Kadavu, Fiji

the connection is too slow for pictures...i will add them later because kadavu is amazing!!

Cameron and I have just gotten back to Suva, which is the capital city of Fiji and is on the mail island which is called Viti Levu. We spend a week on an island south of here called Kadavu. Our fried Dillon lives on Kadavu in a village called Vacalea (Va-tha-lay-a). We stayed with her friends family for 3 nights and camped for four nights. Kadavu is a very unspoiled island with barely any roads, cars, no electricity, or running water. The population is about 15,000 but this varries as many people spend time in Suva to work and school.

We left Lautoka (pop. 45,000, not 5,000 like I said in the last email) last Tuesday and arrived in Suva in the afternoon to do some things before we got on the ferry to Kadavu which left at midnight. While in Suva we met some friends of Dillon that were also going to ride the ferry to Kadavu that night. Poni, Va, and Iukimi immediately warmed up to us when they reallized that we were going to see Dillon, and we hung out with them until the boat ride. Cam and I had planned on hitting the computer as it was my dad's bday, and we wanted to walk around a little. Instead, Poni and Va got us really drunk and we almost missed the boat!

It is weird how we can travel a third of the way around the planet and run into people who know the only person we know in Fiji. I guess Dillon sticks out as one of the only Americans on her island.

Poni and Va took us to their family's house in Suva where we prayed together and ate dinner. I noticed a large picture of a very pretty girl on the wall that I had seen in the city and it did not strike me as something that a family would have hanging in their living room. Then Cam and I reallized that we were eating dinner with the girl from the photo. There is a Hibiscus festival going on with beauty padgents and Sophie, the girl in the picture, had won two of them. The family made us take pictures with her and she got embarrassed but we were excited to be with the Princess of Suva.

We rode the ferry all night until we reached Kadavu, where we were to meet Dillon and her friend Gus. They sent Gus's uncle to pick us up in his boat and take us to the village, Vacalea. His name was Tom. We helped him load his boat, which was about 23 ft long and 5 ft wide. He ran a shop in Vacalea and had to pick up a lot of supplies to sell in the village.

The waves were rough and it was raining. Tom looked like he knew what he was doing so we weren't worried, but this boat was basically a fiberglass shell and we were in some choppy seas. At one point, a cardboard box broke open, spilling 24 cases of butter. While Cameron and I tried to clead up the butter, Tom told us where to put it as he drove the hand held outboard motor from the back of the boat. All of the sudden, the man in front, Rafi, started yelling. Cam and I were facing the rear of the boat and before we could turn around to see what Rafi was yelling about, we crashed into a huge patch of mangrove trees! We were going pretty fast, almost full speed, and we hit the trees dead on! Tom had looked down at the butter and forgot to watch the trees. Cam flew into the cases of butter, I flew onto a bunch of other boxes, and somehow Tom and Rafi held on and manages to stay in the boat. Once we reallized what had happened we started to scramble to find toe plugs for the back of the boat so that we wouldn't sink. We did not sink, and we all started to laugh.

I must say that this is the worst crash that I have ever been in, and my leg is still sore from it a week later. Hoever, everyone was ok, the boat was ok, and Tom sold all of the butter! We all laughed about it all week, especially when we would pass by the huge hole that we created in the patch of trees. Tom felt bad, but Cam and I thought it was hilarious and all of us will certainly remember it forever.

We met Dillon at the village and she introduced us to everyone. Vacalea has about 100 people. They all farm and fish. We stayed with Tom and his family for two days. This is where Dillon has been staying as well.

Everyone in Vacalea was SO NICE to us...we ate very well. Common foods are casava and taro which are roots, noodles, bread, rice, dow (peas) spinach, and lots of fish. There are many different ways to cook everything, and it is all very very fresh. Also, "fijan ice cream" which is a budi (fat banana) cooked in warm milk.

After a few days Cam and I, Gus and Dillon took a boat ride (no cars, go everywhere by boat) to a piece of land that they have cleared and are planning to build a bure (traditional grass hut). We camped there for 4 nights and during the day we kayaked, hiked and snorkelled. It is probably the most remote place that I have ever been and I loved every minute of it.

Kadavu is like going back a few centuries. Everyone works together to maintain the village, and it works amazingly well. Vacalea has a meeting every month to designate responsibilities to all of the villagers. When we arrived, Tom and his wife Rini were staying at the school every night, acting as parents for all of the boarding students. Students stay at school for weeks at a time without their parents from the age of 5, since there are not schools in every village. It is amazing how educated the children are...all of them speak english by the age 8 or 9. Everyone in Fiji is bi-lingual. The island is also very peaceful. no one is in a hurry. FIJI TIME!!

I really love the way people live on Kadavu. Fiji is a Christian nation and every 5 or 10 minutes i find myself thinking "this is how God intended us to treat one another." There is no drinking in the villages...people only drink Kava. It is a traditional drink that is made from the root of the ava plant, and it ground into powder. It takes about 5-8 years to grow a high quality root, and brings lots of money. Kava is a narcotic and makes you kind of dumb when you drink it. Kadavu has the best kava in Fiji, and Cam and I got to drink it with the villagers. It is traditional, and everyone sits around and spends time with family and friends as they drink from the Kava bowl. It makes you kind of numb, but does not alter your mind. It did, however, alter my stomach one night as I am not used to drinking like the locals do.

We arrived back in Suva late last night where we are staying with Tom's sister and her husband. We have family here in Fiji now, and it is a wonderful feeling to know that people here care about us and look foward to seeing us again. It's hard to leave such a wonderful place but as I told Cameron as Kadavu dissapeared on our way back to Suva, if we feel like this about half of the places we go on this trip, we will have an amazing time.

Well it is time to stop writing even though I have so much to write about. We love Fiji and will be back soon! Next time you hear from me I will be in New Zealand, we fly there on sunday the 23rd! Love you all!

some Words I will teach americans:
Bula - welcome
vinaka - thank you
chilo - excuse me
laco - let's go
relax - FIJI TIME!!
mhm means NO, not yes
uhuh is yes, not no

see if you can figure out what this is: dua, rua, toro, va, lima, ono, vitu, waru, (i forgot this one) teni

times i got sick from something we don't have in the states: 1
times i was uncomfortable with how nice everyone was: once an hour!