Upon arriving in Suva, Fiji, I knew I had a lot of work to do. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs I would first have to fulfil my physiological needs: food, water, sleep. So I headed to the Holiday Inn to satisfy these basic, yet essential, needs. After sleeping in a comfortable bed and eating an incredible brunch, I felt my physiological needs were all well satisfied. But there was just one problem – I managed to ring up a $428 bill in doing so. Maslow never mentioned how expensive it could be to fufil these needs! Clearly I couldn’t afford to stay at this pricey hotel much longer or I would end up like the Prodigal Son: broke, homeless and shamefully returning to my father’s house. 
Now I needed to find an apartment and adhere to the second need on Maslow’s hierarchy: safety.
So I called a local real-estate agent. The agent, Basil, told me he would come to my hotel in 30 minutes and take me to look at a few places. But nearly an hour later there was no sign of Basil. Then a phone call from Basil. He said he was going to be seven minutes late. But wasn’t he already half an hour late? Oh well, he’ll be here in seven minutes, I thought. But seven minutes came and went and I was still waiting. I resorted to the progress call. Yes, he was on his way, the secretary assured me.
Finally, after another half an hour Basil made his much anticipated appearance at the Holiday Inn.
“Fiji time,” he said with a smile, as if that explained his lateness.
He showed me six flats, and I liked two of them. I told Basil I would make my choice after seeing both apartments for a second time. It looked like I would be spending another pricey night at the Holiday Inn. But this time I would keep my tab to a minimum. Note to self: no more $150 calls to my girlfriend…unless it’s a collect call.
Basil told me that he would be back in the morning at 9 a.m. to pick me up. Normally I would object to such an early appointment but I was still jet lagged and would be lucky to sleep past dawn.
I woke up at 7 a.m., showered, ate breakfast, and waited for Basil to arrive. By 9:30 a.m. I got tired of waiting and headed down to the pool. I told the front desk to send Basil out to the pool when he arrived. Now we’ll see how he likes waiting. But by 11 a.m. I was tired of swimming and went back up to my room. So much for making Basil wait.
Finally around 11:30 a.m. Basil once again came waltzing through the hotel doors.
“Fiji time,” he said again with a grin.
Normally I would be frustrated with this constant abuse of punctuality, but I was starting to understand that lateness was socially acceptable in island life.
The following day when Basil’s boss, Ohanah, told me she would pick me up at the hotel to sign the lease, I wondered if she would be on time. She said she would be there by checkout time, 11 a.m.
But 11 a.m. breezed by, and Ohanah was nowhere in sight. Fearing that the Holiday Inn would further pillage me if I wasn’t out of my room on time, I went down to the lobby to wait. But after sitting in the lobby for 20 minutes, I decided a progress call was in order.
I asked the woman at the front desk if I could make a call. But like everything at the Holiday Inn, the call would cost me, she said. Frustrated, I paid $5 to make a 20-second local call and learned that Ohanah was on her way.
Eventually Ohanah, along with Basil, pulled up to the front door of the hotel. Happy to be escaping the pillage and plunder of the evil Holiday Inn, I forgave Ohanah’s lateness. We headed over to my new flat to sign the lease. Ohanah called my new landlord, Mr. Singh, and told me he would be there momentarily. But 15 minutes later, he still wasn’t there. Sensing my frustration, Ohanah gave Mr. Singh a progress call. He told her he would arrive soon, but soon turned out to be 30 minutes. Mr. Singh, although a shred businessman, operated on Fiji time as well.
I don’t know if it’s the hot, sticky weather, the laidback island lifestyle, or just an excuse that local people give to foreigners, but everyone in Fiji seems to be late. However, unlike Western tardiness, which requires an elaborate excuse explaining why you are late, Fijians only offer two simple words: Fiji time.
And then something dawned on me. I was supposed to be posting a new blog entry everyday, yet I’ve been here for four days now and I’ve only posted once. I guess you don’t have to be a native Fijian to operate on Fiji time.
I, too, am on Fiji time now.
Now I needed to find an apartment and adhere to the second need on Maslow’s hierarchy: safety.
So I called a local real-estate agent. The agent, Basil, told me he would come to my hotel in 30 minutes and take me to look at a few places. But nearly an hour later there was no sign of Basil. Then a phone call from Basil. He said he was going to be seven minutes late. But wasn’t he already half an hour late? Oh well, he’ll be here in seven minutes, I thought. But seven minutes came and went and I was still waiting. I resorted to the progress call. Yes, he was on his way, the secretary assured me.
Finally, after another half an hour Basil made his much anticipated appearance at the Holiday Inn.
“Fiji time,” he said with a smile, as if that explained his lateness.
He showed me six flats, and I liked two of them. I told Basil I would make my choice after seeing both apartments for a second time. It looked like I would be spending another pricey night at the Holiday Inn. But this time I would keep my tab to a minimum. Note to self: no more $150 calls to my girlfriend…unless it’s a collect call.
Basil told me that he would be back in the morning at 9 a.m. to pick me up. Normally I would object to such an early appointment but I was still jet lagged and would be lucky to sleep past dawn.
I woke up at 7 a.m., showered, ate breakfast, and waited for Basil to arrive. By 9:30 a.m. I got tired of waiting and headed down to the pool. I told the front desk to send Basil out to the pool when he arrived. Now we’ll see how he likes waiting. But by 11 a.m. I was tired of swimming and went back up to my room. So much for making Basil wait.
Finally around 11:30 a.m. Basil once again came waltzing through the hotel doors.
“Fiji time,” he said again with a grin.
Normally I would be frustrated with this constant abuse of punctuality, but I was starting to understand that lateness was socially acceptable in island life.
The following day when Basil’s boss, Ohanah, told me she would pick me up at the hotel to sign the lease, I wondered if she would be on time. She said she would be there by checkout time, 11 a.m.
But 11 a.m. breezed by, and Ohanah was nowhere in sight. Fearing that the Holiday Inn would further pillage me if I wasn’t out of my room on time, I went down to the lobby to wait. But after sitting in the lobby for 20 minutes, I decided a progress call was in order.
I asked the woman at the front desk if I could make a call. But like everything at the Holiday Inn, the call would cost me, she said. Frustrated, I paid $5 to make a 20-second local call and learned that Ohanah was on her way.
Eventually Ohanah, along with Basil, pulled up to the front door of the hotel. Happy to be escaping the pillage and plunder of the evil Holiday Inn, I forgave Ohanah’s lateness. We headed over to my new flat to sign the lease. Ohanah called my new landlord, Mr. Singh, and told me he would be there momentarily. But 15 minutes later, he still wasn’t there. Sensing my frustration, Ohanah gave Mr. Singh a progress call. He told her he would arrive soon, but soon turned out to be 30 minutes. Mr. Singh, although a shred businessman, operated on Fiji time as well.
I don’t know if it’s the hot, sticky weather, the laidback island lifestyle, or just an excuse that local people give to foreigners, but everyone in Fiji seems to be late. However, unlike Western tardiness, which requires an elaborate excuse explaining why you are late, Fijians only offer two simple words: Fiji time.
And then something dawned on me. I was supposed to be posting a new blog entry everyday, yet I’ve been here for four days now and I’ve only posted once. I guess you don’t have to be a native Fijian to operate on Fiji time.
I, too, am on Fiji time now.
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