Bula! In one week from today I will
be getting ready to catch my flight back home to the states. This is so weird
to me. As my time here gets shorter I grow even more appreciative of the beauty
around me, the people of the Fiji Island, and the late night chats and
adventures with my wonderful housemates. I can already feel that achy missing
feeling creep into me as I mentally take note that I am experiencing different things
for the final time. This week was full of such experiences…
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| On Monday Allen, Katharine, Arturo took a work break to fly kites |
On Monday night I laughed the evening away with the people that
we worked with for the Western Deaf Ministry. Rakish, Rachel, and Steve (our
Indo-Fijian friends that we worked with) took Holly, Molly, and me out to
dinner and dessert as a thank you and goodbye. As I comfortably sat at the
table joking about my desire to try human flesh (Fiji used to be cannibalistic
island), my jealousy of Steve’s affection towards Holly (there is a long
running joke that Steve’s parents are trying to marry Holly off to him), and our
plans of taking Rachel (the funny older Indian lady) out clubbing, I absorbed the
feelings of love and acceptance from these people that I have known for such a
short while. They showered us in thank
you’s and begged for us to return to Fiji soon: “you come to Fiji, you always
have a place to stay. Free housing, free meals” they repeated in their Indian
accents. I am still amazed by the generosity of the people here and their
abundance of love.
I took my last walk with Holly and Molly to our sea wall to
watch their last sunset. I sat soaking in the final sun rays and reminiscing
about our experiences together: the time in the taxi, the woman who punched
Molly, that evening at the carnival, the people we’ll miss, the places we’ll
never see again…and so on. We came home and
ate dinner before saying our goodbyes. Two more gone, only seven remain.
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| Cuddling up with Arietta |
I had the opportunity to spend one last night in Balata
Village with Irene and Papa (Irene is the founder of GOLD whom I worked closely
with this summer, and Papa is her quirky 60 year old husband). Papa’s real name
is Romaine, but he has insisted on me calling him Papa since the first time we
met. I love Papa with his unexpected chuckles, easy going persona, lazy long stride,
and grinning tan face. We walked around their forever stretching farmland, and
he showed me their pregnant goats as we laughed about eating his animals for
dinner. That evening I cuddled up with
Arietta and took a short nap on her shoulder. Arietta is a big Fijian woman
with a beaming smile and enough compassion to go around the world. I grew close
to her as she shuttled us girls along to our different appointments.
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| Arturo: Hair and make up artist by night. I looked like Helga... |
After dinner and a short nap I spent the rest of the night speaking
with Irene and Papa’s daughter, Cyntia. We chatted about her boyfriend of six
years and how she never wants to get married to him or anyone. This 19 year old
girl is such a hoot. Anytime I come back to Fiji I am promised a good night of
clubbing in Suva with her and her girlfriends. As we talked she gave me a henna
tattoo and then allowed me to practice henna on her hand. After drawing what
seemed to look like a duck, a bra, and a dying flower I finally started getting
the hang of it. By 11:30 we were pooped and hit the sack.
This weekend was fun with a trip
to the beautiful Natadola Beach. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day but the
warm sea and beautiful accommodations of the resort made it a lovely
experience. I thought about the first time I was at Natadola Beach; how weird I
felt being there with people I barely knew. I remember feeling like it was
almost wrong to be somewhere so beautiful without true friends or family to
experience it with. Now our close knit group offers such a feeling of
acceptance and love that is hard for me to believe that I ever felt that way. I
spent the day letting Katharine paint henna on my foot, taking a long walk with
Allen on the beach, and chatting with the other people in our group.
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| A cloudy day followed by a spectacular sunset...mmm |
Church today was wonderful. I don’t know if it was the walk
to church that made me so happy with all my young playmates popping out of
their houses to say “Hi Bekah!”, or the warm hugs and kisses that I received from
the members of the ward. It is weird how at home I feel in Fiji. It all once
felt so foreign and bizarre, now I can’t imagine anything feeling more normal.
Being here has been such an amazing adventure. This final week brings the wrap
up of my fitness project, and then a 5 day vacation at the Beach House in
Sigatoka. Life is so good…too good. Vinaka for reading :)
