See you later
It didn’t really hit me that I would actually be leaving so soon until I phoned Kate on Sunday morning. She was due to fly out on Sunday afternoon, and I wanted to see her before I left, so I was just calling to find out when she would be heading to the airport. One of the first things she said was “I can’t believe this day has finally come”, and I realised then that my time is also running out fast. After I put the phone down, I started crying like a little baby. I mean full-on, tears-streaming down my face, snotty-nose, drooling crying. For nearly an hour I couldn’t stop; “Waaah Kate’s leaving and then I have to leave. Waah”. But finally I managed to pull myself together. Bill and I went with Kate to the airport, and there we met up with Emma and her friend, and also Saula. Kate had a little visa-difficulty (she didn’t have one), but this was soon sorted out, and away she went to Melbourne. All of us were really sad to see her go. These past seven months, Kate and I have been through a lot together – both good and bad – and I will really miss her. Luckily I didn’t embarrass myself by crying again at the airport – I think I had run out of tears by then!
Since finishing at Red Cross, I’ve been spending quality time with my Fijian family, preparing to leave, saying my goodbyes and buying souvenirs. Last week I had to go to Suva to get a visa so I can visit China on the way home. I was there for two nights. On the first night, we visited the 2008 Hibiscus festival, which was taking place in Albert Park. The Hibiscus festival is like a big fun-fair; there were rides, food-stalls, candyfloss, music and live performances. The festival is a big deal here, with many companies sponsoring individuals to run as candidates for various Hibiscus titles, such as Hibiscus King, Hibiscus Queen etc. The judging of the these candidates is even televised! It was great to experience the atmosphere of the Hibsicus festival first hand, even if it was only for a short time.
I divided the rest of the week between attending the church conference and moping over my boils. The church conference was pretty spectacular. Members of AGOFI churches (Apostles Gospel Outreach Fellowship International) from all over Fiji and even further afield to attend the conference here in Lautoka. Each evening, from Tuesday to Sunday last week, they came to the church to watch various performance items, which were then followed by a sermon and then alter-call. A different colour was allocated for each day (for e.g. red on Wednesday, Purple of Thursday), and it was lovely to see so many people wearing different outfits of the same colour. It was great fun to watch the performance items (mostly dances) each evening. There was a group from the Cook Islands who were particularly good! On Thursday evening, the Natakawaga Youth once again performed our meke/action song. This time we had matching t-shirts (which were screen-printed by some of the boys and looked very professional) and purple sulus. I don’t think I made any mistakes this time!
Preparing to leave is very hard. Fiji feels like home now, and it is scary to think that in a few days I will drive to the airport, board a plane, and be gone. Its hard to think of life going on as usual here without me. A lot of stuff happens in seven months- if someone had told me back in January about how everything would pan out, I probably wouldn’t have believed them! I have always kept this blog very optimistic, but that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been bad times. There have been times when I felt frustrated, lonely and even scared. There have been days when I just couldn’t stop crying. But never, not even at my lowest point, did I ever feel like packing it in and going home. The challenges that I have faced have made the experience more memorable, and the support that I have received has been amazing.
Moreover, there have been many great things that I never found time to write about on this blog. There was Alesi’s 16th Birthday, when we had barbecue chops and sausage for dinner, and a huge cake. There was my trip to the village Namara, where I went riding on Tamana’s horse, taking it right into the river for a swim. On the way there, I had two hot chocolates at a cafe in Rakiraki, and they were the best hot chocolates I have ever had. There was my trip to Suva with ‘Young Men’s’, a Christian dance group. They performed a concert and then we had the most carb-laden dinner ever – dalo, cassava, noodles and potatoes (and meat). Then there were Kate and my secret outings to have cake and coffee… and the time we got busted! I could go on for hours. The point is, my trip to Fiji has been an unforgetable and amazing experience, and my love goes out to all who have made it possible. Its not ‘goodbye’, its ’see you later.’
