As part of the Fiji program students spend a day and a night in Votua Village. For the time that they are in the village they are allocated a host family who they stay with and participate in village life with. Evaluations always show this experience to be a program highlight and the SUNY-Brockport program this year was no exception.
Firstly the students were welcomed to the village with a Sevusevu (kava ceremony). This is always the first ceremony that is conducted when two groups meet and it acts to open up the path for further interaction, the kava is pictured right. After the Sevusevu students met the families they were to stay with and went to their respective homes to have lunch and settle in. The afternoon was spent participating in various activities. Some students and their families went to a provincial rugby game final, others helped dig the lovo pit for the dinner that night, others went on a ‘short walk’ (it ended up being quite long!) to the village’s plantation and some had the opportunity to help fish for that nights dinner. Pictured left is Shiri with some of the local children who befriended her. 
The dinner that night was a traditional lovo, which isa fire made on a pit in the ground lined with heat-resistant stones (sometimes referred to as an earth oven). When the stones are hot, food, wrapped in (banana) leaves, is placed in the pit, covered with soil and left to cook before being exhumed and eaten. Dishes cooked this way include palusami, which are parcels of taro leaves saturated with coconut milk, onions, meat and fish.
After the meal the villagers performed a meke for the group, pictured right. This is a traditional style of Fijian dance that is generally performed at celebrations and festivals. In return the group were asked to perform a song and dance from America. The group sang ‘going to the ball game’ and the American national anthem followed by dancing to DJ Casper’s Cha Cha Slide to great amusement of the villagers. Kava and conversation flowed all night with some students not making it to bed till after 2am!
Comments from their time in the village included; ‘ It was such a touching experience, I had fun and bonded with everyone I encountered’ and ‘It was really neat how welcoming everyone in the village was towards us’ and ‘This opportunity has been unbelievable and I highly appreciate this family sharing their home, culture and way of life with us’.
It was a cultural, educational and, most importantly, a fun experience that the group got a lot out of.
When you arrived in Fijian village homestay, were you able to directly communicate with the villiagers or was there a translator? What did the food taste like? Did you like it? It appears that everyone was very friendly and kind. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves.
Hi Wanda,
There was a co-ordinator that acted as a go-between for the village and our company (AUIP). They had arranged the homestay’s and they were there at the beginning to introduce the group to the village and explain protocols. He didn’t need to translate as the villagers all spoke good English and this is true of many Fijians.
The food was great! The meat had quite a smoky taste from being cooked in the earth oven but it was very tender and literally melted in your mouth. I personally really enjoyed the palusami and the other vegetables that were cooked in leaves and coconut milk.
Everyone was very friendly and we all felt very welcome and at home. I think this is generally indicative of the Fijian culture.
Are you planning a trip?
No, but as I read about the students who are traveling aboard, I have developed a growing interest in doing that as well. I did you finance your trip? Is AUIP and private travel company or something? How can I get involved? I think I would love to work with adults in countries like Fijian village.
I see that I have a typo in my last response. What I intended to ask was how your trip was funded? But since I made the post, I found that AUIP is an American Universities International Program and travel is paid for as it would be for any other university program. So I guess I would have to finish the adult education program that I am currently registered in and then venture onto an international study program like the one you just wrote about. But it was great reading about the Fijian village adventure.
Thanks
Wanda Carter
wow, nice blog.. thanks for sharing !!