Ah, Fiji. I must give this a nice write up because it is deserving. I am pleased to say we are finally done with the hardest part of this journey and only have a 5 day trip left at sea to reach the promised land…New Zealand. I am not joking when I say I will probably cry a big bucket of little baby girl relief tears when we arrive, like a kindergardener awaiting their mamma at the end of the day. But for now, I am enjoying my two days off and doing everything I swore I would do once back from our two week guest trip. The first of which is…I will be around Fijians and away from my crew mates for a bit of sanity. I am happy to say my first impression of Fijians sticks and has grown deeper roots with a much more solid foundation of experiences. I am so humbled by the demeanor and kindness of these people. They are simple and laid back carrying big smiles, gentleness, and hospitality. Some of the friendliest I have ever met in my life and that is no exaggeration. Among many interactions of feeling a genuine love, I have to share this kind of funny experience from the grocery store the other day.
Typically when I go to provision for the yacht, I am the asshole with three big overflowing carts of food and most people don't want to wait behind me. The poor cashier usually lets out a patient sigh as they see me wheel up to the counter. I am always so apologetic and feel bad and that is just my personality and typically for good reason because a lot of what I buy is fresh produce and it can take a while to ring up and package. I realized about halfway through checking out a massive amount of items that I had to weigh all my vegetables in a different part of the market before checking out and I had a LOT in my second cart. Embarrassed to hold up the line, I apologized to the growing number of people behind me as the clerk asked them to wait for me to go back, weigh everything, then come back and continue. I look back at the people behind me, apologize and tell the clerk to just ring me up for what she's scanned and I'll go and come back. She laughs and says, "Darling, dis is noooo problem. They can wait." Without missing a beat, the man behind me grabs my produce and disappears smiling. He returns 10 minutes later with all my produce weighed and priced. I apologized and thanked him profusely. He patted me on the back and said, "Don't worry! You worry too much! Its okay, you are on Fiji time now." The clerk laughed, the people in line laughed nodding, and it made me smile and relax. Coming from a country where you have people huffing behind you if you carry 15 items to a 10 item counter, I was amazed. And this is not just one isolated incident. It is the Fijian way. The whole point is to be happy. That is all. A lot of Aussies and Kiwis vacation here and can come off as I am sure Americans must. A bit impatient, entitled, and loud. The response from the Fijians is like throwing a dart at a pillow. It is fairly pointless. Their humility is humbling and admirable but also powerful as if to say, "No no no…This is OUR way." They MAKE you slow down by showing you how to react. Everyone begins to relax, I must think, once in the presence of a Fijian.
When we visited Wasaimo Island on our guest trip I encountered the same sort of spirit amongst the locals of the village we were in. It was magical and very much a spiritual experience for me. I looked up into the trees as my eyes would water with tears. I was emotional as though my soul were overflowing with healing water that I so badly needed to drink of. The healing waters of love. I had been around the demands of guests, the frustrations of my crew mates, the complaints brought on by bored wealth, and finding myself floundering back and forth in waves of negativity. I had bowed my head low for a few months just willing myself to make it through and truly unable to take much more. Thank God for this experience though! I stepped into this village as though stepping into an earthly version of heaven. The children had these beautiful looks of joy and innocence on their faces watching us very closely and curiously and an heir of being taken care of, not wanting anything from us but to give us love and to show us around. They smiled big, they hugged without fear or reserve, the elders smiling down at them with acceptance and approval. They didn't want for anything because their system of taking care of each other and the love and patience they put into each other was sufficient. I spoke with a couple of the school teachers of the village that had trained in the university on the mainland but chose to come back to this small village. When I asked one of the ladies why she chose this life she said, "Because I am free. I don't carry money. I don't carry keys. I have all of this around me that God provides and I do my part. The others do their part. We are all free." Wow. Just…wow. She gave me a hug and all I could say was, "Thank you." We gave coloring books, pencils, paper, and candy to the island Chief for the school. They gave me life and a mountain of love that I desperately needed. We said goodbye and I still cannot stop thinking about that experience.
Fiji is, of course, not perfect. There is a divide at times between the local Fijians and the Indians that are also a prominent culture on the islands. The Indians were brought here in the first place by the English to work the sugar cane fields after the English realized the Fijians weren't going to move very fast out in the fields. They were on island time and valued time with their families and having a peaceful relaxed life. They had no want to change and to adapt to the ways of money, which I find so darn funny. Its just their way and it is amazing. So then came the Indians with their frugal money tendencies and their hard work ethic. They are financially powerful here due to their savvy with money and own a lot of the real estate and profitable businesses. Both complain about the other's way but at the end of the day, they co-exist without too much drama. The Fijians are almost all Christians and the Indians are Hindus. They both seem to embrace the peaceful sides of their beliefs and I find this interesting how this works in almost a symbiotic manner with one group being the worker bees and the other being the social personalities. They both also have AMAZING food and as a chef, it is a dream come true. They are very different in their styles but both very rich and full of flavor. Fijians cook with coconut, pineapple, fresh fish, fire, taro root, cassava, and love their pork. Somewhat similar to Hawaiian food. The Indians have amazing curries, samosas, braised goat, roti, and tamarind based dips. Each morning myself or one of my crew mates will go to this tiny old Indian lady at the end of the marina to buy tuna and chicken roti to take back and share with the crew for breakfast. They are less than a dollar each but they are worth gold to us. I think if I could start my day off with one of these roti everyday, I would never have a bad day!
I end my time in Fiji with a couple days off and have begun my day catching up on family business and relaxing with a much needed massage. My massage therapist (a Fijian) gave me a big hug after my massage and told me I needed it because my back was so tense. Little baby girl cried again. What can I say? Love has a way of opening the floodgates within me. It has been a very difficult last few months and I would be lying to say it has all been exciting adventures and privilege. I will admit I have it good and that I don't feel it right to complain too much when I put my life into perspective. But every now and then, I am down on myself, I am needing my cup to be filled, and I am not ashamed to say I need to lean on someone to hold me and to tell me to not worry so much, to feel their love, and to relax. I must say "Vanaka!" (thank you) to the people that I have found in this beautiful land of Fiji who have been a direct answer to my prayers. My cup surely runneth over. Bula Bula!
