GRASS ROOTZ

THE TO BE CONTINUATION PART

2006-11-20T04:49:00.000-08:00

So I went to Fiji and I came back and I have to say that my failure to update this blog was all part of the ordeal. Two major reasons :

1) Getting internet access just to update your bloody blog can cost you a fortune.
2) I was having too much fun to be wasting my time on a stupid blog.

Yeah! Yeah! So I have photos and a couple of videos that I promised you guys. Unfortunately, the guy who I gave the videos to watch has not returned any of them. But I will get them back eventually because I have somethings that are his so it will eventually turn out to be a barter exchange.

Anyways, first point that should be stated is that, "I AM GOING TO FIJI AGAIN." Alot of people are jealous because I get to go to Fiji twice in a year. Well bottomline is that I am blessed to be given a chance to go twice. The problems are still the same: NEED MORE MONEY.

Although my trip is funded by third parties as usual, I still need to go back with my pockets filled, so to speak. Not only will the "namu train" be waiting for me but the festive season and all its money raping effects will take its toll on me. So here is a point to take into consideration, although Fiji is the best place to be in the festive season, I wouldn't want to be there for one particular reason - Having a shortage of Cash!

So one thing I learnt when I went to Fiji is weekends can be a real joy to my pockets because one thing these Fijians are crazy over is the Yaqona or grog/kava. All my peers from my school year have developed this liking for grog as if it tasted good. Yaqona is a herbal medicine that relieves stress by giving you a buzz that is like no other. Yaqona is only taken when there is a group of two or more people sitting around a grog bowl. There are people who drink alone but those are the hardcore grog swipers (let's not talk about them). Now grog will cost you $10 a bag for 'sevusevu', approximately US$6.35, and that could last you a whole night depending on the amount of people involved. Its really cheap considering the fact that we pay US$11 to get a 12 pack that wouldn't get us as drunk as how yaqona gets us. But the only problem is everytime you go to drink grog with friends, you have to pay US$6.35 for sevusevu. And guys back at home usually do it everyday! So a note to myself would be to cut down on the grog!

*sevusevu - is a fijian tradition of bearing a gift in the form of yaqona/kava/grog. Whenever one visits a place, the individual is to take a bag of yaqona as a sign of good tidings. You're not expected to bring a sevusevu but your will to do so, will bring you alot of respect.

So you should have learnt atleast 3 new things from this post:

1) Updating a blog is proven to be worthless when going to Fiji for a visit.
2) I am going to Fiji again.
3) You should now know a little bit more about drinking grog and traditions or protocols to a occassional kava drinking session.

I would love to ramble more but I have to sleep too. I'll keep you posted!

Cheers,

Ben

TRAVEL BAGS

2006-06-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't know whether there has been any research conducted on, "Which group of people travel with the most bags on a single flight from America to a foreign land?" but I am pretty sure that we could statistically prove that Fijians travel with the most bags. The reason I say this is because when Fijians travel back home they are expected to take back more than just their belongings. Part of their luggage would include dolls, clothes, bed sheets, towels and other items that are not usually taken on vacations. This is all a part of the unique approach that Fijians have to travelling home.

These past few days I have been contemplating whether or not I will have enough money to buy stuff to take back home to my family. In my drawer, I have list requests which are probably a 100 yrs old. When I say list requests, I mean, lists of things that people back home in the island had requested that I purchase for them. What amazes me is the fact that these "lists" grow to a point where one person would have a couple of lists to his/her name. These lists come to me in many forms, it can be in the form of a letter, an e-mail, a phone call and even through the "tell-a-friend to tell my brother to buy me this" method. I could only wonder whether people back home think that money grows on trees in America. Eventually, despite the long lists and "can you buy me this requests," my obligation would be to atleast buy one thing for each person.

