Update #1:
Bula everyone!
Bula everyone!
Well we are two days into our service at Nananu village and are feeling very welcome at our new home. After our first two days at Volivoli Resort we set off on an afternoon trek overland to Togovere village where we stopped for a night. We were welcomed with a traditional Sevusevu ceremony, treated to a grand meal and entertained with song and dance until we couldn’t stay awake any longer after a huge day.
In the morning we set off on our second and last trek to Nananu village. We hiked up hills, across streams and through cattle fields for most of the morning with a welcomed break at a waterhole for a swim and rest under the shade of a mango tree! Arriving at our guide Kahli’s home village of Nananu in the afternoon we again participated in a Sevusevu and drank the traditional Kava, some of us choosing to drink from a large coconut shell ‘high tide’ and some from a small one ‘low tide’. We introduced ourselves to the village chief, spokesman, priest and elders along with a smattering of small children who had managed to quietly creep into the hall during the ceremony .
As the ceremony ended we met our homestay mothers who showed us to our homes for the next few days. Everyone at the village is very welcoming and genuinely happy to have us here, especially the children who after being shy at the very start are now playing with our teens almost continually. We are being spoilt at meals which we enjoy as a group with vegetable and beef stir fry, chicken, nan bread and fresh fruit. Work has begun on a new community hall and a walkway over the stream which surrounds the village. Clouds and a fresh breeze has kept us cool through the first day as we hauled cinder blocks, mixed and poured cement as well as moved rocks to divert part of the stream.
The group are excited to greet the final member of our group tomorrow as Seth arrives early in the morning, he should be with us by breakfast time in the village.
Until next time!