Fiji Time - no need for a watch

BULA!!!

In the spirit of 'Fiji time' this blog is a little late. But when there are no clocks and no work to go to lateness becomes very subjective, as I have come to appreciate whilst in Fiji, the most chilled place on Earth.

Despite having only 2 weeks of island hopping in Fiji I feel I have learnt more about their culture than any other I have encountered on this trip. A combination of tropical climate, clear blue ocean and little to do other than eat, sleep, swim or perhaps laze in a hammock has provided both relaxation and, for me, an abundance of time to chat to the wonderful local people. In their presence I have learnt to embrace 'Fiji time' rather than worry about how many hours of tanning I could be fitting in. For this reason, I felt I didn't really fit in with the other visitors, but I was too busy learning Fijian and jamming on the ukulele to mind about that.

Having the odd occasion when I felt the need to be active allowed me to enjoy snorkeling at the picture-perfect  Blue Lagoon, messing about in a kayak or playing a competitive game of Volleyball come rain, shine or torrential downpour. One, more frequent, almost daily, activity was the Meke Fijian evening entertainment which varied from a few staff dancing to a CD to a full orchestra of voices and percussion instruments and dancers in grass skirts, occasionally wielding fire batons and swords. The participatory elements were always fun despite the actual shows getting rather repetitious by the second week. Never wasting an opportunity to dance, I was often the first audience-member up to learn the Bula dance or start the conga. My dancing skills were rather let down by my terrible fishing ones, I had one hand-line fishing lesson and caught nothing but a cold.

The best thing I caught in Fiji was the people's enthusiasm for life - even their greeting (Bula) means alive! The inter-island Rugby match we saw was a great example of the lively community spirit as people of all ages picniced on the side-lines and impromptu cheerleaders formed at the goals waving palm trees and chanting. Going to Church services both Sundays were further eye-openers, the first as the village was so terribly poor and the second, where they could afford mics, keyboards and speakers, was so sing-song pretty much everything had a tune. The only similarity between the two services was the major increase in congregation between the beginning and end of them - no one is ever in a rush or worried about being late in Fiji. I hope it stays that way!