In 2019 I chose to visit Fiji for a 2 week service trip with Rustic Pathways. I went into it with a group of complete strangers, but when we left I considered them family. I had zero expectations, but overall was very excited for the adventure.
We arrived at the airport where I met up with Elsa, the only person I had met previously through Instagram. We got along instantly which made the experience a lot less intimidating. The airport was crowded with teenagers wearing the purple, Rustic Pathways t-shirts. We were all going to Fiji, but were unaware of who would be in our groups. We met some really cool people before the flight, but they weren’t in our group.
On the plane everyone was trying to switch seats with people to sit by new friends. Elsa and I sat with a girl named Makenna, (in a different group) who we met in the airport. We all had zero expectations going into it, but very excited for what was to come. The flight felt like forever, it was about 12 hours. It was very uncomfortable because the guy in front of me, with nasty hair hanging over the seat, reclined right away. I was very annoyed.
We were all SO thrilled to land. It didn’t hit us that we were actually in FIJI! We followed signs and met up with our groups. We hopped in the awkwardly silent van and drove 45 min to the lodge. At the lodge we started with an introduction and money exchange.
There were about 20 people in our Sun, Sand, and International Service trip, but we split into 2 groups. It worked out because some people came with friends and we were able to split up perfectly. My group got along instantly and we were all so excited to be on this trip together.
When we got to our room at the lodge, we all ran to the bunk bed we wanted. A couple of girls headed to the back to check out our bathroom and showers. They heard a noise in the toilet and looked inside….there was a MOUSE. This was our “Welcome to Fiji!” We closed the door and left it in there to figure out later. I checked out the showers and noticed that there were no ceilings. It wasn’t that bad, but it was covered in lizards and bugs.
After getting comfortable in our rooms (as comfortable as we could), we headed to the beach for our first day. We got to know everyone from our group along with the other groups that were on our plane. One of the girls in our group, Izze, wanted to jump in the HUGE waves with me. We got SMACKED, my bathing suit almost came off and sand was EVERYWHERE. Everyone else just laid on the beach and tanned. After that, we got some ice cream and drove back to the lodge for our “welcoming ceremony.”
This was called a “Traditional Fijian Kava Ceremony.” We were given our Sulus (traditional clothing in Fiji), that we were supposed to wear around locals or during any kava ceremonies. We learned how to tie them on our waists and then sat criss cross at the ceremony. This was very exciting and a very nice way to welcome everyone. Kava is a drink that is made from a plant in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It makes your tongue tingle and makes you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. Similar to the idea of alcohol, but not alcohol.
The next morning we woke up at around 4:30 in the morning because of the time change. I had a piece of bread for breakfast because I was being picky, and then left for our first service activity. We arrived at Animals Fiji. We first got to play with the puppies (they were ADORABLE) and then explore inside. Unfortunately, I am allergic to cats, so I was having some allergy problems. We worked on a dog kennel in the heat for hours. This was great bonding time with our group, we got a lot done.
After Animals Fiji, we visited the Fresh Food Market. I got some FRESH pineapple, it was delicious. After we all got some food, we stopped at a park to have a picnic lunch. We learned more about everyone by playing some “ice breaker games,” it was a fun time. After this they drove us to the mud baths and hot springs. This was very refreshing after a long, hot day of work. We were covered in mud, played a bunch of games, and then jumped in the water.
When we returned to the lodge, Elsa and I wanted to shower. It was really dark outside and the showers had no top, all of the bugs crowded around the single light above the divider between the showers. We decided to get it over with. There was a HUGE prang mantis on the light, I kept throwing water to make it fall into her side of the shower. This already took up so much of my time, and I could barely wash my hair. My plan backfired, the prang mantis fell into my shower and started running at me. I screamed, “ABORT MISSION,” opened the door and slipped out of the shower. I slid across the nasty floor and hit my head on the sink. Elsa was already done with her shower and saw the whole thing. It was the funniest moment of my life, but very painful. I didn’t even get to wash my hair.
The next day we woke up early again, still adjusting to the time. We got a “noise complaint” because we found a roach on one of the girls beds. Everyone crowded in the other side of the room screaming and voted me to kill it. I took someone’s shoe and smacked it.
After that eventful morning, we visited Bavu Village to build a compost toilet, paint the walls of their community Center, and play with the kids. The community Center was just a small building in the Center of the village with no doors. We rotated through each activity every 30-40 min. I noticed one of the young boys playing soccer alone and I asked who his favorite player was. He answered, “Ronaldo.” He was very skilled and had a great shot, I could not believe he was barefoot! We started a soccer game with some of the other kids, also barefoot. It was unbelievable to me that they were running on the rough, dirt ground AND kicking the ball around barefooted. The smiles on their faces were so pure, it made me feel so happy and grateful to be there in that moment. These children had a deflated ball, a pole with a hoop on top (no backboard), and a field of dirt, but they were having the time of their lives. Little did they know, this experience would stick with me forever.
