Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Goodbyes, Pigs and Water Tank Drama..

I’m sitting here at Hot Kulcha, it’s Sunday Morning and I can’t believe how fast the past 4 months have gone..

Quick recap of my last week: Team Fiji left for Suva last friday to sort out there visas for the UK so we have had a replacement Team Fiji in for the week – most are faces who have been to Vorovoro before.
Pupu lead the boys to finish off the new Pig Pen. It looks fantastic and has been a huge project. At the school on Friday Tui Mali announced – to everybodys horror – that one of the pigs he is going to give us gave birt to 16 piglets! Yes thats not a typing error – SIXTEEN!! Unfortunately the mother squashed 2 – so there will be an extra 14 pigs coming to the island soon. AND theres another 2 pigs pregnant – including our vorovoro pig. So potentially both of those pigs could have 14 babies too!
As jim stated theres going to be more pigs than tribemembers!

Tuesday was a big day as it was Amy’s Birthday and Sevusevu day! Myself, Jim and Mike put on a special performance of the Vuki Malua Meke, where we had AMY written on our chests!

So without Team Fiji the island has been very quiet. Not enough laughter or singing. For the rest of the week i had one last trip to Sunset Peak with our May cheif Mike. I brought chocolate! Mike left Wednesday. He was a Brilliant cheif and will be missed on Vorovoro.

Wednesday i came into town to change my flight as Team Fiji were going to be postponed in Suva. Turned out to be a very hectic and horrible day in town so i left feeling quite annoyed and frustrated.. But my day was about to get alot more exciting… what happened next was definitely the funniest thing that has happened on vorovoro and possibly one of the funniest things in my whole life!!!!

Tui Mali met myself and Jim and town to say the government had donated a 10,000 litre water tank (same size as green one next to showers – its massive!). So he arranged for it to be dropped off in Malau. Then in the afternoon myself, Jim, Nemani and our boat captain Bill went to Malau to Pick it up.
So we had 2 ideas of how to bring the tank back to Vorovoro. 1 was to tie it behind the boat and drag it along in the water. But we decided to lay it down in the boat and take it that way..
Now the weather this day was very windy. The ocean was quite choppy. So Nemani decided to climb on top of the tank, while its in the boat. I suggested to Jim that we would have alot more fun sitting on the tank as well..
Nemani – trying to kill our fun – said stay down because we needed to keep the boat balanced. Well we thought screw that so i climbed up to join Nemani.. Now the boat was still moving at this point and swaying side to side in the wind.. But i got up fine, and yelled to Jim to join us..
So with myself and Nemani sitting on top of the tank – i saw the top of jims head appear as he started to climb up on top..
Now i believe, due to a big wave and the wind, it was at this point that we tipped over and myself, Nemani, Jim and the 10,000 litre tank all ended up in the water!
We all looked at each other and laughed hysterically before realising the tank was drifting away!
So we climbed back in the boat and for the next 30minutes struggled to get control of the floating tank. We tried rope, but ended up using the boat to tap the tank in the direction of Vorovoro. The people of Naqawaga were all watching as this massive tank floated past, followed by us on the boat!
In the end we managed to get the tank back on the boat and safely back to Vorovoro!!

Thursday me and nemani helped Amy clear the path of the 4 Peaks in preperation for Amy’s upcoming Ironmaiden challenge, and so we can start taking tribemembers as well. Amy has been training very hard, and is even off the kava for a month!
On thursday i also had an interview with an Australian Newspaper – so there should be an article written sometime soon!

Friday, i was lucky enough to go back to the Mali District School, much to the suprise of all the kids who thought i had left the week before. I had lots of fun and it was so good to see them all again. I’m going to miss going each week and hearing them sing and getting up and dancing with them!
There was a special celebration at the school for 2 of the teachers so we had a special lunch and Tui Mali was there. Of course there was grog and i thought it was very cheeky as they drank it in one of the classrooms! It was funny to see Tui Mali sitting under the blackboard with Maths equations behind him!

