Pickering - Shops in Vaileka

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SHOPS IN VAILEKA
by Apryle Pickering
Tuesday, September 7, 1999 (written Thursday)
SUMMARY

Today was our first whole day on the island. I awoke to the loud sound of a rooster and then dogs and a goat. This was at 4:30 in the morning. I fell back a sleep for only a few more hours before getting up to start the day. We all went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast I had the Sunrise with fruit and toast. The fresh fruit is very good and the tea was surprisingly drinkable for me. After breakfast we had a meeting discussing the goals of the term and what we might experience then we were briefed on our activities for the afternoon. For lunch we again ate at the hotel, this time I tried the vegetable curry, which I enjoyed very much. After lunch we were about to get into the van to travel into town when I got to meet my sister. Ili was arriving at the hotel for her class with another teacher. She immediately asked which on was her sister and when she found out that is was me she hugged me and seemed very excited to have another sister. She was informed that I would be coming on Saturday. This made me more relaxed about my home stay experience. Then we continued into town. Vaileka is a very small town located at the bottom of a hill. It is arranged in a square with shop venders on all sides, a market in the corner and the post office in the middle. There seemed to be many people in town today, but I believe this is due to the arrival of the children just getting out of school. All of the kids have uniforms on and are very suspicious of us. Emily and I began our study of the shop vendors, which lasted a few hours then met Steve to pick us up. The students decided that we needed some form of exercise so we attempted to walk home. The walk was more strenuous than expected but we received little harassment on the way. When we returned finally to the hotel we went on a tour of the island where Steve showed us all the villages that we would be staying in. I began to get a little nervous at this point wondering what my home stay would be like. We returned to the Rakiraki hotel to have dinner which was island fish and chips. I found the fish to be surprisingly tasteful. Dinner lasted a while then it was decided that we would all go into the adjoining village to where Michelle would be staying to do her Sevu Sevu. The walk was somewhat stressful in the dark, however, when we arrived the house was very big and comfortable. (The Sevu Sevu Experience is elaborated on later in the notes.) From there we walked home and went to bed very early due to extreme tiredness.

SHOP VENDORS IN VAILEKA

Ra Bookshop

We spent approximately two hours in the town of Vaileka today. Steve brought us to a very quaint bookshop to buy notebooks for us then we were on our own. I was working with Emily at first and we began to gather information in the bookshop. It was called Ra Bookshop and was owned by an Indian couple. They were more than excited to see us

and help us with any questions we had. The husband remained behind the counter the whole time but smiled at us intensively throughout our stay. It was the wife who immediately introduced herself as Fatima and asked where we would be staying in the area. When we finished telling her what our purpose was in the town and which villages we would be living in she told us that she would be happy to give any of the students discounts on their merchandise. Their merchandise consisted of postcards which were located in the front of the shop, stationary located at the back and paper, pencils, pens and school books which mostly seemed to be outdated and were on the side shelves. Much of the merchandise was dusty, smelled of mildew and looked as though it had not been handled in quit some time. Their were two workers in the store as well a middle aged Indian man and a much younger Indian woman. We were informed that they were friends of the owners but not part of their family. Fatima went on to tell us that the schoolbooks she had were government supplies and often never sold when new books were issued. The school children always chose the newer books whenever they had the chance making it hard to get rid of the older books they had not sold yet. The books ranged from cultural accounts of Fiji to books on mathematics and their seemed to be an adequate supply of all of them on the shelves. Fatima and her husband live in the back of the shop and she stated that she enjoyed living in Vaileka. When asked about other bookstores in the area she told us that there is one other bookstore around but it only sells in bulk. So if anyone would like to buy small quantities of products then they would go to their shop. At the end of our conversation Fatima got more personal and asked us of our home lives. She wanted to know if either of us had boyfriends and if we didn't than maybe we could find one in our village. I told her that I had a boyfriend at home and didn't see any reason to find one in my village. It was apparent to me however, that she was just joking. We said our good buys and proceed on to the next shop.
Various Other Shops

Right next to the bookstore was a shop selling more expensive furniture, ceramics and tourist souvenirs such as. The owner was sitting behind the counter; he was an Indian man in about his thirties. There was one other worker in the shop; he was a much younger Indian boy in his teens. We tried to ask the owner various questions but he seemed rather uninterested and uncomfortable with us being there. We left the store to move on to another.

