The Village Life

It is surreal to believe that I have already a little over a year living the village life in Fiji. This journey has definitely been one of my proudest adventures yet. The village life is not for the weak, I can guarantee you this. I have decided to write this vlog with the sole purpose of sharing with you what it’s like living in the village.

I will talk about certain things separately and then dive into my day-to-day activities and whatnot.

Let’s first begin with...

Water

Fortunately, I have been placed in a village that has running water every day. However, it is not always clean water. My water comes from a natural spring. When it rains a lot or there are a lot of floods, the water becomes colored because of the sediments of rocks, dirt, and gravel. Instead of having clear water, I have brown water. Some volunteers like to boil it to separate the sediments, or put a sock on the faucet to capture it. I don't. I shower, wash, and sometimes even cook with the water. I figured that, with the heat, it would kill all bacteria.

Recently, I have experienced some afternoons without water. This would happen if it rains so much that the springs get clogged with leaves and branches. Then it is harder for the water to pass through the pipes. When this happens, I put my buckets outside and collect rainwater. With this water, I do laundry, shower, cook, and clean.

House Structure

As many of you know, I live in a Fijian bure, which is a house made of dried leaves and wood beams. Besides this home being very climate-controlled, it is a wonderful studio. My house is an open layout; kitchen, living room, and bedroom all together. I do have a bathroom that is separated by a door. Before, I had a hard time picturing myself living in a studio because of how tiny it is. The fact that I am a bit of a hoarder, and the thought of my clothes always smelling like food, did not sound appealing. Luckily for me, I moved to Fiji with just 2 checked-in bags and a carry-on. So that solved the hoarder problem. As for the space, I have plenty. And to my luck, my clothes rarely ever smell like food because my house has great air circulation.

Animals

I have become Snow White. I live with so many animals in my bure. Cockroaches, rats, ants, frogs, flies, spiders, anything you can think of, I live with it. I have tried EVERYTHING to get rid of most of these animals, but nothing rarely worked, so I just gave up. Like, how am I supposed to fight all of them? There are hundreds of each. Unfortunately, I made my peace with that fact and learned to accept that those were my new roommates and living conditions.

When I look back at this acceptance, it’s surprising how far I have come. I remember how, in the States, seeing a rat or a cockroach in the house was like the end of the world. Well, let me tell you, these little (sometimes huge) animals I have grown to appreciate them.

I've had a few kitties (currently on #6, searching for #7), which all ended up leaving. I think it’s because it is hard for them to catch the rats in my bure due to the way that my ceiling is shaped.

Recently, I had a small pup, his name was Leo Sucu (sucu is milk in Fijian lol). He stayed with me for about 1.5 days. He traded me for a bowl of milk, smh. Mind you, he had just had his own in a tray in the crib. That morning, I was working out and decided to take him outside because he kept on biting me :( That’s when my friend came, and he followed her. She gave him some milk, and he never came back.

The treatment that some animals experience in Fiji is horrendous. Here, there is a lot of animal abuse. Many Fijians mistreat animals by throwing rocks or hitting them. Some even kill them in really horrible ways. Seeing this type of violence directed at animals has really impacted my emotional well-being negatively. Before, when I had experienced it, I often commented on it. Now, not so much, because it doesn't matter how much I explain to them that this behaviour is not right, they will continue to do whatever it is that they want/feel. I have yet to figure out if these actions are due to a level of miseducation or if it's a superiority feeling. I would definitely say that this has been one of the hardest things I have had to learn to accept.

Meals

I cook most of my meals. I find that this is a great way for me to stay in touch with my culture. Sometimes it’s hard to make my comfort foods from back home, using the local Fijian ingredients that I have just because there's not much variety here, and I don’t have a fridge. However, I do make a lot of pancakes, pica pica, and burritos. Lately, I have been snacking on a lot of apples and peanut butter, which was a snack I often ate back home.

I have most of my dinners at my friend’s house after bible study. I am also a regular at Lucy's (my neighbour) on most Sundays. After church, I go and have lunch with her and her family.

Electricity

I have no electricity. I am running on solar. So that means I don’t have a fridge or AC. The PC gave us a solar panel with a few light bulbs and a USB port. I thought my solar panel was horrible because it discharges fast. Recently, I learned that I should turn it off when I am not using it. I had it running the whole time lol. Either way, I don't think I can personally survive with just one port, so I go to another neighbour’s house to charge. There, I charge my phone, laptop, and power banks.

When it comes to night light, I have to give a huge shout-out to my village because the first night, they lent me a solar light that has its own solar panel. I sleep with it on every night to "scare" the rats. I say "scare" because it’s a lie. These animals are not scared of anything. They still appear lol.

