And on to Queenstown...

I didn’t want to spend anymore time in my hostel than necessary today, so when I woke up on my own at 7:30 because of a combination of the noise outside and the couple in my room, I took a shower and packed up.

I ended up getting to the Auckland airport three hours early, which was kind of a bummer because it turns out that they don’t have free wifi in the domestic terminal. I should have just hung out in the city and McDonald’s or something.

My flight to Queenstown was pretty unmentionable. There was quite a bit of turbulence but I slept through it and anything else that might have happened. I caught the Super Shuttle into town for $20, which was more than double what I was expecting for transport here. My hostel is right in the center of town though and it’s very charming. I was given a tour right after checking in around all of the facilties. Minus the fact that they’re shared, the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedroom are all nicer than my place in Sydney and I’m paying less than $30 a night to stay here. There’s also free international calling during reception hours and free wireless internet. It’s like someone realized I needed to hear the word free and decided to indulge me.

I, of course, called Adam right away. I haven’t spoken to him on the phone since Fiji, so it was pretty weird at first. It’s so nice not to have to deal with the issues of skype. I was worried about hogging the phone for too long though, so we didn’t chat for long.

I wasn’t really hungry, even though it was way passed lunch, so I decided to walk around the city and explore. I bought some bread, peanut butter, and apples so that I would have breakfast food in the kitchen and I got a couple of souveneirs from the cute touristy stores. Queenstown seems to be primarily touristic, but that suits me. I could imagine owning a lake house here, set at the foot of the mountains. It’s really beautiful.

I stopped at Patagonia Chocolates for a snack of ice cream. The waffle cone looked burnt but somehow managed to taste amazing with the ice cream in it. The chocolate was a little rich for me though. It started to drizzle and I pretty much walked the whole town including along part of the lakefront, so I headed back to the hostel.

I spent my afternoon reconnecting with the internet before heading out for a late dinner at Fergburger, a well-known burger joint in New Zealand. Luckily for me, there menu includes options for people who don’t eat beef burgers. I settled on the Sweet Julie minus the “salad” plus cheese. It turned out pretty good. There was some kind of chili sauce on it, so it was a little bit spicy, but I really liked the bun and actually ended up eating it like a burger instead of tearing it all apart. I passed out immediately after getting back. Contiki exhausted me.

(Also, I'm out of photo space on my blog, so for photos, check out my facebook!)

Welcome to Sydney

Today has been really overwhelming. We got to the airport in Nadi at 6am to check-in. I went with the first group on the bus to the airport because I was nervous about my bags. It turns out that I had a definite right to be. Air Pacific decided to charge by the kilogram instead of by the amount of bags, so since I could only check 23kg for free, I ended up having to pay for 12 extra at the rate of $15FJD per bag. That’s $180FJD! I was so ready to get out of Fiji though that I just took it in stride and went off to spend the rest of my Fijian money in the airport. I was able to find a magnet, granted it’s a little chintzy, for the rest of my collection and grab a muffin for breakfast.

When I went back to join the group, I found out that two of the girls in our group – Audrey and Nicole – hadn’t made it on the plane. Apparently, the girls in the front of them got the last tickets on our overbooked plane and they were placed on standby. It was decided that flying to New Zealand and then catching a flight to Sydney would be a better option for them. But still, that had to suck. They spent the whole day in airports only to have to wait around to get picked up in Sydney because no one knew when they were getting in.

Anyways, back to my trip, the muffin didn’t do much for filling me up though, so it’s a good thing that they gave us yogurt, fruit, and another tiny muffin on the plane. I took the complimentary drink too. I needed it after the whole check-in ordeal. The flight was supposed to last 4 hours and 20 minutes, but when we got to Sydney we had to fly around in the air for a little bit because there wasn’t a spot for us to land. When we finally got down on the ground, I realized how truly excited I am to finally be in Australia. It’s sort of surreal. I’ve been wanting to step foot on this continent since I was twelve and now I’m finally here, for four whole months no less.

We hit the ground running and pulled a team effort to get through customs, grab our checked bags and make it out to the arrivals terminal. We actually beat the bus driver. Once all of our bags were finally loaded into the bus, we started the 40 minute journey into town. It was nice to drive through Sydney even though it was kind of rainy and dreary. Everyone got really excited when we drove over the actual Sydney bridge and saw the Sydney Opera House.

