Most new travelers to Fiji think of the warm tropical climate, friendly people, and dream of sipping cocktails under coconut trees as the perfect idea of a vacation away from their hectic lives. Surfing volcanic breakers, diving and snorkeling in the pristine oceans, and swimming off the white sand beaches are all available to the avid tropical tourist, but look a little deeper and this ancient civilization can teach you something that no travel brochure mentions. About life and the vision one has of the world. Fiji remained isolated from the rest of the developing world for centuries, thanks to its geographical location and reputation as one of the fiercest cannibal islands in the world. Early Spanish, English, and American explorers encountered a native race that was too primitive to domesticate and too absorbed in its tribal traditions to fully embrace the concept of Westernization. And thank goodness!
Compared to most Western countries, the natives of Fiji live a much simpler lifestyle without the commercialism, consumerism, and capitalist greed that has so engulfed the rest of the world. They are one of the few native civilizations in the world to own the majority of their land (think Hawaii!) And their traditional beliefs, laws, and culture have been largely kept intact for future generations. Young Fijians grow up learning respect for culture, respect for their elders, and respect for their self-esteem long before learning English. Their land ownership means that many do not have to worry about a home mortgage, bank loans, or credit card payments for the rest of their lives. And food, natural wild food, abounds in the sea, on land and hangs from every tree. One of his favorite sayings is that “Money is our slave, not our master!” Fijians are technically poor compared to their Western counterparts, but they don’t need money to survive. There is no need for social security and their sense of community and sharing unequivocally means that the most fortunate, do their best to care for those in need.
Children grow up with a sense of respect, compassion, and kindness that is instilled in them from birth, including strict discipline that begins at home and is reinforced again at school. Compare this to Y and Z’s generation of marshmallows who learn very early to control their parents, sulking and yelling to get their way, Fijians raise their children the old-fashioned way. They grow up appreciating the beauty of their environment, the beauty of their culture, and the beauty themselves, thanks to the family spirit and the abundance of love and care they receive in the village. With electricity and technology at a premium, they are not subjected to the same commercial television marketing blitz and brainwashing to buy the latest fashions or eat the latest processed foods. And if you think your young son is completely out of control and refuses to do what he is told, let him spend some time with a nanny from Fiji. It’s fun to see how when limits and respect are set, how quickly a mischievous child stands up. Eventually they learn that all the crying and manipulation in the world won’t work on a Fijian, so they give up and go easy on them.
So if you plan to vacation in the Fiji Islands, leave the family rule book at home and embrace how another culture lives. Fiji is how the world used to be, or probably should be.
Come to Fiji, get a tan and maybe even an invaluable life lesson at the same time!