The next store was a larger store with more of a variety. There was an older Indian man behind a counter with perfumes behind it on the left as you first walk in. He did not say anything to us as we approached but rather seemed very suspicious. The only other worker was a Muslim woman behind the counter on the side. Straight ahead were aisles of food and other products such as ceramics, mats, towels, and batteries. The food was mostly canned or packaged there was no fresh food and all the packages were covered with dust. We purchased a package of coconut cookies and asked the man behind the counter if there was ever any bargaining. He laughed at us and said no never. When we were leaving a Fijian man approached us, said the traditional, "Bula!" and asked us where we were from. After we told him he told us that we should try to use traditional dialect when we were speaking. He almost seemed offended. We quickly left the store.
Comparison of Bakeries

The store next to this one was one of the two bakeries in town. It was run by a single middle-aged Indian man. The walls were bare and the only other thing in the shop was a few loaves of bread behind the counter. The shop had been there one year and the business was slow. The other bakery did better business and although it is the only competition for the other bakery it still does not do well. There were a few customers going in and out as we were in the store. They were both Fijian and Indian. We purchased a dozen rolls for $1.20 and moved on to the other bakery. The other bakery was called the Hot Bread Kitchen. In this shop there was both Fijian and Indian customers. There was a list of prices on the wall and a greater variety of breads behind the counter. One dozen rolls were sold for $2.40. These rolls were larger however and looked much more fresh.
Corner Clothing Shop

The next clothing store we went into was on the corner of a block it looked like a barn from the outside. Inside were the owner, and Indian older man behind the counter and one Indian woman as a worker. There were only Fijian customers inside that I could see. Behind the counter were rolls of fabric and one woman was arguing with the owner about prices I believe. In the middle of the store were bins of used and older clothing; there was no organization they were just all thrown in. There was also one rack of clothing toward the back of the store. The Indian woman tried to get us to buy something, she would hold clothes up and tell us how good they would look on us. She did not want to take no for an answer. The store was closing soon so they needed to sell all of their merchandise, this was looked doubtful however. They also told us that they are not going to reopen another store but they would not tell us why or give us any more detail.

The rest of the street consisted of a clothing store, As Fashions, a hardware store, IQBAL and sons and an appliance store, Home Center. The time was up, however and it was time for us to walk back to the hotel. The walk was a great idea for some exercise although it was a little more then we expected.

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September 8, 1999 (written Thursday)
SUMMARY

I slept through the rooster this morning, which was very exciting. Breakfast was the same as usual, except this morning I decided to try the omelet. When breakfast was over we all went into town to finish our research on the shop vendors. This was much more productive than yesterday and more useful information was collected. When the research was completed we had time to look around the village and buy what we thought was necessary for our new homes. For me that was some postcards and a couple more skirts. When we returned to the hotel we ate lunch, fish and chips, then we had time to lie at the pool and read our assignment for Thursday. This was very relaxing. I had a chance to swim in the pool and entertain Jeffrey. Dinner was Vegetable Curry as usual then it was off to my Sevu Sevu in Vitawa. I was able to meet my family father and niece than we made our way to the chief's house for the ceremony, (this will be elaborated on later in my notes under Sevu Sevu ceremonies). When that was finished we went to Stephanie's village, Narewa, to see about her Sevu Sevu but her parents were not at home so we went to pick up her sister and drank a bowl of Kava in her home. I was again very tired when this was finished and retired to bed shortly after I returned.
Meenoos

