4.30.2007

Te Poti Ro Potae... Day 75

'Ello! So today was my first day back to school. It was actually quite good, but I really like my Acoustics & Phonetics class, so I look forward to it. It was good seeing familiar faces after traveling. It was also nice to see the sun out for a minute or two before it hid behind the clouds again. I was brought back to reality when I went to Anatomy and Physiology, I had forgotten how much I loathed that class. Still, it was fun, I chatted with the girl next to me (the one who taught me the phrase "tits up"...) for most of the hour, like a bad student.

By far the most exciting part of the day was going to the grocery store and getting rung up by a real life Pat. As in the sexually ambiguous Saturday Night Live character. Even more shocking? This person's name was actually Pat. The only thing more exciting than that was finally getting some fresh fruit, as I have been without bananas for a few days & been feeling peaky (read: sick). I also bought a popular NZ drink called "Lift" which is supposed to be an energy drink of sorts. It tastes somewhat like Bonne Belle's Lip Smackers chapstick... not that I ate them or anything as a kid.

Moving on. Here are a few things I've noticed

~One of my roommates continually puts the wrong emphasis on the wrong syllable

~Kiwis never say the entire word "chocolate". Not even on packaging. It's always "choc". I like that.

~Even though the exchange rate is favorable to the US, I can get more with groceries with $60NZ than I can at home with $60USD. Minus paper products, which are out of control expensive.

~Juice drink from concentrate is the norm here, but its usually called "squash". You put an extremely small amount in your glass, add water and voila, you have a fruity goodness in your mouth. Sometimes you put in too much squash... then it tastes like death.

~We should revisit dreadlocks. I love them and sort of missed them when I was in Fiji and Oz, not nearly as many people have them there as they do here. I might have to take a picture of this one girl's dreadlocks, she's in all of my classes and they are amazing. No, I won't get dreadlocks... unless I have to shave my head for some unforeseen reason... then I'll get dreads first.

~Dr. Seuss is really amazing. He's even translated into Maori.

~Here's something completely unrelated to NZ. Jason & Becky told me about an awesome website for music & stuff, called Ruckus, you can download free. There are a few drawbacks though. 1) You have to have a college email address and 2) you can't transfer the music onto cds or mp3 players... unless of course you find a way to change the type of file they are. But I strongly suggest going there if you have a college email address, it is so cool. If you elect to get a pay membership (cheap @ $15/semester) you can use their video on demand, which actually has good movies on it and you can download them and watch when you want. How cool.

I think I forgot to put a picture up proving that I was in fact in Mount Pleasant whilst being in New Zealand. Here it is.

4.29.2007

Dun dun dun... Days 73-74

Just one quick thing before I go to sleep. I have a maid. I forgot to clue you all into that. I'll say it again. I have a bi-monthly cleaning lady. I don't understand it, nor do I pay for it. How amazing is that?

4.27.2007

Irregular sleep patterns... Days 71-72

I'm starting to get into a more regular sleep pattern... and what I mean by that is, I woke up earlier today than I did yesterday. But yesterday was an all time record for sleeping in. I slept until approximately 4:00pm yesterday, whereas today, I only slept until 12:00pm. See how I'm fixing this? Anyways, I just wanted to put up a little video. And tell you one of the most important things ever. When I was in Australia, I was on a mission. To find a toilet that did not flush straight down, like the ones in NZ do. The reason for this was to see if the toilets on this side of the world really do flush the other way. I did not complete my mission, I couldn't find one toilet that actually flushed like ours do at home. Maybe they have a good idea here though, they seem to be good toilets. Minus the fact that just about every single one is completely made of plastic.

4.25.2007

Happy Anzac Day... Day 70

I've accomplished absolutely nothing today, thank you very much. I need to start feeling better, stat. Anyways, today is ANZAC Day, which is the equivalent to Memorial Day in the US, kind of. It is when the Australian and New Zealand (and some other South Pacific nations) had their troops land in Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War I. So not exactly the same, but they are commemorating the troops that died, so it's kind of all about the same thing, really. This is a big celebration in both NZ an Oz, as well as a few of the other South Pacific nations, including the Cook Islands and Samoa.

