Start of my blogging efforts...

So after much nagging from my loves back home, I’ve finally been both inspired and motivated to sit and type my thoughts. I haven’t written electronically as I’d promised friends/fam that I would, but I have been jotting down some stuff in my travel journal. For those who are interested in what the last eleven days of my life have consisted of, I’ve taken those journal entries and written them in here (dates and all, just start at the bottom). Here goes...

With love from Fiji, xoxo

The Coral Coast

It's a lovely Sunday night in Fiji... Ang and I are hanging out in the lounge of our flat, listening to music and writing whilst enjoying the breeze from our balcony – a lovely way to end a lovely weekend.

We got back from the Coral Coast a few hours ago... it was was so beautiful! About 30 of us exchange kids got on some buses and headed to a backpackers resort called The Beach House. Our little crew of ten (Ang, Christy, Kevin and I; Johanna, Mara, Kelly, Brendan and Josh from the U.S; and Greg from Germany) spent a night there - just enough time to have some fun in the water and relax on a white sandy beach! It was great – so many activities to take part in and the staff was super friendly. We had the opportunity to learn how to make jewelry from coconuts (Fijians LITERALLY use every inch of a coconut for various things, including food, weapons, accessories, tools, utensils, medicine, baskets, rope, and the list goes on). I made a really neat ring which took two hours of sanding and shaping. By the end of it I was pissed to learn that such rings cost roughly one dollar to buy at tourist shops, despite requiring so much effort to make... not right.

Since Suva doesn't have clean/clear water like most of Fiji, we were all really looking forward to being able to swim in the ocean. I went snorkeling for the first time today and it was absolutely incredible. There is literally a whole other world under the sea and it's a beautiful one! We celebrated Christy's birthday at the Beach House last night. The highlight of the night was sitting on the beach under a ridiculous amount of stars, discussing international development issues, and watching lightning in the distance brighten up the entire sky! So magical.

I'm hoping to get out of Suva as frequently as possible and explore Fiji thoroughly... the Coral Coast shall be the first of many weekend trips =)

First weekend in Suva =)

We’re wrapping up our first weekend in Suva and it has been lovely. We went on an excursion to Pacific Harbour yesterday, as part of the Orientation Week. It was great because we went to the Arts Village where we got to see what village life was like in the past and how its influences remain in Fiji today. Fire walking, kava drinking and ocean swimming were what our day consisted of. We got a greater feel for Fiji’s history and incredible culture – ‘twas great!

Today is a Sunday, which in Fiji means all businesses and shops are closed (Christianity is highly prevalent here and people set aside Sundays as a day for worship and family). Fortunately, there was a little flea market going on in town that Ang, Christy, Kevin and I checked out. I bought honey that was made here on Viti Levu, Noni Juice (which is ridiculously overpriced at home and well-priced here), and lovely locally made jewelry. Safe to say it’s been a good end to our week :)

Adaptations.

It’s crazy how quickly we can adapt to our respective environments. New friends, new living spaces, new pass times – all of these are adjustments that are made during travels, and we seem well-equipped to deal. Since arriving in Fiji five days ago, Ang and I have been without internet because Macs are incompatible with USP’s WIFI. As frustrating as it’s been for us trying to configure our laptops, I can’t help but feel as though this predicament is a blessing in disguise. I say this because I’ve just spent my second night in a row on our balcony where I’ve eaten local foods with friends, gazed at the stars, and enjoyed the impeccable evening weather. I feel as though such evenings often fail to be prioritized as a result of technologies that we’ve grown to be dependent on to entertain us.

I’m so grateful to have Ang here on this experience with me – it’s nice to have a person from home whose going through the same transitions and such. She’s an awesome person – very chill and embraces everything that Fiji has to offer with open arms (she’s a true Pacific girl, as her mom is from Papua New Guinea). Christy and her husband Kevin are staying in the married quarters on campus so we don’t get to see them as frequently, but we all get together for outings as often as we can. They were traveling in Australia and Fiji quite a bit before we all arrived to Suva, so it’s been awesome to hear their stories and recommendations. I’ve really been enjoying exploring Suva and USP with them all.

