First day in WELLY

2/27/2012-Monday

Today I woke up at 6:00 to catch a plane for NZ. I was sad to leave Fiji because it was so beautiful and I had such a great experience but I was excited to be heading to the place where I will be living until July! We got on the plane and headed to Auckland, first. When we got to Auckland we had to sit on the plane for a very long time because someone had stolen a wallet and then ditched in the bathroom trash with the money stolen and they got police involved. Auckland was very warm! We got our flight to Wellington, (it was only about 45 minutes long!) and arrived at around 7ish. Wellington was not as warm as Auckland but it was still beautiful. We got in vans and headed to our flats. I am living in a large, old, home that has been renovated to allow for 10 people to live in it. One of the living rooms/parlours is someone’s bedroom. There are 2 bathrooms, one with a shower, one without, and 2 other showers. We have 2 fridges and 2 washers and dryers. It is a big house! Outside our kitchen window we have a lot of hydrangeas. I am living with 9 other girls. Bernadet from the Netherlands, Alex from Italy, Brianna from State College, Natalie from Vietnam who is an international student who studies here, Leann from Connecticut, Sarah from California, Lauren from Massachusetts and Maria our Kiwimate (A New Zealander who lives with us). I met everyone and called home then called it a night. 

Fiji Days 4-10 (21st--26th)

2/21/2012-Tuesday

On Tuesday we got up early for our day of lectures, this is what we earned the 1 credit in Pacific Studies for. Our first lecture was on the Colonization on the Pacific, then we had a Q&A with a man who was going for his doctorate in Pacific Studies and grew up in the Marshall Islands. This lecture was very interesting because he showed a side of missile testing and international relations that is not always shown. Next we had a lecture on global climate change, and then a lecture on Pacific art in which we got to see USP artist’s work and ask them questions. After class it was a girl in our group birthday so we went to a local bar recommended by our host families, called O’Reilly’s.

2/22/2012-Wednesday

Wednesday was supposed to be a day for “studying” but it actually turned out to be more of an excuse to give us another day to study. The previous night at O’Reilly’s my camera was stolen so we started the day off with a trip to the police station with the Volau’s daughter-in-law Anthea. They sent me to the tourist police where they had AC and couches, strangely nicer than the regular Fiji police. After this we went to the Holiday Inn where you could swim in their pool if you bought food or drinks. It was beautiful weather and even a Holiday Inn in Fiji had a great view and made you feel like you were in paradise. We ordered pizza for lunch and just spent the day lounging by the pool.

2/23/2012-Thursday

The next morning we woke up early for our exam. It turned out to be a 2-page essay for each of our lectures. I finished in about an hour and walked around campus before lunch. Lunch on Thursday was one of my favourite meals, we had spaghetti and gravy like meat sauce, yummy bread and roasted pumpkin which was delicious! After lunch we went to the  Prison Art Gallery, which was actually an art gallery of work done by prisoners. It was a great idea, the prisoners were able to do artwork which they could sell in order to get money for a second chance once they are released. They have something called “The Second Chance Project” in Fiji, so that prisoners do not become repeat offenders. Part of this initiative entails the inmates visiting their family before their sentence is up so that they can reconcile. The artwork at the gallery was very good as well! After the art gallery we went to Fiji’s one and only museum. It was quite different than an American museum, but it was still very interesting. They had an assortment of items ranging from a 3,000 year old pot to petrified birds to a mannequin dressed in a blow-fish hat. Next the bus dropped us into town and we had a look around the flea market. That evening we had dinner and then met up with some friends at the movie theatre but the movie we wanted to see was at a different time so we had to go to a political movie which my homestaymate and I left early from because we couldn’t seem to stay awake through it.

2/24/2012-Friday

On Friday we went to a Fiji village for an authentic day in the life of a villager. When we first go there we participated in a welcome “kavas” ceremony. Kavas is like a relaxing drug in Fiji that is legal in many people participate in. It is a plant that is squeezed into water and then drank. It numbs your throat and tongue and relaxes you if you drink enough. While at the village we all had to wear “sulus” which are like sarongs. We first walked to the lavo where they were beginning to cook our lunch. We then saw how the women catch crabs. Next we went to the farming part of the village where we saw the main crops they eat, taro- a potato like plant and cassava, which means tapioca. One of the villagers chopped down a coconut and we drank from it using a piece of straw as a straw. Then we saw the churches, they had two a Methodist and Catholic church. They also had a kindergarten. The houses that they lived in were 1-2 rooms with openings for doors and windows and made of wood and tin. We watched them make and trap for mud crabs which are like a mix between a crab in a lobster. For lunch we had taro, chicken and cassava from the lavo, which gave it a smoky flavor. We also had the crab and mud crab that they caught. After lunch we watched a performance that much of the village participated in. A group sang while other villagers danced traditionally in  realistic costumes. We got up and danced with them at some points as well. After the performance they had a closing kavas ceremony. I only had about 3 small cups (made of coconut) because I was worried about the water so I didn’t really feel anything. During this time, though, the village men were very interested in us and a few girls got marriage proposals and contact info. The men seemed very sad to see us go. At night we went to O’Reilly’s

2/25/2012-Saturday

Today was a free day with our families. In the morning we went shopping in town with our host mother. Then we drove up to a national park that had a waterfall that formed into a pool you could jump into from a rope swing. I swung off of it about a million times before we headed home for our farewell ceremony at the university. We had dinner with all of the host families and students and then we went to a performance at their new building donated by the Japanese government. It was a traditional Maori story told in a mix of traditional and contemporary called Vaka: Birth of the Seer. The US Government helped fund the production that cost 17,000 dollars and I ended up sitting next to the American ambassador! For our last night in Suva we went to O’Reilly’s again.

