As I traveled a full day, nearly twenty-four hours, halfway around the world to help teach English and health awareness to the children of Nakavika Village in Fiji, I hadn’t a clue what to expect. It had taken a lot of courage to leave my family and friends from home as I traveled into the unknown alone.
The Trip Around The Island
After making my way through customs in the Nadi International Airport, I walked up to the Information Center to ask how I could get to Pacific Harbour. I was informed that the Sunbeam bus would arrive at 9:00am near the “Departures” sign across the way. While waiting for the Sunbeam bus, I phoned my boyfriend, worked on a video and kept myself busy. I wasn’t in any hurry; I guess, I was already on “Fiji time.”
The morning progressed and 9:00am came quicker than expected. As the Sunbeam bus rolled to a stop, I gave my 85-liter Osprey pack and suitcase to a Fijian man who loaded it under the bus while I climbed inside and took a seat among the other Fijians, both indigenous and Indo.
When the bus slowly strolled out of the airport’s drive and entered into the openness of the Viti Levu island, the speakers blared Britney Spear’s “Womanizer.”
At that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay.
Landing at Uprising
After three hours of winding in and out of lush mountain tops and small villages, the bus halted at the entrance of the Uprising Beach Resort in Pacific Harbour where I would stay for the night – before heading to Nakavika the next day. The bus seemed to zip away as my last bag was pulled from underneath. There I sat trying to pull the weight of two heavy bags over my shoulders and pull the suitcase (which was filled with donations for the children) from behind.
Within seconds my body had adjusted to Fiji’s climate and began sweating buckets…I’m sure it didn’t help that I was wearing my skinny jeans, a black t-shirt, rain boots and had been strapped with heavy bags from head to toe. I struggled along the rocks and gravel with my bags, walking towards Uprising’s reception area, which seemed like light-years away. To my surprise, and to my luck, a Fijian man asked if I wanted some help. In my mind I thought “no”, but the word “yes” slipped from my lips.
A teenage boy grabbed my suitcase and my bag that was strapped to my front. Besides the weight that was lifted from my shoulders, any worries that were left were lifted, too. Although I had traveled thousands of miles away from home, I knew that I would not be journeying the rest of the trip single-handedly. After checking in at the front desk, I turned to thank the teenage boy, only to find that he was gone.
Joining TNP Team
Once I settled in at the beach resort, I rested my bum on a cozy little seat inside the resort’s restaurant and set my computer on top of a table to chat with my boyfriend on Skype. As I reassured him that I had arrived safely, a voice called “Jackie.” I turned around, and to my surprise, Garrett Russell with The Nakavika Project (TNP) was standing there. This was my first face-to-face meeting with Garrett and as soon as we both recognized each other, we hugged in relief. The conversation with my boyfriend was coming to an end, and as soon as it did, Garrett filled me in on the latest about the project as well as any need-to-know info regarding the village and it’s people. It was great to have someone to chat with for my first night in Fiji….
The next morning, Lindsay and Abel from TNP met Garrett and I at the resort.
Scrambling Up to the Village
After talking about getting situated in the village and the expectations of TNP, Lindsay handed me three loose-leaf papers from children in the village. All three papers were decorated with hand-scribbled colorful letters spelling, “Welcome to Fiji, Jackie.”
I already loved the children of Nakavika before I met them!
After chatting with Lindsay and Abel for a while, we grabbed Garrett and together we hopped on a bus to Suva to do some grocery shopping, grab some lunch, buy me a sulu and catch the carrier to Nakavika.
When we arrived to Suva, the carrier was nowhere to be found and we struggled to find a place to stash my bags as we ran our errands around town. Abel found some village members on a street corner who were waiting for the carrier. Without much discussion, I was told to leave my bags with these “strangers” as we ran our errands. I didn’t have much time to think, so I did as I was told and ran blocks away to MHCC – a well-known supermarket…We had less than an hour to complete our errands and return to the street corner before the carrier would leave for Nakavika.
We bought some comfort food to last one week in the village, grabbed some kabobs at a local restaurant, purchased a sulu and met back at the street corner to find all of my bags and all of my belongings safe and untouched. From that moment, I knew I could trust the people of Nakavika.
After two-and-a-half hours bumping up the mountain to Nakavika, we arrived to our final stop.
A Bittersweet Welcoming
Unfortunately, a hurricane from a few weeks ago had collapsed part of the road, so we all piled out of the carrier and grabbed our stuff to jump over some rocks that had jammed together forming a bridge-like formation over the river. After crossing the unstable structure, we would have to walk approximately one kilometer to reach our final destination – Nakavika Village. However, as soon as I turned around after paying for my portion of the carrier ride, I realized that all of my bags were strapped to Fijian men as they ran across the rocks. I hadn’t a thing to carry for the rest of stroll.
And, thus, I realized that Fijians live to serve others.
When we reached the village of Nakavika, we were informed of some terrible news: a man from the village had just suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his plantation. The village was in shock and disbelief – he was only forty-five years old.
Lindsay and Garrett offered their home to me for the night, so that I wouldn’t be a burden to the mourning host family who was very close to the deceased man. We were informed that the family was waiting for me and wanted me to come that night.
Aside from the tragic incident that had just occurred, my host family whom I had never met before had already cared for me and wanted to me to be a part of their family.
As I crouched on the floor to shake hands with my new host-mother she explained that I would have my very own room with a bed. She said that this was all for me to call my own over the next few weeks.
I hadn’t expected such incredible hospitality – I had brought a sleeping bag and pillow thinking I would just get a space on the floor at night (and I would have been happy with just that). The host-family made me feel welcome and like one of their own, from the moment I said “Sambo saka.”
Kava on the Lips
Shortly after setting my bags down in my new room, I was invited to partake in a fundraiser at one of the neighbor’s houses. Although I was quite tired, I knew this would be a great opportunity to meet some people from the village.
The village was raising funds for a girl who intended to attend higher education. Each person paid $1 Fijian for a drink of kava – a mild narcotic.
As I sat among the men (old and young) around the large mixing bowl to experience my first kava ceremony, I was tickled to hear “Bula, Jackie,” uttered by each man, one-by-one, before filling their cheeks with the mucky mixture.
And then, I was offered my first round of kava that I graciously accepted. As I downed the low-tide fluids, I knew I was accepted by many of the village members!
A Fijian “Baptism” in the River
After getting a good first night’s rest in Nakavika, Garrett, Lindsay and other village children were excited to go swimming and wanted to show me Bukulo. I put on a swimsuit and covered it with a pair of shorts, t-shirt and, of course, my sulu. As we walked past the Nakavika Primary School, I had not idea where we were heading, but I was anxious to see more of the scenic Fijian surroundings.
As soon as I took my first step down the mountain on the narrow dirt path, I kept my eyes glued to the ground hesitating to locate a safe spot for the next foot to step in order to keep me from sliding down the way.
Although, my slow, meek movements created a traffic jam of children behind me, no one pushed or shoved or yelled at me to move quicker. Each footstep down the mountain was another challenge after the other. As my left foot stepped down about one and a half feet at a steep angle and my balance began to give, I was caught by the hand of Mario who continued to help me down the mountain, every slip of the way.
I finally made it to the riverbank; and I made it without a single scrape – thanks to my new friend, Mario!
This is just a snapshot of my first three days in Fiji.
I was pleasantly surprised to encounter such great people who were willing to help me out – when in fact, I had come to bring my help and assistance to the children of Nakavika.
I guess “what goes around, comes around” worked in my favor this time and I knew that this trip was going to be an unforgettable journey!
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