A Righteous Day….

Righteous in the completely, mind-numbingly boring religious sense. Amy and I went to church this morning. It lasted for over two hours and, like last time, was all in Fijian. Unfortunately, this time, there were fewer choir songs, which is the only highlight of the service. An Aussie couple from the Hideaway resort sat next to us. It was amusing to see their anticipation at first. But, after 30 minutes of sitting in church with only one or two other adult Fijians and a score of fidgety children singing songs on and off, they asked me when church was suppose to begin. I said usually at 10:00 (it was 10:30), but that it was based on “Fiji time”. At 10:45 the adults began strolling in and sitting down… by 11:00 the full Choir had arrived. The restless couple next to me began to get excited once again. They asked me if it was my first time. I sighed and said, “No. I’ve been several times.” They were curious to see what Fijian church was like. The look on their faces when I told them that the service was all in Fijian and would last until 12:30 was priceless. I know I’m evil, but honestly, I needed to entertain myself or I would fidget like the children and be smacked in the head with a stick by Luke, “The Disciplinarian”. Anyway, halfway into the service I looked at the Aussie couple next to me and then over at Amy, not one of them could mask the draining, tired look of pure boredom and anxiousness to get out. I was nearly out of my mind with boredom too when I remembered the book “Red Tent”. It’s the story of Jacob’s family, in the book of Genesis, as told by his daughter, Dinah. I decided to read those chapters of Genesis and see how it compared to Red Tent. I became so absorbed in the story that I didn’t even hear the preacher say, in English, that we were free to go. The Aussie couple practically climbed over me to get out.
Once out of church, Amy and I went to the Chief’s house for a brief Kava ceremony and lunch. It was awkward because we don’t know the proper decorum, so we relied on the Chief to direct us. He would say something to me, like “Sit here, just behind me. And, cross your legs this way.” I would in turn have to direct Amy. You’d think I would have remembered from last time, but the Chief even had a hard time with the specifics. At one point, he told us to move around him and sit on his right side. One of the elders muttered something, then the Chief said “Oh, sah-ŕee. I make a mistake. Come ova hëŕ again.” So, we gathered our skirts in the appropriate manner and crawled on our knees (because that’s how you have to “walk”) back over to our original spots. There was a bit more shuffling before the ceremony actually began. The kava was mixed and the leaders drank from the first bowls. Amy and I were included in the rounds to follow. After my third bowl, I was really hoping the Chief would let us move over to the food. I don’t have fond memories of kava. Fortunately, since we’re women, we were sent over to the food before the men. Una (the Chief’s wife), Amy and I sat around a cloth on the floor and ate delicious! kasava and taro leaves in coconut milk. (Akisi made the taro leaves in coconut milk. She made us the “vegetarian” version… without the canned corned beef. Thank jee-bus!). After lunch, I asked the Chief if I could get a picture with him. He said, “NO! You have a boyfriend.” Such a tease! I told him I needed to make him jealous. The elders seemed to get a real kick out of that. They were practically rolling around laughing. I got a great picture with the Chief and an albino Fijian.
I missed Akisi during lunch. She said that she would join us, but never showed up. It turns out that she got in a fight with her dad (the Big Kahuna) because she wanted to take us back to the lodge for lunch. She was embarrassed that we would be sitting on the floor. The Chief told her that we (me and Amy) are Fijian girls now and we could sit on the floor like all other Fijians. I certainly hope she didn’t think that I minded sitting on the floor. I sit on the floor and eat dinner at home all the time. Oh well. It’s too bad though, because she sulked back home and missed lunch.
While I’m on the subject, let me tell you a little bit about Kenyi and Akisi. I really like them. At times, it’s still awkward because everyone’s trying to be polite and, although they speak English very well, there is still a bit of a language barrier. For example, when I make a joke that they don’t understand, or they try to tell me something but it just doesn’t cross over into English. Akisi is the older daughter. She is shy and somewhat reserved. I think she may even have a tendency towards depression. But, she loves to talk to us and asks a lot of questions. She cooks dinner every night and it’s always excellent. For example, tonight she made a green bean, onion and garlic stir fry with some sort of sweet potato-like tuber. It was really good. Thursday night is going to be “Indian Night”. We’re all getting together and making Dahl soup with homemade roti! I can’t wait. I feel really bad that she cooks for us because she spends all day cleaning rooms at the Naviti resort. She must be exhausted when she gets home. I’ve tried many times to cook for her, but she won’t let me. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I pretty much ruined her frying pan when I tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich on their kerosene stove. Within a few seconds the sandwich was charcoal. I didn’t realize that cooking with a kerosene stove is like cooking with a blow torch.
Anyway, on to Kenyi. She is the youngest of the Chief’s children and turns 21 in a few months. She is spunky, outgoing and daring. She’s also very funny. She and Akisi talk a mile a minute in Fijian and crack each other up. She also cracks me and Amy up at dinner. Kenyi does the dishes every night, which I’ve also protested, to no avail. And, like Akisi, she works all day at a resort, but she works the boutique. I like to tease Kenyi because one of the men from next door has a crush on her. He’s from an island village called Taveuni. It’s very far away; you can only get there by plane. He and some other men from his village are working construction on a new resort up the road. He comes by every day asking for her. In fact, he’s here tonight having “tea” (aka Ovaltine) with them in the kitchen. Akisi told me that he asked “What’s for dinner?” She explained that it was all vegetables since we’re vegetarians. She was referring to all of us, since she and Kenyi have become temporary vegetarians while we’re here. They think it will make them healthier. Anyway, this guy said, “Well if you’re vegetarians, then I’m a vegetable!” Akisi seemed to find this hilarious. Okay, it was a little funny. I’m dying to see if he and Kenyi become an item. Akisi is practically engaged to a guy from the village who lives nearby. I was completely shocked to discover this since she has never mentioned him… ever. I suspect there’s a bit of cultural pressure involved in her relationship with him. Interesting…. It’s “As the World (in Fiji) Turns”.