The kids held our hands and took us on a walk up a very rocky road. Again, barefooted, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t painful. They brought us up to one of the homes where they made us lemon tea and different kinds of scones. Both were amazing and all of the locals were incredibly hospitable.
The next day was an “activity day.” Before the trip we chose an activity we wanted to do for one of the weekends, I chose to skydive. The rest of the group wanted to go on a Tropical Island Interlude. They went snorkelling and hung out on the beach. There were only 5 of us that wanted to skydive. We woke up extra early to leave around 6 in the morning. We arrived at 7, waited 3-4 hours, and ended up getting canceled because of the wind. It was very disappointing, but we knew it would’ve been unsafe. Instead, we went to the movie theatre to watch none other than SPIDER-MAN. We followed up the movie with a very nice meal at a resort. I devoured a filet mignon that I had been craving the entire trip, it was delicious.
We had all day since the rest of our group was relaxing on a beautiful beach, so we went to an outdoor mall. I got a henna tattoo on my arm, and then got my hair braided. We then got some gifts to bring home. At one of the stores my friend, Kaija, and I (16 years old) got hit on by a 25 year old. It was very awkward but so funny.
Later that night, we sat around a bonfire and listened to stories. This day was a little disappointing because we were all so excited to skydive. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be.
The next day we returned to Bavu Village. This time the children were at school; however, some of the really young ones were still there and loved to watch us work. We came back to fill cement in the compost toilet. I had the job of mixing the cement with a shovel. This was the outcome of our work!
After Bavu Village we went to the market and met some Fijian women in the back. We sat down in groups and made our own beautiful garlands. The women were all so sweet. One of the girls in our group sang a song with the ladies. The song is underneath:
The next day we woke up early for a beautiful hike! We hiked through all different kinds of terrain that lead us to a sand dune! During the hike we were told to stop and look up at the trees above us. Our guide pointed out that all of the little black dots that we saw on the trees were bats. It was crazy.
Once we got to the sand dune, it was a little process to climb onto it. I definitely used a lot of energy to get up, but once we got to the top it was BEAUTIFUL. All of us were running around taking pictures and videos.
Our guide surprised us by telling us we were going to jump off of it. It looks pretty steep when you look down, so we were all a little hesitant. We all asked ourselves….When will we ever be jumping off a sand dune in Fiji again? Probably never. So we all lined up for our running start and jumped. At first nobody went that far because we were all so nervous, but the second round we all went further. We just kept going. Even though we had sand covering every inch of our bodies, we didn’t care. The only disadvantage of jumping far is the part you have to climb back up.
After doing this a BILLION times, we walked down the other side of the sand dune towards the beach. Our service for this day was cleaning up the trash on the beach. I never really thought about how much trash was on a beach until I was picking it up. We picked up SO much trash, it was sad.
We hiked back to the van, ate some food, and then arrived at our next activity. We made our own clay bracelets with some of the locals. We sat in small groups with one leader who showed us how to make them step-by-step. I still have my bracelet to this day!
After a very long day, we walked over to a small hill to star gaze. On our walk we passed a cow laying on the side of the road. It was just hanging out. We used our sulus as blankets and laid under the Breathtaking Fijian night sky. I almost fell asleep because it was so relaxing.
The next day we made some of the most amazing bread I have ever had. One of the locals that lives at the base camp makes this amazing bread. She was a sweetheart. When I tell you I have never had bread this amazing, I mean nothing else compares to that bread. I would’ve kept going if nobody told me to stop. It was perfect.
In the same day we visited Navakai Hart Community for a food delivery. As we pulled up we saw some of the children playing with the rocks on the road, older women sitting in the small, gazebo looking building in the center of the rooms, and some of the older kids coming out of their rooms after hearing the noise of our van.
We were able to meet some of the locals that lived there. They were all so grateful that we were there to spend time and serve food. We started a game of rugby with some of the local boys. They were so funny and everyone was laughing so hard. The boys were tackling each other and all the girls were scared we would get tackled too. It’s okay though because I juked them out with my rugby skills. After this we served all of the food and they sang a thank you song to all of us.
Later in the day, we got to hang out around the lodge. I bought a strawberry banana smoothie at the smoothie shack and relaxed in the hammock. The lodge dog, Sausage, always wanted to hang out with us… we love Sausage.
The next few days we headed to the Highlands. I wrote a separate blog all about that so click here to read that! It was an amazing opportunity that many people will never get to experience. Here are some photos!
This is all for part 1. I hope you found it interesting, the Fijian culture is truly amazing and I hope you get the chance to experience it! These are some of the nicest, most welcoming people I have ever met. Thank you and part 2 is coming soon 🙂
