Daily Itinerary Children of the Highlands Summer 2009
Our Children of the Highlands Program is our longest running Servicio comunitario program with a new name and exciting new initiatives for 2009.  Participants receive up to 40 hours of Servicio comunitario and integrate themselves into the culture of the indigenous Fijian village of Nasivikoso where you live and work. Servicio comunitario work is focused on education, from tutoring students to providing homework help and organizing fun extra-curricular activities and art classes, and on construction projects aimed at upgrading school and village facilities. This program is perfect for students looking for a very rewarding service experience and the chance to immerse themselves in an indigenous culture.

Day 1 - Monday   
Depart the USA
All of Rustic Pathways scheduled group flights to Fiji depart from Los Angeles.  Our carrier is Air Pacific – Fiji’s national airline.  The flight each week is non-stop to Nadi International Airport and is escorted by a Rustic Pathways Flight Leader. The flight departs LAX in the evening and takes about 10 hours.  During your flight take the time to get to know other students, get some sleep in preparation for your arrival in the South Pacific, relax with a movie or two and start to settle into the easy-going and friendly nature of the Fijian’s and their legendary hospitality.
    
Day 2 – Tuesday
In Transit
Today is “lost” as you cross the international dateline, but don’t worry too much… you will get it back on your way home!

Day 3 –  Wednesday
Bula!  Welcome to Fiji! 
You will immediately be greeted by our Rustic Pathways staff and then you will make a quick stop at our Rustic Pathways Eco-Lodge in Momi Bay for breakfast and orientation. Have a delicious tropical breakfast with your trip leaders and new friends and sit with your group for an orientation about the week ahead of you while you overlook sugarcane fields that seem to fall into the ocean.  After breakfast you will drive about one hour to the small town of Sigatoka where you will spend some time visiting the markets and getting an initial taste of the Fijian way of life. You will gather last minute supplies, sulus, kava, and snacks for your journey.
 
From Sigatoka your group will drive into the Nasouri Highlands.  Due to the remote locations you visit, travel will be by truck or four wheel drive vehicle. Your first nights stay is at the rustic retreat of Nubulevu and the journey normally takes about two hours with several opportunities to stop along the way for photos and a chance to say “Bula” to the locals that you pass. Late in the afternoon your group will arrive at Nubulevu.  Located on the banks of a picturesque river and overlooking a lush valley, Nubulevu offers abundant opportunities to relax, swim and soak in the warm Fijian hospitality.  During your stay here you will sleep in traditional thatched huts or bures. You will receive and in-depth cultural orientation tonight and begin to learn about the traditional way of life in the Highlands.
    
Day 4 – Thursday
School Service at Wouosi Primary School
 After breakfast you will sit down your group to prepare for the educational service projects you will undertake in this program. Then, you will gather you things and depart for Wouosi Primary School just a short distance away.  Here you will provide important enrichment activities for students as you facilitate art classes and tutor students in English and reading throughout the morning.   In the afternoon, you will participate in sports programs and get involved in a simple construction project to help improve the school’s facilities.

In the late afternoon, you will depart Wouosi Primary School for the Village of Nasivikoso, you home for the next five nights.  When you arrive in the village you will take part in a formal sevusevu ceremony, a traditional way to welcome you into the village. Following this ceremony, you will be introduced to your adoptive Fijian family and, along with another Rustic Pathways student, will head to you new home to get settled in. The houses here are all very close together and you will find it easy to find your way around and to get to know all the villagers here. You will eat your meals and catch up with the other Rustic students at our Nasivikoso Base House, know as the ‘Staff House,’ which is located right in the village. The ‘Staff House’ is the meeting point for your group, and you can always find our local staff and their family here to help with anything you need during your stay. At night, it becomes a place for service work as you open the doors to provide homework assistance and share in social gatherings and games with the village and with the rest of your group.

Day 5 – Friday
Primary School and Village Service
Over the next few days you will be involved with local development projects around the village and tutoring and enrichment projects at local primary schools.  Your Fijian friends are always around to lend a helping hand and their involvement makes the days all the more enjoyable. Today, you will continue to assist at the Wouosi Primary School and support students with time at the Nasivikoso Kindergarten.

In the late afternoon you can enjoy fun and games with our weekly volleyball tournament. The villagers and the students both get a kick out of the weekly village vs. Rustic Pathways student challenges. It is always a close contest.  In the evenings, you will lead homework help sessions with local students, share time with your host family, and enjoy life in this beautiful village.

