Fiji Day 3

I talked with a Fijian guy, Sana, often and learned quite a bit about Fijian culture.  It's fascinating to me!  Here is some information I grabbed from the hotel on the last night in Fiji:










Population:  The population of Fiji is around 825,000.  Roughly 51% of the population is indigenous Fijians, while the Indian community makes up around 46%.  The remainder is comprised of a multi-racial blend of part-Europeans, Europeans, Chinese and other Pacific islanders.


The most populated island is Viti Levu, with 75% of the overall population, followed by Vanua Levu with 18%.  The remainder of the population is spread throughout some 100 smaller islands.


Religion:  Religion is extremely influential in all aspects of Fijian society, affecting politics, government, education and interaction between and within different races.  Only 0.4% of the population is non-religious.  Together the different Christian denominations command the largest following (52.9% of the population, with the Methodist church being the dominate influence), followed by Hindus (38.1%), Muslims (7.8%), Sikhs (0.7%) and other religions (0.1%).


Visitors are welcome at any Sunday Church service in Fiji, and the experience is worth going out of your way to attend.  The singing of the Fijian choirs is beautiful, and the passion with which sermons are delivered is something to behold.  The ceremonies may be conducted in Fijian, but guest will nevertheless be welcomed with open arms.  Please leave a small donation with the church to assist with local projects.


Geography:  Fiji consists of over 300 islands dotted across an area of 518,000 square kilometres.  Only around one third of these islands are inhabited, mainly due to isolation and a lack of fresh water.  Australia lies 3,160 km to the southwest of the Fijian archipelago, Hawaii 5,100 km to the northeast, and New Zealand 2,120 km to the south.


The largest island is Viti Levu at 10,390 sq. km, followed by Vanua Levu with an area of 5,538 sq. km.  The capital city of Suva, the largest city in Fiji, is located on the southeastern side of Viti Levu, with Lautoka and Nadi (where the airport is, and where we stayed our last night) located on the Western side.  Viti Levu also has Fiji's highest peak, Mt. Victoria, at 1,323 m.


Climate:  Fiji boasts an ideal South Pacific tropical maritime climate throughout the year, largely due to the expansive ocean surrounding the islands.  Unlike land masses, which can change temperature in a few hours, the sea surface heats and cools slowly, reducing the frequency of local atmospheric disturbances.


There are, of course, local variations to this.  All of the large islands have mountain ranges lying across the path of the prevailing easterly and south-easterly trade winds, which results in frequent cloud and rainfall on the windward eastern sides of the islands, notable affecting Suva.


Fiji has two main seasons:  the "dry" season from May to October, and the "wet" or "cyclone" season from November to April.  However, these seasons produce varied results for each side of Viti Levu, with the Mamunuca Islands enjoying around 300 days of uninterrupted sunshine each year and Suva experiencing roughly 300 days with at least some rain.


Whilst there is much talk annually of the threat of cyclones during the "wet" season, cyclones of a destructive magnitude are actually relatively rare occurrences in the Fiji Islands.
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We took a trip to the island's main village this morning after breakfast.  It was ~ 45 minute walk up the mountain and down and over to the other side.  This is where I was really able to experience how the Fijians live, and it was so interesting!  Some of us draped towels over our heads to keep the sun off.  There is a dress code in the village; we couldn't wear anything that exposed our shoulders or our knees.

Some of the girls moved past annoying for me today. Again, I missed the Erasmus students a lot and the girls on the team.  From my experience thus far, there is a notable difference between the type of people choosing to go to Norway versus Australia.  I heard this on repeat on the way over, "I'm so hot.  I'm so out of shape.  I'm dying.  I'm so tired.  This sucks."  Ahhhhhhhh!  At least on the way back I was able to go ahead of them with the guys.  Some of them are so lazy that they paid $25.00 to take a boat back instead of walking for 45 minutes.  That makes me sick.

BUT, despite this, the village trip was one of my favorite parts!  It was so interesting to see how they live, where they go to school, attend church, and observe some of their daily life.  The Fijian kids were adorable!  I wanted to take them home with me.  They loved to be in pictures. :)

There are ~400 people living in the village.  Everyone seemed so relaxed and friendly.  When we came, it seemed that most people were just hanging out with their families and/or friends in the shade.  A lot of women were selling handmade jewelry and other crafts.  I bought a picture frame, shell, bracelet, and a couple necklaces.  You could tell they put a lot of effort into them, and I wanted to support them.

In the afternoon, we had a spear throwing and "water balloon, partner throwing-catching" games/contests.  This was really fun.  The Fijians could throw the spears really far!  I had thrown the farthest spear (for girls) in practice, but unfortunately didn't so well when it came to the round that mattered. :P  Then, I was partners with Solomoni for the balloon throwing contest, and we made it to the final round against Matt and Luke.  We lost, but had a good time. :)






I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in a hammock and swimming.  Everyone else hit up happy hour from 5:30 to 6:30, but I went running with Matt on the beach instead.  It was a really good workout and harder to run on the sand than I thought!

We ate dinner, and then it was Kava time!  Kava is very popular in Fiji (it is their national drink!) and has been used in traditional ceremonies for the past 3000 years.  Kava is still used in ceremonies, but also as a beverage at the end of the day when friends want to gather and relax.  It is made from the root of the pepper tree (piper methysticum).   This was both interesting and fun!  We all grabbed pillows and sat around in a big circle.  They showed us how to make it and talked about the history and tradition behind it.  They had us clap once and say "bula" before we drank it.  Afterwards, everyone else clapped three times.

It looks like dirty water, and I can't really describe the taste.  The Fijians are all "addicted" to it and have it 1-2 times daily.  Everyone is supposed to stay until it is all gone.  It numbs your mouth - my lips and tongue were slightly numb.  And it definitely made me calm and relaxed!  I had three cups, but the Fijians had like ten.  We stayed up late and shared stories and hung out.  It was really fun!  I bought some Kava on the mainland before heading to Australia so friends at home can try it. :)


Here's a website if you want to read more about it:  http://www.kava.com/

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