Thinking Allowed: BULA Time

Here we are in Fiji. Here I am trying to sneak away from our strenuous days of lazing around the pool and breastfeeding to sit at the computer. After a month of having no internet and no phone service I have gotten used to my new electronic free lifestyle. And I have to say I really liked it. And now that I am back at the screen what comes to mind first to write about is etymology. Being here has made me realize that we lack something in our English speaking lives and that something is a power word. A word that we love to say and get to say as often as we want. A word that makes us want to smile at each other.

Out here they have Bula. It is what we heard first when exiting the plane and is the standard Fijian greeting. But unlike the sad 'hello,' Bula seems to be so much more. It can be said at the start of the conversation, at the end, in awkward silences in the middle. It is shouted before songs. and after songs. And seems to reappear frequently in lyrics. It is yelled really loudly before downing a cup of kava. Or really loudly before jumping in the water. It replaces curse words. It means watch out (as discovered when parasailers almost landed on me). And I am sure it can mean pretty much whatever you want it to mean depending on context and tone. Because why not. It precedes other words to make them more Fijian. Bula bus. Bula ccino. Bula time. Bula bible. There seems to be no inappropriate way to use the word. We have no word that can be used so liberally. Even our usual greeting of hello is a bit awkward. If I walked around and smiled at passersby saying Hello! with a big smile they would likely not return my greeting but look at me with suspicion. And Hello can only be used as a greeting in a limited sense. Imagine my saying Hello! at the end of our conversation. Is this a flaw in our culture or in our etymology? Either way it seems that this needs to be addressed by someone sometime and it may as well be us. So let's all have a good think of what power word we can add to our language to improve our daily interactions and help get rid of all those unwanted silences.

Another thing we can learn from Fijians is to love our children. They really truly love kids. They treat them with such respect and admiration and take great joy out of being with them. As a family with lots of kids we always feel like we have struck gold when we travel to places that are child centric. Unfortunately, I can't say that we come from a country that shares this attitude towards children. Sure all people love their children but they are also expensive and naughty and whiny and exhausting and loud and often not welcomed with the joy and respect they deserve. Not here. Here we are like celebrities walking around with our four beautiful girls. Everyone stops to chat and joke with them. Everyone is madly in love with Zadie and asks how old she is and if she is still breastfeeding. They literally glow at me when I tell them I am breastfeeding. And if she cries no one demands "Why is she crying?" rather there is a gaggle of women at the ready eager to kiss her toes and rock her. This love of children permeates the culture and it is thus no wonder that many of the women of child bearing age are pregnant. It has made our stay here extra nice. While we as a couple do take great joy from our children I only wish as a culture we could be so delighted and happy to be surrounded by children in all aspects of our lives.