At Macquarie, we were welcomed into the recreation building of the Village and provided with Pizza Hut pizzas and the Australian version of a hotdog (we’re still not quite sure what was different – someone thought lamb and someone else sausage, regardless, I liked it). We were starving, so it was much appreciating. After all of the food had vanished into our stomachs, the resident advisors handed out packets with our room keys, house keys, and free internet vouchers. I’m living with four other people. None of which I have met. They’re most likely international students, but they seem to no t be home much. They don’t even have anything in our common rooms, just the provided furniture and some food in the kitchen.

Amanda, our AIFS coordinator on campus, also gave us a little speech about drugs and alcohol before handing over our debit cards from AIFS. It turns out that we’ll be getting a $240 monthly stipend for food and transportation, which doesn’t look like much at all in this country.

After signing all of the papers to check-in, we were guided to the very back of the part of the village furthest from campus, where they had found residence for us. Luckily, a van helped with some of our bags because it’s a fairly large hill that we have to walk up to get to our buildings. It’ll be nice training when I go for a run.

My room has some issues with it, like a leaky faucet and a very dirty desk chair, but I’m so glad to be in the same place for a few months that I was relieved when I walked in. It could definitely be worse anyways. I really only had time to set my bags down and put my sheets (also provided by AIFS, even though they said they wouldn’t be) on my bed before rushing off to the shopping mall across campus. It closed at 5:30, so we had to hurry there. I’m glad we did though because I was able to purchase an Australian mobile for $59 with a $30 monthly plan that gives me unlimited texting, 8 hours of talk, and a limited amount of data. It’s nice to have a phone that works again, even if I can’t call home with it.

While everyone else was picking out phones, I ran around the mall picking up the things I deemed most important and weren’t too heavy to carry all of the way back to the village (it’s about a 30 minute walk, or at least it is the way we went). I was able to find a fresh fruit store for apples and bananas as well as a bakery to pick up some bread. Then I stopped in a grocery store for detergent, pasta, olive oil, and toilet paper before running to Target (which carries quite a bit less here) for hangers and toiletries. I had five bags in total when I was done, but I managed to carry all of them back without breaking. I did have a little assistance though. Halfway back, we found an abandoned grocery cart and commandeered it for the remainder of the walk. It was a little too late though because one of the handles on Sarah’s bags ripped and her olive oil bottle broke and leaked all over her groceries.

I was so happy to unpack when I got home though. A few of the girls had talked about going out earlier, but I have no idea where they manage to get the energy from. I’m excited to pick out my classes tomorrow though. I hope I get what I want.

Saying Goodbyes

We left our home stay families this morning. Nina told us our cousin almost cried because he was sad to see us go. I don’t think anyone else did. We headed back to Nadi right after they dropped us off at the school and stopped at Tambua Sands for lunch. Tambua is a nice resort, but since I’m not a huge fan of beaches, it didn’t do me much good.

When we got back to the hotel, everyone hopped in the pool immediately because it was so hot. Dinner was nice because they served French fries and other traditional American affair as a going away feast for us. I was so tired though, I went to bed right after.

Last Day with Our Family

This morning we woke up and had breakfast which included a weird green dish that I have still have no clue what it was. A lot of Ajay and Sangita’s family came over today and visited, so we talked with some of their cousins out on the back patio while they cracked open coconuts for lunch. Rigi and the younger cousin went swimming even though it was pretty chilly out and started to rain.

We came inside instead and had chicken for lunch with custard pie, a traditional desert dish in Fiji known for its simplicity. I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I should have. I just don’t think custard is my thing.

After lunch, we took a taxi into town and looked around at a few of the shops. Not much was open, but I finally was able to see how expensive their books really are. Most of them cost upwards of $40 or $50, which is expensive even if you halve it into what would be about American currency. Magazines were $18 too!

Since it was Sunday and most things were closed, we went to see The Dark Knight Rises at the town theater (tickets were $6). It was alright. It at least moved fast enough to keep my attention but it was a little long. Their popcorn is pretty good here and much cheaper than in the States (only $5 for a small pop and popcorn combo and $7 for the medium), even though some of the other girls said they didn’t like it. They just don’t use as much butter. The only annoying thing was during the entire movie the guy behind us kept putting his feet on our seats. At one point, he toes were literally touching my elbow because he was taking up half of my arm rest. I would have said something if we weren’t there with Raoul, our cousin, and Nina.

