Brian in Fiji: The Beautiful Land of Tailevu

A quick apology to all of my faithful followers (I hope you're out there). I know I haven't blogged for over a month. My brother reminds me every time I talk to him (thanks Brady). So hopefully I will make up for it this week.

Yesterday, our team had the opportunity to go to a village. Our boss, Koli, took us and a couple of students to the beautiful land of Tailevu (one of the fourteen provinces in Fiji). I like to think that if I was born in Fiji, I would be from Tailevu. So it was a little bit like returning home.

Anyway, village life is totally different from life here in Suva. Think secluded and independent. I'm not sure that every village is self-sufficient but they provide for most of their own needs. Koli's village is about an hour and a half outside of Suva. Half an hour of that time was spent driving on a dirt and gravel road.

Most Fijians come from a village but not many of them live there. It's a great place to go spend time with family around the holidays but most Fijians live a little closer to the towns and cities where they work. This was an especially unique trip because Koli is part of the chiefly family of his village. Koli's brother is the head chief. There is a lot of history behind his family and their ancestors. I wish I knew it well enough to share it with you but unfortunately I don't. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Instead, I hope that a few pictures will do it justice. Enjoy!