What is Fiji time?
From the moment you land on the tarmac, you’ll notice two things about Fiji and Fijians: they’re always ready to greet you with a smile and a friendly ‘Bula!’, and they don’t exactly run to a strict schedule.
If you’ve ever been to Fiji, been interested in Fiji, or are thinking about coming to Fiji, you’ve probably heard about Fiji Time. Like many cultures in the world, Fijians have a pretty important relationship with time: Americans are always running out of it, Italians run their days on a pretty measured roster of work-rest-work, and Fijians… well, they’re more interested in the journey than in how long it takes to get somewhere. No one worries about going to bed at a certain time or counting the hours until they have to get up and go to the next thing. Fijians simply enjoy each passing second in the present moment.
Embracing Fiji time – or indeed, getting through a Fiji holiday without getting irritated or frustrated – means being patient and letting go of that ever-present need to Get Things Done. When you make plans to meet someone or do something, state a time and then expect everything to run at least ten minutes late. People will arrive in their own time, the weather might cause your itinerary to change, or an activity might take far longer than you originally planned for. Don’t stress! Embrace the moment you’re living in, here in beautiful Fiji, and let the day take you where it will.
Embracing Fiji time will give you a renewed appreciation for the things that really matter in life – the people you’re with, the place you’re in, and the adventure you’re experiencing.
Fijians always have time to talk to others, to discuss village needs or to plan upcoming events, and generally don’t worry about getting too much done today. If it isn’t done today, well, maybe they will do it tomorrow, or even later. Don’t worry about time; it will eventually get done, and if it doesn’t, it’s probably not that big a problem anyway.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
