Howdy! My title is Laura, and I’m (one in all) Janae’s favourite nieces! I’m at present attending BYU and I simply began the nursing program! I’m soooo excited and I’m trying ahead to be following in my Uncle Andrew’s footsteps.
I not too long ago returned from a month-long examine overseas journey to Fiji. The group consisted of 25 college students from BYU Provo, BYU Hawaii, BYU Idaho, and a nursing college in Bristol, England. My examine overseas centered on cultural immersion and humanitarian work on Fiji’s principal island, Viti Levu.
The corporate that coordinated the hassle, Assume Pacific, assigned us to an itty, bitty village within the middle of the island, up within the highlands. Koro Village (which you’ll’t even seek for on Google Maps) has about 40 properties, a lot of which had been host households to our group. From the airport to Koro was a two-hour bus experience adopted by two hours on a military-style transport provider by jungles and mountains.
A screen-shot from my dad, stalking me on FindMy
Throughout our month-long keep, our humanitarian work centered on constructing! Every weekday we spent seven hours establishing a medical dispensary that can serve Koro and some of the encircling villages. A number of of the lads from the village helped us all through the construct, and so they had been very affected person with our low-level handtool expertise. Now that we’ve constructed it, and it’s formally opened, the dispensary will maintain fundamental medical provides and be taken care of by an area nurse. 🙂
The opposite half of the Examine Overseas was cultural immersion in village life. Listed below are a few of my many unforgettable moments…
THE STARS. I don’t assume I’ve ever been in a spot fairly so distant that I may lookup and see the Milky Approach each single evening. I realized shortly to time it so my bucket showers had been at evening to have this magical view. (Additionally, I used to be shocked that my telephone digital camera may seize this sort of pic! Have you ever tried the Evening Mode? Life altering!)
My Nene and Momo!! (Mom and Father.) College students had been assigned in pairs to dwell in Fijian households. From our first day within the village our cute households referred to as us their daughters and sons and we had been handled like household. We had been additionally given Fijian names: mine was Mimo (rhymes with Nemo 🐠), and the coed I lived with was referred to as Makarena (sure, just like the dance💃).
There have been at all times numerous youngsters operating round to show us rugby, braid our hair or destroy us at Uno.
As you would guess, my dwelling state of affairs was fairly totally different from my school house in Provo, Utah. We ate many meals crossed legged on mats woven by our host moms. My hips had been mega sore, however a lot stronger after a month. Telephone connection was spotty: I climbed a hill and held my telephone up towards the towers to name my mother and father, haha. I obtained sick with an obscure virus for every week and spent that point mendacity down in our home behind a curtain, consuming water crackers. I’m grateful for the attitude these experiences taught me.
On one in all our final days a village cow was killed and cooked, Lovo-style, as a celebration. Lovo is a standard cooking methodology that creates an underground oven. First, a gap is dug and purple scorching stones are positioned on the backside. Then, the meat is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted within the floor for a number of hours from scorching coals which are positioned on prime. In different villages (not ours) villagers will stroll throughout the recent coals with their naked toes. 😨 The ensuing Lovo is mouth-watering, essentially the most tender beef that I’ve had in my life.
Cana Vaca Levu: Fijian for “eat so much.” Our households mentioned that each meal, as they served up plates of cassava, curries, taro, and at all times LOTS of coconut fish.
We had been warned once we first obtained into the village to be cautious of the cows… they’d stroll across the village at evening, and eat any laundry that had been left on garments strains. We thought it was a village tall-tale… till we wakened one morning to search out Makarena’s laundry had been chewed up and was blowing within the wind. lol.
And would I even be Janae’s relative if I didn’t begin my mornings with somewhat run? Whichever route I left from the village was uphill, so I obtained a superb month of hill coaching in.
And power coaching afterwards that includes DIY cinder block weights and bench press.
In Fiji, essentially the most spoken language is Fijian. Though many individuals additionally spoke English, there have been at all times sure issues that had been troublesome to speak. Due to that barrier, we discovered distinctive methods of connecting with individuals in Koro. A method was the Hop Hop: aka one of the best dance ever!
🕺🪘Many instances, when a gaggle of individuals was gathered, somebody would roll in a loudspeaker, activate island music and immediately the entire room would erupt in spontaneous, improvisational dancing. All of the village mothers LOVED getting up and yelling “shake it!”
What caught with me most all through this wild journey was the inspiring angle of the Fijian individuals. Should you walked wherever within the village, you’ll be invited in to have breakfast/lunch/afternoon tea at every home you handed by. Regardless of the state of affairs, they at all times discovered a approach to be blissful.
Thanks a lot for studying!! I’ve been studying Hungry Runner Lady for a few years, so it was so enjoyable to be on this aspect of the display screen!
What experiences in your life have supplied you with a brand new perspective?
Have you ever ever tried hen toes?
The place was your greatest dance occasion ever?