We were dropped of in the middle of town again today to pursue further our study of the shops in Vaileka. Emily and I began with a very well known store called Meenoos. This was a large clothing store, which also carried bras and underwear as well as baby products and fragrances. The clothes were mostly hanging on the walls while the undergarments and fabrics were located in the middle in large bins. The counter was on the left as you walked in and a Fijian woman worked behind the counter. This was the only store that we came across with both Fijian and Indian women working together. The customers were also a mix between Indians and Fijians. Wandered around the store for a while looking at Sulu before two Fijian workers called me over. They knew who we were and were happy to learn more about what I was doing here. They were both in there twenties and one of them had an extreme amount of makeup on, this I found to be unusual. The other did not have on any. The women introduced themselves and the one with the makeup said that she saw the students going to Michelle's Sevu Sevu. She lives in her village of _____________. I asked them why there were so many stores selling all the same products but they just agreed and gave no explanation. The prices in this store seemed relatively cheap compared to the other clothing shops and it seemed to by much busier inside.
Top Taste

This shop had an unusual set up. Top taste was on the left, which consisted of six tables and a counter as you first walk in. The grill was hidden in the back I believe but it was hard to tell if the Muslim woman made the food behind the counter or if it was made in the back. There was also a soda cooler by the counter and various bread treats in a case. There were no menus on the tables or anywhere that I could see in the shop. There were sugar containers on the tables but nothing else. The customers consisted of both Fijians and Indians. There were no other people working there. Connected to the restaurant part was a clothing shop. This shop sold mostly brightly colored shirts that were hanging on the walls with a few skirts and pants on racks in the middle of the room. The counter was located at the back of the shop way in the corner and there were two Indian men next to it talking. It was hard to tell which one worked there or if they both did. They did not even acknowledge me when I went in to look around. I went back into the other side to get a soda and Emily and I sat down to compare notes. There was a Fijian man that sat next to us. He asked where we were from and seemed very interested but never said anything else.
Bombay Fashions

This clothing shop was located near the corner of the street next to the pharmacy. This shop was run by a Muslin woman behind the counter with one Fijian worker. The worker was a younger girl wearing a dress with no sleeves. She was very eager to help with whatever we needed. All of the clothes were located in the rear of the store, mostly hanging high on the walls. There were a few racks in the middle of the store as well with dresses and skirts on them. On the counter in the front was a rack with postcards on it and behind the counter were fragrances. We approached the woman behind the counter about shoplifting. She told us that it is the younger Fijian boys that come in groups to shoplift. They do this more than Indian boys but usually they are able to spot this activity and stop this. Overall there is not that much. Their did not seem to be many customers in their I in fact did not see any during the time that was spent talking.
Ra Bookshop

I went back to the bookshop today to say hi to Fatima and see if I could ask her some more questions since she was so helpful last time I went to see her. She seemed genuinely happy to see me remembering my name and making sure that the other customers heard her calling my name. The other customers were a Fijian man and his son. She completely ignored them when I walked in. The other two workers were there as well the man worker (I forgot his name) asked how I liked Fiji and if I missed home. I began to look at postcards when Fatima asked me what I had for breakfast. I told her an omelet and fruit and she said that she had rice, beans and roti. She then told me that if she ever had extra she would save it for me to try or maybe we could come to dinner some time. I asked her if they were busy and she said no. She explained that the farmers and sugar cane workers get paid every three months so now there is not much business but when they get paid the sales with pick up. She also said that I should go to the Vaileka market to get bananas because they are very good and they are cheaper than any other market around. They are only 50 cents a bundle there where in Ba they are much more expensive. The Vaileka market seems to be a source of pride for the village. I finished picking out my postcards that were marked 30 cents a piece but when I brought them up to the counter Fatima only charged me 50 cents and even put them in a new envelope that she took of the shelf for me. I thanked her and went on my way. It was then time to meet at the post office and catch a ride back to the hotel. This concluded our first week assignment of researching the shop vendors.

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