June 29 - Sigatoka Methodist School

Today we learned about the Fijian educational system while visiting Sigatoka Methodist School. We went to the secondary school, ages 14 and up.

The students have never had an outside group, such as ours, visit them. They were very excited about our visit.

They had prepared several songs and dances to perform for us. They love to sing and have wonderful voices. They also asked us to sing for them. We did a decent rendition of our national anthem.  At the end of their program,  they invited us all to dance with them.

An interesting thing happened at our presentation. We present the assistant principal with a $7 commemorative bill, too. He told us that 3 of the players on that team had attended that school. 

After a snack, the students broke into small groups to visit classrooms and get to know the students better. It was gratifying to see the interactions.

After lunch, we witnessed a drug-prevention assembly. The entire school was decorated with banners and a member of the police came to talk.

It is really a different experience. There is far less structure than we have in our schools. Lots of talking and noise throughout  the day. And the bell sounded like an air-raid siren. But, I know the students loved the experience and the opportunity to share about our culture.

When we returned to the resort, there was plenty of time to go to the pool or the beach. The ocean water was warm; much more than the waterfall!

Dinner tonight was right up my alley: lots of seafood opportunities, including oysters on a half shell, crayfish, crab legs, calamari and grilled octopus. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Tomorrow we head for a new resort and the sand dunes!