Fiji Islands: Sunny Service & Island Immersion 2025
June 29 & 30, 2025
Z – Zoomed to Fiji on an 11 hour flight from LAX
A – Arrived and exchanged currency
E – Enjoyed the many activities at the beach (spike ball, volleyball, soccer with local kids)
V – “Vinaka na kana” Thank you for the food after our long walk on the beach
A – Also had a nice dip in the pool with a team chat
A – All dressed up and ready for sunset pics and dinner
N – Native Fijian fire show
D – Done for the night and off to bed for more fun tomorrow
S – Suns up and we’re up and ready for breakfast
A – Along our journey we survived a bumpy bus ride to the zip lines
R – Ready to go and harnessed up for our walk to the zip line
A – Arrived back and left stuffed with pizza!
H – Hiked up the long trek to the waterfall
I – In to town we go to purchase our sulus
N – No way some of us would leave without souvenirs.
F- Fill volleyball up with words of team contract
I – In hotel again for a much needed dinner.
J – Jumped into village and home stay overview.
I – Inspired for the next day we are off to pack and get some rest!!
By Zaeva and Sarah
July 1, 2025
Bula! Today we began our journey to the village Nativi. We loaded up the bus and began our 5 hour trip. The bus was filled with a perfectly curated playlist and halfway we stopped for lunch in Raki Raki, with options from fried rice to chicken curry. We headed to the local market where we purchased Kava for the Sevu Sevu ceremony, which is a welcome ceremony. Hopped back into the bus and finished our drive through the mountains. We finally arrived in the village with a bus of smiling and excited kids behind us. We unloaded from the bus and made preparations for the Sevu Sevu. After the traditional welcoming ceremony, we met with our families and received flower necklaces. After dropping our bags off at our new houses, the kids showed us our way back to the community center for a wonderful tea and then dinner. Finally we ended the night with lots of laughs and smiles as we played with the kids. We headed off to bed excited for the next day, our first day of service work.
By Isabella and Maya
July 2, 2025
Global Works News, July 2
Miller here reporting live from Nativi village alongside anchorman Hamish. In todays segment we will unpack the events of July 2nd to discover the magic behind what makes Nativi village so special… Over to you Hamish…
Blankets off and sulus on, the team began their first full day in Nativi village. After a well needed restful night with their new homestay families, everyone was ready to get to work on our new project, the objective: construct a new outdoor kitchen and oven area. We started at the base, laying and shoveling dirt, making sure our measurements were precise and the area was level. Next, we created our concrete which would be poured on top of the base to make the floor. We finished working with our clothes and shoes plastered in mud and concrete, but smiles on our faces. Back to Miller with more about the action packed day…
Thank you Hamish, once our work was complete, the team headed down to the river to wash away the concrete, but with a large crowd of village children following, it was impossible to wash away our smiles. After drying off we headed to the rugby pitch to test our rugby skills with the local pros. The game started atop the scenic rugby pitch, sun blazing and within a blink of an eye the sun had set and it was time for dinner. A dance with all the children made us just tired enough to have a full night sleep.
Thanks, that’s all from us today,
Fiji news, out. 🇫🇯
-Miller and Hamish
July 3, 2025
BULA from Fiji!!!
We started off our day with a big breakfast before setting off on our journey to the kindergarten and primary school. There we introduced ourselves and played games with all of the kids. They were all dressed up in green for Drug Awareness week. We finished up our games to make the beautiful trek homes we sat down for lunch and had rice, French fries, fried pumpkin, cucumber, carrots and leaf fritters. Then we got back to our construction work where we mixed and placed cement, followed by a relaxing afternoon tea. After we headed down to the village river to swim with the kids. After the refreshing dip, we ended our fun with some volleyball. Finishing the day off strong with a nice dinner and a good nights rest.
By Makayla and Hayley
July 4, 2025
Our group awoke to the sweet sounds of rooster crowing and birds chirping, ready for our fourth day in Nativi village. At 8am we were met with a breakfast of fresh papaya, homemade pancakes and more. Following the passing of morning showers, we got to work on our third and final day of service projects, the goal being completion of a foot path between the outdoor kitchen and community center. The group worked in different areas of the village, gathering rocks to fill in the path, with the work occasionally interrupted by the village children’s requests for wheelbarrow rides. Following hours of difficult but joyful work in the Fijian sun, we take a break for some much needed midday fuel— a lunch of fish, chicken, egg salad, vegetables, and rice. With full bellies, we began the second phase of our days work— cement pouring. With help from the village men, our group mixes, pours and smooths out the final portion of cement needed to complete the foot path. We were rewarded for a good days work with lemongrass tea and fresh picked oranges. We then made our way downward into the valley for a golden hour dip in the river. We said goodbye to our fourth day in Nativi overlooking a stunning sunset, playing volleyball with local men until the sun was replaced by stars.