Another point of interest, one that I forgot to mention whilst in Fiji. When I was in Labasa, staying the night when my flight left without me, I got into a conversation with two Fijian men. They couldn't figure out why I, a young Caucasian girl, was in the middle of Fiji, during political unrest. Even when I tried to explain to them what I was doing (I think they were a little buzzed...), they kept coming back to the same question. "Are you on that Survivor show? Where's your camera crew?" I wanted to say yes, but I'm not a liar. Survivor Fiji was filmed super close to where I was in Fiji though, I don't remember if I said it before, but the Survivor guys wanted Vorovoro for 'Survivor Island'. Too bad, we got there first... coupled with the fact that Tribewanted is a sustainable venture for Tui Mali's tribe, where Survivor is not...

Here's one of the many islands that were used for the taping of the show. By the way, it's not just one island, like they'd want us to think, it is actually countless locations... How strange.
The one in the middle of the shot is one of the Survivor islands, the one on the right is Mali Island, where I had to go for both the school and Mali Day. This photo is kind of weird though, it looks to me like the island is floating in mid air. Hmm.

4.24.2007

Nap nap nap nap... Days 68-69

Today was probably the most boring day of my life. I slept, ate and slept again. I'm sorry that this is a boring one to read about.

Here's a picture of the Sydney Opera House:

4.22.2007

Ever come home and the locks are changed?... Day 67

This morning started at 4:00am. Why on earth do they make international flights so early? Anyways, the people who run the hostel refused to let me into the kitchen to get my cereal this morning, so I fought them on it. They finally caved, but they wouldn't let it me eat my cereal. What a strange place. I got on my airport shuttle around 5:00am... it was the most ridiculous shuttle ever, we (all 14 of us... no joke, I counted) were packed in like sardines, I didn't even have a seat to sit on, I was sharing a piece of floor with 2 girls from England. I got on my flight around 7:00am and prepared for sleep. Then I discovered the in flight entertainment. If you ever get the chance to fly on Emirates Airlines do it, I think its run out of the United Arab Emirates (the country where Dubai is...). If only for the cool cameras on the nose of the plane, so you can watch the takeoff via the pilot's point of view. It's so cool. The seats are comfortable and there are a million and one movies to choose from (I chose The Pursuit of Happyness). Moving on, I arrived in Christchurch around 2:00pm, but didn't get back to my apartment for another hour. Upon arrival, I noticed that my key didn't fit in the lock... since the lock is now a card reader. I never thought that people actually came home and had the locks changed on them... Luckily, my roommate was home. That could have been disastrous. I still don't have a key, since the front desk is closed on Sundays. It feels good to be back here, but I pretty much feel like crap... maybe I have Typhoid Fever... but probably not. Anyways, I'm off to bed.

I'll leave you with a photo that I'm actually quite proud of. It's Sydney from the Taronga Zoo. Some say it's the best view of the city and I'm inclined to agree.

4.21.2007

No worries... Day 66

Today was a spectacular day, to say the least. I woke up late, again, and took a nice shower, then I had cereal without milk, as someone at the hostel has commandeered it. I walked down to Circular Quay and decided to go on a jet boat ride. Not only did I get the early bird special, but it was so much fun. We were whipping around Sydney Harbor like nobody's business. Thankfully, they gave us rain jackets to wear. After that adrenaline rush, I went up to the Opera House. I actually touched it AND went inside. It was a great moment, actually going in it... Anyways, I'm getting carried away. I walked back down to the wharves (plural of wharf... which is a glorified dock) and decided to get a day pass on the ferries, since I knew I wanted to go on them. Not only did it give me a day pass on the ferries, but the buses and trains as well. I partially take back what I said about the disorganized mess that is the Sydney transit system, but it only works nicely if you have a day pass. Anyways, I got on a ferry to Olympic Park. Talk about a dream come true. It was a crazy moment when I got to the Olympic Aquatic Centre, let me tell you. I was overwhelmed, to say the least. I was in the place where the Thorpedo... I mean Ian Thorpe, swam. So cool. I took way too many pictures, then I walked around the rest of the Olympic facilities for a bit. I spent more time there than I had realized, when I got back to Circular Quay, it was already becoming dusk, so I hopped on a train... which I didn't even realize they had in the city, and went back to my part of the city. I went to a Portuguese restaurant for tea (read: dinner), then I went back to the hostel and packed up. I finally got to talk to my Columbian roommate, who I haven't seen in the last five days. He's a nice guy, even if he is a little grammatically challenged. Alas, I'm off to bed, I have to be up early in the morning to catch my flight back to Christchurch.

