SO IT BEGINS

Bula! I have been traveling since Sunday morning at 10:30; and now, in Suva, Fiji, it is 10:30 on Tuesday morning. My flight from JFK to LAX was easy; I had the luck of getting an emergency exit seat, so my long legs were happy. During my layover in LAX, I grabbed dinner with my old friend David Kaplan, who now works out in Hollywood. It was really nice to see him, and to have one of my closest friends see me off right before my big adventure. The flight to Nadi was about eleven hours, but it was the easiest eleven-hour flight I have ever taken: I had all three seats to myself, so I was able to lie down. So, I actually slept for about seven hours. The rest of the time, I read Vonnegut’s Galapagos, watched a Simpsons and listened to the Beatles. (Not all at the same time, of course!). I arrived in Nadi, which is on the Western coast of Viti Levu (Fiji’s biggest island) at about 5am. After gathering my bag and clearing customs, I then switched my domestic ticket from Nadi to Suva (the capitol city on the Eastern coast of Viti Levu) from an 8:45am to a 7am flight. The plane (if you can call it that) was powered by propeller and was only a fifteen seater. But that’s not the funny part: I was the only one on it. There were two pilots and a stewardess and myself. Very VIP. I can get used to traveling like that.

Already, in just a short few hours, I have made some headway into my research in Suva. During my taxi ride from Nausori (Suva) airport to the city, I made a – potentially – excellent contact. After explaining the core of my research to my driver, a very friendly Hindu named Jitan, he invited me to a traditional Hindu wedding this upcoming weekend. Should this come together, it will be a great opportunity to observe the musical dynamic of a Hindu wedding ceremony. Furthermore, after exchanging numbers, Jitan also graciously offered that if I want to attend a Sunday church service in a village, he would gladly arrange that, as well. It should be noted that a typical Christian Fijian mass has a tremendous musical essence to it. It is conceivable that the musicality of Christian Fijian service demonstrates how Fijians integrated elements of their own indigenous religion to Christianity. Surely, the Methodist missionaries in the 1800s did not preach the Bible with song and dance...In any event, hopefully I will be able to attend a mass to see for myself.

Also, while exploring the neighborhood around my hotel (I will be downgrading to a hostel after the first two nights), I stumbled across a music shop. In the window, there was a poster for a drum and percussion clinic on Saturday. I will definitely have to check that out! I also have been going in and out of the many record shops this city has: I already bought my first traditional Fijian CD; it just has classic island songs, but the lal (wooden slat drum) is used on all the tracks.

Although I have only scratched the surface of the city, my immediate impression is that it is a quaint, easy-going city. The intimacy of the city is quite apparent: while in the taxi, Jitan said hello (in passing) to a number of people, young and old. It’s nice to see that even in the “big” city of Fiji, there is still a community feel.

What is really separates Suva from the rest of Fiji – aside from the fact that it is the largest city – is that there are almost no tourists here. Foreigners come to Fiji for the beaches and fancy (isolated) resorts. Just about every Western couple I saw on the plane was either on a honeymoon, or a retired older couple: while I cannot fully assert that these individuals just came to Fiji for the beaches, it is safe to say that tourism is minimal in Suva. As Jitan said, “The foreigners come from a big city; so why would they want to see another big city on their holiday?”

Considering I’ve only been here for just a couple hours, it has been very productive. I was able to drop my bag off at my hotel (I arrived at about 8:45, check in is at 2pm); bought a new SIM card, and a cellphone charger. I get free incoming calls, so if you want to chat my number is, country code, (679) 975 6007. Just bear in mind that I am seventeen hours ahead of you; so the best time to call me would be when it’s evening on the East Coast. (You’ll also have cheaper rates, probably).

So far, everything has been strangely seamless: the only minor setback has been that it is rainy outside. Otherwise, no complaints from my end!

Well, this ends my first abroad post. Feel free to leave a comment (you might have to register with blogspot but I’ll be doing this for a year, so it’s worth it!), or drop me an email. Thanks for reading.

The opposite of Bula,
JBH