Taxi Cabs in Fiji - Jay

The primary mode of transportation in fiji is walking. People walk everywhere. If they have jobs, they walk to work. If they need groceries, they walk to the market. If they are of school-age? Yep, they would walk to school.

But, beyond walking, most people take Taxi's. Fiji is speckled with Taxi cabs. There are taxi cabs in the cities, along the inter-town roads, and even in the villages. Most of the taxis are run down cars with automatic transmissions. The insides are torn up, banged up or rusted through. Driving in them feels like a child's go-cart rumbling down a hill out of control. Though there is often a note (hand written on the dash) stating that seat-belts should be worn, none of the drivers wear one. There are no seat belts in the back seat and on many occasions the front passenger device is either broken or non-existent.

Most of the drivers are of Indio-Figian descent and were born in either Suva or Nandi. They speak english well enough to communicate with passengers, but, despite the area (including Suva) not being that vast, they often don't know all of the streets or targeted destinations. On several occasions, our driver has had to call into their office to get directions (or at least that is what I think they were saying (in Hindi).

And I dont want to intimate that the drivers are bad, but I will say that they are a bit erratic. There is often swerving, honking, quick stops, and otherwise spotty driving. 
Much of the problem with the driving though cannot be associated with the drivers, nor the cars. Rather the roads, the round-a-bouts, and the dogs play a significant role. The roads are full of potholes. And I mean big pot holes. Two feet wide, 6 -12 inches deep and scattered across most roads. 
Additionally, there are many round-a-bouts stationed around the streets of Suva (and other towns). They are a great tool for controlling traffic, but the Taxi drivers also use them as sling-shots to spin their guests from side to side in the back seat of their cars. There are also packs of feral dogs that roam around the cities. They often linger in the roads slowly meandering together (or attacking cars as they pass by). The taxi drivers often honk and swerve toward the dogs to scare them a bit so they do not get hit.

Despite the variety of Issues and oddities of taxis in Fiji. they are certainly a valuable way of life.

Fiji Village - Easton

My experience in a village in Fiji was excellent. I stayed in a typical village, played with the local kids, and saw a sand dune next to the South Pacific Ocean.

The Village, called Vunavutu, is a typical Fijian village.  There were about 36 houses with 6 families amongst them. This leaves about 6 houses per family. Within each home, lived about 11 people.  In the houses, there is not much furniture. They normally eat on the hard floor with weaved mats. Their kitchens are outside the house in different buildings. For laundry, they use a stick and a bucket with clothes in it. They smash the laundry into the bucket with water. Then, they dry it by using lines across two poles. They have to grow their own food in places called plantations. They go to the plantation to pick the food for the family each day.  

There are a lot of kids in the village. I counted about 25 kids ranging in age from 1 month to 18 years. There is a lot of spae for the kids to play outside. THey can play around the whole village and in the river that flows near the plantation. Every morning, the kids start their day at the main house. THe kids are very playful. They like sports such as rugby and soccer... and play with their friends, even in the rain.

We visited the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. To get there, you walk up a couple of large hills, then you see the ocean. The waves were huge. The water is salty and very warm. When playing in the water, there are times that you should not get in front of someone else, because the waves might carry you and slam you into them. For example, I was standing in front of my brother when an enormous wave hit me and I slammed into my brother's face. He fell backwards and we both floated to the shore.


When leaving the sand dunes, you come to more hills, then look for a big star in the side of one of the hills. The star was made by someone's feet walking in a pattern. Be careful coming down the hill. Do not run as fast as  you can or else you might trip and get sand all over yourself.

This was my experience in Vunavutu Village, Fiji. I definitely would want to come back again.

Coconuts - Easton

There are many coconuts in Fiji. People climb coconut trees to get the coconuts. Climbing a coconut tree looks very scary. Mostly kids climb coconut trees. Some of the coconut trees and some of them are small. Coconut trees are everywhere in Fiji. I've see coconuts that are green and some that are yellow. The milk inside tastes like flavored water.

The Village Song - Jay

Two days ago, we took our family to a Fijian village called Vunavutu. It is located just outside of Sagitoka, near the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. The village has 3 clans (Families) that work the nearby plantation to survive. A future blog post will highlight the village and the life that they lead.

We spent only a short time in the village, but it was an amazing adventure and life changing for us. Our guide for this adventure was Stee, the nephew of one of the families. He is an incredible man with a passion for music and all things good. As such, I wrote a song for him to sing along his most excellent guitar play. He is going to work on it to produce it at some point. But in the interim, here are the words to:

Life in the Village

Life in the village... A great place to be

If you come and visit... You will see / We love Fiji

Starts with the kava... When you arrive

Let know the Fiji gods... You are alive

No time to linger... Many things to do

Life in the village... They will help you

Outside with the children... Go run and play

Start in the morning... Stay out all day

<Chorus>

Out to the plantation... We have food to grow

How do we get there... The grass path will show

If you want to eat it... You better plant it deep

Time is the benefit... The rewards you'll reap

Get yourself a coconut... Climb up a tree

Send one of the children... Up like a monkey

<Chorus>

Ladies in the kitchen... Full mean to cook

Working all together... Come take a look

One makes the vegetables... One makes the rice

Food for the family... No thinking twice

Tastes like a miracle... You soon realize

The elders are experienced...They are very wise

<Chorus>

No standing idly... No feeling blue

To be part of the family... There are things to do

Out to the wood pile... Chop for the fire

Dont let the flame run out... Or life will expire

Go pound the kava root... Make it nice and fine

We do it together... What's yours is mine

<Chorus X2)

Raiwaqa Basketball - Jay

Raiwaqa (pronounced "rywonga" is comparable in the US to Compton or Harlem, in that there are many kids in that neighborhood that are clamoring for something to do to keep ot of trouble. Enter Saula Koroi, the President of Fiji Basketball Association. He, along with numerous others, I'm sure) work tirelessly to help these kids through the sport of basketball. He also coaches the Women's and Men's National Youth teams of Fiji.

