Travels That Transform
In this month’s Don’s Blog, I present a number of examples of journeys that have transformed travelers and the places they have visited.
The last example in that column is a serendipitous and heart-warming story that takes place on an OARS adventure in Fiji, and that beautifully embodies the kinds of globe-changing connections travel can forge.
Frank Headen, the enterprising individual behind this particular project, sent a moving note to the head of OARS, George Wendt, describing the events that inspired him to organize this effort.
Here is his tale.
Dear Mr. Wendt,
I am not positive that you know the whole story behind the book drive, and even if you do, I would like to reminisce and remind you of what happened.
In the late winter of early 2006, my grandfather, uncle, father, cousin, brother, and I were invited to go on a trip to Fiji with one of my granddad’s friends and other family friends of his. We all decided that it would be fun, and right before school ended in May, my granddad got it set up for us to go.
Before the trip, we read at least one book each about Fiji. My brother and I were also watching "Survivor: Fiji" every Thursday night on TV. We were anticipating Independence Day for more than one reason; the unobvious reason was that we were getting on a plane and flying to Los Angeles, where we would catch our 13-hour flight to Nadi (which I didn’t know was pronounced “Nandi” until I landed).
After we landed, we went to our first hotel, which was only about 20 minutes away. When we got there, we were treated with a mojito and a damp, peppermint-scented cloth. We checked in, put our luggage in our rooms, and went for an early lunch. After that, we took a dip in the pool, and then decided we would take a quick nap and meet back up for dinner. Well, it didn’t end up that way; we slept from 2 in the afternoon until 8 the next morning! Our taxis drove us back to the airport and we met the other people that would be in our group for the next ten days.
As we drove across the beautiful lands of Fiji, we got our first sense of what it was like. We saw a lot of beautiful land, though not very many houses to complement it. But there were many smiling children playing outside with rugby balls and just chasing each other around. It was just child’s play, and they looked so happy. We ended up getting to our second hotel, where we would stay for the remainder of our time in Fiji, except for one night, which was the highlight of my trip.
That day started out normally: get ready, eat breakfast, and get on the bus and go. Then we got to the river. As we were taking our six-hour rafting trip, I found out that my raft guides had been on the show that I was watching before I came, "Survivor: Fiji"! I remembered the particular show that they were on very well. It was down to the final three competitors, and it was the last rewards challenge. The reward was a rafting trip and a wonderful traditional lunch made by the guides on my rafting trip. Each of the three guides that I talked to favored a different competitor. It was pretty cool to relate that way to people that I had never met before, especially from half-way around the world.
About two hours before we got to Nakavika, we stopped at a village called Wanindiro. An elderly man was sick and needed to get to the hospital, many hours away from where we were located. He jumped on a raft and when we got near the village, caught a bus to Nadi . This showed me how close-knit the Fijians are with one another, and how every person there is a Good Samaritan inside and out.
When we got to the village of Nakavika, we set up our things in tents that were on a field by the school. We had a quick meeting, and then went to see the wonderful meal that the people of Nakavika had made for us. Every village person wanted to help, even if it meant an eight-year-old boy picking up a piece of chicken on hot coals with his hands. The meal was one of the most amazing I ever had for two reasons: One because the food was really good, and the other because it was cool to know that it was made just for us, by our hospitable hosts.
After dinner, we went to Chief Leo’s house/hut. When we got there, we were told to sit in a circle and be quiet for a moment. My granddad was the oldest in our group, so he was called “Chief Frank” and sat by Chief Leo, and I sat beside my granddad. There were phrases said in Fijian by one of the men in the village, which were our rite of passage to stay in the village, and our rite as a real villager of Nakavika. As the bowl of kava was going around, I saw my friends’ faces turn greenish and looking like they were about to cry. My cousin leaned over and whispered in my ear that it tasted like cough medicine and mud mixed together, but I told myself that if this is what I had to do to embrace the true Fijian culture, I would drink it. Well, my cousin was right, it did taste exactly how he said it did. When the ceremony was over, we were told that it was okay for us to stay and visit with the villagers popping in, and Chief Leo.
I was determined to stay and talk to Chief Leo, even if I had to wait for hours. Fortunately, I only had to wait about five minutes for the bird-watcher from Arizona to finish talking to him. It was finally my chance and I was nervous and intimidated at first, because he was now the chief of my new village. I ended up being fine. I talked to him about how he had been offered a lot of money to leave the village, because it was blocking a copper company’s way of getting to their prime source, copper. Chief Leo said that it was a hard decision to make because he didn’t know if the money would benefit the villagers after Leo passed, as he said that he would anytime soon. He said that his other choice was to stay and live happily in the Nakavika village, like he had done for over sixty years.
At the end of our conversation, we talked about school, and he said that villages around the area would send children from grades kindergarten to 8th every morning to go to school, where his son was the principal. I ended up meeting his son and we set up a tour of the school for the next morning after breakfast. It was planned for me and my dad to go, which we did, but as we went into the first classroom and the little first graders sang us a song, everyone in the group from America came inside and just listened and smiled. We visited every classroom except the 8th grade. After I finished looking in the classrooms, I went to the principal’s office and saw the “library” as he called it. It was made up of about 40 books, which were either tattered or just not good books to read and relate to, as a good reader would like.
When I got back home from Fiji, I couldn’t get the “library” image out of my head. Even before I left for Fiji, I knew that I would end up having to give back to the Fijians because of what I was expecting to get out of the experience from them. I had the perfect idea: do a book drive. I first told my mom and dad, and they bought the idea. I then told my advisory. They all agreed to help and that’s where it all started.
We ended up sending 1639 books to Fiji. I am so proud of everyone that helped me throughout the experience, and I should be the last person to be thanked. It wouldn’t have happened without the help of my school and family. I set a goal of 250 books, and I got more than 6 times the amount.
Thank you so much,
Frank Headen
