Remote Island Teaching in Fiji

What an incredible experience to be able to live in amongst the island community, fully immersed in village life. I really really enjoyed my stay and it was so amazing to explore the island in my free time. In the classroom, it was mostly helping kids one on one with the work assigned by the teacher, but for about 4-5 days I was in charge of my own class (because the teacher was away) so I organised and implemented different activities and work for the kids to improve their English. Not only did we help out with teaching in the classrooms, we also got to do lots of other community projects like beach cleanups, tree planting, preparing for the sports carnival, and cassava farming. Great for a really authentic experience of Fiji, but important to know that the living conditions can be quite challenging (no running water (so no flushing toilets, taps to wash hands, showers, etc), limited power/electricity, very limited access to fruit/veggies, and lots of different customs to adhere to). Overall a really positive experience that Im very grateful for :) The host family was so awesome and made sure we were doing well, keeping us very well fed, caring for me when I saw sick, and constantly checking in on us. The food was SO DELICIOUS but I did struggle with the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially at the start because my body just was not used to eating so much rice and noodles for every meal. The accomodation was good… it would have been nice to have a little reading light in my room because once the sun was down, i was no longer able to read or journal, but that’s a minor issue. On the mainland, Masi and Mere were so so awesome, super friendly, often checking in on us and so quick to resolve any problems that came up.

My experience has been great so far me and Amelia have really enjoyed it being able to teach the kids art and English, play football with the students and even did swimming lessons for the kindergarten children in the sea. We definitely feel at home with the family here in Fiji too. We’ve been fishing Fiji style, swimming in the rain and climbing up the big rock near the school. Currently we’ve been organising the library as all the books were on the floor at the back of a room so it?s taken a while. Definitely an experience I won’t forget!

I hope its not too long and words are hard to describe the feelings i have after this wonderful experience. The whole two- week trip was a highlight from me. From being picked up at the airport by Masi’s son to being driven to the Denaru by a family friend. I arrived on the island with the headmaster’s family in a small fibreglass boat and it is certainly something I’ll never forget. Fiji is such a family orientated culture, which made me feel so comfortable from the start. Everyone welcomed me with open arms and I felt right at home from the beginning. The children melted my heart with their beautiful smiles and cheekiness, the locals always greeted me as I wandered past with the kids and the pristine beaches and coral reefs that surrounded the island were stunning. My host family were incredible, so generous with everything they had. They answered my questions, talked to me, laughed with me and my two Fijian “brothers” I had for two weeks,I will never forget. I left Fiji feeling like I was a part of their family. The teaching staff were so appreciative of everything I did and they made me feel like part of the school. The island is such a picturesque island with natural beauty everywhere you looked. I loved waking up in the morning to the sun shining and the sounds of the children going about their morning jobs. I felt that I have experienced the “real” Fiji in staying on a remote island and living like a local. I would not have wanted it any other way for my first experience as a volunteer. Lauren was fabulous with her communication and any questions I had were answered promptly. Even though I had no reason to contact her whilst in Fiji, I felt 100% supported the whole time. Masi and his family were incredible hosts and I felt right at home staying with him and his family. He was informative and extremely helpful when my bags went missing (haha) and more importantly a kind soul. The food on the island was quite bland compared to what I was use to back home but there was plenty of it and I enjoyed trying out the various Fijian foods that were prepared for me. As we were briefed, vegetables and fruits were few and far between but this was expected. Once again I was expecting clean but no frills accommodation in comparison to what I am use to. The toilet for me was somewhat of a challenge in the beginning (haha) and the shower was buckets of water. You just have to embrace it and go with the flow because that is how they live and it was important for me to be grateful for what they had given me. This experience was out of my comfort zone but hands down one of the best things I’ve ever done. As I’m quite an organised person I felt a little disorganised before leaving but to be honest I felt completely okay once I landed in Fiji. Their carefree nature rubbed off and me and I just felt that everything would be fine! In terms of the teaching, next time I would love to organise in advance what I could do at school so I could help as much as possible (but as I’m a teacher at home I think this why I felt this way). I loved how the organisation did as much as possible to help but on the other hand let you sort some of it out a little bit yourself too. I especially liked how I was on the island by myself for a week and not in a big group of volunteers. I feel you can become part of the community when it is like this and I really got to know the children and teachers during this time when I was alone.