Kirsty Feb 9 07
From Tribewanted
Hello,
Just a quick update while I am in Labasa. Once you're on Vorovoro, it is quite difficult to tear yourself away from the island and make the trip (not sure on the timing, but it feels like at least an hour round-trip, if not more) to come into Labasa and get in touch with the real world. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, so I have only spent two full days on the island, as well as the Wednesday night and this morning, and it is the kind of place that you just can't describe until you are there. It feels completely different to be on Vorovoro rather than in a town, and once you settle into the different pace of life, it is hard to drag yourself out of it. I don't know how Ben and Sara Jane do it as often as they do! Internet on the island will definitely be an advantage, although I doubt that many tribe members will feel like using it often.
I am having fun on Vorovoro, despite the weather. It is very different to the the clear sunny days I had in Nadi for my first 3 days in Fiji. There has been rain most of the time since I've arrived. There are occasional patches of sunlight, and it is still warm, but overcast most of the day. The main problems at the moment is that there is a lot of debris washing up on all sides of the island after the hurricane, and that it is rainy and windy, so there is a lot of clearing up to do and nothing will dry out. No real structural damage or anything like that, but a lot of tidying to do.
We have still been doing a lot despite the weather. Yesterday we visited the school and seen all of the kids there, who are great fun. They are lovely kids and all crowd around you to see what you are doing and want to be your friend and play games with you. You feel very popular when you are there, and as others have mentioned, their singing voices are amazing!
We went fishing yesterday morning, despite cold downpours of rain! Apparently the fish all swim under big boulders when it is raining, so some of the Fijian men went down with snorkels and a spear gun, and every ten minutes or so they would come up with another catch of 3-5 good sized fish. It was very impressive. On the way back we put the handlines on and "I" caught a 9kg fish. (By saying that I caught it, I mean that I was holding the line when it bit, and managed to keep holding on to it for about another 30 seconds until Api the boat captain came and did most of the work pulling it in, as it was incredibly heavy and the line was cutting my hands up). But I am counting it as mine! :) We ate it for tea last night and it was great!
Other than that, I have spent quite a lot of time with the Fijians, who are all really lovely. They have been so friendly, and I have spent quite a bit of time with Frances, Raijelli (sp?), Anna and the girls. They can't pronounce my name, so I have been given a new Fijian name, "Kasi," or occasionally "Kathi" or "Katharine." Tui Mali also visited on Thursday and we presented him with Kava for the sevusevu.
On the island are me, Ben, Sara Jane, Craig (another tribe member) and the Fijians. Ben's dad and partner Frances arrived on the same flight as me on Wednesday, but have left this morning - hence the trip into Labasa - so it will be a small tribe when we get back this afternoon.
The work that the tribe has done so far has been amazing. I can't believe how much has been achieved. It is very different to actually be there and see what has happened, to reading about it all and keeping up to date online.
We will be working on finishing the next shelters when the bamboo arrives, probably early next week. Apart from that, have been cleaning up from the cyclone and getting things organised in our little village. The main problem at the moment is the weather, as nothing will dry out because the air is so humid from all of the rain, so clothes, buildings etc are all damp.
Anyway, there's a quick update for you. So much more has happened, but I don't have the time to write it all down. I will probably make another trip into town at some stage before I go, so will write more then. Most likely I will be staying on Vorovoro as much as I can though!
