Housing, Culture, Health, and Safety Information
Information for your Work and Witness Trip toFiji
Housing: You will be staying at the accommodation chosen by your team leader. We will try to make sure there is an oven and 4-burner stove for your use while in Fiji. Please keep in mind that stoves outside of the United States are often significantly smaller than USA stoves. You will likely be using a gas stove/oven, though electric appliances are becoming more common in Fiji today. Laundry facilities will be close to where you are staying the night, and should be in a safe location. Often laundry facilities are operated by local Fijians, and you will pay a fair price for having them supervise the washing and drying of your clothing. Nevertheless, if you have important laundry items you may want to keep someone close by while they dry. Often hang-drying is used, and therefore a watchperson is nice to have. Depending upon where your team leader has chosen to stay, there may or may not be a dryer available.
Your team will have a refrigerator available, again sizes are smaller than USA sizes. Power can black out for hours at a time, though this is becoming less common, and we have not experienced anything over 2 hours, except after a cyclone. Your team will have access to: (fridge, stove, freezer, slow cooker, rice cooker, mixer, coffee maker, coolers, work site drink holders, laundry, and hopefully a dryer). Some of your meals will be provided by the Fiji church. These will likely include curries, leaf-cooked vegetables, root crops like baked taro, potato, and cassava, and other Fijian meals. Coconut, fish, chicken, taro, cassava, and yam are favorites. Restaurant meals are very inexpensive for really good tasting food here in Fiji. $28 US will feed 4 and provide a coke for each of person as well. There will be a meeting area for your team where you can debrief with each other in a setting that allows you to share concerns / blessings with your team. Local missionaries and church leaders will be accessible, and likely working with you the whole time unless District/business pulls them away for a while.
Clothing:To church,some men wear slacksanda button-up shirt or polo-style shirt.All Indian-ethnicity church goers wear slacks and button up shirt. If you are preaching it is good to have a tie.The majority of Fijian men will wear a sulu which is like a straight skirt/kilt. The ladies wear dresses or skirts that are below the knee for church and for activities in town. You will see some tourists in shorts and sleeveless shirts, but most Fijian ladies do not dress this way. Flip flops or open sandals will help keep you cool, but for any heavy work you should also have closed shoes for better protection. For work days men can wear shorts and women can wear capris, but having a skirt or wrap available if you go into town is helpful. It is very hot and humid in Fiji. Light weight clothing will be more comfortable and will dry faster after washing. Fiji has beautiful beaches.For water activities, men can wear swim shorts with or without a shirt - but be aware that sun burns can happen very quickly. Dave always wears a UV-blocking swim shirt. At tourist resorts or hotel swimming pools there may be ladies (mostly international) wearing traditional swimsuits. In more public places, most Fijian women dress more conservatively and would swim in their regular clothes,shorts, or capris with a tank top or dark t-shirt. You may want to bring some swim attire options to match the swim setting. Also, a hat will help protect you from sunburns and is highly recommended.
Weather:Rain can come suddenly any time of the year and be very heavy, so anumbrella and light plastic rain poncho are recommended. These can be purchased here for around $7 if you want to save weight in your luggage.From May to October the temperature averages between 70-82 deg F with humidity. November to April averages 75-89, is more rainy and more humid (75-96%), and is the cyclone season.Definitely wear sunscreen even for cloudy days.Bugspray helps fend off mosquitoesif you're out at dusk or dawn, or walking through fields or forests. A light jumpsuit/sweat pants can be a nice evening mosquito repellant!
Health/Safety: Vegetables and fruit thatyou will eat raw should beput in a sinkful of water with a capful of bleach for about 10 minutes.Carry your own toilet paper for when you are out and about and take and use hand-sanitizer.By the way, try to use hand sanitizer discreetly, as it can say "I think you people are dirty" which is not the impression we want to send of course. But do use hand sanitizer! Water from the tap is considered drinkable, though Dave and Rosie only drink filtered water or bottled water as they like to be on the safer side of sorry. That said, all of our neighbors do not serve us that water, and we do not think we have been sick from any of that yet. There will be at least one water filter at your location, please keep it filled so you do not run out. Bottled water costs $1 USD for a 1.5 liter bottle. Ice in restaurants that look "modernized" is safe, we would recommend against it at the road food stops.
For safety, always let your team leader know where you are going. Do not go places alone. Women should go with a man. Don't go for walks at night. Some places in town are known for pick-pocketing. Don't flash cash around. Keep your room door locked. Hide valuables as break-ins are not uncommon. Saying your name to a down town vendor could get you a personalized wooden memento of Fiji with your name on it and a really guilty feeling if you do not want to buy it, and the vendor will heap guilt upon you. So, you may want to avoid conversations with vendors or overly curious people in down town Suva. If you are asked your name out in the countryside then it is just a friendly conversation, no worries!
Bring basic medicines for yourself:any prescription medicines you need, pain medication, antidiarrheals, motion sickness medicine. It is wise to have a team first aid kit at the work site, including benedryl for allergic reactions and hydrocortisone topical for itchy rashes. Ear plugs are helpful at night when traffic and other noises are disturbing, and for protection when using loud tools. Fiji does not have malaria, but it does have dengue fever. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes, so bug spray is very important and our family sleeps with a mosquito net, but few others seem to around here. Again, safe is better than sorry for us. For detailed travel safety information go to
Immunizations recommended: Routine immunizations including an up to date tetanus shot (MUST HAVE!), typhoid shot or pills, andHepatitis A. It is recommended that you receive your first Hepatitis A shot at least 2 weeks before your trip and then a second dose 6 months later for lifelong immunity. Even if you get your Hepatitis A shot one day before the trip, it is better than nothing.
Being friendly:Most people greet by shaking hands and saying "bula" which in Fijian literally means "life!" or "good!" Thank you is "vinaka," good morning is "yandra," and good-bye is pronounced "moh-they" but is spelled "moce." The people of Indian ethnicity greet with "namaste!" (or "ramram" which is one of their gods, so we say "namaste") and are usually very pleased when you greet them this way. Both Fijian and Indian ladies greet other ladies with an open hug and kiss on the cheek. In ALL homes you take your shoes off at the door--just do what everyone else is doing. People usually are happy to have their picture taken. Sorry, but giving gifts DOES cause problems—if you want to leave behind clothing or shoes, tools or any other item for a national then give it to the missionary to distribute after you leave. Do not give gifts personally unless you have cleared that with the missionary first, as time has shown that one or two people often have the "right look" and receive the lion's share of gifts, whereas truly needy people may get overlooked. This creates jealousy and other feelings and actions that can cause problems long after the team has left. Your attention to this matter is greatly (GREATLY) appreciated.
You are going to love Fiji, the Fijians, and the work that you do here with the people. You will be a great blessing, and we believe the Lord has a big blessing in store for you as well.
Bula! and Vaka Kalougnatataki iko na Turaga!
Or, Fir milenge! Parmeshwar ashish deio!
(Farewell! May the Lord bless you!)
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