Snorkeling, Village Visit Ethics and a Kava Ceremony

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Most days I've been so tired that I'm not awake any earlier than I have to be. Today, I happened to wake up as the sun was rising, though. Figuring no one else was awake and outdoors, I pulled on a pair of shorts and ran outside in my underwear to see the pink yellow sunrise. It wasn't cold but the mosquitoes were already awake so I snapped a quick picture. It wasn't until then, as I was about to head back inside, that I realized I wasn't the only one outside in my underwear. A few other people had the same idea! So, I ran back in and hopped back into bed for a little bit.

That day Billy and I wanted to do the snorkeling safari. At that point, Chris had come down with the "runs," Joy was worried about seasickness and Linna was zombied out on benadryl from heat and mosquito bites. Nathan wasn't sure he was going to join us at first but then he finally decided to come along with me and Billy. Tony and Laura just wanted to lounge around the resort. We had to wait to head out for a little bit because Eli and Toki wanted to show us how to open up a coconut. There was also a large family on the resort now that they needed to cater to as well. So we watched the demonstration and listened to the many uses of coconuts and the trees they grow on.

Afterwards, we headed out on two separate boats to go snorkeling. Eli went with the family group and the two Italians, Toki took the three of us. He would throw bread over the side of the boat that would cause the fish to swarm around you. It was so neat!! I could feel all their black and white striped fins and scales brushing and tickling as they ran into me. The area we snorkeled in was just beautiful. We spent a lot of time just bobbing around looking at colorful fish and coral. It was mesmerizing. It was like the stuff we see in aquariums, of course, but here it was in the wild. Red fish. Blue sea stars. Coral of every color. Something I'd never experienced before. I did happen to see a black and white snake a couple times. At first I wasn't sure if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.. I hadn't recalled hearing anything about sea snakes in Fiji.... I asked Eli about it later when we were back on the beach. His eyes grew big and said that they were rare but yes, there were occasionally sea snakes in their lagoon. He said they were very poisonous and stay away from one if we see it. Which of course I did. Snakes freak me out in general. Like not terrified run for the hills screaming... but just stay the eff away from me.

I sat on the beach with Eli and some of the other guests while Nathan and Billy continued to snorkel. We talked about our lives. I learned Eli had a family he earns money for. Shortly thereafter we got a lesson in climbing coconut trees. I realized that a lot of the trees were notched (by a large knife or axe or machete or something) which could act as foot holds. I got partway up a tree but I just didn't have the upper body strength to get more than 5ft up! It made watching the Fijians scramble up those trees all the more impressive. Nathan got about as far as I did and called it a day but Billy made it to the top of course. Which impressed the Fijians once again. After taking our turns climbing, we hopped back in our boats to head back to the resort for lunch and relaxing.

That afternoon Chris still wasn't feeling well so he didn't accompany us on the Village Visit. This was a pretty neat part of our trip. Toki took me, Billy, Laura and Joy on a boat ride across the lagoon to a nearby village. He had family over there. We had to pay a small fee to cover the cost of gas for the boat and a small fee to the village for entering. We parked the boat close to a resort, and then walked along a sand path through trees and bush. As soon as we came close, Toki instructed us to put our sarongs on. Modesty is very important in Fijian culture. We were already wearing shirts with sleeves. Initially, Eli had told us back at the resort that we'd be fine without sarongs, just wear sleeves. Before leaving, Toki was horrified at his suggestion and made us all bring sarongs anyway. It was no big deal to us either way, ofcourse. I'd rather not offend anyone when we're the guests! Toki said it'd been awhile since Eli had much interaction in the villages and indicated he was being lax about the rules. Anyway, we first came upon their very small church- it had a lot of construction going on. Then we arrived to the village itself, which was rather large and held about 400 people. Toki told us it was one of the wealthier villages. Many people had generators and power, the structures were mostly wood and stone. There used to be more traditional bures (made of grass) within the village but they were wiped out by Hurricane Winston last year. On our way through the village, most the people we saw were at their huts with children running around. We walked by two of this biggest shade trees I've ever seen, with two men just sitting and talking underneath.

Toki led us to the Chief's house. We waited outside while he asked permission to bring us in. A few minutes later, Toki led us inside, where we sat on the floor in a semicircle in front of the Chief. His young grandson (who must have had a cold, he had boogers galore coming from his nose) came and joined us as well. The Chief didn't speak English so Toki acted as a translator. We made introductions and then Toki presented our village visit fee as a "gift" to the Chief. He has the right to refuse our gift and thus refuse our entry to the Village (for instance if he thought we were going to take advantage of the village or cause trouble in some way). There was some sort of clapping exchange between Toki and the Chief, and our gift was accepted, which allowed us official permission to walk the village grounds, speak to the villagers and take as many pictures as we want. (We were reassured by a few different locals that pictures were okay- they wanted the world to know about Fiji life and culture). The Chief briefly talked to us about village life, and showed us his pictures of family on the walls. He asked us about our lives. He seemed a little surprised that I was the only one present who had a child. After we were done talking, we stepped out of the house and Toki laughed, appearing embarrassed. "I think we will need to go speak with the women next," he said. We looked in the direction he indicated, towards the two large, previously empty, shade trees. Now there were a dozen women spread out on blankets with souvenirs to sell, little children running around them. Ah- what a ploy. No wonder he seemed awkward. I think most of our group had developed a fondness for Toki, we spent so much time talking with him while he took us on adventures. Even during our downtime at the resort, he'd come find us to chat. My guess is this isn't typical so I think he felt bad walking us into the tourist trap for a second time in three days lol. Shrug. It's really no big deal. I understood the game. Tourists come to the village to observe them like zoo animals so they get money from the tourists in the form of a fee and souvenirs. They need to make money, too. We walked over to the blankets and examined the wares. Most of it was the same stuff we'd seen at the Caves and at a table back at Coralview. What caught my eye this time were the giant seashells, bigger than both my hands put together. Seashells like that would easily cost me $20-30 each back home in a souvenir shop. They were dirt cheap here. So who's scamming who here? I paid what they asked for without haggling because it felt wrong to buy something so beautiful that I knew was worth more where I'm from. In my head I wondered if they would ever run out of seashells because the tourists bought them. Can you tell I had mixed ethical feelings about this entire village visit? I was questioning everything I did. This is why Tony flat out refused to visit the village- in his mind we were taking advantage of the villagers, and that was wrong. I don't know that he's wrong either. This was literally a part of the trip I could not wrap my head around. I felt guilt no matter what I did.