We picked up a chicken pizza for dinner and brought it back in the taxi with us. I don’t think they use much sauce on their pizza here, if at all, but it was still good. After dinner, we exchanged gifts with our host family. They bought us bracelets and the older daughter, Shigi, drew us a picture with a little note and necklaces. It was really cute. Sangita also gave us necklaces for our mothers. They liked our gifts too. Deirdre gave them coasters from her school and two Philly baseball caps. I gave them a coffee mug from my school. Then we all sat in the living room and watched a Hindi epic story together that they’ve been watching together. 

A Night Out

We got ready to go out after dinner yesterday because nearly everyone from our group had agreed to meet up at O’Reilly’s, a popular bar downtown. Our family wanted to take us out though, so it was really awkward because we had no idea what to expect. It was warm out, so we were both wearing shorts but then it sounded like our host dad, Ajay, called the pub to check if there was a dress code. It turned out there wasn’t. The place they took us seemed kind of like a country club. They referred to it as a “pub” and said it was only of the oldest clubs in Fiji, around since the colonial days when only the British were allowed inside. Nowadays, it’s a member’s only club. It seemed like a nice place. Our family bought us a couple of Tribes, the local wine cooler, to try. The Tribes are mixed with either vodka or bourbon; we tried the cola, raspberry and watermelon, pineapple, and lime flavors. Everything was good except for the cola, which was way too strong.

The country club was really only for the older men though, so after finishing our drinks, we moved on to O’Reilly’s. It was kind of awkward (which was the theme of the night) going to a nightclub with a couple the age of our parents and a 20ish woman who is their housekeeper and was trying to keep an innocent image in their company. O’Reilly’s was where we tried the pineapple tribe though, and, soon after, we found our group. They were dancing on the tables and counters in the corner of the dancing and smoking section of the bar. It’s so weird that you can still smoke inside in designated smoking areas here.

Inside O'Reilly's

We kind of separated from our family to join the group and I felt bad because they awkwardly stood in the corner for about forty minutes before asking if we wanted to move on to another bar. We wanted to stay though and, thankfully, they agreed to let us take a cab home. I was just glad that they were getting the chance to go somewhere more their style. Apparently, after they left us they took Nina to another club too.

A lot of the people in our group were drinking and dancing, but I preferred to sit down with the artists from the University of the South Pacific who had come out to meet our group. Dancing just isn’t really my style. It was too loud to talk inside though, so I mainly just ended up sitting and watching. Some people were getting a little out of hand. Sure enough, after about an hour, the bar was really crowded and some of the people in our group wanted to move on to a different bar down the street. Of course, we couldn’t find everyone. We spent about twenty minutes looking for three of the girls who had just disappeared together. They finally showed up after we had given up and moved on to Club Islanders down the street. However, that bar was extremely skuzzy and didn’t appear to be the safest, so we were only there for about ten minutes before leaving.

When we all got outside, Lindsay just took off running across the street and into a park. She was literally sprinting away from us for no apparent reason. It was probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen someone do. She even claimed she was sober, but that definitely couldn’t be true. Someone sad she was mad about something but one of the artists found her near the sea and putting two and two together we figured out she was homesick. It was a mess though. We couldn’t really try to bring her back to the group because we were afraid she would take off again, so we had to leave her be, even if it was alone.

A lot of the group moved onto Temptations, a newer club across from O’Reilly’s, but I was ready to call it a night. Deirdre and I didn’t want to call a taxi though, so we asked a couple of the artists how safe it would be to walk home along the seawall where we had taken our walks with Nina. It was really only a ten-minute walk and our host family has told us the area is rather safe, but we wanted to check. The artists didn’t agree that it was okay for us to walk alone, so two of them came with us. I ended up talking and walking with William, who said he had never met a foreigner before. It was bizarre to me. I understand he’s never left Fiji and since he’s from a small village on the North Island, I can see where he would be isolated, but still. I can’t imagine not knowing the diversity that comes along with acquaintances from other countries. I tried to think back to the first time I had met someone born in a foreign place, but I couldn’t. I guess I take the diversity of the United States for granted.

It was about 2:30 by the time we got home last night, so we passed out right away, which is a good thing because we had to get up at nine this morning to run errands with our family. Etnis, the son, needs new glasses, so we went with him to the optometrist and helped him pick out new frames. Unfortunately, he didn’t go with any of our suggestions. It’s creepy how similar the glasses shop seemed to Lenscrafters back home. The paint colors were a little more islandier, but the set-up was ridiculously familiar.

