Heather and I spent our first day in Natawa wandering around the village and meeting people. Fijians are a modest group, so we were required to wear pants/long shorts and cover our shoulders at all times during our stay (I'm rocking an awesome farmers tan right now). Also, no one wears shoes/sandals so we've been walking barefoot through gawd knows what for the past 3 days (when in Rome ...). There are a couple popular sayings in Fiji: "Fiji time" - which means nothing is on time (awesome) and "it's very hot in Fiji" - which means no one does anything during the day except hide out in the shade. Since everyone was hiding out it in the shade, we were stopped multiple times and engaged in conversation. The villagers were surprised we decided to leave the resort to come stay with them, so we earned a lot of street 
cred in Natawa and they were very willing to open up to us. Village life is pretty fascinating - the kids are sent to a boarding school on the other side of the island from age 6 - 14 and return home on the weekends. For high school, they are sent to the mainland and are not expected to return. Semi said he only wants to see his eldest daughter after she has found a job and has a husband (they really push independence from the family). The eldest son, however, is required to return to the village with his wife/kids to take over the family farm/property when his father is ill or can no longer farm/fish. I could write a couple pages on life in the village, but i'll spare you 
the details and just focus on what Heather and I did during our stay:
cred in Natawa and they were very willing to open up to us. Village life is pretty fascinating - the kids are sent to a boarding school on the other side of the island from age 6 - 14 and return home on the weekends. For high school, they are sent to the mainland and are not expected to return. Semi said he only wants to see his eldest daughter after she has found a job and has a husband (they really push independence from the family). The eldest son, however, is required to return to the village with his wife/kids to take over the family farm/property when his father is ill or can no longer farm/fish. I could write a couple pages on life in the village, but i'll spare you the details and just focus on what Heather and I did during our stay: - I went line fishing (the traditional Fijian way) and caught a 12 inch red salmon cod.
- We walked with all the kids up and over the hills to the boarding schools and spoke with the headmaster/explored the school.
- Ate traditional dishes (curry noodles on rice, cod cooked with coconut milk, roti) on the floor of the hut. You can sit/lay anyway you want - kind of like a carpet picnic (minus the carpet part).
- Hiked to the top of the mountain on the island (and then lost the trail on the way back and had to bushwack for 2 hours to get back to town - our legs looks like we were whipped by canes).
- Bathed in the village stream (the villagers in Natawa bathe at least twice a day, sometimes 
more, and smell ridiculously good. We actually had to wait in line at the stream).
more, and smell ridiculously good. We actually had to wait in line at the stream). - Drank Kava (Fijian "liquor" that really doesn't do anything except make your mouth go numb).
- Went to church (Methodist service) with the family (the men where button down dress shirts and sarongs on the bottom).Although the beaches in Fiji are fantastically, post-card beautiful the most remarkable thing about Fiji was the people. I was in Fiji for only 8 days and only explored 2 islands, but could easily have stayed for a couple months. It seems a bit ridiculous to fly half way around the world to lay on the beach, so if you find yourself in Fiji get off the beaten path and stay in a vilage. 
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