Savusavu is a tough place for a Caucasian longhair to take candids because everybody is watching him like a hawk all the time, especially if he’s carrying around a big camera. But with enough time we started to collect some intel on the daily lives of these lovely and diverse people and their lovely and diverse ways of life.

We saw people living high in traditional stilted houses, teaching their youngsters to wave a friendly “Bula” to passersby,

and an elderly lady with beautiful long white hair living down the hill in a neat cottage with a clever built-in foot washing basin.

There were muslims with ear rings 

 

and muslims with little boys who like ice cream.

Ladies with umbrellas to avoid the sun,

unless they could find a shady spot to spend the morning.

  

This lady and her dog held court under the mango tree all morning.

This lady was too elegant for any rainbow colored umbrella and too busy for any shadetree loafing.

 

The school rush hour is very busy on main street.

Buses are loaded with kids at the end of a 2 week fall break.

The combined effects of returning to class and a lack of sunglasses in the strong morning light show in their faces.

 

Some are forced  to walk.

The late ones have to run.

Little ones don’t have to rush for anything. They get carried around and smooched.

Or fed boiled corn on the cob.

The street corn guy was doing a brisk morning business.

 

Everyone was getting down to business after the school bell rush.

Snappy dressers appeared from all quarters and moved with purpose towards their morning meetings.

 

Senior associates met on the street and passed along items of interest.

The vegetable market was a bit less hectic.

There was still time for a quiet thought even in the bustle of an early weekday morning. We watched a guy from the Hindu temple distribute ceremonial flowers into Nakama Creek.

  

Little girls patiently waited for buses and read instructions to their grandparents in eight consumer languages,

or petted Ganesha’s knee.