After the glasses hunt, we dropped Etnis off at the bus stop and headed to the market. The markets are huge here. You can buy everything from fresh fish to vegetables. I immediately noticed the absence of apples though. It’s so weird to me that they don’t grow them here. It doesn’t seem like apples would need that unique of a climate. Nothing is packaged in anyway though, so it also seems kind of unsanitary. Even when you buy a whole fish, it’s just shoved in a non-properly sized plastic bag with the tail sticking out. I dubbed this “fish in a bag.” We also went to a supermarket in town, which seemed incredibly busy. I was amazed at the prices on some of the things too. Peanut butter seemed a little bit more expensive here, but nectarines were ridiculous at $17 per kilogram. Apples were almost $4 per kilogram. I guess that is truly the difference of living in a small country though. In the United States, we don’t even notice when things are imported because our economy is strong and the sheer amount of products we import absorbs some of the cost. We were encouraged to pick out ice cream for after lunch from their Tip Top collection. They had some bizarre flavors like boisonberry and hokey pokey, but we stuck with the slightly more normal cookies and cream. The cart was completely full when we were done shopping and I thought it would take forever to bag everything, but the check-out woman and bagger were amazing fast. You can tell they’ve taken it down to a science. It was much more productive than the US, which is good because they were really busy.

The inside of the market was huge

He had so many eggs

Bananas are a huge deal here

I don't even know what these are

The fish head was just chilling on a table

This was still moving while we were there

They have a lot of pink toilet paper

Lunch was Chinese food, which was incredibly weird for me. The cho mein was really good though and I’ve actually started eating rice. My taste buds are definitely becoming less picky. As long as things aren’t too spicy or fishy, I seem to be able to handle them well. I’m still not big on vegetables though. I feel like my food adventures won’t necessarily continue in Australia though because I’ll be buying all of my own food and I’m not going to want to waste money on things I won’t like. The ice cream afterwards was a good choice too :)

We went running after lunch along the sea wall, which is this little paved path that has been put up alongside a wall that keeps the tide from running into the road. I ended up running all the way out of Suva town proper. One thing I noticed is there is an extraordinary large amount of seaside parks here. You would think the land would be devoted to beaches or beachfront property, but it’s not.

Our farewell dinner was tonight. It was held at USP. All of the girls in our family – Sangita, Nina, Shigi, and Rigi – came with us. There was entertainment underneath their performance pavilion, including a rapper as well as the college’s band, dance group, and singing group. Dinner was good too… I had fish again, unbelievably. They made us dance with the performers after the whole group sang the traditional goodbye song, so not cool.

I pretty much passed out after we got back home and had some ice cream.

Test Time

Women can drive here! For a second, we weren’t sure. But they definitely can.

Today was our exam day. We were given the questions ahead of time and instructed to write about 2 pages or 400 words for each of the four questions. It wasn’t actually that bad because they were all sort of opinionated and I read the articles they were on, so I didn’t actually have to study. I was one of the few people who took the exam seriously, which is ironic because I’m one of the few who won’t be getting credit for it. I just figured I had nothing else to do, so I might as well apply myself. I found some of the material interesting anyways.

After the exam, I wandered around campus by myself for a bit. It was nice to be alone and not feel like I needed to be a part of the group – the same feeling I got from running yesterday. Some might think it’s weird that I’m so independent and need so much alone time, but I definitely do. It’s just natural to me. And traveling in groups can overwhelm. That’s why New Zealand will be exciting. I’m going to be completely on my own.

We were picked up shortly after my wandering. In fact, I ran into our host father on my way to the pick-up spot. Biscuits and rolls were waiting for us when we got home. They were so good. I really do love their biscuits here. We filled up on them though so when dinner was ready about ninety minutes later, we barely had room for pasta with lamb sauce and chicken curry.

Fiji Facts

This morning we had peanut butter sandwiches! I was so excited. I’ve been eating so much bread the last few days too because I feel like it’s been lacking since we’ve been here. It doesn’t hurt that Sanjita’s rolls are amazing and she’s been serving them at every meal since she found out we like them so much.

Our bus was over an hour late this morning to take us to a museum in town. I thought it was ridiculous, but everyone said it was running on “Fijian time,” which sounds like the biggest crock ever. When we finally got to the museum, we realized it was ridiculously small. It took us like ten minutes to wander through and the rest of our time was spent in the small gift shop. I bought a souvenir bottle opener, which I realize I probably should have brought with me because even things like wine coolers in other countries aren’t twist-offs.

