Never thought I would want to spend my life in a village, but I do now.

If you asked me at the start of 2016, 'would I settle for cold, limited showers every day' I would have said no. If you asked me at the start of 2016, 'could I live in village-like conditions and adapt to their everyday lifestyle', I probably would have said no. What a change! If you ask me that now? Yes. Beyond yes. I would do it any day. I miss it, every single minute of the day. The children, the families, the village women and the men, they all make life worth living. They prove to you the true definition of happiness and I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to experience that. GVI provides full opportunity for you to live like the village people do, and have an insight of what their lives have been in comparison to what their lives are and will be. The change is significant and there are so many things that have already changed since I finished with GVI. It's revolving so quickly. It has been over 6 months now, and I hold onto my experience like it was yesterday. GVI provide you with a family which helps you more than you will know. It is daunting at first, but all families I have met within the village are so welcoming and make your experience a whole lot better. Recently, (after I finished with GVI) I went back to Silana (the village), and stayed with my family for a couple of weeks. They will never forget you, and they sure will love you no matter what. One of the village men said 'why did you come back?', I said 'I had to, Silana stole a piece of my heart' and he said 'vinaka vakalevu (thank you), because you make us feel like we have something special, and you give us a reason to smile'.They don't need much to be happy, and GVI succeeds in brightening every day of their lives. GVI is a great organisation where I met at least 6 long life friends. I have already, and will travel with them in the future. They provide extremely great security and there are rules in place that really do work best with the conditions. Meals are provided and duties/chores are fairly spread among the volunteers. There is a rotating roster for cleaning, cooking and other duties needed. The living conditions are obviously not the best, but they are more than what you need, perfectly suited to your program and probably as good as you will get it in comparison to any other organisation, considering the location and condition you choose to live in. The community vibe within the village is amazing. Schooling hours are 8:30am - 2:00pm usually depending on your grade as timetables vary. You are not told before you get there that you may be running lessons or a whole class on your own, sometimes you will have a partner. This seems scary at first, but it works out fine. Probably better than with someone, as you get to bond with the kids so much! There is constant on-the-job support and in-country support. You will have a team leader who is there to help you teach at first if you do not feel confident enough. Subjects taught include literacy mainly, sport, music, art and some other subjects may be included depending on your grade. After school you are entitled to free time. This can be used to spend time with you family, or catch a taxi from the local village into Korovou town to by some food/recharge or any essentials. On the weekends you are also entitled to sign out of the base and do whatever you please to. There are buckets to use to wash your clothes in the village, so bring washing powder or soap if you please, although on the weekends most places you visit will have a Laundry, which costs usually $4FJD (approximately) per kg of washing. Having weekends to yourself was great as it gave time for us volunteers to bond and explore Fiji! Or a couple of weekends I stayed at my families house and did so many activities with them. The community even invited us to a Fijian wedding one weekend, which was unique and wonderful! I have been to Fiji 4 times now, and it will probably never end. The Dawasamu District has stolen my heart. My appreciation for everything has increased majorly, being just the scent of my clothes after being washed by a machine, and a working fan in Summer. I will forever hold on to all the memories made with GVI and I can highly recommend it. It was the best experience I have ever had yet.