It is now Saturday and we have now been on this glorious adventure for a full week and each day keeps getting better and better. This past Tuesday is when we made the trip from Lautoka to Rabulu, which is the village where we will be staying until the 3rd of October. Before meeting Kali (our local contact who would take us to the village) the whole group was overcome with a sense of excitement intermixed with nervousness since none of us, including Dan and Greta, had any idea what to expect. Upon arrival though all of those feelings subsided to make way for the sheer amazement of how happy these villagers were to see us. We were greeted by two men dressed in tradional warrior clothing and a man named Elijah who led us to the meeting hall where all of the fun begins. To our right was maybe 25 to 30 local children staring at us and in front of us was a whole choir of men and women singing a welcoming song for us. Dan and Greta got invited to dance (little did we know that this would be a recurring theme during our stay) and then it was time for the welcoming service. After all of the villagers piled into the hall Dan, Alistair, Trent and I took off our shoes and shouted Dua! Dua! Dua! and waited for the villagers response. After they responded it was time for the girls to make their entrance, except they had to shout something much more difficult, so i guess the guys lucked out in this situation. Once inside, we all sat at the front of the meeting hall, with 300 faces staring straight at us. It was like nothing I have ever been a part of before. The village proceeded to sing, chant, clap, and pray for us and welcome us into their lives. It was truly a moving ceremony that got me incredibly excited to live among these people for the next two weeks and they have not dissapointed.
I could go on and on about the endless things we have seen, heard, felt, and lived during the few days that we have stayed in Rabulu but I’m sure all you parents out there want to hear more than that. After the welcoming cermony, meeting our families we will be staying with, and eating dinner we danced all night. It was a once in a lifetime experience. After the first wonderful night we started the true reason for us going to Rabulu; the footpath. Our job for the next two weeks is to build a footpath from the preschool entrance to the main road since the ground gets very muddy during the rainy season. The first day was tough, a lot of unorganized digging and yelling, but by the afternoon we got our act together and managed to dig a good portion of the trench we would need to lay the cement. Over the next couple of days we have made significant progress, and the footpath now stretches about halfway to the road. Personally, I have taken much pride in the work that our group has done alongside the villagers and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Aside from working during the day, we have also taken some time for the group to reflect on our experiences so far and everyone has nothing but positive things to say. It is hard not to enjoy the time here since everyone is happy, welcoming, friendly, and overjoyed that we are here. It is a custom here, as well as the rest of Fiji, for every person to say hello to eachother and I couldnt even count the times I have heard Bula! or Yandra! (Good Morning).
It has only been a week in Fiji and I can already sense the changes in my personality and mindset, I think these Fijians are getting to me. The whole group has really opened their minds to new things, whether it be eating a new food or engaging a local villager to see how they are doing. The villagers are endlessly interested in what we have to say about America but the same is also in reverse. I cannot get enough information about their language, culture and just all around lifestyle (For example I learned how to count from 1 to 10 yesterday). Even though living in the village gives us less time to bond as a group, and sometimes I miss that, whenever we do get a chance to sit down as a group it just makes it that much better. I really can’t wait for the next week here in Rabulu because I have no idea what lies ahead. Moce! (Goodbye)
P.S Hi familly, miss you guys! Hope everything is good back home! Go PHILLIES!
-Matt Schafer