4.20.2007

One fresh coating of salt later... Day 65

I woke up even later today, around 9:30am... I'm noticing a pattern. Anyways, I headed down to Hyde Park, where I caught a bus to Bondi Beach. It's amazing. Probably the most gorgeous beach I've ever seen. I met a man there from New York and his son was one of the animators on Happy Feet. My life is complete. I hung around the beach, climbing down to the headland over many giant rocks. It was so cool, the waves were breaking everywhere, including on top of me. I took quite a bit of video and pictures, I just couldn't restrain myself. I also dropped my only hair clip into a very deep tide pool and I was afraid to put my hand in to get it out... I know, I'm a horrible citizen... but it almost looks like a crab, so we can pretend that it is one. After properly drying, I went down to Circular Quay and caught a commuter ferry to Manly. Yes, Manly. It's just a little town on the opposite side of the harbor and I went there on a whim, because of it's name. It turned out to be a nice place, I got a chai tea latte and hopped back on the ferry. All in all, it was a fantastic day, although I really need to shower to get this coating of salt off of me, it's actually brushing off like a powder...

One more thing. I've found something I dislike about Sydney, the transportation system. Don't get me wrong, it is effective, there is every mode of transportation possible, but its all owned by different companies, that refuse to work together. I think separate ownership is great, thats how they do it in Christchurch, but I think that you should be able to travel between the different bus companies seamlessly, like one card can get you on any bus, but they each get paid separately... or something like that, because here it is a disorganized mess. Otherwise, Sydney is lovely.

4.19.2007

Darling Harbor, I love you... Day 64

Today I actually woke up later than usual, around 8:30am. I went down to the common kitchen and grabbed some of the cereal that I bought last night. Then I hopped on the monorail and went to Darling Harbor again, I’m quite fond of it. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to an IMAX film. It was a movie called 300; it was about the Battle of Thermopile… or something to that effect. It was a lot of blood and war, so not really my forte, but I digress. After the movie, I walked around Darling Harbor for a bit, then I found a nice spot to sit down and write again. Apparently Sydney makes me want to write. After a while, I went down to a place called Paddy’s Market, which is an extreme version of The Gibraltar Trade Center. I thought of Cat when I walked in the door. Anyways, they gave me a free bag, so I win. Then I met some guys from New Zealand, one of them had just completed an Iron Man Triathlon, I'm very impressed. Today I realized that I am able to distinguish an Australian accent from a Kiwi accent. Not gonna lie here, it wasn’t that exciting of a day, I was going to do some other stuff, but it was really overcast and it would have been a waste to do it then. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get down to Bondi Beach, as well as checking out the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House up close. On a way more exciting note, I think that I know where the Olympic grounds are, so I want to get there on Saturday afternoon. I’m stoked. I learned something new today, I didn’t realize that New Caledonia was a French speaking nation, but the ladies sitting across from me on the monorail today were from New Caledonia and they were definitely speaking French. Well, I’m going to sign off, I might go see a movie with my Canadian roommate later on tonight… or I’ll fall asleep.

I’m not much into praying, but for all the people touched by the Virginia Tech shootings, you’re in my thoughts.

4.18.2007

I met a Tasmanian Devil... Day 63

This morning, I woke up with a monstrous bloody nose, which I ignored and fell back asleep. Bad idea. I woke up finally at around 7am with blood on my face, hands and pillow. Good thing it’s not my pillow… Otherwise, today was a great day to explore Sydney, the weather was a little cool and yet, it was sunny. I started off the day by talking to my family, which was good, since it’s been a good week and a half. I called mom, dad & bean, like always. After all of that, I walked down to a café and got a croissant for breakfast, then continued down Pitt Street, all the way to Sydney Harbor. I want to live near Sydney Harbor. But before we delve into that, I found two great streets, Underwood (If you didn’t know that was my last name…) & Alfred (I live on Alfred St. at home). Now that I just gave way too much information for any stalker to use, I’ll continue. I went to the part of the harbor called Circle Quay (pronounced: key) and I just happened upon a little stand selling tickets for a harbor cruise… and it included admission to the Taronga Zoo. Even though I hate zoos, I got it anyways. It was a good price too. The zoo was really good, minus the fact that I couldn’t find any kangaroos. The harbor cruise was utterly amazing. I did part of it before the zoo, then hopped back on after. I decided to get off at Darling Harbor to walk around for a little bit. It was such a cool little place. Too add to the cool factor, I looked down into the water and saw not only some angel fish (I think) but a few jellyfish as well. I sat down near the harbor and wrote for a little bit while I was waiting for the ferryboat to pick me up again. I am officially a huge fan of harbor cruises now; I got some pretty good (and pretty bad, to be fair) photos of the Sydney Opera House. I’m going to sound like a real dork here, but you know how you have always wanted to see something up close, then it happens… I can’t really describe that feeling, but I was elated to say the least. I’ve had a little crush on the Opera House since the Olympics in 2000. I’ll attribute it to my super interest in architecture. Anyways, I am in love with Sydney, Australia and I’ve not seen anything yet.

