The Real Fiji

The day started out by the pool. Everyone relaxed and swam (I know...crazy right?) We had lunch by the pool in the restaurant. At about 2 Dad came in to take a phone call from Asinate about that night. See, Dad had emailed someone from the resort prior to us coming about making sure that our rooms had ocean views. Being Jeff Maillo, he asked the woman, Asinate, if there was anything from the US we might be able to bring her that perhaps is difficult to get over here. Asinate replied that she ran a small store here and asked us to bring cartons of Benson & Hedges cigarettes and some booze. So we scoured the bay area for the cigarettes and ended up buying more and the booze in duty free at the airport. On our first day here, Asinate came by to pick them up and in return invited us to her village to have dinner. There, now that we are all caught up we're back to dad being on the phone with her. Asinate called and we decided to meet at Jack's, a small handicraft shop in the downtown at 6:30. Then we would follow her to her village.

We were all a little nervous about heading to her village. We didn't really know what to expect, what to wear or how to act. Everything in our tour books regarding village visits seemed to be regarding toursity type village visits. Would Asinate really live in a "village"? Or is that just what they call neighborhood here? What should we bring? How should we dress? After consulting with a guy here Dad and Uncle George decided that we would pick up some Kava root to bring with us. So Dad, Uncle George, Brandon, Katlyn, Robb and I headed into Nadi to visit the market.

After parking the "limo" and navigating the parking meters here we headed off in the direction of the market. The market reminded me a lot of the Pisac market in Peru. There were tons of different stalls with independent vendors selling their goods. We made our way to the back of the market, looking for a large bald guy that we had been advised to visit for good Kava. We stopped by the fish market to see what they had to offer. We finally spotted our guy and bought a kilo of Kava.

Look at all that kava! The root is then ground down and strained with water.

We made our way back to the resort and got ready to go to Asinate's. We headed to Jack's and waited. Asinate was on Fiji time and showed up about 10 minutes late. We followed her taxi out past town and through the dark. We finally past a sign that said "Korovuto Village" and we pulled in. Asinate's village is basically a collection of small houses. She welcomed us onto the porch where we removed our shoes and sat on a mat and she introduced us to her husband Charlie. Charlie then began preparing the Kava. After preparing the Kava and passing the bowl around we took a walk around the village. There were several little kids hanging out with us and one that I especially started hanging out with. We bonded over our mutual love of Spiderman and we hopped around the village on one foot, seeing who could last the longest. Asinate showed us her church and told us about everyone who lives in the village. There are 3 different clans who live the village together, with about 200 people. She introduced us to her mother and father and then we made our way back to her house. We sat outside drinking some more kava and she introduced us to her cousin, Junior. Junior was a lively guy who was very funny. He told us about living in Fiji, how he wants to travel around but has never left Fiji and about how what we were to experience tonight was the real Fiji.

Asinate's family is Methodist and attend this church right in her village.

Meeting Asinate's Parents.

Grandpa with his bestie, Junior.

Asinate introduced us to her sister and her niece who helped make all the food for dinner. Then she invited us inside. The girls went inside while the boys stayed out to drink some more Kava. Inside, Asinate had prepared a feast and it was spread out on a beautiful blanket on the ground. We took our seats around the blanket and Asinate's sister began telling us what everything was. She had made fresh fried fish, boiled fish with coconut milk, taro and cassava root, chicken roasted in a lovo, chicken chop suey, corned beef wrapped in taro leaves fresh fruit, crabs in a half shell and a coconut slaw. We all filled our plates, trying new things (even Robb!) and filling ourselves. She had even set up a special table for Grandma and Grandpa. They served us fresh squeezed lemon juice. Throughout dinner we chatted about the food, or in the case of Asinate's niece, about Hannah Montana and the Disney Channel. They only get it every Sunday.

The spread!

Ready to eat with Asinate

The whole gang. Asinate's sister is in the gold dress.

Push Pops!

After we had eaten the boys came in and pigged out. The food was delicious and truly authentic. After dinner we headed out onto the porch for some more kava and just talking to each other. Junior told us about how he was going to be a movie star and be "the new Drew Carey show". He said he would come to America, to Hollywood and Grandpa would have to drive him around in a limo while he sipped champagne in the back. They taught us about their traditions. Women should cover their shoulders and knees when in the village. The men stay living in the village with their families but the women move with their husbands. The kids can be given small amounts of kava but aren't allowed to drink Kava officially until they are 16. The men and women are buried in the cemetery separately. After many more rounds of "low tide" (only filled half way) Kava they sang their farewell song, Isa Lei, to us. After hugging everyone and thanking them for everything we piled back in the van and headed home. It was such a special experience that none of us will ever forget.