Bus girl
The main town on the island of Taveuni is Somosomo Village; it’s known as a chiefly town, a designation indicating the residence of a chief who has descended from the traditional rulers of this part of the island. Somosomo Village has most of the island’s commerce, a school or two, and the transit center. Buses needing to make transfers at the center back into the dirt parking lot from the main road, which lets them pull straight out into traffic.
Our friendly guide Sepo told us that very few islanders have seen both the northern and southern ends of the island; the road’s not paved the entire way, and travel is costly. Instead, villagers from the ends of the island come to Somosomo Village once or twice a month to shop, then go back home. Sepo himself first made the trip all the way to the northern end of the island only a few years ago. (To put it into perspective, the island is less than 30 miles long.)
I spotted this little girl on the open-air bus that was headed south from the transit center.
Somosomo Village
Taveuni Island, FIji
photographed 7.5.2013
Posted on July 16, 2013, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, black and white photography, melinda green harvey, one day one image, photo a day, photography, somosomo village, street photography, taveuni island, taveuni island fiji. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
We take travel for granted here in the US. National and international travel is commonplace and, although it’s exciting to us I can’t help but think that it has not made us more accepting of other people and cultures. Of course, I’m speaking of current events here and it’s a gross generalization.
These Islanders are beautiful people and I think this little girl is going to break some hearts when she gets older.
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That girl is haunting my memories of the trip…
I was conflicted about taking this trip; while it was surely an opportunity of a lifetime, it also seemed self-indulgent: there are lots of oceans a lot closer than the one we went to. I was part of a group (that’s the part I didn’t really like – means to an end, though) and it felt like we descended on the island, with our loud Texas ways, and gawked at what we saw, maybe without trying very hard to understand what was going on. So, yes, that probably make us less accepting of another culture than we ought to have been.
But, there’s a lot to learn by watching and listening – to the non-Texans, I mean. And I hope I was able to do that, to be respectful of what I saw and heard. The place where we stayed did an admirable job of providing opportunities to learn about the island; there was something every day that guests could do to learn about the location and the culture. There were culture walks, short lessons on the Fijian language, demonstrations on opening coconuts or tying sarongs.
As to your comment about travel: I drive almost 40 miles, one way, to work every day. I don’t think that’s remarkable; it’s just what I do to earn a living. And when I heard that most people who live on Taveuni haven’t traveled, ever, more than 10 or 15 miles, THAT seemed remarkable. Even though I know it’s a matter of perspective: everyone just does what they do.
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I don’t imagine you as a loud Texan, but perhaps I will have to reconsider now that you have labelled yourself as one.
This is one heck of a cute kid – very nicely photographed.
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It was the OTHER Texas who were loud. Really. I am pretty reserved when I am in public. And even more so when I am in public in a foreign country.
I am very fond of this little girl, even though I only saw her for a few seconds.
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What a cute little girl in an open air bus. We do take public transportation and comfortable buses for granted in this country.
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Yes, she’s pretty cute!
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