Oh, and Tasmanian Devil's are not nearly as scary looking as I would have imagined them to be. Anyways, look really close at the very blue photo and you'll see a jellyfish in the middle.

4.17.2007

Oz... Day 62

Let's start with last night. I went down to the internet lounge to update some more, but I never really got there. I met up with Steve and Jacob from Vorovoro! I hung out with them for a little bit, they were just at the Nomad to get online before their flight. After they left, I went back to my room and went to bed.

Anyways, this morning, I woke up around 6am and packed up, I was on the airport shuttle by 6:30. The airport was uneventful and I was on my plane by 8:45am. I think I'm training my body to sleep on planes now, since I slept about 75% of my 4 hour flight to Sydney, Australia. I checked in to my hostel, but I'm not too impressed, the room I'm staying in smells really bad. I'll get out into the city in a little bit and take pictures, I promise. Oh, and another thing, the time is different here than it is in NZ, I am now ten hours behind, but the day ahead, so Mom & Dad: If I don't call... that's why... I'll try and call tomorrow.

G'day mates... By the way... does this remind you of a certain other fast food restaurant? Burger King by chance? And instead of Dunkin' Donuts, they have Donut King... Interesting.

4.16.2007

Alive & Well... Day 61

Just to let you all know, I am alive and well and in Nadi, Fiji. I just had an airplane hiccup, the flight left an hour early... without me, so I had to spend the night in Labasa at a hotel. I'll start posting from Vorovoro in a little bit. The posts will appear under this one, as I'm going to back date them. I'll just tell you now... Vorovoro was AMAZING. I'm going back, that's all there is to it.

4.15.2007

Oh Fiji, how punctual you are... Day 60

This morning I woke up and had to carve my name into the pole, its island tradition, apparently. Sadly, I'm not that much of a carver. Anyways, today we all just kinda hung around. I got to know the new couple that came in the day before, they seem like really cool people, I wish they had come earlier. Better yet, I wish I was staying longer. Today, in the bure, Rob, the quiet Dutch boy, got a little cheeky. He came over to where Jacob and I were laying and set his pillow on top of me and laid down. It was pretty cute, since he doesn't really talk to anyone, yet he comes and lays on top of me. Hmm... After all of the laying on people, we had a quick lunch, then I had to get my stuff ready to go. I had about an hour to say my goodbyes, then the boat showed up. We did the traditional leaving ceremony, where everyone lines up and sings while I walk through them. It was good. I thought I was going to cry when I left, but I didn't. It was pretty surreal. Anyways, I got on the boat with Kimbo and Api, and we made our way to Malau, to pick up Ben and some other guy. We ended up having Kava with Chief Tui Mali at his house, which was fun. After dropping Kimbo off at the Grand Eastern, the cab driver took me to the airport. I arrived at 4:30, half an hour before my flight was scheduled to leave. Funny how it had already left. So I went back to the Grand Eastern and got a room. It was pretty cheap, so I'm not worried about it. I even got room service. I bumped into the chief and her husband there, since he and I were now on the same flight. I watched a little Dr. Who, had a shower, then I passed out at the late hour of 9pm.

4.14.2007

The last supper... Day 59

Today was a very very relaxed day... not unlike every day here. Anyways, my day started very early, I woke up with the sunrise. The sky was the most amazing shade of pink, but I didn't have time to go get my camera, the color had already left. It finally rained today, so the new water tank got a little action. I pretty much tied up all of my loose ends today, including packing, a little bit of snorkeling and some reading. I hung out with Jacob quite a bit today, he's such a cutie. I'm going to miss that kid. All of us ended up in the bure during the rain, so there was a lot of poker and Uno playing going on. Otherwise, we just enjoyed each other's company. Not too exciting, but still a great day.