Day 6 – Saturday
Village Service in Nasivikoso
This morning you will join you group for breakfast at the ‘Staff House’ and then you will get to work on construction projects around the village. Each year, we sit with the village chief and elders to determine the service project your group will undertake. The needs here are always changing and we sit with the village just before you arrive to determine the most effective project for you to contribute to the community. Over the past several years, we have constructed flush toilets, built pathways throughout the village, helped to fix up the kindergarten and much more. Your interaction with the people and the projects you contribute to continue to facilitate a wonderful brotherhood between the Fijian people and Rustic Pathways’ students, a relationship that has been growing for over a decade.
 
This evening is a night of fun, laughs and social gathering. Your group will learn local dances and join in as the village puts on a traditional meke entertainment show for you. This always ends up being a very entertaining evening with a lot of laughter!
    
Day 7 – Sunday
 A Day of Celebration and Feasting
Sunday is a very ceremonial day in the Fijian culture. Fiji’s native people are predominantly Christian and Sunday’s are observed as a day of rest. Today your family will dress you up in traditional Fijian clothing and then, as a member of your adoptive family, you will walk to the village church. This is a wonderful occasion where the whole village gathers – elders, parents, teenagers and young children alike – for a morning of singing and respectful thanks for the wonderful environment in which they live. After church, the villagers prepare a huge feast for lunch. It is impossible to not get caught up in the pure enthusiasm and open delight villagers show towards each other and their surroundings. Imagine yourself sitting under the shade of a large tree, your village surrounded by towering hills of lush greenery. You’re watching a peaceful river flow beside you and you’re listening to the continual chatter and laughter of energetic children. Everyone treats you like a best friend. The entire scene makes you think that no one, including yourself, should have a care in the world. This is a place that is very easy to get used to and one that is incredibly hard to leave.

Day 8 – Monday
Kindergarten and Village Service
Today you will get back to work at the kindergarten, sharing much needed art materials and books with the students while you help them to learn their ABCs and new songs and games. You will also spend time continuing work on the village construction project underway. In the afternoon, you will take a break at the spectacular waterfall just outside the village.

Tonight you will enjoy your last evening with your Fijian family and new friends in Nasivikoso. Sit around the kava bowl and listen as villagers play guitar, tell stories and laugh the night away. Present some small gifts to your host family to thank them for their hospitality and for sharing the peace and happiness of life here --  it is truly something special.

Day 9 – Tuesday
Bukuya Service, Waterfalls and Manasa’s Place
This morning you will say farewell to your host family. Needless to say your final goodbye can be very emotional as you so quickly become close to the villagers here. Many of our past students have formed strong relationships within the community and continue to communicate with their host families after they have returned to their homes in the USA.  Students often return to Fiji after their first summer as close family friends. The Fijian children are amazing and the excitement you see in their smiling faces and hear in their laughter is contagious. Their humble surroundings coupled with their unbridled passion for life leads many students to take a good look at their own lives and reevaluate their priorities.

After departing Nasivikoso, you will spend a few hours at the Bukuya Primary School. This school is located in the ‘chiefly’ village of the region and it is an honor for our local staff to be ale to share your time and energy with their High Chief. You will contribute a few hours of service as you continue our efforts to maintain school facilities here. 
    
Your final night you will spend at Manasa’s Place, which has been a part of the Rustic community for several years. Take a swim in the awesome waterfalls that surround this little retreat – a beautiful setting for your last night with your groups to reflect on your experience in the very special Nasouri Highlands.
 

Day 10 - Thursday     
Farewell to the Nasouri Highlands and Return to Nadi!
You depart Manasa’s early in the morning and spend today in Nadi town shopping for any final gifts or souvenirs.  If you are departing to the USA tonight, after a final meal with your group, you travel to the airport and bid Fiji farewell (until next year perhaps). You will be escorted to LAX by a Rustic Pathways Flight Leader.  For those students who are continuing to another Rustic Pathways program you will commence your next program this morning. 

It is important to highlight that a considerable amount of time is dedicated to cultural interaction on this program. This program exposes you to the generous and compassionate Fijian culture and offers you the opportunity to contribute something meaningful to a community that has very few material conveniences. This happens in the form of time spent with your Fijian family and extensive interaction with the villagers in general. Our day to day schedule is built with these goals in mind and can vary from week to week as we take advantage of other special events and activities in and around our host villEdad.