Red Cross Farewell
People here often ask me if I like Fiji, and I always tell them ‘yes, a lot.’ Then they usually ask why, and I tell them ‘because it’s beautiful, and the people are friendly.’ Its a boring answer, because that is the stereotype of Fiji, but its true! Sometimes the person laughs and asks what’s so beautiful about Lautoka. My mum also keeps asking me to write about what the city is like, so here we go. You see, Lautoka is not all that different from any other city – it has shops, buses, a cinema, cafes and supermarkets. The main industry is the big FSC sugar mill, which spits out huge plumes of smoke into the sky, day and night. When I leave my house in the morning, I see it there in the distance infront of me, a thick column of black stretching into the sky; and if I walk home after dark, the smoke looks white against the night sky. Through the middle of town (next to the main shopping drag, Vitogo Parade) runs a mini-railway, and occasionally you can hear a loud sound like a fog horn as the train brings raw sugar cane to the mill. There’s a wharf (which I have only been to when I went onboard the Doulos ship). There’s a nice little promenade by the sea wall, and if you look out to sea, you can see Bekana island, and, further in the distance, Vomo. Then there’s the market, inside a huge hall, which is open everyday and filled with people selling all kinds of fruits, vegetable and spices. Off to one side, through a couple of doors so as to contain the smell, there’s the fish market, and fruther away is the handicraft section, selling mostly floor mats and handbags. Outside, bewteen the market and the bus-stand, there are more vendors, often sitting unde huge tarpaulins to protect them and their good from the sun. Once I came by the market in the middle of a Friday night. I was suprised to see so many of the vendors there- the women lying asleep in a long line, covered with blankets, and the men sitting in a circle, drinking grog and keeping watch over the goods. These were people who had come from villages to sell their produce on a Saturday, which is the busiest day in the market. The best rugby ground in Fiji is Churchill Park, which is in town. I’ve been there a couple of times but never to watch the rugby – St Thomas High School performed their variety concert there, and I also saw Jasper Williams High School do their military parade there just a few weeks ago. What really makes Lautoka beautiful is when you look up from hot, dusty Vitogo Parade, and see big craggy green hills in the distance, shrouded in clouds… or the taxi you’re in turns to go down a hill and suddenly you see the big blue sea and the Yasawa islands spread out below you. Even in an indtsrial city like this, the natural beauty of the Fiji Islands creeps in; there are palm trees wherever you look.
Friday was my final day at Red Cross. It was very hot, and none of us knew what to do with ourselves all day. We lay around aimlessly in a tent outside, most of us having stripped down to vests and shorts, and waited for afternoon to come. Even if we had wanted to, we couldn’t have done any work – the office had been broken into (again!) the night before, so we couldn’t go inside. Luckily, this time there was no money there to steal. Only the radio and (strangely) two dozen eggs were missing. In the afternoon, food-preparation started in earnest. Vegetables were peeled and sliced, the barbecue was fired up, eggs were fried, and more people began to arrive. Some time after 5pm, we were all called into the hall, and Kate and I were seated at the front. We were each given a lovely garland of flowers, and Ganpati gave a speech, thanking us for our work. Mererai gave each of us a gift. Then it was our turn to talk. I was smiling and happy and I started to thank everyone for all the wonderful expererience, for their support and friendship, and then all of a sudden I realised I was going to cry.. I couldn’t even finish my sentence. Kate picked up where I’d left off and I hid my face in my hands, half laughing anf half crying. Luckily I managed to pull myself together quite quickly- we took plenty of photos, before going outside for a delcious barbecue supper, followed by ice-cream and cake. The boys sat around in the tent with a basin of grog and a guitar, and sang beautifully until it was time for me to go. I have heard the Fijian farewell song, ‘Isa isa’ before, but it never sounded as beautiful as it did when the Red Cross boys sang it for Kate and I.
The last puppet show
Tomorrow (Thursday) will be my last proper day at Red Cross, since we’ll be having a little farewell party on Friday and in any case, Kate and I will probably be crying to much to actually do anywork. I really can’t believe that it has gone so fast! Before I left Luxembourg, 7 months seemed like a lifetime… now its almost finished and neither of us wants to go home yet! Of course I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends, eating my favourite meals, hanging out on the sofa with Pippi (my dog) and of course going to university, but Fiji has also become like home to me and its going to be very hard to leave.
