Tell us about your experience on this programme
Bula! From landing in Nandi to leaving our village, I had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was my first time in Fiji, and I was super excited to learn about indigenous Fijian culture and practices! While we were in the village, the sections of each day, being split into co-led workshops, cultural activities, sports, and evening time, ensured that we were given a range of opportunities to learn and grow within the village! Full cultural immersion living with host families, eating with them, sleeping with them.
This experience has definitely made me grateful for the experience, but also grateful for the privileges we are afforded here in New Zealand. Being Pasifika myself, but having lived in the Pasifika diaspora here in Auckland, being in Daku (our village) was definitely an emotional time for me given the similarities in our cultures.
I would definitely advise future students to leave their preconceived ideals and expectations on the plane. To be open-minded and culturally sensitive to other ways of living and to be grateful. Grateful for both the experience to go, but more for the space their host villages have made for them.
Were you satisfied with the cross-cultural experiences this programme provided?
As mentioned above, we had engaged in cultural workshops 2 hours everyday, that focused on a distinct aspect of Fijian, Daku culture. This ranged from weaving baskets, grinding kava, making pilo’s [kava cups] from coconut shells, fishing and more! Outside these incredible experiences though, the culture of Daku ran throughout every minute we spent in the village!
Whether this was sunday church sessions, praying for kana [food], listening to hymns being sung by the youth at the start every workshop, saying “tulou” while walking past someone! My expectations on the depth of knowledge I’d learn during those 2 weeks were satisfied and more.
What skills do you think this experience helped you gain, and how so? How might this differ from the experience you could otherwise gain in New Zealand?
Living in suburban New Zealand is quite a privileged life. But even then, I was reminded of the joy of living within a village. I have further strengthened my skills to cultivate genuine community, focusing on the connections with a person instead of the benefits.
During the co-leading workshops, I had also led a few workshops where I was the main facilitator. This enabled me to practice my public speaking, and adapt to each new situation.
If anything, I have learnt life skills that will continue to mold me into a better person.
Did you encounter any particular challenges in preparing for or during this programme that might be important for future students to be aware of?
In all honesty, my biggest challenge was understanding that everyone within the volunteer team was at different stages of cultural competency, especially at the start of our experience.
Village life in Tonga, is quite similar to village life in Fiji, and so I am grateful to have had this prior experience to understand. I can now understand that not everyone in the volunteer team would’ve either had this experience or the cultural understanding necessary for living in a village. With this, I had to be more patient and allow them the grace and space to learn, grow more open-minded and develop at their own pace.
You rated this experience as one you were “highly likely to recommend” to a friend. What gives you the confidence to do so?
I am all for cultural immersions, widening one’s cultural understandings and gaining experiences you wouldn’t have otherwise been afforded outside your status quo. Think Pacific was an incredibly wonderful experience that provided a safe space for all of us to learn about Fijian culture at our own pace. The work and people of Think Pacific are truly incredible and have made my experience all the more special – VINAKA!