View outside the history museum

A traditional boat in the history museum

After the history museum, we went to the other side of town to visit the prison. Apparently, Fijian prisoners who have served most of their sentence are encouraged to develop a talent while in jail. They are put in a separate area with house-like structures where they are able to roam free. They said not many try to escape, which sounds bizarre to me. There wasn’t even a barbed-wire fence keeping them in the area, just the open road. But that’s beside the point, these men are encouraged to try artistic pursuits. And they’re amazing! There was a bunch of beautiful paintings and mosaics in the small art gallery attached to the prison. We were encouraged to purchase something (the money goes to the families of the prisoners), but there was no way I would be able to get any of the mosaics I liked home. They were super heavy.

On the way back to campus, we stopped at the town theater so that a couple of our group members could purchase tickets to the late showing (8:30 is their latest!) of the new Batman or Superman, whichever, movie. Someone told me it isn’t even out in the states yet. Tickets were only $5 Fijian though, so that’s a really good deal.

The town cinema

View of Suva

Freighters on the coast

We had lunch on campus, nothing notable, after returning and were left to our own devices for the afternoon to “study” for our exam tomorrow. I wandered around campus with two girls for a little while before we went to McDonald’s to use the internet. Even though we were promised internet access on campus, we haven’t been able to get the wifi to work, so McDonald’s (which has no plugs) was our last resort. Anyways, not much studying got done. I went for a run up a pretty big hill after my laptop died. I only ran for 24 minutes, but I was impressed with myself because it’s much hillier and muggier here than I’m used to.

Litter Please :)

Dinner was more rolls :) and lamb stew with some kind of baked potato concoction. It was alright. We spent the rest of our night trying to figure out who the random people were that kept wandering in and out of our host families house. It’s possibly the equivalent of Thursday poker night, with kava? We’re not quite clear. There was a man from New Zealand here though that tried to bring up some uncomfortable controversial subjects with us though.

I bought a notebook today so I could record some of the random Fijian things that I’ve learned:

·         Fiji is ruled by a strict military regime with limited freedom of speech and jail as a repercussion

·         Only men appear to drive here

·         It’s illegal for women to run away with a man (without permission) before 21

·         Illegal for students and those under 18 to smoke (marijuana is completely illegal)

·         21 is the voting age, but this is switching to 18 in the next election

·         You are to remove your shoes before entering one’s house

·         Clubs are open until 5am and do not admit native students

·         Girls must wear their hair up and cannot wear fingernail polish to school

·         Citizens are not always able to get visas to travel due to some citizens staying past their allotted stay

·         Peanut butter is common :)

·         All apples are imported (and hard to find)

·         Motorcycles are uncommon except amongst Europeans on the North Island (we’re on the South)

·         There is only one national park in the whole country

·         Many stores and products suffer from heavy inflation due to the popularity of imported goods

·         Television subscribers have only about 13 channel options

·         Following primary school (the equivalent of elementary), there is a semester fee of about $50-70 to attend grammar school and an additional fee for year-end exams

·         Kava, the national drink, is made from a natural muscle relaxing root and tastes like dirt-filled water

·         Bugs are out constantly! (which explains my many bug bites)

·         Fiji water is much cheaper in Fiji

·         Animals are rarely kept in homes

The Way The Natives Live

We arrived on campus before everyone else this morning, so we went to the school store and I bought some cheap toothpaste and my first Fiji apple! I haven’t had an apple since the U.S. so even though this 60 cent, imported apple was small, it was amazing. Very sweet and much needed.

We spent today at an authentic Fijian village. I believe it was Waikete, or something like that. They welcomed us to their village with a ceremony that included a lot of chanting and clapping, which I didn’t understand. We were then offered kava, which is a native root drink used in ceremonies. Apparently, the root is a natural muscle relaxant. A mere sip of kava with cause your tongue to tingle and possibly go numb for a few moments. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drink though. It basically just tasted like murky, dirt water (which is also how it looked). I’m proud of myself for trying it though.

Kava ceremony

Walkway in the village

After the welcome ceremony, we were allowed to collect our shoes, which had been left at the door to the community center as a sign of respect, and wander around the village. Our guide showed us how to lay mud traps for the delicacy of crab, follow the call to either the village Catholic or Methodist churches, cook in an underground oven pit, and climb a tree to collect coconuts. The villages in Fiji are mainly self-sufficient, but we were able to see their slight reliance on tourism when they sold us handmade (possibly, we saw some pretty similar items in stores) jewelry and purses.