Romance

As soon as I moved into the village, during my sevusevu (my celebration for entering the village), someone asked me if I had a husband. I said no, that my sole purpose in being here is to work and nothing else. Thankfully, saying this so early on has placed me in the lane of 0 prospects, which is very nice. I don't have to worry about people trying to get with me because they know my clear intentions.

Ngl, at times I do feel lonely and want a personal connection :( However, dating in Fiji is not even an option because I just can't wrap my mind around those logistics, and I always have mami's voice in the back of my mind saying, "You cannot get married there! It's too far!"

Work

My job here is very different from what I have ever done. Some days I mostly read and watch Netflix. Others are busy with village functions or teaching a course. I often go and visit my friend in the next village.

Being here has redefined the word work in my life. At times, it feels like I am on a super long vacation; other times, I am bored out of my mind. But hey, that is part of the job. Being okay with the mundane and not doing anything.

Transportation

 My village is located at the front of the main road. Which means I have great transportation. My closest shopping town is Savusavu. It's around an 1 hour and 25 minutes away. I have both local and express buses going there at 6 am, 8 am, 9:45 am, 2 pm, and 4:30 pm. Like how wonderful :) Returning to the village, there are 1:30 pm, 2 pm, or 4 pm.

Labasa, my other shopping town, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes away. For this one, I have buses at 6 am, 8 am, and 10:30 am. Returning back from town, it's 2 pm and 4 pm.

Coming from Nukuloa, where we needed to take a cab 30 minutes to the bus stop, or 15 minutes to the nearest town that the bus goes to, this transportation has truly been A1.

Laundry

Never did I ever think that I needed to plan so far ahead to do laundry. There are so many factors that I need to keep in mind when it comes to doing laundry in Fiji. Before I do laundry, I need to make sure that the weather is going to be sunny and windy. My buckets need to be empty, and the water needs to be clean, preferably.

Depending on how dirty my clothes are, I do 2 washes. The first wash goes like this: I fill a bin with water and soap detergent. Then I soak the clothes in it and scrub them with my hands. After a few scrubs, I go to the second wash, which is the woolong method. Here I have a bucket full of water and soap. I then put the clothes inside and beat it with a PVC pipe. After a few hits, I leave them soaking overnight. Then the next day, I rinse the clothes and hang them on my clotheslines. If my clothes aren’t as dirty, I fill the bucket with soap and scrub them with my hands. After I rinse and then hang them.

Occasionally, it can be very sunny, and the chances of rain are slim. But out of nowhere, it starts to pour. My almost, soon, dried clothes get wet once again. I joke around and say, “Well, I guess they needed a new rinse.” If I don’t say this, I will cry.

Grog Circles

Here is where the village sits around to talenoa (talk) and to drink yaqona and smoke suki. I rarely ever go to these because I just don’t like either the drink or the smell of the smoke. At the beginning, during my PST service, I would often go to these because it was a way to socialise. However, now in my village, I find different ways to socialise that don’t involve attending these.

A lot of my friends are hooked on both, for either personal enjoyment or because they feel forced to attend. Whenever I tell them that I haven't drunk grog since December of last year, I get excited lol. So far, this has been my biggest flex in Fiji :)

A day in the life can look like this...

I wake up, read my bible, and work out. Sometimes I go for a walk or a jog. I then shower and make breakfast. Sometimes I’ll do my laundry. After, I'll either read, watch Netflix, watch some reels, or take a nap. Then I start working on lunch. Followed by either a nap or going on a walk. When I get back, I read a little more or go straight to the shower. Then I go to Vans' house for bible study. Play some games with the kids, have dinner there, and then come back home. Unwind, do my bible readings, and sleep.

Other afternoons look like: going to church every night for the first week of every month, or teaching one of the three courses of the CEEP program. Every first Monday of the month, we have our village meetings, which last about 2.5-3 hours. The following Wednesday, we have village cleanup day, which is where the men cut the grass, the women rake it (other women are in charge of the lunch), and then the kids pick up the grass and dump it in trash piles.

Sometimes the days get so repetitive that I am bored out of my mind. I would go to the beach and lie there, and listen to music. Some days I go and visit my friend Kit at her village. There we play a lot of card games, catch up, and sometimes even snorkel.

Every day in Fiji is different. I can never plan anything because plans always change. Before, I was so not okay with this. I needed a plan from A to Z. I needed to know how the day was going to unfold.

However, it is safe to say that I no longer feel this way because that is the beauty of village life. Not letting time control you. Living in the moment and actually catching your breath. It is safe to say that I do love this way of life. What can I say… I was born in the Dominican Republic, so village life runs in my veins.

Thank you for reading this blog. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't be afraid to hit the chat or email me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned for my next blog -> Love Is Complicated... But Is It?

XOXO Yerika