Travelling Book Fiji page
Information from Kate Mowbray (18 yrs), a Volunteer on Ovalau.
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My experience of Fiji....so far! I'm currently volunteering in Fiji for 7 months as part of my GAP year between school and university. I arrived late January just as the school year started and im heading off at the end of the second term, so I'm currently half way through my placement and can't believe how fast the time has flown by! Stepping off the plane from England into the baking heat of unfamiliar Nadi seems like a distant memory now. I came with a large group of volunteers from England and Australia but after the first week we had all gradually dispersed to the different areas of Fiji until I found myself on my own at my placement, with the nearest volunteers being a short boat ride to a neighboring island!
Home for me is a school to the east of the mainland on a island called Ovalau, specifically Viro. Viro is a small rural village, its fortunate enough to have 24hr electricity and running water unlike many of the other local villages. The primary school itself is very small with 51 kids in the main school (ages 6-13) and 18 kids in the kindergarten. I spent my time assisting the four teachers in the main school who teach eight classes between them. Each teacher has two classes in their classroom and has the challenge of teaching two lessons simultaneously! No day is ever the same and the work I do includes tutoring some of the kids who are slow learners, reading with the kids, sorting out the Library (which was just a pile of books in the corner of the room when I arrived), office work as I'm the only person who knows how to work the one computer or I fill in for teachers when they are sick. The kids in the school are always so polite and eager to learn it makes teaching so enjoyable.
Living in another country which is so different from your own there are a lot of things you have to get used to such as the weather,the food or the language. For me the biggest difference from England is the culture especially in the villages, that's were you really see what Fiji is like, once you get past the beach resorts! A Fijian village is like one big extended family all living close by in separate houses connected by a couple of paths or centered around the church or village green. One of the biggest things I noticed in my village is how friendly everyone is to each other. Its impossible to walk past someone's house and not be invited in for tea or stop and have a chat. Village life is simple and houses are normally very basic and often money is very tight, but to them this always seems irrelevant. Fijian people laugh, joke and smile more than any other group of people I've met.
Ok so i could not talk about village life without mentioning Yaqona (also known as Grog or Kava). This is one of the oldest traditions, this drink is a mild narcotic which looks like muddy water. It was used ceremonially by chiefs and priests but today is part of Fijians daily life nation wide. There are a few basic protocols that should be followed; sitting cross-legged facing the chief (or if absent the highest ranked person present) and the tanoa (the large wooden bowl in which the grog is served), never turn your back or point your feet to the tanoa, there are more but these are the most important. Most evenings are spent drinking grog as the villages are usually quite quiet so this is a cheap and popular way of socialising.
Link to map showing location of Levuka, Fiji
Link to: A guide to Levuka and Ovalau by The Levuka Ovalau Tourism Association
Link to: Children of Fiji charity website
Ovalau photos from Children of Fiji
The book has now been sent to Australia.
