Fiji
July 1-7 2005
July 1:
Andrew and I spent the morning walking around Sydney Harbor. We sat at this cool area that had old tables and chairs outside by the bed and breakfast we stayed at. We walked over to the Opera House and grabbed some excellent gelato (Italian-style ice cream) which was a must since it's so limited in the states. We didn't have time to do much else, so we had some wedges at a nearby cafe before heading off to the airport.
For the most part, it was a happy and upbeat day. But now it was time for the moment I had been dreading. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I said as little as possible and so did he. We both knew what each other would have said. It was tough. I took a lot of effort and restraint to let go of him and watch him walk away as I headed toward my gate. I did not complete a single thought or speak a single unnecessary word from that moment until I entered my kitchen, where a bunch of my friends were all hanging out.
I only had a couple of hours to get everything repacked and check out of my room but I got everything done with plenty of time and we took off for the airport...again. We chilled outside the gate before saying goodbye to our Australian friends who came to send us off, which, again, sucked, but I was getting used to it. Then it was time to head to Fiji. The semester was over and I was flying to the most romantic place in the world after being single for 5 hours.
July 2:
We were all a bit crabby having not slept very long on our overnight flight, so tempers were a bit short upon our arrival. We were pretty much shoved out the door on to the shuttle bus that was taking us to our hostel. It was quite a preduction getting all our luggage through security as people randomly left to exchange money and hit the duty-free shop. After all, we did have 5 months worth of clothes and souvenirs. I only had a chance to convert my Aussie money to Fijian which would prove to be problematic down the line.
We were shuffled out to the shuttle van. Kara, Connor, Megan and I were not on the list for the shuttle actually, the resort wasn't aware that Megan was coming at all. So they packed us all in with our luggage stacked to the ceiling and allowed Megan to crash on the floor with some of the other girls.
Connor, Kara, and I had a room to ourselves, which was really cool. We crashed as soon as we got there. After our group nap, we had some serious chillin out time before dinner and drinks, which we got to charge to the room (I loved that--but it would also prove to be problematic later). After dinner, we had our first Kava ceremony.
Kava is a Fijian beverage made of ground-up root of the Kava plant, which is soaked in water sort of like a tea. The ceremony is symbolic of the giving and receiving of friendship. Half a coconut worth will make your mouth go numb. Supposedly, if you drink enough, your whole body will go numb too, but I don't think that's true.
July 3:
We slept in until 12:00 and didn't do very much the rest of the day. At night, we watched a couple of Family Guy episodes on a laptop and I cut Connor's hair (my first official male haricut), which I got all over myself and it itched.
July 4:
Connor, Kara, and I met up with a couple of other girls from Wisconsin and headed to Robinson Crusoe Island. In our rush out of the airport upon our arrival, we forgot to inquire about storing our overstuffed suitcases there, so we had to drag 5 months worth of bare necessities onto two different buses. We were lucky enough to find a hostel in downtown Nadi (the capital of Fiji) where we could store our luggage.
And now for the unfortunate part of the story. Having charged everything to the room, I was planning on paying for everything with a credit card when we checked out since I was so strapped for Fijian cash. Connor and Kara were able to pay with their credit cards but neither of mine would work. Having exhanged only my Aussie money, I didn't have enough to pay for everything so I had to borrow from Kara.
So while we waited for the bus to show up, I went in search of an ATM. However when I did find one of the two ATMs in Nadi, it didn't accept my card. I was able to exchange 40 American dollars in the bank and then went in search of ATM #2 which was about 4 blocks away. I managed to get some money and then ran back to the hostel. When I got back, it was 30 minutes after the bus was supposed to pick us up but thankfully, it had only been there for a couple minutes and Connor had all our luggage out and ready to get loaded up.
After a 90-minute commute, we arrived. Robinson Crusoe Island was a great little place. It took about 20 minutes to walk around the whole island but the whole area was part of the resort. All three of us got coupons for a free 30-minute massage so we went for 45 minutes and it only cost us $15. Afterward, I layed down in a hammock on the beach, listening to John Mayer with a daiquiri in one hand and On The Road in the other, swinging and enjoying the peace as the sun was about to set. It was pure bliss.
We all took turns sitting in the hammocks together as each of us had our massage appointments until it was time for dinner followed by a dance show put on by the staff. Robinson Crusoe is known as the Island of the Fire Dance. It was really cool.
July 5:
We gave snorkeling a try today. We were in the water for no longer than two minutes before I stated getting stung, but I couldn't see what I was getting stung by. I saw a small jellyfish, bit it was too far away so I just kept swimming. Bit I kept getting stung. I turned around and saw Kara and Connor back on the boat. I wasn't digging the scene so I swam back to the boat, traveling through what turned out to be a big patch of sea lice. It was a similar sensation to chiggers/swimmer's itch: unpleasant.
I developed a rash on my neck, shoulders, upper arms, and back of my knees that itched and stung. I got hit the worst. We went back to the resort right away where we doused ourselves in sting spray and hit the showers (which weren't regular showers but a bucket on a pulley). Afterwhich, I felt 100% better. However, I hadn't shaken my towel out since I cut Connor's hair, so I got that all over me and then dropped my shirt on the shower floor. Not the best two hours ever, but I've had worse.
That night we played island games instead of watching a show. Connor and I took 3rd place in the dance game.
July 6:
Our second to last day. We took a day trip out to the Batai Public School and neighboring village. The kids were so cute and they sang for us. It was precious. We had another Kava ceremony in the village and they just kept giving us more to drink. We danced with the locals and had an all-around good time.
There was another Kava ceremony that night back at the resort. Kara and Connor got to be the local chief and local spokeswoman. Afterward, we danced in the "dance club" and sat around talking to as many people as possible and found out that about a quarter of the people on the island were going to be on our flight the next day. I got to chatting with a German philosophy student named Felix. We had a long conversation about life, the universe and everything. It was really interesting.
July 7:
Today was hot out, but the sun was most welcome. Our plan that day was to lay in the sun as long as possible. We wanted to get tan! We switched off laying out and playing frisbee in the water. It was a fun day. We checked out and made our round-about way back to the airport.
Our flight was delayed by two hours so we were given a $20 voucher which we spent on the essentials: Pringles and chocolate. The group of us shared some pizza and hung out, but since the flight was delayed, we all missed our connecting flights out of L.A. But at that point, I really didn't care. We were all so burned out from traveling that it barely phased us. Fortunately, there turned out to be another flight from L.A. to Minneapolis two hours later, so we made that one with good timing.
On the last leg of the trip I was finally really eager to get home. I arrived in Minneapolis around 11:30p.m. And thus concluded my 5 month escapade to, from, and within the great land of Australia.