To me, the village just looked like poverty. There were people living on top of people and the animals appeared malnourished and flea-bitten. However, I can see their appeal. They stray away from commercial goods and allow people to stay close with their families and live off the land. Also, the villages are all most the villagers have ever known. They may be able to go into town now or then and get bused to the surrounding schools, but they still don’t know what it’s like to pay bills and live apart from one’s extended family. So, while I could never live the life of a villager, I understand why they exist.

Following our tour, we were provided with a traditional lunch. I actually ate the crab that they had cooked. It was similar to the crab we caught in the mud traps, but since they had already caught and cooked this, not quite the same. The meal also included taro root (a native vegetable) and possibly a lobster dish. I stuck with the chicken. I also had some shortbread-like cookies that I picked up when we had stopped at a grocery store on our way to the village.

Making our lunch

The villagers danced for us after lunch. The dances were traditional, but appeared quite strange to our American eyes because Fijians do not move their hips much while dancing. It was quite the change. We were invited to join in on some of the dances as well.

Social time took place after the dance and we gathered around the kava bowls with some of the younger villagers. A boy named James tried to befriend me by asking for my telephone number, but since I don’t have one, it didn’t really get him anywhere. We exchanged e-mails instead, but the entire conversation was rather strange because it only lasted about two seconds. I know nothing about him other than his name and the village he lives in. He knows only that I am from America. I’m not really sure where he was going with the exchange of information, but it seems that, as Americans, we attract friends everywhere. Everyone wishes to know more about the American girls (the two guys in our group get to miss out mostly on this wonderment). It’s like they’re attracted to the striking difference between our blonde and red hair compared to theirs.

At the conclusion of the day, we came back to our host family’s home and Nina took us for a walk again around downtown Suva. We were able to see one of the local malls and walk around a few of the stores before it closed. I know we will be returning again on Saturday when we spend our free day shopping. When we came back from the walk, dinner was ready. Our family noticed our appreciation of the bread and made more with dinner tonight as well as roast chicken, mashed potatoes, white rice, and fish curry. All of the carbs and the kava today left us exhausted though, so we called it an early night.

Studying the Fijian Culture

My room is off of the kitchen, so I didn’t get much sleep last night. I went to bed fairly early because we didn’t have anything else to do, but the family was still up, so I didn’t get to actually fall asleep. I kept drifting in and out of sleep in the morning too because I could hear animals making noise and moving around outside. I finally got out of bed around 6:30 to get ready for our first and only day of classes at the University of the South Pacific.

Some of the campus buildings at USP

Traditional house built on campus -- apparently the roof is leaking right now

After a breakfast of egg salad sandwiches and cereal with warmish milk that I couldn’t figure out how to open, we drove to the campus. We had a total of four lectures today focusing on the climate change and globalization practices of Fiji. The lectures were interspersed with morning and afternoon tea breaks so that included some really good food. I finally got my chocolate cake :)

Lunch was basically inedible to me. I subsisted on some spicy chicken, but our afternoon tea had amazing banana bread so I was content. I had thought we might have to pay for lunch today, but that didn’t turn out to be true, so I was happy.

We were given sulus to wear on our village visit tomorrow and also met some of the school’s resident artists. A lot of the girls purchased pieces from them, but I’m just not interested in art to the extent that they seem to be. I mean, they were nice to admire, but I don’t want to spend the equivalent of $40 on something that seems abstract to me.

All in all, the lectures were rather difficult to sit though. The only one that involved a good deal of discussion irritated me because I felt like each comment someone in my group made was offensive to Fijians and their way of living. I also couldn’t get a word in edgewise and, even when I raised my hand, it seemed as if the professor was ignoring me. I’m not sure what was up with that.

After classes, we went back to our host family’s and Nina, who we’re now fairly sure is the housekeeper, took us for a walk along the sea wall. It’s really scenic and only takes about ten minutes to walk along it into town. I think I might go running along it tomorrow. The whole family has said it is very safe, so I guess I have my seal of approval.

Dinner tonight included this amazing, light, almost buttery rolls and breadsticks. I couldn’t stop eating them, which is good because the other food was a little spicy for my tastes. I had some more of the leftover chop sui from last night though; I just might be coming around to it.

Falling Off a Cliff

Today has been host to both a near death experience and a very awkward one.