So there you have it, another key point to take into consideration when travelling to Fiji - "TAKE HOME ALOT OF LUGGAGE." It is inevitable to consider what people in Fiji want, when packing your travelling bags for your visit back home. It is most likely that you will travel with alot of luggage when you go home and return with as little as the clothes that you have on. I mean not even your own belongings will come back with you. Everything from your favourite sunglasses, to shoes, to books, to money and the whole nine yards will be a part of your foot-prints in Fiji. But what's beautiful about it is that when you leave Fiji, you leave with the blessings of your family...Nothing more and Nothling Less!

THE MONEY MAKING CONCEPT

2006-05-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

Never in my life have I ever been really in need of money. Today I called up one of my favoured "Tavale's" (cousins) in search of a way to make some quick cash for Fiji. I got word a from a very reliable source that her boss was paying a Mexican guy $200 each month to clean-up their home garden which is about as big as 12ft x 10ft. Its not much of a job for $200 and being that I needed some dough, I made it my mission to convince my cousin into hiring me and not the mexican guy. But still $200 isn't enough for my cause.

The reason behind my sudden urge to raise money is the fact that when an islander returns home, it is advised that he pack all of his cheap clothes with only one pair of shoes but most importantly be loaded with a heck of a lot of money. My warning was given by none other than my homeboy and neighbour for 15 years, Steenox, whose exact words were, " Bro when are you coming down? The Namu train is waiting!" Having lived and been a part of the Namu train for a portion of my growing age, I could identify what Steenox means when the Namu train is waiting. It means I have to get off my ass and start looking for money.

The Namu Train is a labelled status for the people back home in the islands who think that when one returns from a foreign country, he shall be bringing back money to cater for the needs of those onboard. In other words, it is a bunch of people who eagerly await your coming in expectancy of good tidings that involve the giving away of money. However, funny enough, the namu train only functions for the first two weeks of the foreigners visit. Sometimes even longer! In one perspective you are thought highly off and given alot of respect on your return to the motherland; on the other hand you are losing are hack of alot of money on things such as alcohol, food and other daily necessities..lol.

If you come home broke, you're most probably a joke! Not entirely true, but in my culture, you don't want to come home broke. So here is to raising an awareness that Navstar is in need of money for travels back to Fiji..lol. Alot of my family have been telling me to visit them before I go down to Fiji so that they could give me some pocket money. That's pretty much my first source of income for travels...Anyone with ideas?

A NEW BEGINNING

2006-05-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued to find a couple of blogs registered under the keyword fiji, here on blogspot. But sad to say, we need more. It is understandable that the lack of technological advancements and also governement policy restrictions may be one of the reasons why we don't see much of the Fijian presence online nowadays. Infact most online users who indetify themselves to be fijians, are ones that are residing in a country other than the homeland. And to harp on, not many of this majority even bother to make their presence online known through sites as such that provide you with an opportunity to speak your mind. With that said, I have to give props to those who have taken the initiative of establishing their presence online through this. It would most probably be the closest a novice computer user could ever get to having a website and best of all it is as user friendly as your restroom.

Now for the main reason why I am creating this blog.

I am going to be vacationing in Fiji in a couple of weeks after having spent 2 years of studying in the place I would rather call "The Land of the Arid" - The United States of America. So what better way to document my 2 month stay than through this means of communication. Many who know me might ask, "You're a web designer why don't you just get your own website?". My answer - "I only have a couple of weeks left. If I start my personal site now, I probably wouldn't be able to finish it in time." So I can be grateful that blogspot has provided me with a pre-built solution (much like a CMS) and space on their server to post pictures, videos and a little ramble about my 2 month stay in beautiful Fiji.

Considering the reason earlier mentioned in this article regarding internet usage in Fiji, you could probably infer that I may not have internet access as often as I do here in the U.S. But when I do, I'll be sure to make use of every single minute of it. I'll probably go as far as sneaking into the U.S.P (University of the South Pacific) computer labs to wrestle with the WWW for a couple of minutes or even hours!

So there it is, in the build up to the Fiji vacation, I'll probably post about what it takes to be a Fijian travelling back to the islands after a long time. And let me tell you, it takes more than you think!

Cheers,

Ben