4.13.2007

Lengu Levu... Day 58

This morning, I woke up on what I believed to be my last full day on the island. Anyways, I just chilled for an hour, then we went to the school in Lengu Levu, on Mali island. I had way too much fun there with the kids. It was a completely awesome experience. First, the kids sang us a song, then did a meke (read: dance). It was great until we had to do it as well... it was quite pathetic, but fun all the same. After that, I helped teach a 3rd/4th grade class. We did hangman. At one point, they were having a hard time with a word, so I tried to draw a stomach on the hangman guy, since they had already gotten all of the normal body parts... too bad it accidentally looked like a large penis. Awkward. The guy I was teaching with informed me of this after class... we had a good chuckle. After class, I went outside and played netball (read: basketball for girls) with some of the girls, then I played with some of the smaller kids. A little girl named Louisa was glued to me. Great fun. We left the school and hopped back on the boat to V2. I ended up playing poker again, with the same people as before. I actually did well this time though. After all the meals, we ended up doing MORE KAVA. Those lushes. Good thing its not bad for you. Oh, and I realized today that I don't leave the island until Sunday... I was under the impression that I left on Saturday.


4.12.2007

The Village People... Day 57

This morning I was again woken up by the breakfast bell. I slept quite a bit better in the “bed” that Steffen left for me. In reality, it is just a raised piece of wood, but I think the bed shape is what convinced me that it was better. That and the extremely impressive mozzie (read: mosquito) net. Today I went down to the village with some people and learned how to make a fan out of palm leaves. Francis was the lady teaching us, but she didn’t speak much English, so she had a boy translating for us. Said boy was flirting with me like it was going out of style. Later on, we went to the village and had some grog with the locals, since they finished the new water tank. I played some poker after the grog with 2 English people, a Scot and a Dutch boy. Good fun.

4.11.2007

Goodbye old friend... Day 56

Today I woke up and was still feeling the grog a little bit. Luckily, Emily brought my shoes back for me, as I was beginning to wonder where they were. We had to say goodbye to Steffen this afternoon, which sucked, but it was a good send off. I pretty much relaxed all day; I’m becoming quite comfortable with one of the hammocks. Later in the day, we got two new people, Rosie from England and Dave from Scotland, who sounds exactly like the actor that played Oliver Wood in the Harry Potter movies. I took a shower later in the day and let my hair air-dry. Apparently that doesn’t work in Fiji, your hair just kind of air-frizzes. The curls were out of control, but we can call it island chic. Around 8pm, I finally got my sevu sevu (a ceremony asking to be welcomed into the village). I had to present some kava in the ceremony, then we had to drink it. After the sevu sevu we had a weird church presentation. I was confused by it, then again, I’m not at all religious. They were preaching about why its bad to use kava… while we were drinking it…


4.10.2007

It's hammock time... Day 55

Today was a really chill day, I woke up at half six (read 6:30am) after a surprisingly restful nights sleep, even though the roosters were being obnoxious. We had porridge (slimy-er oatmeal) and toast with peanut butter. We then said farewell to 4 of our members, including a possible Olympic swimmer for the 2008 Estonian swim team (100 Breast Stroke). I took a great shower today, it is surprisingly effective, even though it is only a bucket with a spigot attachment. I used the coconut soap that I purchased in Nadi. It may be the creamiest soap ever made, really good stuff… and it’s entirely eco-friendly. I spent the day chasing around Jacob, while his dad was snorkeling. It was fun getting to know the little guy… seeing as how he fell asleep in my lap last night after dinner. I ended up taking a nap in one of the hammocks, which was marvelous. Then I popped into the sea for a few minutes to cool off and take some pictures of the island. We had fried dough for afternoon tea, which was really good. Speaking of afternoon tea, we eat like hobbits here, five meals a day: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and supper. Crazy stuff. After the meal, I went into the bure with the chief and her husband, Lavinia and Steffen. A while later, Emily came into the bure and kidnapped me for some grog in the worker’s village. It did affect me a little bit tonight, I just felt like I was moving a little bit slower than usual. I did, however, completely forget my shoes when I walked back to the bure. I found out later that almost everyone forgot their shoes…

