Travel Teacher: Cultural Exchange & Adventure Travel | Fiji

I spent two weeks of my summer in Fiji this year and I had the time of my life. The memories I have made are truly remarkable and I love sharing them with my friends and family. I could talk about my time in Fiji all day. The locals are so so welcoming and make you feel right at home. Our hosts were so caring and really made you feel like part of the family. Whilst in Fiji, I jumped out of my comfort zone. I made sure I did everything and can honestly say I don’t regret a thing. If you take part in this trip, you are sure to have the best time! I only wish I could do it all again. My favourite Island trip was to Yanuca, it felt like complete paradise. It was definitely one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself. Thank you for all the amazing opportunities!!

My time in Fiji was amazing. During the initial introduction, I was extremely nervous and I didn’t really know what to expect but everyone was so welcoming and friendly and I soon settled in. To say I wasn’t pushed outside of my comfort zone I would be lying. But having done this experience I have learned so much about the Fijian culture and also about myself. Along the journey I have made life long friends and there hasn’t been a day where I haven’t thought about being back there. The locals in Fiji are by far the happiest people I’ve met and it really made me feel at home, unfortunately it had to come to an end but fingers crossed return in the future so a massive thank you to Matt for the opportunity of a life time. To any future travellers, I would say go for it, you will come back a different person and definitely will not regret it.

What a wonderful opportunity to embark on an amazing challenge! The ability to embrace their culture and lifestyle was eye-opening and rewarding experience. In addition, the privilege to teach pupils of whom showed respect, kindness and a willingness to learn. The rapport you will build with your selected class is astonishing and a relationship like no other. Finally, the range of expeditions on offer are impressive and guaranteed to make you very excited!

I wanted to travel the world while making an impact to places i visited in anyway possible - therefore Travel Teacher appeared perfect for me and clearly many others. Little did i know that making a change to a place like Fiji and the Fijian people would also completely change and impact me as a person - my outlook on life and the world along with my perspective on happiness has been broadened and i find myself being fascinated with the smallest of things now that i have experienced such a wide variety of lifestyles, from teaching children who had nothing but huge smiles on their faces, crossing a river to get to our home, showering in fresh water to then visit 5* hotels, beautiful islands and huge shopping malls, i can appreciate all assets of life along with a variety of different people and cultures. This is the best, most rewarding thing i have experienced yet and I've met people i will never ever forget :)

My time in Fiji was exactly what I expected. Full of culture, variety of foods and appreciative people. Fiji is a beautiful country which has a variety of beautiful beaches and exclusive islands which we were lucky enough to visit. Alongside this we got to explore waterfalls, caves, speedboat experiences and local shopping. Fiji itself is quite poor in some areas so whilst we got to visit the exclusivity of upmarket hotels, in contrast we really got to see how individuals valued what we had especially the school children who we taught. The children were always happy and it was great to see an impact being made within schools and across culture.

Travel Teacher has been such an amazing experience which I am so glad I participated in. I have learnt so much from my time in Fiji and have loved every aspect of it, from working and building relationships with the children and experiencing the Fijian culture to going to different islands and doing many exciting activities. We had the chance to develop our own skills and the balance between learning and volunteering in the school environment and exploring the many adventures Fiji has to offer was a perfect. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone and gained in confidence and also met some great people!

Going to Beachcoomber island, great company, scenery, snorkelling, sun and people. Simply breathtaking and beautiful. Take a boat on sunny day to a little island in the South Pacific that is paradise, snorkel in beautiful clear blue seas surrounded by marine life and warm waters, lay and a golden sandy beach in sunny warm weather and then take a stroll around the island in 20 mins - all in all a beautiful day I will never forget

Well for me going to Fiji was life changing, the overall experience really gets you out of your comfort zone(in a good way) TravelTeacher is such a unique charity-you actally get to experience the life of a fijian but also expored fiji as well.

For me career and which way to go had always been a struggle, I've done plumbing and restaurant management-but it wasn't me. Thankfully I was able to go back to college and study sports (which I should of done in the first place) I loved my course and my Tutor Matt gave everyone in the class to come to Fiji, it wasn't like a 2 week holiday(ok in a way it kind of was but it was more) the Itinerey looked amazing as well as the experience. Not also are we traveling to Fiji but we will have a Teaching qualification in education and training level 3. Even though it's a stepping stone-Rome wasn't built in a day :)

One of my favourite moments was when we went to beach Comber island, it was beautiful, we also got to see some turtles and I went in the water and did 2 minutes of snorkeling(as I can't swim I had to have a life jacket) but it was really good just being in the ocean and not knowing what was underneath you. My best experience was when we had our school day, teaching is something I have a passion for as doing sports development and coaching to then hopefully become a P.E teacher. It was really something getting that teaching environment and the kids are so sweet again very different to England, not just the people but the school, everything is so basic which was nice-no technology, the community was WOW I have never seen such a string community like this.

While we were there we had our 3 hours at school(which was such a joy as teaching is something I want to do) The Villiage we stayed In Nammitukula was such a blessing, everyone was so happy to see us and to be in our company. I have never seen a community this strong before. It also gave my time to reflect on my faith abit more as there were other Christians there. But the overall experience was just WOW, we went to beachcomber Island(dream world) I can't be more thankful for this oppertunatey. Thank you to Vani and Watson(which I hope you guys see they are lovely) Also a Thank you to cheeka and his family. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, even if you don't want to do to teaching you learn so much more about yourself and the people your around(surrounding, different way of life, out of your comfort zone) It's such a good idea that both party can bennifit, it helps us as learner a and helps the teacher(support) and the community. :)

Everyone is so friendly and they all say BULA! (Mean hello) overall this experience given me a platformto stand on as we're getting a quificaton in education and training, even if you done want to do teaching, this experience gives you so much more, it gives you confidence, making use your initiative/adapt, helping you as a person to grow. The best thing is it doesn't just help us, it helps the teachers as we aid in there lessons. 10/10 highly recommended to anyone. Vanaka(means thank you)