Alpaca My Bags! : Day Two - Rugby and Kava

Fijians on the sidelines going crazy after a goal was scored in the Rugby game

Lucy’s alarm woke us up at 6:30, which gave us enough time to prepare for breakfast and the day ahead of us. We had a meeting where we were given a little Fijian vocab sheet of words we used often like thank you and hello and yes which have all escaped me at this point. Post breakfast, we went over photography basics and finally we got to put our skills to the test. We loaded up in our vans and headed over to this huge rugby event that was happening on the island. Children’s’ teams from all over Fiji gathered here to play. Taking pictures of Fijian rugby was cool, but my favorite subjects were the little kids on the sidelines. At first I only interacted with the kids by saying Bula. Some smiled, while others seemed kind of afraid. I learned that in order to get the best interaction with the little kids I just had to smile really big at them when I said bula and give them a friendly wave. Many of the girls found so much entertainment in having their pictures taken and looking at the result. It brought me joy to see how happy I could make them by simply taking their picture. Having a handshake with a Fijian boy was pretty cool and w Day two was filled with laughter. We’re going to Fijian church tomorrow so that will be interesting.

the material used to make sulus in the sulu shop

as probably my highlight of the day. He was a nug, and the smile on his face after we blew up the knucks made me laugh. The kids were full of love and all wanted to touch the camera. It was too much fun playing with them. Going to the rugby games were not even part of our original plans; however, on trips like these spontaneity is the way to go. All fun must come to an end. It started raining, so we packed back up in the van and headed to a store to buy sulu’s so we could be properly dressed for the village and church tomorrow. The low part of my day had to be fitting in that bathroom in the store. It was cramped and I couldn’t even lock the door. I thought Mrs. Simon was kidding when she came out of the bathroom and said, “man, it takes skill to pee in there.” She was definitely right. Once everyone had picked out their perfect sulu, we once again shoveled ourselves back into the van and headed on our way to see some waterfalls. It was flooding. I was so tired and so hot that I didn’t really mind missing out on the hike and waterfall today. Surprisingly, one of my favorite parts of the day was the time spent in the van. Several times in the van, I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. One of these laughing attacks occurred when Holly Hartman adamantly tried to convince me that aliens are real. Don’t ask her about it, she’ll give you a 20-minute “statistical” explanation. Another thing that made me laugh in the van is when I said “ILY” to Alex and he thought I was speaking Fijian because apparently he’s never heard that before. He still refuses to say ILY back and opts to say “I-L-Y”. I think he lives under a rock, but I love him anyways. When we arrived back at our bungalows, we gathered in the eating hall to listen to the Nat Geo leaders, Lisa and Brett, share their adventures through their photographs in slideshow presentations. I was amazed at their creativity and truly inspired. The leaders’ presentation of their photos was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Brett showed one photo of Fijians beating/pounding a Kava root and asked us to guess what it was that they were pounding. Of all things, Mrs. Simon guessed that they were pounding a chicken. We died laughing. Dinner was a treat. We went to a nice restaurant, and we got to try Kava for the first time. It honestly just tastes like dirty water. I’ve never seen anyone down more Kava than Claire Siroky. You go girl. The Fijians were gathered around a huge bowl of Kava while they sang and played music on guitars. Singing Bob Marley songs with Fijians on mats on the floor while surrounded by new welcoming friends and sharing endless laughter was something I think I’ll never forget. Also, shoutout to Alex for whipping out a harmonica during dinner like it was casual.