4.09.2007

Mali Day... Day 54

Today I woke up around 7am to the sound of the brekkie bell. I had a quick meal of fruit and a biscuit (read: cookie). Then I hung around a bit in a hammock. A little while later, Api and his brother, Tui, came around to pick us up for Mali Day on Mali Island, the nearest island to Vorovoro. At low tide, you can walk in between the islands. Anyways, Mai day is an annual gathering of all of Tui Mali’s villages to raise money for the churches on Mali. It was an amazing day. First, we sat down with Tui Mali in his home for a few minutes, waiting for church to let out. Then we went outside to the shelter and sat on the mats for a keri keri (an offering in exchange for something). We quickly moved on to the kava, which they call grog. It is the root of the kava plant, which is ground up with a large, heavy pole, much like a mortar and pestle. Once the root is ground up, it is mixed with water and ingested. Being a slow acting narcotic, it takes time to feel the effects. The only thing that I felt was a mild numbing of the mouth. The locals, however, have been drinking this stuff for a long time, and instead of growing immune to it, the exact opposite effect is experienced, as the kava builds up in their systems. Kava is legal in both Fiji and the United States, even for those under 21. While the ceremony was going on, we sat around and were fed cakes and tea, in addition to the never ending supply of grog. I wound up moving around quite a bit, meeting new people as I went along. After sitting with mostly men, I went to the back and hung out with the women of the tribe, as they called me over. Shockingly, we had more grog. Some of the children that were present taught me some games that involve clapping, much like ones we do in the US. One kid, Eduardo, was getting so annoyed that I was screwing up, it was quite funny actually. One of the women was absolutely fascinated by my white skin, she said it was beautiful. That’s a first, seeing as how everyone from the US wants to be as tan as possible. I was called for lunch around 2pm. I was told that it was quite a traditional meal, consisting of fish, tuapo (potato type root), curried potatoes, coconut milk & spinach salad and fish soup. I ate it all out of respect, but I could have done without the fish soup. We boarded our boat around 3:30pm and went back to V2 (much easier than typing Vorovoro). I put on my togs (read: swimsuit) and went for a little dip… I’m pretty sure that I saw a starfish. After swimming I kept my sulu (read: sarong) on for the rest of the day, since that’s what most people here wear. I helped prepare dinner, which was an amazing fried rice dish. The kitchen ladies, Emily, Juli, Nini and Cassa are so much fun, Emily has the most infectious laugh that I’ve ever heard. Later on, we had a cake, celebrating Steve’s 39th birthday. His son, Jacob, was attached to me most of the day; he’s a good kid. We sat around for a few hours and I talked to a guy named Steffen, from Germany. He’s a journalist and is down here for a story on V2. We were sharing a glass all night; he would drink alcohol, then pass it to me so I could use it for Coke. Luckily there was barely any alcohol in it by the time I received it. I could have sworn this guy was maybe 20 years old, but he is 28 and about to be married. Crazy stuff. Here’s a little bit of commentary from one of the American guys, Marc, from Chicago.

“We should have a pot farm here”… “Wait, no, then we’d have to have a pizza farm and a cheeto farm…” Some people just shouldn’t drink…

4.08.2007

No day but today... Day 53 cont'd

Today, after much ado, Sara Jane (SJ) and I finally got in the boat with the captain, Api. Thirty minutes later, I was greeted by my fellow tribemates at the shore. All of the names are a blur, I vaguely remember a Steve and a George. The island is overrun by Brits and Americans, however, there is a guy from Holland and a German. Today we reached the highest ever number of people on the island, which is awesome. Soon after arriving on the island, I got the official tour by the chief’s husband, apparently the chief needed some sleep. This place is ten times better than I could have ever imagined. An hour later I was helping cook Easter supper. We ate at a large covered dining table by the sea. Miraculously, all of us (upwards of 15) fit at once. After supper, we drifted back to the Great Bure (pronounced bur-ay), sans the drinkers, who were living it up at the dining table. We all sat around and chatted, periodically being poked and prodded by Jacob, the youngest member so far, at the age of 8. Then, out of nowhere, a mammoth spider dropped from the ceiling. Right next to my leg. Including legs, the spider was about the size of my palm. I immediately jumped and ran to the other side of the Bure, as did a few of the other girls. Steffen, the German journalist, chased it out of the Bure with a giant bowl. I have no idea how that worked, but either way, the spider was gone. Later that night, Api came over and played guitar for a while. I quickly climbed back into my area of the Bure, fully enclosed in my mosquito net, and fell asleep.

Really really really close... Day 53

So I am literally a boat ride away from Vorovoro... but the guy who pretty much came up with the Tribewanted idea broke his foot, so Sara Jane (a girl that works for Tribewanted) and I are waiting around to hear from him. Last phone call said he might be in the hospital for four days. Apparently they don't have outpatient surgery here. Anyways, did I mention that Fiji is hot? I am sitting here, doing absolutely nothing and I am still sweating. It's driving me crazy. Alas, I will get used to it.