Today (Wednesday) was my last Red Cross outing. We went to Teidamu Primary School to perform three puppet shows – one on water safety, one on food and nutrition, and one about ’stranger danger’ (based on little Red Riding Hood). Teidamu Primary School is a small rural school in a beautiful loaction – just up the road from Mate’s house (which I wrote about in my last post.) There is an amazing view of the coutryside, stretching away towards Lautoka, and of the sea and the Yasawa Islands. The students seemed to enjoy the show – even when the front of our puppet theatre collapsed mid-performance – and they answered some questions about the content well, so overall I think we could call the day a success! After the puppet show, we played some volleyball with the teachers while we waited for our transport. It was a lovely sunny day – in fact for the first time in months I think I have a touch of sunburn!
Last weekend I basically just took it easy. On Saturday afternoon I went down to the church where many members of the congregation have been doing building work all week. My fijian brother (Bill) and my fijian father were finishing off a signboard which they had been working on. It is really beautiful – well over 2 metres tall, with a little roof and light for each of the two signs, set in a little garden surrounded by a nice chain fence. The signs themselves are big and blue, and written on them is the name ‘Penueli Church’, and the time of services, cell groups etc. I didn’t really manage to help out much with the actual work (though I did eat a big bowl of ice-cream and oreos), so I take my hat off to those who were painting and welding until after dark. After the morning service on Sunday, the new signboard was officially unveiled by the pastors, and everyone thought it was very nice. A job well done!
The Ladyboys of Tilak High School
The end is nigh. On Monday we started a 10 day countdown to my last day at Red Cross (which will be next Friday, the 15th). Today we said goodbye to Chris, who’s placement was in Nausori and who had lunch with Kate and I today before going to the airport. Tomorrow Rob (who’s placement was in Nadi) is leaving. Its madness! All along, I had maintained that I would stick with my original plan and fly out of Fiji on the 24th of August, but today I phone Air New-Zealand and asked to change my leaving date to the 1st of September. Of course I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends back home in England and Luxembourg, and starting my studies in Plymouth, but the thing is that I now have family and friends here in Fiji too, and leaving them in going to be awful.
Last Saturday I went with Kate, Ateca and Ema (all Red Cross volunteers) to visit Mate (our Red Cross Health and Welfare Officer!) at her home, which is somewhere between Lautoka and Ba. The walk from the bus-stop to Mate’s house was great – you could see right out to sea, and it was a beautiful day; clear skies, but a bit of a breeze so it wasn’t too hot. We spent the whole morning sitting in the shade and drinking tropical root juice (kava) and watching the many tiny puppies roam around, fight, play, fall asleep etc. We had a nice big lunch (plenty of sausages and cassava), then all feel asleep! By the time we woke up, it was time to go home, because I had to get back to Lautoka in time for ‘Tilak Nite’, which Alesi and I had tickets for.
‘Tilak Nite’ was an oppertunity for students of Tilak High School to dance, sing, bang drums, etc, and raise money for their school. It was a fun evening. Barey a performance went by that didn’t involve at least one male student dressed in his sister’s sari/sulu chamba/miniskirt. Most of the performances were dances, and were really enjoyable. So far in Fiji I hadn’t seen much indian dance, but at Tilak Nite there were some great traditional indian performances which were very interesting to watch, as well as lots of meke and modern dance too. We got back quite late so on Sunday I just relaxed and went to church.
Red Cross-wise, thing are winding down now. There isn’t any point in starting something new just before we leave, so we are just doing odds and ends, drinking tea, planning our goodbye party and preparing for our final two puppet shows which we will be doing next week – one at Lautoka Chinese School and one at Teidamu Primary School. Yesterday, a group of us went to unload a container full of wheelchairs for the Sai Centre. When the Fiji Red Cross society comes across people who are in need of wheelchairs, it is the Sai Centre who provide them, so it is our duty to at least help them unload them all from the container! However this was no mean feat. The container was the size of a small bungalow and contained hundreds of boxes of unassambled wheelchairs, all of which had to be off-loaded onto a truck, driven to the warehouse, unloaded from the truck and into the lift, taken up to the second floor and then stacked up neatly. More than 10 of us (6 from Red Cross and the rest from elsewhere) began work at 11am – by 5pm, we still hadn’t quite finished! I slept very well last night! My biceps are very sore this morning though..
