I think the Fijian culture is rubbing off already-today I had a very laid back day,and my first lie-in for ages! Around midday I headed into Nadi (pronounced Nandi) town centre with some girls from my hostel,but as our hostel is fairly out the way we had to catch public transport. I didn't realise before I got to Fiji quite how poor the area is. The public buses are more like trucks,with no windows,broken seats,no suspension(and the roads aren't all that smooth either...) and packed full of locals,so travelling to the town on that was an experience. There's also the elections taking place at the moment so the roads are packed with different political parties and people queuing to vote,so it takes a while to get anywhere. Once in the town its obvious again how poor they are,and anyone white is assumed to have loads of money(which i guess in comparison we do),so we had people trying to drag us into shops and stalls to look at their goods,hanging necklaces round our necks so we couldn't walk away. There were also a lot of people, especially children,begging on the streets. It was hard to know what we ought to do,though we had been told to say no to everything. We ended up being invited in for a Kava ceremony in one Fijian craft shop,as we had been told it is considered an insult to refuse this(the one thing we weren't to say no to...) The Kava ceremony is a traditional Fijian welcoming ceremony,used to welcome guests and visitors to the country,the village,or even guests into your home. The Kava is made from the roots of a plant dried for upto 7 or 8 years,ground into a powder,and then strained through a muslin into cold water(in the same way a teabag would work). Everyone is invited to sit in a circle around the bowl of Kava, women must cover their knees,and everyone must take off their shoes as a sign of respect. The bowl has a V carved into the bottom on one side,and whoever this is facing becomes the 'chief' of the ceremony,and so drinks the Kava first. The locals said something in Fijian as some sort of blessing and then a coconut half (like the type you used as percussion at school...)is filled with the Kava and passed to the chief. The chief must clap once and say 'Bula' (which is used as a greeting and a welcoming word) and must down the Kava beofre clapping three times and saying Mular(don't know how that's spelt but it means empty)and smiling. The cup is then refilled and passed to each person sitting down who goes through the same procedure. As it was the second Kava ceremony I had been to, I could see that the way in which they are done varies very slightly,but they are essentially the same process in welcoming people. We were told that Fijians used to be cannibals and previously when you visited a village or island you would be welcomed with spears and angry,hungry faces,but the Kava ceremony was introduced to discourage the cannibals welcome,and create a more friendly one. The Kava doesn't taster great-like muddy water really,and it makes your tongue go a little numb. We were told if you have enough of it it can make you feel drunk,however everyone I spoke to said the only response they had to it was a numb mouth and a nasty taste-it seems to effect the locals much more... We spent a few hours in the town looking around shops and the market places,and then went back to the hostel to relax by the pool in the sun. Lots of Love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx