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Viseisei Village
written by Chriss Roe,
Adelaide, South Australia
It is now almost 3 weeks since we arrived home from Fiji and a most interesting and enjoyable home stay with Lusi and her family. I thought you might like to know how it all went as we were the first homestay people for Viseisei Village.
We arrived late Tuesday afternoon after a day trip to Robinson Crusoe Island and a taxi drive from Nadi to Viseisei Village. Lusi and her family extended a very warm welcome to us and made us feel part of the family. We sat and talked for a while then after having something to eat we gave Lusi and her family the gifts we had brought for them.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lusi took us on a tour of the village including a visit to the school which I found most interesting. Although resources are very limited and classes are fairly large, compared to classes in SA, the children appeared happy and well behaved. The curriculum, at least what I saw of it, seemed very similiar to our curriculum apart from the fact that they also learn in Fijian as well as as in English. Susu, Lusi's husband, told me a lot about the history of the area and the arrival of the first missionaries which was very interesting.
 The 3 girls are Fane, Kalimna and Amelia. We bought the Indian shawls at a shop in Lautoka and they loved dressing up in them.
In the afternoon we caught a bus into Lautoka to do some shopping and buy some food at the markets.
On Thursday my grandchildren went to school for the morning with Amelia and Fane and enjoyed the experience. Lusi showed my daughter Narrelle and myself how to make necklaces and later we went into Lautoka once again to buy food for the lovo which we were having that night. During the afternoon everyone helped to prepare for the lovo in one way or another - eg digging the pit, collecting wood and palm leaves, preparing food etc.- so that evening we had a feast with baked crabs, chicken, stuffed pumpkin, and breadfruit as well as coleslaw, paw paw and barbecued chops and sausages. I have probably forgotten something but you get the idea.
Lusi's home was always very full and busy with friends and relatives coming and going. The grandchildren enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle including looking for crabs in the rock pools at low tide, fishing from the wall, climbing trees to pick mangoes and just playing with the other children.
Some of the things we found quite different to our usual lifestyle included - sitting on the floor to eat, chat etc, eating most foods with our fingers, not standing in a room when others were seated, having cold showers and removing footwear before going inside.
When we left on Friday the whole village was preparing for Fiji Day which was on Monday 10th October and it was good to see everyone working together on the preparations for this special day.We were only sorry that we couldn't stay longer for the celebrations. My granddaughter Kalimna was very upset when she had to say goodbye to Lusi's two "adopted" daughters, Amelia and Fane as the 3 of them had become very friendly. Noa, Lusi's youngest son, was beginning to establish a good friendship with my grandson Coen and took the day off school to come to the airport with us when we left. We were all feeling a bit sad and teary at the airport as we had had a most enjoyable experience and established some friendships which I hope will last well into the future.
I hope I haven't bored you too much with all these details but thought you might like some feedback.
Moce and Vinaka
Chriss Roe.
Viseisei Village
written by Chriss Roe,
Adelaide, South Australia
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