When they hear the words "South Pacific," many people visualize gleaming white beaches with swaying palms, World War II Marines fighting across islands inch by inch, scantily clad tribes or even Rossano Brazzi singing "Some Enchanted Evening." What they probably don't visualize is Suva, Fiji, a commercial and governmental center and a town with considerable charms.

The U.S. Embassy in Suva, with 19 direct-hire Americans, including the Peace Corps and Defense Attaché offices, has responsibility for all U.S. relations with five countries—Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu—plus consular and defense responsibilities for France's Pacific territories.

The geography spans five million square miles, a huge swath of ocean speckled with mostly small islands and plenty of scenic vistas, plus diverse cultures and challenging work. In the opinion of many, the greatest strengths of Fiji are its friendly people and laid-back atmosphere. In an area where the usual foreigners are "Aussies" or "Kiwis," Americans are a bit of a novelty. It is impossible to go anywhere without receiving beaming smiles and friendly greetings of "bula," which means hello. Life is casual. At official functions, men wear Hawaiian-style shirts. Locals refer to the relaxed pace as "Fiji time."

Small Fish, Big Pond

Although many of the Pacific Islands look like picturesque outposts that the modern age has bypassed, they face issues similar to those other developing nations face. They are struggling to compete in an era of globalization without the advantages of economies of scale or convenient location.

With the expiration of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing in 2004, Fiji's textile industry largely collapsed. Fiji's other traditional export earner, sugar, is also struggling. Tourism, though, is a winner, so long as there is political stability.

The U.S. has been a strong advocate for democratic values throughout the Pacific, but the road has been bumpy in Fiji, with four coups in 20 years. The most recent was last December, when the military commander grabbed presidential powers. That act triggered tough international sanctions, including by the U.S. Abroad, the Fiji military has a more positive record, having contributed over many years to peacekeeping operations around the world, including in the Sinai and with the United Nations in Iraq.

A Growing Hub

Fiji has long been a crossroads for the Pacific, and its population is a blend of Melanesians (like Papuans) and Polynesians (like Hawaiians). Suva, with a population of around 100,000 plus perhaps another 200,000 in nearby squatter settlements, hosts a large number of regional and international organizations.

The embassy is similarly developing into a regional hub. Last summer, the Department established an environmental hub for the Pacific in Suva. Fisheries, climate change and conservation of biodiversity are all issues of vital importance to the region and to the U.S. The new hub officer, Joe Murphy, coordinates environmental initiatives across a dozen Pacific island countries in an area that encompasses both the world's largest and most productive fisheries and the majority of the planet's coral reefs and marine biodiversity.

This summer, a regional public affairs officer will arrive, dramatically increasing U.S. ability to engage with Pacific nations, which have 12 U.N. General Assembly votes—more than 6 percent of the total.

Multicultural Pleasures and Pains

Indigenous Fijians comprise more than half the population of what was once known as the "Cannibal Isles." Missionaries, mostly Methodist, converted them to Christianity in the mid 1800s. About 40 percent of the population is Indo-Fijian, descendants of Indian workers brought in during the British colonial period to work on sugar plantations. The remainder of the population is Chinese, European and other Pacific Islanders.

During the course of a year, embassy staff sing carols at Christmas; dress in saris for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights; and celebrate the birthdays of both the Prophet Mohammed and Queen Elizabeth II.

An official visit to a traditional Fijian village is always ceremonial and will include several bowls of kava, a mild herbal drug pounded from the root of a pepper plant.

The tightly knit embassy community eagerly participates in local activities. The embassy took second place in the recent diplomatic "Mini Olympics," which featured events such as sack racing, gumboot tossing and the hotly contested tug-of-war. The embassy team for the annual "Clean-up Fiji" day helped tidy up Suva's waterfront.

Suva is on the eastern, rainy side of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, which is about the size of the big island of Hawaii. Suva receives 120 inches of rain a year, encouraging tropical blooms in profusion. Pleasant resorts and the international airport range along the coast of the western, sunny side.

Even with the wet weather, outdoor activities are plentiful. Embassy staff hike, scuba dive and golf. Fiji's coral reefs are world-famous, and while Suva has mangroves instead of the white sand many associate with the Pacific Islands, beaches are only an hour or two away.

Five for the Price of One

Embassy Suva's efforts to engage diplomatically with Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu can be an exercise in creativity and endurance. Trips depend on sometimes unreliable airline schedules. One flight failure can mean being stranded on a very small island for a week or more. Inevitably, embassy staff often must communicate with the outlying governments by phone, fax and e-mail.

These are truly tiny nations, and each has a character all its own.

Tonga, long governed by one of the world's last absolute monarchies, was never formally colonized, though it has a long and close relationship with Britain and has adopted a number of classic British traditions. When Ambassador Larry Dinger presented credentials to King Tupou IV, a morning coat and top hat were mandatory, even in tropical heat. That regalia was expected again for the late King's funeral last September.

Approximately half of all Tongans live overseas, mostly in New Zealand, the United States and Australia. Remittances from expatriates are the main driver of the Tongan economy.

Politically, Tonga has lately been inching toward a more democratic system, though not without difficulty. Disputes between activists and traditionalists over the pace of political reform contributed to a riot last November that resulted in 80 percent of the capital city Nuku'alofa's central business district being destroyed. Fortuitously, Consul Debra Towry was in Tonga at the time and could comfort the resident American community and assist tourists in arranging departures.

The U.S. has encouraged political progress and welcomed Tonga's staunch support in the war on terrorism and its contributions to international peacekeeping. The Tonga government recently approved a second deployment of troops to Iraq.

Kiribati (pronounced KIR-i-bas), a nation of 100,000 people, straddles the Equator for around 3,000 miles. Tarawa, the capital, will be familiar to World War II buffs. Far to the east, Christmas Island has regular flights from Hawaii and is an angler's paradise. Nauru, with a population of approximately 9,000, is just eight square miles in area. The mining of guano for phosphate fertilizer led to a brief period of wealth, but depletion of the resource and mismanagement of revenues eventually left only financial disaster and a denuded landscape. Nauru has the unfortunate distinction of plummeting from one of the world's highest per capita gross domestic products to one of the lowest.

Over the last 20 years, Nauru's government has changed 22 times. The country was put on the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force for Money Laundering, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank was obliged to repossess Air Nauru's sole aircraft. With embassy encouragement, the current government has instituted appropriate reforms.

Tuvalu, nine tiny coral atolls with a population of 10,000, is about two hours north of Fiji via a propeller plane small enough that passengers can peer into the cockpit and look over the pilot’s shoulder.

Landing at Funafuti, the capital, is an experience. The nation's sole fire engine cranks its siren to full blare and traverses the length of the unfenced runway that was built by American soldiers during World War II. Kids playing soccer scurry to the side. The government's open-air meeting house, right next to the arrival hall, suspends its parliament session or judicial hearing or dance gathering. All hands gather to observe the new arrivals. For the next several days, everyone, everywhere on the island will smile and wave a "hello."

And that encapsulates life in the South Pacific. Challenges abound for the small islands and for the embassy, but the people greet each day with an exuberant and infectious spirit of joy.