After checking out of our hotel this morning, we visited the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, which are located in the one and only national park of Fiji. These sand dunes aren’t anything like what I was picturing from what I’ve seen of those in Michigan. In Fiji, the sand dunes are almost completely covered in vegetation from mere grass to full trees. The sand just makes things grow, I guess. The only recognizable sand dunes that I saw were when we got closer to the ocean and those are only clear because the winds keep them shifting enough to prevent growth.

The dunes were extremely hard to climb up though. My tennis shoes were completely filled with sand; it was ridiculous. You had to get a running start to even be able to clear the top. They were very picturesque though.

Sigatoka Sand Dunes

View from the top

"Tree hugger" - based on a story from Nepal where  many women were killed as they tried to protect the trees from being cut down

After the sand dunes hike, we cleaned out our shoes and got back on the bus from a trip to the Tuvuni Hill Fort. The trip was fairly death-defying as our bus driver attempted a u-turn on the side of cliff. Lili, our guide in Fiji, actually had to get off the bus and direct the bus driver, but there were a couple of moments when the stick shift stuck and we weren’t sure we were going to make it. Most of us were begging to get off and walk the rest of the way rather than go off the cliff with the bus. Luckily, he eventually managed.

When we finally arrived, we ate lunch of corned beef, egg, and tuna sandwiches (ew!) with fresh fruit before setting off on another hike on the sites of one of the old villages who practiced cannibalism. Some of the girls were a bit freaked out that people would actually eat people, but our guide explained the villagers only ate those of rival villages who they captured as it would allow them to gain control of other villages. The rest of the time they would eat more normal meats. The actual site of the old village is completely torn down. The only remnants are rocks left to mark the sites of old houses and burial grounds. Again though, since it was on the side of a cliff, very picturesque.

View from Tuvuni Hill Fort

Following the fort was a two-hour bus ride that definitely seemed more like three to the town of Suva where we met our host families. The whole meet-and-greet was very awkward. Deirdre and I are both staying with a family that has three girls and one boy. It also appears that the father of one of the parents lives with them as well as possibly a school friend of the boy who may or may not be related. We got off the bus from the fort, unloaded our luggage, and were basically handed off to a woman standing outside the school (the University of the South Pacific). She seemed nice, but it was still strange.

The family has been incredibly accommodating and seems fairly informal, but we’re both still very unsure of how to act and what’s appropriate. We don’t know where any of the others in our group are staying either because we were the first to leave. We’re figuring it out though. The husband travels quite a bit and the wife is an English schoolteacher at the university we’ll be attending.

They served us tasty biscuits (kind of like a shortbread cookie) and cookies when we arrived along with Cola and water. Dinner was chop sui and rice with a cake-like desert. I ate what I could. I didn’t realize that coming to Fiji would be the thing that made me try chop sui.

The kids have all been very shy with us, although it appears one of the girls is a bit more social and willing to answer our questions. We were also able to talk with the two boys for a bit at dinner and they seem to be warming up to us. I guess it’s just a question of how long it will take before things start to feel more natural and comfortable.

The Beach Side of Fiji

Today was beach day, also known as day I spent squinting and watching and thinking. I’m just not a huge fan of beaches. I don’t like saltwater. Sand makes me itchy. And the sun tends to fry my skin. Fiji only added to my dislike by introducing coral to the beach and invisible bugs that like to bite me. I’m so itchy. I’ve tried everything but the bites keep appearing. They’re in weird places too, like all over my stomach (and those appeared before the beach). I also didn’t have a towel.

Possibly Castaway Island

The tiny boat we took to Beachcomber Island from the ship

So basically, I spent today on a resort island the size of city block (Beachcomber Island). I watched people in my group snorkel. I had an overpriced “sex on the beach illusion” that tasted like an Icee with the smallest splash of alcohol. I sat in the shade on a picnic table in the only part of the island without sand and read my book. I couldn’t even go shopping because the island gift shop was closed.

Chilling on the boat while everyone snorkels

 The sand is really weird here though. It's like clumpy and mixed with the coral, so even when you're just stepping on dry sand, it kind of hurts. I wanted to wear my flip flops to walk around but that was difficult because everything was uneven and I hate the feeling of sand in my flip flops.

The water is so clear and blue

 Our boat was late to pick us up from the island and take us back to Viti Levu (the main island we’re staying on) so I also got to freeze in my tank top as the sun went down while we waited and for the duration of the 45-minute, windy ride back where we passed the island that Castaway was filmed on. At least is wasn’t as sunny as the ride there though.

