Fiji

I am in love. Samoa is beautiful and amazing, but Fiji- well, no wonder it's such a hot spot for tourists. We spent about a week there and I would really like to go back at some point in the future. I'm not really sure how long exactly because it's all so confusing crossing the international date line twice. It was kind of cool. First we didn't have a Saturday, and right now I'm in the middle of my second straight Saturday. I don't know about you but I think it's pretty cool to have a second chance at Saturday...especially since we spent Saturday evening on a bus. Of course, Saturday morning was pretty awesome. We went down a river to an eco-tourist village and then up to a waterfall. The river ride was really pretty. The whole time I kept thinking to myself "This is how I would have imagined a river in China." The tourist village was interesting because we haven't really seen a lot of the commercialization of culture for tourism. We've seen culture manipulated for us when we've been hosted by families, but it was still different from the ceremony that was present in this village. It was nice because they explained some things better, but I am glad that we have been able to experience a little bit more of the "living" culture...the way things are done now.

Sunsets in Fiji are beautiful...as are sunrises. On the flight over we saw the sunrise out the window of the plane. It was so amazing, and really cool to think about as well. I mean, I was leaving Friday and entering Sunday morning in a plane over the ocean watching the sunrise in first place on earth. What more could I ask! We also saw a few sunsets. My favorite by far was the one in Abaca- a small village of 80 people where we spent our first couple nights with host families. There is no electricity and its far removed from pretty much anywhere else. They cooked completely by fire, and at night the houses were lit with kerosene lamps. On the one hand parts of Fiji are extremely developed, but on the other you have this remoteness that is even greater than that of Samoa. The first night we were there we hiked up to a nearby hill and watched the sunset over the ocean from the hilltop. I dont even know how to describe it. As one girl in our group put it "I feel like I've seen Paradise." Sunsets on the beach are amazing, but watching the sunset behind another island on the horizen from 1500 feet is a completely different experience. All I could think of was wow...and God created this for me. How you can not believe in the Almighty after seeing something like that I dont know.

The next day we went up to the top of the second highest mountain on the island at 3600 feet. The hike was pretty intense, I'm not going to lie. Only a few of us went. There were some parts where it pretty much just went up- none of this cutback that you find in so many national parks. Once we got to the top it was another wow. We were so high- I almost felt like I should be able to reach out and touch the clouds. If you're wondering what the view was like go back and watch Lord of the Rings. It wasnt filmed here but the scenary is very similar.

Most of the rest of the time we spent in Suva studying at USP main campus. For many people in my group it was somewhat of a reverse culture shock. I think Suva is something like 79,000 people. It's good sized. It's full of life and motion and cars. Lots of people. I loved it. We met up with SIT Fiji and hung out with them a little. It was nice to have some people who knew the city and where to go and what to do. I've loved Samoa, but part of me wishes I'd gone to Fiji instead. It would have been a very different experience. I guess I'll just have to go back later eh?

I feel like I haven't said a lot, but I feel like thats also because I'm still trying to process all of it. The village life was so different from Samoa. People seem to be more relaxed. There's more of a sense of privacy it seemed, and people actually locked their doors. Guys aren't as agressive which made me happy. They drink more ava, and seem to have more dancing and singing. Suva is huge in comparison to anything in Samoa, so it was interesting to see the direction that development has taken Fiji. Oh, and bartering. I had to try it because in Samoa you don't.

I just realized that I completely forgot to talk about the Halloween party. We were in Fiji and didn't really know our way around at all. SIT Fiji had a lot of work due when we first got there so we were pretty much on our own. Most of us made costumes using what we had. We had a gangsta', "white trash," a bellydancer, a student, and I was a snorkler. However, and this was what made the party- a few of the students had bought superhero costumes in American Samoa. Unforunately they were only available in kids large so three boys were crammed into this much too small for them spandexy like costumes. One of the girls also had one, but it actually fit her and looked cute on her. I wish my pictures had turned out better because they were hilarious. Two of the boys actually went out in their costumes later that night...