Fiji is so beautiful. It has so much to offer. I’ve seen so little of it, and yet am taken aback by its wealth of opportunity. Part of that has to do with being surrounded by people who judge little and embrace a lot - USP is made up of twelve official regional states (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Kiribati, Niue, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Tuvalu). Then there are international students here from literally all over the world (Canada, the United States, Mongolia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, China, South Korea, Germany New Zealand...). In Vancouver we have so much diversity and yet people lack the motivation to get to know one another’s cultures and backgrounds. Here it is the complete opposite – we learn from each other by learning about each other and I love it.

The last two outings that we've went on as part of the Orientation Week have been great. The first one was to the Fiji Museum where we saw some amazing artifacts and learned a great deal about Fiji's history and culture. The second one was today and it consisted of various traditional dances and songs from the twelve regional states of USP. I can't adequately describe how amazing the various cultural performances were. I loved seeing how people from places I'd honestly never even heard of before celebrate and express themselves.

We've been really lucky to have been provided with so many fun and informative sightseeing opportunities through USP!

USP

I have no idea where time has flown off to, but we’re officially on night three of being at the University of the South Pacific. My last entry ended off with me en route to Suva, so as one can imagine, a lot has happened since then. One of the International Program coordinators met us where the bus dropped us off – the Holiday Inn in downtown Suva. We caught a cab back to USP and learnt that the new res halls that were recently constructed for international students were not ready to be moved in to immediately. As such, we spent our first night sleeping in the res halls that locals stay in – which Angela and I were both happy to do. Keeping in mind that Fiji is a developing country, the locals’ res halls here are far different from what we’re used to back home. The living conditions were a tad startling, but I knew what to expect so it wasn’t so much shocking for me as it was a reality check. I was left unsettled over the circumstances under which university students in such parts of the socioeconomic world live in. I appreciated the experience, as it reminded me that when we complain for ANY reason whilst studying back home, we need to shut the eff up.

Unfortunately, my first night in Fiji left me battling a cockroach. As my family knows, I am terrified of spiders and generally don’t do well with any sort of insects. Thankfully, lovely Angela came to my rescue and all was well (although the scene of me screaming while she tried to trap and kill the roach was like something out of The Exorcist). As you can imagine, I’ve been paranoid about creepy crawlers ever since, but considering the fact that I’m living in a tropical environment for the next 4.5 months, I know I need to get over it.

By the second night we were moved into the new halls along with the other international students. It consists of apartment style living – so we have shared bathrooms and a kitchen. This place is a castle in comparison to what the other students are living in, and I’ve been feeling pretty unsettled about this fact. As I unpacked my belongings and setup my new room, I couldn’t help but feel nauseated when thinking about how much I have to call my own when people here have so little. Spending the small amount of time that I have in Fiji has left me feeling so grateful for the life I’ve been blessed with. This night I found a gecko in my room (Ang thinks all creepy crawlers in our area are conspiring against me because they can sense my fear, lol). Gah. Thankfully I’m no longer bothered by geckos - apparently they eat the insects, so they’re friends ;)

Today we started Orientation Week (information sessions and planned events/excursions for international students at USP). We finally saw Christy and met her husband Kevin, along with a bunch of other international students. All of the other students are incredibly friendly and we’re all really enjoying familiarizing ourselves with USP together. This is the first night since I’ve been at USP that I’ve really had the chance to write. All in all, I am enjoying Suva greatly!

En route x2.

This is it. We’re in Fiji and are currently on a bus heading to Suva. As I write this, a song titled “Don’t Forget Your Roots” is playing in the background, which I’m finding quite symbolic of my feelings towards the trip ahead. Despite all of the incredible adventures I know are awaiting me, I will never forget my roots – my family, friends, Vancouver.

Within the first fifteen minutes of this bus ride we’ve already met a trio of backpackers hailing from Germany. One is surprised to learn that I’m from Hamburg, but I told her to get used to it, as I’ve been told that crossing paths with people from similar backgrounds is a big part of such trips.

My first impressions of Fiji are as follows: lush, humid, beautiful. My surroundings are very different from back home, but I find comfort in knowing that one thing is for certain... the sky looks the same no matter where in the world one is. So anytime I feel that I’m missing home, I’ll do what I do when I’m missing Hamburg - I’ll look to the sky :)

En route.

Angela and I are at LAX now - waiting for our eleven hour flight to Nadi. 

Seriously can’t believe it’s here!