Anyways, the plane ride over to Labasa from Nadi was great, I was on a little hopper of an aircraft, there were six rows, three seats each. It was a bumpy ride to say the least, but it was still pretty cool. The view was amazing. The one I put up here looks strange... almost like a painting.

Now I'm just sitting in the conference room of a mediocre hotel, leeching on their internet. Ahh... Fiji is a magical place.

4.07.2007

Men in skirts... Day 52 cont'd

I took this earlier in the day, right when I got to the hostel, I just didn't have a chance to upload it. Disregard my craziness, I'm sleep deprived.



So after I got checked in, I went down to the pool for a swim. It was ridiculously refreshing. So then I think, hmm... I'm going to sit on a deck chair and read. Yeah, I fell asleep for the better part of two hours. Thank god for sun umbrellas or I would have been toast. Then I went back to my room and changed into normal people clothes. Then I laid down on my bed, just to put my feet up, right? No. I fell asleep again, this time for about 3 hours. I guess my body is just not taking no for an answer right now. I can tell that I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight. Then I'm up early again tomorrow to catch my flight, which doesn't leave until 9:30am, but the only shuttle that I can make is at 7:00am. I'm sure I can amuse myself at the airport for an hour or two.

If you guys didn't catch it on the video, I would like to point out that it is completely socially acceptable for men here to wear skirts. It's amazing. I bet if it was acceptable in the USA to do that, a lot of guys would, its quite nice when it's hot out. I think their skirts are called sulu. Yes, like the man from Star Trek. I blame Jake & dad for my knowledge of that.

I know I didn't post any pictures, I'm not on a part of the island where you can take really cool pictures, but you can get some awesome ones from the airport, so don't worry, I'm all over it. I'll try to snap some photos of the hostel as well, tomorrow morning before I leave.

Here's some news from home: My mom broke her foot. Everyone say it with me: Awwww. Okay, good. She is a dork, that's all I have to say about that. In other news, Coop is going in for surgery on April 10, so everyone wish her good luck. I feel like I should do more news updates. Okay... Cat passed her CLEP English Literature exam with flying colors :) Woot. Umm... Mom & Jill's friend 'Pillow' had a baby. Congrats. I don't know her given name, that's just what they call her. Okay, I can't think of anything else to update, my brain is melting away... OH! Happy Easter for all of you people that celebrate Easter. If you don't... that's okay too.

I'll update as frequent as possible in the next few weeks. Love you guys!

Sleep is overrated... Day 52

I never went to sleep last night... I don't know how I managed that, but somehow, I did. Instead, I stayed awake and did random stuff until 3:30am, when I finally got really tired, so I took a 20 minute nap. Then I was awake to get my stuff done and get downstairs by 4:15am for my shuttle to Christchurch International Airport. When I got there, I was ravenous, so after going through security and stuff, I scarfed down a croissant sandwich. Delicious. Then I sat around for about an hour until my flight was called. When I finally got on the plane, I couldn't sleep for the life of me, I was having these weird little asthma things, probably because of the altitude change. Every time I would drift off, I would wake up gasping for breath. It was kinda weird. But once I got used to the thinner air, I fell asleep like a baby. I slept most of the way to Fiji. When I woke up, I was super disoriented, which sounds horrible, but it was just because of the lack of sleep. I got off the plane and went through immigration and customs really fast, then sat around for 3o minutes, waiting for my shuttle to the Nomad Sky Lodge Hostel. My driver was a really nice guy, but to make it better, the ride was FREE! Awesome. Let me just tell you that Fiji is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like the island on Lost. I'm utterly amazed. I think I'm going to go out in a little bit and take some pictures. Right now I'm waiting around the hostel to check in, as my check in time is in just over an hour, so I can't go find a bed and sleep. Lame. Sleep will come soon. Actually, I'm just going to take a small nap, so I don't ruin my sleep schedule for the rest of my life. OH! And Fiji money looks pretty cool, I have a $2 bill... and I think it's red.

While I was waiting for my room, I went and checked out the hostel, it's pretty impressive. As soon as I get into my room, I'm going to get into my togs (read: swim suit) and hop in the pool. Oh, and I met the rugby team that's sponsored by Air Pacific. They were super nice.

