Rugby World Cup on a Fijian Island

by Rachel Keogh (Canada)

Making a local connection Fiji

In 2011, my boyfriend and I were in Fiji. We were travelling for 3 months and Fiji was our first stop. Next up was New Zealand for the rugby world cup. We were on a small, beautiful island, that only had electricity for a few hours every evening. The island was stunning, covered in a beautiful mix of lush greenery and sandy beaches. One evening, after dinner, we were thinking about the rugby match that was on that night, but we knew we had no way to watch it. There was no TVs on the island as far as wee were aware. So we settled at the bar for a few drinks. Shortly after, we heard yelling and shouting coming from somewhere on the small island. It was happy shouting, it sounded like something really exciting was happening. We followed the noise around the island until we came to a small hut. We knew this hut was for staff and we thought they were having a party. As we were standing outside, the door opened and a friendly Fijianan invited us in. We went in. They were watching the rugby match and the excitement levels were so high because Fiji were playing. The hut was absolutely jam packed, we couldnt understand where all the people had come from. It turned out that they were all locals from neighboring islands. The other islands had no electricity so they had all jumped into boats and come to this iand to watch the rugby. Not only did they invite us in, but they insisted that we sat in the best seats in the house. They shared their food and drinks with us, they chatted to us and we enjoyed watching the rugby with them so much! Their generosity and friendliness was so nice to see. We felt we were imposing but they insisted that we stay. I can honestly say we had so much fun watching that game with them. We made real connections with those locals and this memory is one that stands out to me after all these years, and all the places I've travelled to.