By Georgia and Lydia
July 5, 2025
Bula! We began our morning with a special breakfast, the village surprised us with a cake to celebrate the 4th of July! After celebrating, we began preparing for our evening celebration called lovu. Lovu is a type of feast that is saved for special occasions, and it takes a whole day to prepare. We all split into 3 groups: one for collecting cassava, one for collecting taro leaves, and one for collecting coconuts and lemons. These were adventurous trips including walking in deep mud, rivers, cows and a lot of kids leading the way. As soon as we returned from these journeys, we began prepping ingredients. Following all of this hard work we played a long game of volleyball with the community. Dinner was a large celebration and afterwards we participated in a goodbye ceremony where we drank kava. Finally we finished the evening with a big dance party with the whole community before heading to bed.
By Ellie and Mirabelle
July 6, 2025
Bula Vinaka!!! Today is July 6. Day number 6 in the Nativiti Village. Today was Sunday which means a rest day for the community. We started off our day with church service, dressed in our best Fijian outfits given by our homestay families. The girls were given dresses and sulus and the guys were given sulus. There was lots of singing at church and high energy. After church, we enjoyed a filling lunch of leftover food from the lovo. We rested and relaxed afterwards, playing games with each other and some of the village children. We then took a bunch of group photos with everyone from the village, as we were celebrating our last evening together. We exchanged homestay gifts with our host families, and had a delicious dinner of pumpkin, potatoes and roti. We ended the evening with the community gathered looking at photos taken during the week, and reflecting on our time here in Nativi. There were so many good memories, it’s crazy to believe we will be saying goodbye tomorrow! Okay, that’s all for now!!
By Makayla and Hayley
July 7, 2025
Bula! We woke up ready for a day of travel. We were leaving the Nativi village today. It was a special day in the village. The people of Nativi sang us farewell and thank you songs and some people got personalized gifts from their homestay families. It was an emotional and beautiful experience.
After that, we loaded up for a long road trip back to Nadi. About an hour into the trip we stopped at a resort called Vili Voli. It was our first glimpse of our reward. There were steak sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and pizza to eat for lunch. An ocean to swim in and a belly flop competition happening off of platform in the middle of the water.
After we left. It was about a 3 hour bus ride back to Nadi. But wait there’s more! We got freshened up and had dinner on the beach, just ao walk away from the place we are staying. After dinner, some people played games of pool.
That’s the daily blog. Thanks for reading this post.
By Amir
July 8, 2025
Bula!! We started our rest day by sleeping in and enjoying our breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We started laundry, then walked to the beach to lay in the sun, read, swim, and play volleyball and spike ball. We were all hungry after playing in the sun so we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. Following lunch, we returned to the hotel to play in the pool and read. To celebrate our journey so far, the group decided to get dressed up and take photos during sunset. We then marched back to the hotel to exchange our dresses for baggy clothes. We returned to the same restaurant we went to for lunch for a delicious dinner. In the way back, the group stopped at the market for some necessities such as chocolate and ice cream. The leaders provided us with some important info about our next days journey to Barefoot Manta Resort in the Yasawa Islands. We headed back to our rooms to quickly back and sleep, dreading the early morning 6am wake up, but dreaming about our next adventure.
By Mirabelle and Ellie
July 9, 2025
Bula from Barefoot Manta!! We began our morning with an early wake up of 6am: we loaded up our bags and hopped on the bus to the port. We arrived, alert and somewhat awake ready to begin our boat ride! We dropped off our bags and grabbed a quick breakfast. We loaded onto the boat and got top deck seats with an amazing view. After, we departed from rhetorical port. We all decided to go and explore, walking through the different levels, going out to the front deck, and grabbing some snacks. Everyone began to settle in and get comfy, reading books and enjoying the view. Finally after a long journey, we arrived at Barefoot Manta, located on Drawaqa Island, an island a part of the Yasawa Islands. We unloaded our luggage, hopping on a small boat to take us to the island. We were treated by a welcoming song, which lead to an intro to the island and a yummy lunch. We hauled our luggage to our rooms, quickly changed into our swimsuits, and headed down to the water for some amazing snorkeling. We saw created such as a reef shark, a giant humphead wrasse, and many different types of coral and fish species. The reef is so healthy and vibrant! We hopped out of the water and began to play games and watch the sunset. Then we headed to dinner, where one of us thought it would be a great idea to try to eat many pieces of cake… Then everyone participated in some Bula dancing. Exhausted from the day, we all went of to bed in preparation for a day or marine biology and coral planting! Vinaka!!