We received a call through a contact in Fiji named Jim Tora. In addition to being a generally good guy, he also used to play basketball for the Fijian National Basketball Team. He informed us that each day during the week upcoming was a basketball clinic for the younger kids of Raiwaqa neighborhood at Ed's Court (Named after a Peace Corp volunteer years ago).

So we went to check it out. Karen and I, plus the Kreshel boys piled into a cab with some items that we brought with us from home. We drove to what was a nice facility in the middle of this Raiwaqa neighborhood. We arrived a bit early to the prescribed clinic hours so we could see what was going on.

When we got there, there were 3 or 4 kids wearing flip-flops or no shoes at all sharing one basketball taking shots at a dilapidated backboard and rim. The hoops had no nets, the concrete surface showed worn markings on the floor outlining the free throw and three point lines.

We set down our things. Karen positioned herself strategically with her SLR camera to follow the flow of the game... And the boys and I walked onto the court.

Bringing two basketballs of our own, we sauntered onto the court where the other boys were playing. We joined in on the play. We made some shots, missed others. The boys took some wild 3-pointers that clanged off of the rim and others fell straight through the net-less hoops. The Kreshel boys were able to establish their credibility through their athleticism, competitive nature, and distance shooting.

After about 15 minutes of shoot around, one of the elder Fijian boys indicated, in broken English, that we should join them in a game. So we did. We split up the teams and started what would turn out to be a series of full-court basketball games with the local kids of Fiji. Awesome!

I (in what some might call my typical style) helped to shuffle kids of different ages, skill levels, and genders onto and off of the court. We played 5-aside games to 3 baskets... King of the Court! We played for about 30 minutes when the "older brothers" showed up. These boys, I learned later were the siblings of the youths that were playing with us as well as (some of them) members of the aforementioned Fijian Youth National basketball team. They, seing the energy on the court, sidled up and demanded to play. Waiting their turn (I demanded back) they were worked into the rotation with the rest of the kids.

Soon after... "Coach Saula" arrived. He, with great respect from the kids gathered them together for a quick prayer and then a set of clinic drills. Several of the original youth pulled on the arms of the Kreshel boys, encouraging them to join in on the practice session (of which they obliged). For the next hour, both Coach Saula and I shared the drill responsibilities and taught the kids basic basketball skills: dribbling, passing, pivots, jump stops, and shooting. The kids soaked up the skills and the attention.

As it was time for us to depart, we pulled the core group of about 12 kids together for a quick photo-op.  We left them with the items we brought from home, including: Two (new-in-box) basketball nets - which will have to be taped in place because the typical rings to hold on the net are so rusted and broken off that they will not function); Two basketballs we arrived with and; y youth sized basketball jerseys to be handed out to some of the kids - the jerseys belonged to the Kreshel Boys... some were their Golden State Warriors jerseys and others were last year's NJB game worn youth club jerseys. THe Fijian boys loved these jerseys and even the possibility of getting one. Sadly we could not provide one for each of the boys.

After high-fives and half-hugs, we departed... feeling like we impacted these kids. I could tell that a couple of them had some real talent. It will be interesting to see if any of them can some day find themselves playing on an even larger stage...

The Has Beens - Jay

Two times now I have been able to play soccer with "the Has Beens". These are a group of guys in Suva that get together 1-2 times per week to play in a pick-up futsol game at a local park. The play is descent. A lot of mostly fit and quality players come out. It is smart and touch soccer that makes an exciting and quick paced game. 

Most of the players are 35 and older, are Australian or from New Zealand. There are two other Americans that play, along side a number of Fijian players. At least half of the over all group, I'd gather, played either at a level of college or higher... Or high club ball.

Apparently one of the Fijian players that came out last time used to play on the Fijian national team (when he was younger).  And there are one or two that are out there that really have no place being there... But that's fine too.

The play is fairly physical and competitive, although, they did accommodate the Kreshel boys out here for a few minutes during the last session. Both Creighton and Easton got some touches on the ball during the game. It's a little scary because the players don't really hold back much on the play.  But the boys did fine. 

There are a couple of  young Fijian players (25-30)  that are solid. Super fast, very physical, and quite vocal. What I noticed is that they don't pass much and when they do, they seem to look for other Fijian players. Comfort I'd gather.

For the rest of the group... They are mostly expats from either the embassy of their respective countries, employees at an non-governmental agency (NGO), or the spouse of an employee of one of the above. 

For some, the experience as purely an opportunity to get some exercise, while others leverage it as a phenomenal networking tool. A very cross global group of people with access to great resources.

These "Has Beens" have it figured out!

A New Place - Karen

Yesterday marked the midway point of our time in Fiji and we have officially transferred temporary homes.  Josh, another friend of the Guerno’s and posted in Fiji for Peace Corps has graciously opened his home to share with us for the second part of our trip.  

Josh is originally from Boston, but has lived 20 years in Seattle so there was an affinity to the northwest in our discussions last night.  We are all settled in and we are now shifting from vacationing touring to more focus on volunteering this week. More to come on that later today!