I had to buy some coconut soap here... and I know I got ripped off, but it's eco friendly for Vorovoro, so I guess I can deal with it. Luckily it smells good. Okay, my room is ready and there are some hot Fijian rugby players outside... so I'm gonna go.

4.06.2007

Intense holidays... Day 51

Kiwis are super intense about their holidays. Today was Good Friday and I expected a few stores to be open, as I had to buy a torch (read: flash light). No such luck. The only stores I found to be open were a few convenience stores and a place called Hell Pizza. I went there, as I've been told by countless people that I need to try Hell Pizza before I leave NZ. It lived up to its reputation, it is absolutely delicious. I got one of the pizzas named after the Seven Deadly Sins. Mine was Greed. It was an excellent Hawaiian Pizza. Mmm good. I didn't end up finding a torch, but I think I'll survive. I can always get one in Fiji. Where I'll be in thirteen hours. I'm leaving in just under seven hours for the airport... I'm so excited... but I don't think I'll be able to sleep, which is going to suck. But I'm willing to accept that.

Speaking of Fiji, I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to post, since internet access can be sketchy. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to post tomorrow, but after that, I have no idea. Check back for updates though. If I cannot post while on Vorovoro, I'm certain that I will be able to post when I'm back in Nadi (pronounced: Nandi) on April 14 or 15. See you then!

4.05.2007

You're out of my mind, out of my mind... Day 50



I need to do laundry really bad. Here's some trivia. The washers and dryers here are minuscule, so it takes forever to do laundry. 36 hours until I leave for Fiji! I never thought this day would come. Anyways, I really don't have much to report on, I had some excellent dim sum for dinner tonight. Other than that, I talked to a few of my loves, Cat & Amanda, so that was excellent. Alright, I'm off to prepare...

4.04.2007

Where have all the squirrels gone... Day 49

Today marks the last day of Term 1 of the semester. Roughly translated...I don't have another class until May. I'm super excited. Today itself wasn't bad, I had Phonetics, which is always a riot, then we had a practical in Audiology. I raced back to my flat to take a nap... but I had the weirdest dream: Someone was very offended by what I put in my blog and came after me and my friend Max... with a gun. How awkward. Then they shot Max. Remind me not to sleep in between classes anymore, obviously I can't be trusted. Anyways, I went to Anatomy with an espresso in hand, as that is a very hard class to stay awake in. Today's class was surprisingly upbeat. Then again, it was the last one for a while. I made my way over to the gym, then wound up back here for dinner. Great fun. Now the count is really on... 3 days until Fiji!

I took this picture yesterday... it is slightly perplexing, I know. But this is what it looks like in downtown Christchurch, its most definitely a pedestrian city, everyone just takes over the streets when the cars have a red light. Oh, I noticed something today. You know how everywhere you look in Michigan, especially at CMU, there are squirrels? I don't believe that I have seen one here... I'm beginning to doubt their existence. They are replaced with a multitude of birds. Another point of interest, at least to me, is the way people treat their dogs here, they seem to have them highly trained because I rarely see them on leashes, they are just walking dutifully behind or next to their owner. It's really cute. I saw one dog today that was carrying it's own leash in its mouth while strutting along next to a man. Very cute. Enough rambling, I'm going to attempt to go to sleep... I'll catch you guys later.

4.03.2007

Fake New Zealand accents... Day 48

Today I woke up lazily, around noon. I need stop doing this. Anyways, I decided to go downtown... then on a whim, I hopped on a bus & let it take me wherever it was going to. I ended up in Mount Pleasant, New Zealand. How weird is that? For those of you that don't know... which I think you all do, I go to school in Mount Pleasant, Michigan... Craziness ensued. I went to this place called the 'Recycled Clothing Warehouse'. It was pretty gross and smelled like tinfoil, but I every item of clothing in the warehouse is $2, so I got a t-shirt and a skirt for $4. Awesome. After that I picked up a few potatoes at the store, then waited at the bus stop with a lady that I met, who is from America. She was pretty cool, although she had a fake New Zealand accent that I totally picked up on... she quickly stopped doing it when she realized that I'm American as well, which was even funnier. Anyways, I went back to the flat and then decided to go to the gym for an hour. That was exciting. Anyways, I made dinner, which was pretty delicious. Alrighty, that's about all I have to say for now, but tomorrow is my last day of classes for an entire month! Woot! Fiji in t-minus four days.