Fiji Time

The sun begins to make its descent, as I step down the beach studded with broken shards of sun-bleached coral. Slowly, it settles in the valley in the distance, flanked by jagged deckle-bladed mountains. , a girl facing a well-used volleyball net volleys the ball through the air towards her opponent’s outstretched arms. Recognizing the sun as a measurement of the passage of time she calls out concernedly, “What time is it?” Her challenger returns the volley along with a carefree shout, “It’s Fiji Time!”
My party began to experience Fiji Time from the moment we touched down in Nadi. As our plane-full of international travelers stepped into the queue at customs we were met by a small collection of men in sulus and bula shirts strumming guitars and swaying to their own lively but relaxed music. According to their example, Fiji Time can be described as a carefree lifestyle in which time is far less important than the activities that people indulge in.
Our first day in Fiji was a lesson in all aspects of Fiji Time both the good and the bad. The line through customs took hours to die down and three trips were made to shuttle my group to the hotel. Learning to wait patiently was lesson number one. We waited yet again for the bus and then the ferry to our first destination, South Sea Island. Learning to relax and appreciate the slow moving nature of the Island was lesson two. Though you could snorkel, kayak, play volleyball, and laze about at your own pace, it seemed as though everyone’s pace had deliberately slowed to a sluggish crawl. To be honest, I was actually a bit bored. It took me the entire ten day trip to become accustomed to waiting and taking my time rather than following the hurried and precise timing customary in Massachusetts.