By Nicola Bohnet from Germany

My routine

In the morning I got up at half-past seven, got ready and had breakfast with the other participants in the centre. This is also where the other meals take place later. From nine on a taxi took us to the project, where we spent three hours with the children of the Kindergarten. Together we sang, did handicrafts and played a lot. From 12 o’clock on, we went back to the apartment, where we had lunch directly. Before and after we had free time, which I often used to do laundry or plan excursions.

At half-past two, some of us met again, so we could prepare the tutoring in a village. One hour later we left. The children in the Village were always very happy to see us. They came voluntarily to improve their school performance. Here I usually taught the third and fourth grade in math. But singing, handicrafts and games were also played daily. After about one hour of lessons and singing together, we went back to the centre. There, the dinner was waiting for us at half-past five. Afterwards, we often sat together, talked or played games. At ten I usually went to bed and looked forward to another eventful day.

My Free Time

The first weekend we went to the Beach House, a hostel on a beautiful beach, which is perfect for relaxing. Snorkelling was also on the program. Twice we spent the weekend also in Nadi, the tourist area from where you can reach the whole islands. On another weekend we stayed in the accommodation and made a little trip to the capital Suva.

My experiences with the new culture: The people are very friendly and warm and bring a lot of energy and temperament. Everywhere, whether in the car or in the house, you hear loud music that spreads a good mood. Although many of the inhabitants live in corrugated iron huts and do not own much, they are always cheerful and seem happy and content with what they have. The children are very open-minded. They immediately come running towards you, hug you and want to play with you. In the beginning, I was almost a bit overwhelmed, because I didn’t know that from home. But soon I took the children, who were always so happy and full of energy, into my heart.

My most beautiful moments

Right from the beginning, I noticed that the children have a lot of creative ideas even with few toys and get along with little. Every morning you are greeted by several people with a friendly “Bula”.

Tips to other globetrotters: Do not expect to be able to change people and their circumstances and attitudes. (You cannot make the world a better place here).

So it is better to adjust to it and make the best of it, for example by treating the children differently yourself. Fiji is a male-dominated culture, so be careful, especially in the evening, and don’t go anywhere alone.

My conclusion

Going abroad was one of the best decisions I could make. It gave me the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to get an open-minded attitude. It taught me to appreciate the little things and still I was looking forward to one or the other home again. It was wonderful to get to know another culture and to experience how different children can be and how much energy and vitality and joy they radiate despite the simple circumstances of life. I will remember this time often back. This journey was a time I will never forget.

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