 A Special Initiative
As part of our project goals for 2009, Rustic Pathways is endeavoring to help upgrade supplies at the local schools. To help with this we would like to ask each student who participates in this program to bring with them 5-10 books that are suitable reading for students aged between 6 and 14. These books do not have to be new and you may find them simply lying around at home or on your friends’ or neighbors’ book shelves. In addition, any basic school supplies like markers, backpacks, rulers, paper or chalkboard erasers could be put to good use.  If each Rustic Pathways participant is able to help with this, we will greatly expand the variety of books and supplies available for the students from the villEdad in this region.

An Important Note about Schedule Changes:
Rustic Pathways reserves the right to change, alter, or amend the daily itinerary for this trip at any time. Changes can be made for various reasons including changes in flight or program schedules, changes in the schedules of various external tours incorporated in our trips, the addition of new activities into a trip, or the substitution of an old activity for a new activity. The itinerary shown here provides a good outline of the anticipated daily schedule for this program. As with any travel program, some changes may occur.

Children of the Highlands

In addition to the general Fiji Islands packing list available at www.rusticpathways.com/packinglists  all students should review the following information specific to the Children of the Highlands program:

Frequently Asked Questions Children of the Highlands
The Fiji Islands Summer 2009

1 - What will the accommodation on this trip be like?
Students will stay in three different locations during this one week program. The first and last night, the group will stay at small retreats in the mountains designed for travelers wishing to explore this remote region.  Students will share traditional thatched huts, know as bures. Inside the bures, students will sleep on the floor atop straw cushioning and hand-woven mats. The first of these retreats has flush toilets and showers. The second has a drop toilet and students can bathe with a swim in the river.  Neither location has electricity. For five nights, students will stay in our host village of Nasivikoso. Students will stay in pairs or groups of three with local families. Accommodations are basic. Homes are typically made of concrete or wood and tin. Families may provide a bed or students may sleep in traditional Fijian-style, on straw cushions or a mattress on the floor. Students will have access to flush toilets located next to or near their host-family homes. There is one cold-water shower in the village but most students choose to bathe in the river as the locals do.  The only electricity is at our Base House in the village, which is also where students share meals and many activities together.

2 - Will the students be drinking bottled water?  
Students will drink bottled water and/or water from the town water supply, which is brought with the group.  

3 - What kind of food will we be eating?
Students will eat a combination of local Fijian dishes and more western-style dishes. Breakfasts typically include cereal, bread, crackers and fruit. Lunches and dinners range from traditional Fijian feasts of cassava and dalo (root crops similar to potatoes), chicken and fish, to noodles and pastas, curries and vegetables. Peanut butter and jelly is often found as are delicious Fijian pancakes, roti and fruits. We can easily cater for vegetarians.

4 - How many girls and boys are usually on this trip?
On average, our programs in Fiji are 70% female and 30% male.

5 - How does this program connect to other programs?
All programs in Fiji connect easily together. On the final day of each program, students will go to the airport to connect with the staff, arriving students and other connecting participants for their next program. 

6 - Will there be a flight leader to this country?
 A flight leader will accompany students on the group flight to Fiji from Los Angeles. Students will meet their flight leader at the departure gate in Los Angeles. Our program staff will greet students when they arrive at the Nadi Airport in Fiji.

7 - How long is the flight to this country?
Fiji is 10 hours by air from Los Angeles. Flights from Australia and New Zealand are 3-4 hours.

8 - Do we need to get visas for this program?
US citizens do not need a visa for entry as a tourist into Fiji. On arrival into Fiji, immigration will issue US citizens with a tourist visa for entry into the county. No prior arrangements for US citizens are needed

9 - What immunizations do we need to get for this trip?
All Rustic Pathways students are required to have an up-to-date tetanus shot. We suggest Hepatitis A and B and Typhoid vaccinations and recommend that you consult a doctor regarding immunizations for travel to the region. You can find additional information on immunizations for travel from the US Center for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.

10 - What costs are not included on this trip?
The only items not included in this trip are souvenirs, snacks and small donations that students may opt to contribute. There are very few opportunities to purchase snacks or souvenirs until the final day of the program. Students may choose to give a small donation to the village church at their Sunday offering (anywhere from $0.50 to $5 is appropriate and nothing is required).