2/26/2012-Sunday

On Sunday morning we said goodbye to our host families and got on the bus to go back to Nadi After the drive back to the hotel and stopping at Tabua Sands for lunch, I packed my suitcase properly to fly to NZ and we had our last Fiji dinner at a local church made by the women’s association.

Video of Fiji Scenery

Where we had class in Fiji

The blowfish helmet at the museum 

                                      Everyone in their sulus at the village during the performance
                                                      

Drinking out of a coconut at the village

Swinging off a waterfall at the National Park

Fiji Feb 18th-20th (Days 1-3)

This is my post from the first 3 days in Fiji, I will try to post more soon! It takes much longer than expected, but I am working on it, I am now in New Zealand in case you didn't know. I have also posted some pictures from Fiji. Also, I didn't really have time to proofread so there may be some repetitions or errors.

2/18/2012-Saturday

Bula! That’s how you say Hello in Fiji! Fiji was so incredible! It was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. While there a local said, “You live in a city, we live in a bush.” I couldn’t describe it in a better way. It just so green there, everything is untouched and the scenery is extremely diverse. While driving one moment you will be looking at green rolling hills, the next it looks like grasslands and then you will see crystal blue water crashing onto to white sand beaches. It is very mountainous. We arrived in Fiji at 5:15 am on Saturday the 18^th. We got to our hotel called the Trans International and had a breakfast of fruit, which by the way is soooo much better here than in America; I think I ate my weight in pineapple this week, I also tried papaya which was pretty good, toast and beans in red sauce. Then we had introductions and afterwards a group decided to go to the beach around 8:30 am. I was so excited to already be doing something so quickly. We went to a beach that was off of some hostels about 15 minutes away. The sand on this beach was pretty wet but the water was really nice and of course everything was beautiful, there were palm trees everywhere. We then went over to lay on the hammocks and chairs of the hostels and I purchased my first beer, a Fiji Gold, which turned out to be the alcoholic beverage of the entire Fiji trip. We went swimming in the pool and then around 11:30 we went back to the hotel for lunch. The food in Fiji is a mix between Chinese and Indian with a lot of tropical plant foods like taro, potato like food and cassava. We had a lot of lamb, stir-fry and curry. They give you a ton of food in Fiji, you are definitely well fed. After lunch we went to Hindu temple and then walked around town and went to the grocery store to buy snacks for the next day when we would be going to Beachcomber Island. We went back and swam in the pool before going to bed at around 8:00 because I was so tired.

2/19/2012-Sunday

Today we went to Beachcomber Island for the day. While we were there I first took some pictures of the beautiful paradise we were in. When people say paradise, they mean this place, no American beach could ever compare. The water was perfect and there were palm trees and greenery everywhere and when you looked off into the horizon you saw more islands and picturesque mountains. After this I signed up to go parasailing, it wasn’t too terribly expensive and I figured I would probably never get to go parasailing in such a beautiful place so I went for it. It was really cool and I got some great pictures! It almost felt like flying, definitely worth it. Then later in the day I went snorkelling. A boat took us out a little farther into the ocean where some coral was and I got to see blue starfish, some colourful fish, these clear squids with rainbow spots and I even touched a purple jellyfish! After this I went to a pool with baby turtles and got to feed them and then hold them, they were adorable! My friend Maura and I then explored for a little while and found a nice spot with a hammock that overlooked waves crashing on the beach, it was beautiful! I went back and swam in the spectacular clear blue ocean for a while before it was time for the boat to take us back. The sun made us all very tired and I went to bed shortly after dinner again. I also definitely got a little red this day!

2/20/2012-Monday

The next day we went on a hike of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes and to the Tavuni Hill fort on our way to Suva where we would be meeting our homestays. The Sigatoke sand dunes provided great views before we headed to the actual dunes where there was a lot of washed up debris and wood. There has been a lot of archaeology done at these dunes and they have found remains of humans as well as artefacts. We got back on to the bus and headed to the Tavuni Hill fort, a fort where an actual tribe used to hill, here we had yummy sandwiches and fruit for lunch. We then got a tour from the grandson of the last chief of the tribe. He showed us where the various huts/areas would have been and explained to us that tribes in Fiji used to practice cannibalism and showed us the “killing stone” as well as the “lavo” or underground oven that they used to cook the prisoners. Tavuni means “unhidden” in Fijian and this fort was given this name because at the top of the hill you could see for miles on end. It was one of the best views that I had ever seen. Then we got on the bus to finish the 3 hour drive to Suva. This drive was absolutely gorgeous. We drove along the coast to the other side of the island and the scenery was just amazing. There was crystal blue water, rolling hills, palm trees, and everything was incredibly green. It was so pure and untouched. There may be a view resorts or small houses along the way but it was mostly just stretches of beautiful green scenery that you would never see in America. We got to the University of South Pacific where we would be meeting up with our host family. My host family was the Volau’s. The mother, Martha, worked at USP as a secretary and the father, John, was a captain for a ship that took tourists to islands. The had two sons that lived with them, Gary (19) and Stanton (22), they also had another son Adrian, who lived in a house that was built right next to their home and was connected by a walkway with his wife Anthea and 3 children. Luckily the family had wi-fi so we were able to connect home before having a delicious dinner of stir fry and chicken. Martha made so much food and it was great! We relaxed and hung out with our family for the rest of the night. 

View from our hotel room 

Beachcomber Island

Picture from parasailing of Beachcomber Island

PARASAILING

The group at Sigatoka Sand Dunes

The view from Tavuni Hill Fort