Then when we came back from the school we had a few bilos with the boys to say thanks for the week. I sang Sa Bera for the last time.. although it wasn’t the same without Leavi and Team Fiji.
I did a Hammock Socitey interview with Jim – i appreciated his help in trying to find me a girlfriend – although as you will read im quite picky!
Then Friday night, Frances and Poasa but on a really lovely farewell dinner down in the village for me. All the tribe was invited and the Team Fiji decided to stay as well. Pupu said a lovely speech, as did Jim. I managed to say a small speech without choking up.

So yesterday was the big day. My Isa Lei. And sadly it was quite small. I originally planned to leave on a wednesday to get a proper send off. But due to Fiji Time, Team Fiji have spent the week in Suva sorting out there visas for the UK. Originally they were suppose to return on tuesday, then wednesday, then friday.. I kept changing my flight out of Labasa in the hope i would get a chance to say goodbye.

So i left yesterday, and the whole tribe came in to town as well. So i really only said goodbye to Frances, Poasa, there daughter Milli and Amy. The tears started as soon as i got to Frances and she couldn’t look at me.. She just stared at the ground crying.. The tears continued when i got to Amy..
Everyone on Vorovoro has become more than people i work with. More than friends. They’ve all become family. So it was horrible having to say goodbye..

So i decided to check into a hotel in town for the night, as i heard Team Fiji would be back from Suva yesterday afternoon so thought it would be my only chance to say goodbye.
A group of us went to watch the Mali Sharks play rugby, then i said goodbye to Jim and the tribe, and Lui helped me find Team Fiji in town. I was SO happy to see them as i honestly thought i wouldn’t get to say goodbye.

They were all exhausted and i think they proably wanted to go home to bed and see their families but Myself and Tevita managed to convince them to come to Te’s uncle Eliki’s hosue for some goodbye kava.
Now i thought it would just be the 5 of us, so i was quite shocked to find about 30 men there already drinking kava!

Everyone was excited to speak to the boys about their time in Suva, and Te told everyone i was leaving today. Eliki presented me with a Fijian Mat – a huge one, which was such a nice and unexpected gift.
Then i saw some boys approaching carrying pots and something big wrapped in banana leaves.. Then my mouth started to water as i saw a pig being unwrapped in front of me! My last night in fiji and i finally got to eat a lovo pig!

Then after the meal, i took Te, Tale, Marau and Leavi aside to say goodbye. Sadly it wasn’t to the typical island goodbye but instead in a driveway in the dark behind a taxi.
I’m not ashamed to say i cried the whole way through my little goodbye speech.. I was just so happy that i actuallu got to see them before i left..

Then Tale, Marau and I jumped in a taxi and said goodbye to Te and Leavi.
I then had 2 more emotional goodbyes as we dropped Marau, my Lambchop Society President off, then Tale.

So sadly it wasn’t the usual Vorovoro Isa Lei i had hoped for but i did get to say goodbye to everyone and promised ill be back!

So after 109 days on Vorovoro, my time is over. I feel so lucky to have been able to not only come back to Vorovoro but to live and work there as well. I now have my own Fijian Family. I’ve made so many new friends, from all over the world. I have so many wonderful memories.

My highlights include when we meke’d at All Saints High School, and when me and Jim Meke’s for the big cheif of Fiji. Going to the school each week has been so much fun. I’ll miss the singing. The kava. And i’m going to miss just hanging out with Team Fiji and the Kitchen Team.

I’m also going to miss Amy and Jim, who work VERY VERY VERY hard behind the scenes to make sure the island runs smoothly. They both do a fantastic job, and i wish them all the best.

So tonight i’m off to LA then on to work in a US Summer Camp for the next few months. After that i’m not sure what my plans are or where i’ll end up.

But i know Vorovoro will always be there.. And i can’t wait to come back..

If anyone wants to contact me please use allstar_073@hotmail.com

Thankyou to all the tribemembers both on the island and online for all their support..

A HUGE VINA’A VA’A LEVU!!!!!!!!!!!!

James Atkinson.