Toki spent time talking with his Auntie and playing with his niece. He was so gentle and loving with the kids. I had noticed a lot of the Coralview staff interacting in the same loving manner with the children and babies at the resort. As a mom (now totally missing my daughter), I loved this. I loved how open the staff was to playing, holding and cuddling kids. And there were so many adorable Fijian babies yelling "Bula!" at us as we walked through the village! On our way out, we learned Toki's wife was with child. She was going to give birth in a couple months. She lived on the mainland and he was hoping to have some time off to be with her when the baby was born. It seems like a normal part of life, for the staff we spoke with, to live so far from immediate family to earn money. It made me sad, and once again feel spoiled. In the States we whine about length of maternity leave, and here many folks barely raise their own kids. I can definitely say this Fiji trip has been eye opening. We gave a local village family a lift on our way back to the resort. Toki said it would have been a very long hike for them otherwise- this was on the downlow. I'm not sure he was supposed to shuttle non-guests.

Chris was looking much better when we got back to Coralview. We had initially planned to go do the sunset hike since he didn't go on the sunset cruise the night before. But Eli had planned a kava ceremony that evening, and he looked heartbroken when we thought we might not go. When I was on the mainland at Smuggler's Cove, the man running the hostel souvenir shop had harshly advised me to avoid all kava ceremonies and sex with locals. Yeah, he wasn't afraid to come right out and say it lol. I guess STDs are a huge problem (in terms of sex). And apparently, from personal experience, he'd gotten some sort of herpes or other infection from participating in a kava ceremony since one bowl is shared by everyone. Despite the warnings, I participated anyway. I knew this was a big thing for the culture and I didn't want to be rude. And, being a nurse, I had so many questions about what kava exactly is...

So the kava we drank came as a powder that Eli mixed in a big kava bowl with water using his hands. It's a very mild anesthetic, sedative and euphoriant, he explained. It would be difficult to get drunk off of. Mostly you feel relaxed. In Fijian culture, a bowl is presented to you, and it is rude to refuse the first bowl (the first round). After that, you can refuse to drink more. As guests, we were obviously allowed to refuse altogether. Despite my misgivings about germs, I followed suit when it was my turn. I followed the ritual we were taught by clapping once, and saying "Bula!" to accept. Everyone else in the circle then clapped three times while I drank the bowl in one go. Everyone shares the same bowl as it goes back and forth to the big bowl to be refilled and around to each person in the circle. Honestly, the kava tastes like green tea mixed with novocaine. Everyone had slightly different opinions on what it tasted like to them (since we don't really have anything similar back in our hometowns). My mouth was a little tingly after but I only drank the one bowl. Chris had two or three bowls.

After the ceremony, we continued to sit around on the floor in our circle, drinking, listening to stories and singing songs for two hours. Remember how I said Coralview has a campy family vibe? This is exactly what I'm talking about. I was absolutely into it. I grew up going to summer overnight camps and family camps, so this was totally my jam. At those camps, just about everything was communal, you shuttled from one activity to the next, dining was with the entire camp, you sang songs together, played games. I was right back in some of my favorite childhood memories. Everyone else in my group was a little confused by it but by the time we got to our next resort, Mantaray, I think they missed it all, too. I certainly did.

And then there was Kokonda... that goddamned, delicious kokonda. I had seen this dish on the menu the past few days but they were late on receiving a shipment of food from the mainland so they couldn't serve it. Finally, that day during lunch we had watched a fresh load of what looked like food being delivered from a boat. Woohoo! I excitedly ordered my kokonda for dinner. It was described as fish in a white sauce with vegetables. I honestly didn't know what I was ordering. When it was served at dinner, I was surprised to find it was chilled, limey and creamy. I wondered if I was eating a Fijian ceviche dish. I'd only had ceviche a couple times back home and had I realized it was ceviche I don't think I would have ordered it. I'd heard enough horror stories about tourists getting sick in South America eating it. But holy hell was it DELICIOUS. It was fresh, and by far the best thing I'd eaten in all of Fiji. I ordered it again for lunch the next day before we left Coralview for our next resort. Boy did I end up regretting that decision...

After dinner, Laura, Billy, Chris and I found ourselves exploring the nighttime beach critters in the moonlight. We came across an odd looking creature, and thus ensued a solid minute of, "You touch it! No, YOU touch it!" as if we were six year olds. I love my friends so much- we all have this insatiable curiosity for adventure at this point in our lives. We weren't sure if the strange shape was a stick or a sea cucumber. A few minutes later, final verdict- A Stick. We also harassed several large hermit crabs and sea snails, and then I headed back to the bure to pass out.

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