 But at least, since it’s Fiji (paradise as others call it, for some unknown reason), the view was good.

Sunset on the Pacific

Fiji Ain't No Place Like Home

Airplane Dinner + How I Met Your Mother

Fijian Dollars

Fiji is different, that’s for sure. We arrived just before 5am this morning following a ten hour flight over the Pacific Ocean and after walking down the covered, but no enclosed ramp to the main airport, we were greeted by traditionally dressed Fijian men who were serenading us. It was quite a bit much, in my opinion. Especially for five in the morning, but whatever, I’m sure it was some people’s cup of tea.

Our hotel is basically three feet from the airport. We could walk if we wanted to, but they provide a shuttle service. The downside to this is that the hotel is absolutely nowhere near town. So our first free day in Nadi, amounted to sitting around the pool, drinking the Fijian version of a Mike’s Hard Lemonade until lunchtime.

Panoramic view from our hotel room

Another view from the other side of the balcony

The pool from our front balcony

Our hotel room in Nadi

Speaking of lunch, I ate lamb today. That’s right, I actually consumed an animal that was not chicken. I had no idea what it was until after it was already in my stomach, thankfully, but still I think that’s impressive. Something tells me that Fiji is going to be full of adventurous food choices. I don’t think the hotel breakfast will hold me off all day, even if it does include unlimited peanut butter and bread :) They also have a decent supply of ketchup!

To save us from our boredom, our group leader in Fiji led us on a 30-minute ride into Nadi after lunch. Apparently, this is the last day for the town festival, so droves of people were heading into town. The public bus ride was quite cramped and un-air conditioned. However, they do seem to like American party tunes here because the bus was jamming to the point my ears started to hurt for the entirety of the ride.

Town was strange. It isn’t anything like what I would picture when someone says Fiji. In fact, it makes me think of India, minus some of the people. The drivers are crazy. The buildings are run down. And everyone is trying to sell you something. Granted, I guess that could easily describe parts of any American city as well. But let’s go with India. Especially since we walked through a temple on our brief tour around the city.

One of the streets we walked down in Nadi

The temple basically came out of nowhere

Most of the AIFS group I'm travelling with

The festival was quaint once we got there, but incredibly dusty and crowded (as you would expect on not only a Saturday but the last day of a national festival). We walked around and looked at the rides a bit, but nothing overexcited me. I took some pictures, but you’ll notice they’re fairly similar to the typical American carnival, albeit the rides might be a little older.

There were a ton of ferris wheels and they all went different speeds

There's an actual block of ice visible in the Snow Cone machine

One of the public buses in Nadi

Bon Voyage

Well, the day is here. It's time to leave. My emotios are so messed up. I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to travel again, to know that in the coming months I'll be island hopping from Fiji to Australia to New Zealand. Yet, at the same time, I'm going to miss seeing my friends and family all of the time. The summer so far has almost been TOO good to me.

I shall survive though. I have 200 texts to last me through Fiji and whenever I have wifi, I wil be reachable on my textplus number via phone or text (e-mail me if you would like the number). With the internet, you're never far from home.

After I finished packing up my luggage this morning, I stopped at Qdoba for one last dose of mexican food before heading to the airport. AIFS, the organization that I'm travelling with, has me routed through Dallas to LAX where I'll catch a flight to Fiji with the other students on my trip.

I'm just glad that I was able to check two bags through my global carrier, Qantas, so I won't have to drag my just-barely-a-carry-on suitcase through numerous airports.

I believe my flight is boarding though, so I guess this is bon voyage.

It's official

I'm going to New Zealand. [And Australia. And Fiji. For those of you who haven't heard.]

I just have one more plane ticket to book from Perth to Wellington and everything will be set in stone. I'll be travelling the North Island on a Contiki tour and visiting Queenstown in the South Island to do some wine touring and fjord cruising. The most impressive part, I feel though, is that I'm going to be doing it all by myself.

Granted, I'll be spending half a month in Fiji and two months in Sydney before that on my own (because I got in the AIFS program, yay!!), but this feels different somehow. I mean, I actually purchased the airfare myself, with my own money. And I called the Contiki people for my tour. And I asked questions. And I got answers. I feel like I should be expecting some kind of revelation from my solo travelling. I guess we'll see.

I say bon voyage (to myself, I guess) on September 17 after a brief visit in Perth with my mother. Should be interesting.