seemed to be just beginning. Most of them were up until 4am.

Julie