By Zaeva and Maya
July 10, 2025
Bula!! Our group launched our 11th day in the islands of Fiji with a delicious breakfast buffet, with dishes ranging from omelets to French toast to fresh fruit and a range of pastries. Once stomachs were full, we made our way to the marine biology center for a coral planting and safety briefing. Soon enough we were ready to embark on our coral planting journey. Split into two groups, we took a paddle board and paddled out, collecting displaced coral fragments along the way and putting it on the board. Once our collection was adequate, we ventured deeper and began the process of nudging coral into open rocky crevices, setting it up for further growth and reproduction. Following the completion of this process we returned to the island for a marine biology and coral lesson. We learned how corals are animals, how they reproduce, and that there are over a hundred species in the Yasawa Islands!
The next segment of our day featured thrilling games of spike ball, naps on the beach, and a lunch with choices of chicken, beef and fish paired with vegetables. Once the wind began to make its way westward, everyone dressed up to watch the sunset and take group photos, with hopes of taking THE photo. Our dinner waited for us post photo shoot, a 3 course meal featuring a variety of options and a yummy apple pie dessert. We pretended that it was Amir’s 18th birthday, and the hotel employees came and sang happy birthday with a whole cake and a guitar. It is Fijian tradition to jump in the ocean when you turn 18, so we all made our way down to the beach with the staff and watched as Amir jumped into the ocean. It was so much fun! We then had a sing along where we played the guitar and sang different songs, surrounded by the beautiful ambiance of Barefoot Manta.
By Lydia
July 11, 2025
Bula!
We woke up early at 6 a.m this morning to look for manta rays! We suited up in our snorkel gear and headed to the water! The freezing air caused all of us to suit up in wet suits to fight off the chill. Unfortunately the mantas weren’t out feeding this morning, so we didn’t get to see any mantas but we did see some really cool coral and fish! We came back and ate a delicious breakfast, then headed to the beach for spike ball, volley ball and relaxing in the sun! Some of us left with tans but all of us left content and sun kissed. We also paddle boarded and kayaked to another beach on the island and got to see a beautiful reef. Later that evening we took a beautiful sunset hike up to the very top of the island. From the highest view point we perched on the rocks and took pictures upon pictures as we watched the colors paint the sky. Finally we came back to a yummy dinner and ended the night under a full moon filled with laughs. Tomorrow we leave Barefoot Manta back to Nadi. We are sad to be leaving, but we’ve had so much fun at Barefoot. Sota tale!!
By Isabella and Sarah
July 12, 2025
Fiji news update:
Hello Hamish here, reporting live for your Fiji news update. Today, our time at Barefoot Manta came to a close, and the group wrapped up phase 3 of the trip. After one last day relaxing on the beautiful Sunset Beach of Barefoot Manta, the group landed their things and prepared to leave. As we departed from the island, the staff shared their goodbyes with songs and the group joined in for one last dance and hooray. We frisked away from the island, looking back on all the memories we had just made. Over to Miller to talk about the ferry ride.
Thank you Hamish. You know me Hamish, I love a good boat ride, but something made this one a bit more meaningful. Maybe it was the fact we were leaving paradise, or the fact that f we were coming up on our last day in Fiji, or perhaps it was the beautiful sunset. The group got to enjoy an amazing array of warm colors as we arrived to the port. Then we got to unloading the bags and taking the shuttle back to the Beach Escape Villas in Nadi. We rushed to dinner to get there just in time before the restaurant closed. After dinner, the group winded down to get ready for our travel day tomorrow. We spent some quality time together, embracing our final evening under the Fijian stars.
Fiji news out. 🇫🇯✌🏼
-Miller and Hamish
July 13, 2025
Bula from Fiji as our final day arrived! 🥲 We slept in as there was a busy travel day ahead. Once we all awoke, we started our day with a nutritious breakfast from options like eggs and toasts, to fresh fruit and grilled cheese sandwiches. We then gathered as a group to do a closing circle and share how this trip has impacted us. We shared what surprised us, and what we are grateful for, and many of us noted that we were grateful for the connections and generosity of our homestay families in Nativi. We compared village life to resort life, and wrapped up by writing letters to our future selves, which will be mailed to us in 6 months to a year’s time.
After finishing up the last of the group debrief activities, we had our last lunch followed by a trip to Port Denarau, to do some last minute souvenir shopping. We were there for about 2 hours, and then hopped back on the bus with many goods and cute shirts to bring back home with us. We all bought matching shirts, and once we got back to the hotel, we all signed each other’s shirts with our names as a final closing ceremony. After signing everyone’s new t shirts, we arranged our bags and made the walk to our very last Fiji dinner at Sailor’s, a restaurant on the beachfront, where we got to watch our final sunset. After a filling dinner of French fries, quesadillas, and chicken wings, we began our journey to the airport where our long travel day back home to the states awaits. Sota tale Fiji!
-Georgia
