Tribewanted: Vorovoro

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend at Jone’s village called Vuo. When we first got there, we dropped off our things at his house and met his family, then we went to his Grandma’s for dinner and lots of talking. After that, we went to the curry night that the women’s netball team were having, and I don’t know how, but Jone ate an entire plate. I ate one piece of fish and then was full! Then we went back to Jone’s and went to bed. His house was very nice and had a huge front porch and puppies running around it all the time. Compared to some other Fijian houses I’ve been in, it was very large with plenty of sleeping rom, which is good because there were lots of people sleeping there. His family is very big! They don’t have electricity, but Jone says they are getting it soon.

The next morning we got up early and ate a big breakfast. They usually have the same things for breakfast that we have on Vorovoro – porridge, bananas, bread, butter, and tea. Then we caught a bus to Labasa, and spent several hours there shopping for various items such as shoes, grog, and sweets. The grog was for my sevusevu, which is when I present grog as a thank you for allowing me to stay with them. Everyone in town knew Jone. They all stopped to say hi, so we spent a lot of time talking. I said a lot of bulas and shook a lot of hands! Then we got some ice creams with Lido, another tribe member who was in town that day, and then Jone and I headed back to his village. When we got there, we had a large lunch. That is when I found out that meals there were embarrassing if you were a guest! They had me sit at the top of the mat with all the food spread out in front of me. Then they said a prayer in Fijian and we all dug in. The food was delicious!

After that, we just sorta lazed around. I read a book on a foam mattress they brought out to the front porch, and talked with Noah, who is Jone’s step-dad. He was eager to learn about America. After a while, 3 little boys started dancing lots of mekes and singing songs that Jone taught them. Then I showed them the “Monkey Meke” that I learned on Vorovoro They had never seen it before so they thought that it was funny and could not stop laughing. Then I sang a song that Jone taught me called “Kana Mada.” It’s about cassava and fish.

That night, I had an early dinner (because there was going to be grog), and then presented my sevusevu. It was easy – all I did was give the grog to Jone’s mom, she prayed over it in Fijian, and then we all clapped three times. Then I drank a full bilo. That was a record for me – I had never done that before! Then I stayed up late talking with Noah about Fijian legends and American monsters until I got so tired I fell asleep talking!! Jone carried me to the bed he and I shared – I wondered the next morning how I got there!

Sunday morning, I was asked if I wanted to go to church and I said yes. Then me and Vika (a girl who lives in Jone’s village whom I also know from her visits to Vorovoro) went to ask her brother if I could borrow a pocket sulu (a dressy sulu) and a bula shirt. Her aunt also gave us some pancakes to take back with us. We gave those to Jone’s mom and then got ready for breakfast. We had the best breakfast ever! Jone’s mom showed me how to stuff the pancake with mashed banana and it was SO good! Then I but on my pocket sulu and bula shirt and went to church with Noah.

On the bus, there were lots of kids my age asking me questions about America like “Do you have cows in America?”, “Do you have sugarcane in America?”, and “Do you have sharks in America?” It was fun to answer their questions, and to hear their answers to mine.

At church, I couldn’t understand a word of the service because it was all in Fijian, but there were lots of little children sitting around me, playing with grass, pine needles, seed pods and stuff like that, so it wasn’t so boring.

When the service was over (it was about 3 hours long), we waited for the bus. While waiting I learned the names of the kids that I talked with on the bus earlier that morning. On the bus ride back to Jone’s village, I saw my first ever mongoose. When we got back, we had chicken curry and fried fish for lunch. It was delicious! After lunch, the kids did some more mekes, I did some more reading and chatting with Noah, and everyone else either chatted or rested. At some point, everyone stopped talking and Noah turned on a rugby match on the radio.

When the rugby match was over, Noah took me looking for mongooses. We went waaaay too far down the road, so we hitched a ride back with someone driving by. We didn’t see any mongooses, but did a lot of talking about Fijian wildlife.

When we got back, I was invited to Vika’s to watch movies that night. When dinner time came, I ate leftover chicken curry and rice, then headed over to Vika’s. We played with glowsticks that I brought to share for a while, and then turned on a movie. We started another one, but Jone came to get me, because we had to go to bed early so we could get up early to catch the early bus to take us to meet the boat that would bring us back to Vorovoro.

Monday morning, we had a quick breakfast of porridge and tea, and then walked to the bus stop to meet up with the other Fijians who were also headed to Vorovoro. We waited and waited, but in the end the bus never came, so we hitched a ride on a sugarcane truck. When we got to Malau (the boat port), I waited in the boat while Jone bought some things at the little store, and then we were off, headed back to my Vorovoro home.

All in all, it was a great experience and I got to meet a lot of awesome people. I even got Noah’s email address so when I get home, we can keep in touch. I gave Noah a really shiny shell necklace that I made to remember me by, and he gave me a referee whistle, a picture of him, and a letter he wrote to my parents. I also gave Jone’s mom a pair of earrings that my mom made for her, and she have me a really pretty Fijian style woven fan. I really hope I get to visit them again someday.
As dictated by Lucas Cahill, age 10.