Volunteer in Fiji - Mad Crew Blog from Lucy……

So, the last project!One word would sum it up, emotional! All the volunteers shed a LOT of tears towards the end of the project, as did I.

We were basically continuing the other half of what the first volunteer group did. Completing the outside walls of the community centre, floor, and adding on doors and windows. This meant more hammering, sawing, general carpentry which we are getting very good at! We had a lots of guests come to visit the village as in Fijian custom it is rude not to visit a village before the building is completed - so that meant a lot more yummy FOOD and of course Grog!There was lots of weaving, the girls made mats, a bit of fishing, snorkelling, climbing up coconuts trees, swimming in the sea, playing lots of volleyball and rugby, making some Fijian foods which went down a treat, and in general just enjoying "Fiji time"!

One story that stuck out was the Youth Rally, which is basically a massive gathering of all the youths under 30 in the surrounding district. Our village Naboutini was the host, and each village performed in church a song. The Naboutini youth requested that the volunteers sing a hymn and through elimination we settled with Sing Low. However, after much practice on our parts we didn't feel comfortable singing it alone, so it was decided they would sing with us our English song and we would then sing with Naboutini their Fijian song.After much practice (in the Madventurer hall) we sounded pretty awesome and were ready for the big event. The Youth Rally was on the Thursday evening, so in the day time there was much to be done. The village caught a bore & started up a BBQ, with lots of fish, and the well known Lova. We all donned our sulu's and Chamba's and looked the part. We ate at the feast, drank some grog and pretty much stunned everyone in church when we all sang in Fijian.We got standing ovations and Naboutini even requested we sang again on Sunday at Church for the rest of the villagers who missed out.

Another day that stuck out was the final trip to the Primary Voli Voli School, where we helped out in class in the morning, and then took games in the afternoon which ended rather muddily and resulted in a swim in the river. All the volunteers said that this was one of their favourite days, as it was pretty awesome. As well as the trek up to the plantation to see how their income is made, mainly through Waka, coconuts, root veg, weaving etc. It was very muddy so we headed to the river to wash and cool off, and of course have a go on the rope swing!An excellent way to end the afternoon more "Fiji time"!

In the final week, all the families who were cooking for us, for the first time actually ate with us and invited their whole extended families. It was lovely to eat with them as opposed to eating in front of them which is how they do things. On the last night we had a massive feast & they'd caught several sharks that day for supper. They presented us with flowered necklaces and woven handicrafts, and sang us a farewell Fijian song.

The leaving day was pretty manic, with leaving packing to the last minute and running around the village donating old clothing and bits and bobs to the villagers who were very grateful. We of course had one last volleyball match where we "nearly" beat Fiji, followed by a grog session - where we said goodbye to all the elders and I was told to kiss the chiefs forehead as this was the "norm" and all the other volunteers were told to do so, so I led by example and got a big laughing reaction from the villagers, so none of the volunteers followed suit understandably. We then had our final meal, and walked to the truck that was waiting for us. All the villagers had lined up surrounding the truck, and we went around giving everyone hugs and saying our goodbyes (emotional). The truck managed to get up the muddy hill and we were off, with the whole village waving us on our way. Once back in Labasa, the volunteers were all craving a night out so we hit Pontoon, with some of the boys from Naboutini coming along to say goodbye to the group. It was an awesome way to end the project off and say goodbye to (probably now) life long friends.I am really going to miss everyone on the project and hope we will all stay in touch, and maybe make it back out to Fiji soon!

A massive Madventurer thanks to everyone in Naboutini village for making us feel so welcome and part of their family it's truly been an amazing and unforgettable Summer.

A BIG SPECIAL MAD thanks to Daisy, Ben, Naomi, Rachel, Neil, Louisa, Lucy, Louise, Camilla, Mikey, Nathan, Alex, Siena, George, Bronwen and Alex for all their hard work and fun times throughout the projects. Without you guys the building project just wouldn't have happened. Well done to you all and please keep in touch! X x x

If you want to spend your GAP year in Fiji, or volunteer in Fiji for 2012 then just get in touch with Mad HQ for more details on 0845 121 1996 or email team@madventurer.com You honestly won't want to leave Fiji!

Lucy Mad Fiji crew signing off…….x