bula! we arrived in nadi, fiji 1/2 hr late due to weather (rainstorms). 15-min drive cab to fi and api's, our first couchsurfing hosts. married 22 yr, live in a traditional fijian village called viseisei (first place settled in fiji, means 'separation' b/c original settlers from tanzania stayed here while others went separate ways).
got to house at 0700 h. very rustic and thus lovely =). concrete walls, corrugated sheet metal roof, 2 bdrm, toilet room, shower room, cockroaches, ants, lots of stray dogs. fi and api are so so friendly. babysitting niece named lacee, have dog named c.s. (for couchsurfing) and cat named tony.
anna from poland and milan from slovakia also surfing here. funny, cool, and down to earth people.
api gave us tour of village grounds as soon as we arrived: courtyard square with church (methodist), church bell, and chief's quarters (thatched roof building), where he holds meetings and hosts visiting diplomats. chief determined by bloodline.
ate bf with all, compliments of anna and milan (fruit, tea, fresh bread). then they went to nadi; e and i took the bus with api and another little girl to lautoka, a nearby city that's apparently nicer than nadi. went to the market which is huge!! hundreds of vendors. pineapple, watermelon, bananas in season. tons of east indian vendors selling spices, chillies, okra, eggplant, etc etc. lots of tarot root and other fijian foods. e and i bought supper for all - a string of 5 red snappers ("ika") for $25. very hot now. about 35oC. bussed back home round noon.
checked emails - still no word back from couches to surf in christchurch when we arrive tomorrow. heard from one farm who already has wwoofers and thus no room for us.
2 hr nap each, woke to heavy rainshowers, but lasted only 10 min. so homey here - lots of family members keep coming over and we all sit around on the grass mat carpet in the living room and talk, laugh, eat, nap. fi, her pregnant niece, and lacee are always passed out on floor. v humid.
showered, then i birded around grounds - no guide so took notes and need to google species for id =). bought earrings off village ladies selling wares in courtyard.
still no emails from surfing hosts in CC. so sent 'we know this is last minute, please pity us' requests to 3 more hosts.
api plays guitar and sings at a nearby resort during dinner; at 1700 h he took e and me with him. we want to sample beer and coffee in each place we visit, and no pub in trad village, so to resort we go! walked 20 min along traintrack thru backwoods. lots of men catching crabs in brackish water along tracks. v cool habitat. like any equatorial country, really. broadleaf forest.
paid $10 for 2 beers ($1 fiji = $1.3 Cdn)! yikes. fiji gold and fiji bitter. v nice! hung by the pool for an hour, strolled home ourselves along track at 1900 h.
fi was passed out on floor when we got back. as per usual =). so had tea with a and m. played with little girls in neighbourhood, taught them how to use my camera. 3 yr olds take nice photos! checked couchsurfing and yay! a dude named 'chicken and duck truck' has room for us! haha. named sean, lives near university in CC and owns a goat.
at 2000h i am starving and ready for bed. so i try to 'accidentally' wake fi by coughing, singing, whistling, dropping stuffed toys on her feet (chinnie, you`d be proud). haha. success when i brushed by her arm with my foot. get up, woman! it works and she wakes in a daze. but promptly begins boiling the fish and goes on back stoop to prepare coconut for the sauce. cracks 2 open with huge machete and grates them over a blade into a bowl, adds milk, water, chillies, and green onion.
api home at 2100h and serves us 'lovo' - fijian word for tarot cooked in underground oven. yum. texture of thick mushy bread and tastes smokey. dinner ready and it's delicious. called 'ika waka miti' (red snapper with fresh coconut).
off to bed at 2230 h. woke at 0445 h, jit arrived at 0500 h to bring us to airport. a and m come too; they're flying to auckland same time we fly to cc.
3 most common phrases we heard:
bula = hello
vinaka = thank you
singa na linga = no worries
so, a v awesome Day One!! see what nz has in store....
peas,
t and e
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