Living Conditions in Fiji

Communications

Mail

On average, airmail leaving Suva takes about six to 10 days to reach the U.S. However, sometimes it takes twice that (or more) for U.S. mail to reach Suva via the postal service.

Items sent to the Suva post office will have a postal tracking number and will have 2 letters before and after the group of numbers, e.g., "CP225658529JP."

Check the related sites listed below for more information.

• Post Fiji - check for hours and locations for package pick-up
• Fiji Revenue and Customs portal - private imports, value-added tax guides
• Biosecurity of Fiji - Regulations regarding: importation of food and organic items, exporting/sending food and organic items, packaging and fumigation requirements.
• Customs portal for clarification on importation criteria.

The most efficient mode of delivery is through the courier service DHL. DHL deliveries offer direct deliveries to the Peace Corps office, avoiding delays and other fees.

Note the following:

• The majority of the items can be purchased locally and may be cheaper.
• Do not send meat or meat products and dairy products, which will be confiscated.
• Always arrange for an import license prior to importing communication devices, such as mobile phones, satellite phones, laptop.

During pre-service training, you may use the following address:

[Your Name, PCT]

Peace Corps Fiji, Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji Islands

South Pacific 

Telephones

All Peace Corps Volunteers in Fiji are required to have a means to communicate during their service in country. If you choose to bring a phone from the U.S., ensure that it is unlocked and GSM capable. You can receive phone calls on your local mobile phone at no charge. You can call mobile phones or landlines in the U.S. for about 20–90 Fijian cents per minute depending on your local phone carrier’s plan. Also, many Volunteers who have internet access use various messaging apps to make calls at no or minimal charge.

Internet

There are several internet cafes in Suva and in other urban centers. You might not have regular access to Wi-Fi during the 10 weeks of pre-service training, and it may be very limited at your site.

It is recommended that you obtain insurance coverage for any devices, such as laptops, that you decide to bring to country. Many Volunteers are able to purchase mobile Wi-Fi devices locally, which can be used to access the internet from most sites.

Housing and site location

You will be living with a host family during your 10 weeks of pre-service training in Fiji. You will discover that families are a very important social unit in Fiji and that living with a host family can be both enjoyable and challenging. At the outset you should set learning goals and make sure you are getting the most out of your host family experience—including language, culture, and other adjustment issues. Village houses may be constructed of palm fronds (bures) or made of wood, concrete block, or corrugated iron. Volunteers live in various settings, mainly rural villages, but also towns, or urban areas.

While rainfall is plentiful in most parts of Fiji, there may be periods where drinking water is scarce. Some Volunteers may have to walk short distances to carry water to their house. Traditional houses usually have separate kitchen and toilet facilities. Many rural communities do not have full access to electricity. However, most have at least a few hours of electricity a day provided by a generator. Electric current is wired at 220-240 volts, 50 hertz. Outlets take plugs with two or three flat pins (as in Australia). Volunteers may be placed on outer islands and/or in interior villages where transportation is by small plane, boat, and pickup truck.

Living allowance and money management

Volunteers receive a monthly allowance in local currency that is sufficient to live at the level of members of their host community. The allowance covers food, household supplies, clothing, transportation, utilities, recreation and entertainment, and incidental expenses. Peace Corps Volunteers are expected to live at a level that is comparable with that of their host country counterparts. The Peace Corps discourages Volunteers from supplementing their living allowance with funds from home. However, Volunteers often wish to bring additional money for vacation travel to other countries. For this, credit cards are preferable to cash. If you choose to bring extra money, bring what will suit your travel plans and needs. 

Food and diet

In Fijian villages, staple foods include dalo (taro root) and cassava, along with flour, tinned fish, rice, and curry spices. Fish is widely available fresh, frozen, or canned, while mutton is imported from New Zealand, and chicken is raised locally. Fresh fruits like mangoes, bananas, pineapples, oranges, passion fruit, guavas, and papaya, as well as vegetables such as beans, squash, jackfruit, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and various cabbages, are sold in open-air markets. Cooking methods vary by location, using gas or kerosene stoves or open fires.

Yaqona (kava) is a traditional Fijian drink made from ground yaqona root. It has an earthy taste, a muddy appearance, and a mild numbing effect on the tongue. Known for its relaxing properties, kava is central to iTaukei social gatherings and ceremonies.

Transportation

Most of the time, you will travel on foot.

Look to the right! Fiji is a former British colony and everyone drives on the left side of the road.

The mode of transportation within Fiji Islands groups are via airplane and ship, whereas within the mainland its buses, minivans, carriers and some areas sites use boat/BiliBili to cross rivers to catch bus/carriers.

There is bus transportation to nearly every community in Fiji, except for the outer islands. The bus prices are relatively inexpensive. Local buses (the ones that travel around town, or those that make frequent stops along a longer route) may not have glass windows. If it rains, there is a plastic flap designed to keep most rain out of the bus. Express buses that connect urban areas usually have glass windows and may have air conditioning. There are also mini-buses (small vans) that carry passengers along the main urban centers and around villages. Until recently, they have not been regulated and have tended to be overcrowded and poorly maintained. Volunteers are strongly advised not to ride in them unless this is the only mode of transportation to your site.

