fellowship

/ˈfεloυſιp/ n. 1a the condition of sharing similar interests, ideals, or experiences, as by reason of profession, religion, or nationality. b the companionship of individuals in a congenial atmosphere and on equal terms. 2 a close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests. 3 friendship; comradeship.

I spent most of this week camping. I joined a big group of the Deaf Christian Fellowship (including some of the students at the school where I work) and travelled to Deuba /nde'umba/ on the Coral Coast, where we had a great time. Those of you who know me really well will be quite surprised to hear that I involved myself briefly in a game of rugby. This did result in me injuring myself on an open window (honestly, who expects to be caught in the neck by a window frame on the rugby field?) but it was still good.

The food was … camp-like. Porridge for breakfast every morning. Then morning tea. Then lunch. Then dinner. Then supper. It does make me wonder … with so much eating, why did I not need to use the toilet the whole week? Surely this is not right? I wonder if it’s a bad sign for the coming few days. Fijian and Indo-Fijian food tastes really good on the whole, but it does play around with your digestive system. Anyway. Sorry for the excess information there. Moving on…

On one of the few sunny days we had (it was drizzling and cloudy for the most part; typical eastern Fiji style) we all went to the beach for a bit of a swim, which was really nice. It was warm and refreshing. One of the younger girls had forgotten to take the packet of chips out of the pocket of her swimming shorts though, and very soon we were surrounded by a school of fish. It was fantastic. A very surreal, bizarre feeling though. The fish didn’t touch us at all, and swam away very quickly once the food disappeared, but it was a nice experience.

It was great to get to know some more Deaf people, and socialise with them. I learned some new Fijian Sign Language (which has just recently been allocated an official abbreviation, FJSL, by the Fijian Association of the Deaf). I made some new friends, which was awesome. I am so thankful for the openness of the Fijian people, putting up with all my questions and mistakes. I have tried to show my interest in their language and culture as much as I can. Even more so, I am heaps thankful for the way the Deaf people here are accepting me, and welcoming me, and helping me learn new signs and change the ones I knew which don’t apply here. The overall theme of the camp was “Fellowship”, and we were given several challenging reminders of what fellowship is, and means, and how to stay in fellowship.

As an aside, if you’re wondering why I’ve capitalised the word “Deaf” all the time here, I’d encourage you to search the web for articles about Deaf culture and Deaf communities.

I will be going home to Sydney in just a few days for my sister’s wedding, so stay tuned for my next update, which will probably be from the best city in the world (Sydney, in case any of you out there were confused and I needed to say it again)!