Friendship made in Port Vila

COVER STORY

After being together, playing rugby and enjoying leisurely walks in the streets of the Vanuatu capital, saying goodbye was going to be a little difficult

By MICHAEL PHILIP
HE was the first to arrive at the boys’ apartment at Beverly Hills in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Sadly, he was also the first to depart back to Fiji.
This is the story of Joji Ramasima, 35 from Kadavu in Fiji, Bradley Nuaita, 38 from Futuna Island, Vanuatu and Michael Philip, 25 from East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Joji arrived first in the morning from Fiji. The Solomon Island students and I arrived late in the afternoon. We had a brief meeting with the apartment landlord and after that we went to our rooms. I knew for sure that the other boys from Solomon that I had travelled with were going to take up carpentry training. So I wanted to know what Joji was going to take so I walked over to where he was eating Fiji Breakfast Crackers in the kitchen.

I smiled at him and he reacted with a huge smile on his face. I asked if we could talk and we introduced ourselves and then we found out that we both were going to do the tourism course.
That was where it all began.
Joji had a fair idea about tourism while I didn’t. We planned to help each other along.
The first week of study wasn’t busy because we were just having orientation. We both didn’t get to know other students from other Pacific islands as well. We just stuck to each other. The whole first week of school we used to stroll from school down to Port Villa down town, sit there, take pictures, eat chips, tell jokes and then stroll back up to Beverly Hills.
In Port Villa public transport there does not have any name or numbering on buses to indicate routes. You will have to stop a bus and then tell the driver where you want to go. Because of this reason we were a little lazy to stop busses so for the last six months we have been walking. But we loved it. Joji said “it’s good exercise”.
Going towards the second and third weeks of study we got to know other islands brothers and sisters. I was only Papua New Guinean in the class but I was still smiling because I had other Pacific brothers and sisters.

One of our classmates that we got to know better was Bradley. He didn’t tell us everything about himself. He was quiet and soft-spoken.
The three of us always worked together to complete assignments. We became best friends from there onwards. Not long Bradley told us that he was juggling studies and work, which was guest relations officer at the Holiday Inn Hotel in town. To Joji and I, Bradley was a jack-of-all trades as we saw that he could anything.
We always helped each other like real brothers. We always went for lunch together unless one decided to stay because of a study workload or when Bradley was at his Hholiday Inn job.
Studies were going well for the three of us.
Our friendship got a lot more interesting and rewarding when Vanuatu Rugby Union Association sent out an invitation for interested teams to take part in the Rugby 7s series at Korman Stadium.
Joji had some of his Fijian friends studying at the University of the South Pacific (USP) Emalus Campus who played for team USP and they asked Joji if we could join them and be part of the team. We gladly accepted the offer.
Every afternoon after classes we attended training. We now had a busy schedule trying our best to be committed and dedicated to bother studies and rugby training. Personally, I had never played rugby in a real competition but this time my body was just in shape to get a taste of it. Joji had played rugby 7s in Fiji and he was okay.
Surprisingly, even I didn’t believe it; Team USP won the first leg of the Vanuatu Rugby 7s series, walking away with 10,000 Vatu.
Those were like the best moments in our lives. We told each other to remember that day because it was the first time we played for one team. We won the first series and we played in the rain the whole day. I thanked Joji later for introducing me to the Fiji boys. We were brothers from there onwards.

We had the same routine thereafter; classes, then to training and after training, straight home.
We were unfortunately knocked out in the second leg of the rugby 7s series by Ifira Blackbird and we didn’t make it through. In the third leg we decided to stay out due to assessment workloads and we only had three more months left of the six-month study period in Port Vila. We told ourselves that we just had to concentrate on our assessments.
Bradley was always there for us and we work together.
One of the best highlights we had was Bradley inviting us to witness him and his Futuna traditional dancing group perform live to international tourists at Iririki Island Resort during a night. It was a memorable one. Our brother Bradley was the key man in the group. After the performance we took a boat ride back to Port Vila down town.
We were only sent there by the Australia Pacific Technical College (APTC) to study for six months only time was catching quickly winding down before the three of us would be separated.
Even though we tried to forget that eventual parting and concentrate on our last assessments, the prospect of missing each other was slowly looming large.
We could not slow the time nor control it either way so we just let it be. Finally, the time arrived, the good times we have enjoyed would come to end and will become memories only.
On Friday, June 16 our classes ended. It was so sad that Joji was going to be the first student to return home to Fiji the next day. On Saturday morning we decide to have our last stroll from Beverly Hills to downtown Port Villa.
Joji’s flight was going to be at 3pm; check-in was at 1pm. While strolling downtown we started to recall the best moments that we had, the funny moments and even the sad ones. We thanked each other for everything and told reminded each other that we would remain brothers for life. If I go to Fiji, I have Joji, if I go to Vanuatu I have Bradley and if either of them come to PNG they know they have a brother here.
We arrived at downtown Port Villa, we wait for Joji buy something. Bradley asked us if we wanted ice cream. Hell yes, it was going to our final treat together.
Time was running out so we had to return quickly to Beverly Hills so Joji would pack his bags. We had to catch a bus home and Joji packed his stuff up and we just waited for the APTC truck for pick-up. The truck arrived and we drove to the airport.
Joji went in straight to do check-in after that he came out for our last chat and jokes. Bradley had to leave us early because of work. So it was just Joji and I sitting down motivating each other for the last time.
Finally, the boarding call was made and we hardly said goodbye to each other. We cried and reminded ourselves that we were brothers forever and would still meet up one day.
I let go of Joji’s and said goodbye to my brother from Kadavu as he walked into the boarding lounge with tears.
We want to say thank you to APTC for giving us the study opportunity. We not only studies but met new friends and built friendships with brothers and sisters from other Pacific islands countries.
To my brother Joji, bula vinaka and to my brother Bradley, faftai tilava.