Taxis are numerous in Suva and seem to make up the bulk of the traffic on city streets. Rides within town are usually governed by meter (the flag falls and starts the hire rate at $2.00 from 6 a.m.–10 p.m. and $2.50 from 10 p.m.–6 a.m.), whereas longer trips are negotiable. Most rides in town will cost $2.50–$5.00, depending on how far you are going.

In rural areas, you may travel by carrier truck (lorry). These are large trucks with tarp-covered backs for passengers. Each side of the truck bed has a bench that can usually carry up to 25 people comfortably. These are most often used by local residents bringing their agricultural products to market, in addition to passengers. Prices are similar to local bus rates.

Fiji is a country comprised of islands. Chances are very high that you will travel by boat at some point during your service. The larger islands have regularly scheduled service, but all schedules in Fiji are subject to last-minute changes. Many villages on outer islands have local boat captains that bring villagers into the larger centers for shopping or to catch a ferry to Suva. There are also punts in some areas for crossing rivers.

Volunteers serving in Fiji should be comfortable both on and in the water, as many assignments will require periodic boat travel. If you are uncomfortable with your swimming skills or have a fear of water, please contact the Fiji country desk officer or your placement officer at Peace Corps headquarters to further discuss this issue before accepting your invitation to serve in Fiji.

There are two international airports, Nadi International Airport on western Viti Levu and Nausori International Airport outside Suva. Many of the outer islands have airstrips for periodic Fiji Link flights or Northern Air and/or private planes.

Volunteers should use the safest and most reliable mode of transportation.

Social activities

Fiji is known for its white beaches, pristine oceans, and rich natural environment. It is also a deeply collective society in which family ties are at the center of most people’s lives.

Most Volunteers live in the interior and find themselves busy with family and community events, from birthday parties to village building projects to drinking kava and telling stories around the tanoa (a large wooden bowl with three small legs for kava).

Church services are often at the center of daily life and some Volunteers often connect with a network of friends and activities through churches, even if they are not religious themselves.

Fijians play sports year-round, with rugby and volleyball being especially popular. If you think you might want to play a sport, bring cleats or other equipment (although many Fijians play in bare feet).

Many Volunteers jog or walk for exercise. While exercising, women generally wear sulus, skirts, or knee-length shorts, depending upon their site.

Learning about local crafts, foods, and music can fill your leisure time in your community (including mat weaving, cooking with local foods, or playing Fijian songs on the guitar). Music is very popular here.

A long weekend or holiday may provide an opportunity for snorkeling, diving or paddleboarding. The reefs that surround most of the islands are teeming with marine life.

Professionalism, appearance, dress, and behavior

Professionalism in the Peace Corps requires an awareness of the host community workplace culture, community values, and your self-presentation. To maintain a positive, culturally appropriate professional standing within a host community or workplace, Volunteers may need to adjust their style of dress, hair style, facial hair, make-up, piercings, manner of greeting others, etc., to demonstrate respect for local culture and customs. How you present yourself, in both informal and professional settings, is a reflection of you as an individual and of you as a representative of Peace Corps and the United States. In the U.S., dress (and other elements of personal appearance) may be seen as an expression of personal freedom and identity. In many host countries where Peace Corps Volunteers serve, the way you dress and present yourself may be interpreted as an expression of regard—or disregard—for those host community members around you.

Volunteers are encouraged to spend time in their communities in order to develop their language skills, get to know the individual members of their community, and better understand local traditions, culture, and local norms. As mutual trust is established over time, there may opportunities for Volunteers to adjust their personal appearance and dress outside of the more rigid local standards. Volunteers are encouraged to discuss these potential adjustments with staff and other cultural mentors.

Volunteers are posted in Fiji’s rural villages and the following guidelines apply:

Acceptable dress in Fiji’s cities and resorts is much different than the rest of Fiji, particularly in the rural villages where Volunteers live. Clothing that reveals skin (such as shoulders, midriff, back, knees) and/or clings to the body (i.e., sleeveless tops, crop tops, spaghetti straps, short shorts, and swimsuits) is not worn by locals. Dressing conservatively will make it easier to integrate into your community and be respected as a professional.

In rural areas, women do not wear pants. Women wear loose clothing, including long dresses or skirts with matching tops known as chambas. Women do not show their shoulders. Sulus (wraparound skirts) or sarongs are worn inside the home or when walking around the village outside of work. Dress should allow for sitting comfortably on the floor for hours at a time.

Men wear sulus (formal “pocket sulus”) or long pants with button-down shirts while at work or meetings. Informal sulus, longer shorts and t-shirts can be worn at home or when walking around the village outside of work. Long shorts are often worn when doing physical labor or playing a sport. Dress should allow for sitting comfortably on the floor for hours at a time.

More formal sandals are acceptable in a professional environment. Flip-flops are worn at home or when not working.

It is considered very rude to wear a hat inside a workplace, home, community hall, or anywhere else people meet. It can also be generally considered unacceptable in certain villages.

“Bula” wear is used to describe the colorful fabrics that men and women wear in Fiji.

Cleanliness and neatness are very important for Volunteers representing the Peace Corps in order to be respected in their communities.

Very few Fijian men have long hair, although it is generally considered acceptable when kept neat and tied back.

Visible body piercings (other than earrings for women) are not common in rural villages or professional settings. Wearing facial piercings may make it more difficult to integrate into your community.

Tattoos are somewhat common in Fiji, especially among men.