Monday, July 12, 2004
Hello Again!!!
It seems like forever since I've written. At the same time, the last two weeks have FLOWN by! I've had a blast, and I have to admit that I'm not really excited about school starting tomorrow. I hope I don't bore anyone, but at least a few people (mostly family, really) are interested in what I've been up to the past couple of weeks.
Week 1
Unfortunately, I cancelled the solo trip to the Yasewa Islands. I had been sick the week before and the cancelling deadline was coming up, so I felt safer cancelling. I was a little disappointed, but time heals all wounds.
I was planning on spending the week alone, in blissful solitude, roaming the city, watching movies, etc. Things don't always happen how we plan them. A couple of nights before my roommates were to leave on their trips, we hear what could only be described as a domestic disturbance in the flat below us. I won't go into details, but needless to say, we all agreed that I shouldn't stay alone in the flat, especially not for a week. I was not happy. Fortunately, someone suggested that I stay with the Steele's, a family from Orem, in Suva with their dad on business. That sounded okay to me and the Steele's were gracious enough to take me in.
The week was heaven. It has been awhile since I've been around a real family, and I really enjoyed spending time with the family. There were a couple of other perks. They have a DVD player, so I got to watch a TON of movies. I was in heaven. Another plus was that Sister Steele can cook. wonderfully. AMERICAN FOOD!!! enough said.
I spent some free time shopping at the flea market and handicraft market. It was a lot of fun.
Rachel, Sister Steele's daughter, was in my class five class, but it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. The family was really nice, and I never really felt out of place. I was sad when the week was over. I was tempted to try and stay another week, but they're in process of moving back to the States, so I knew I couldn't.
Week 2
This last week was a little more exciting. Sunday, everyone got back from their respective destinations. They were all in one piece and well. We talked to Danny, a local friend who was going to go to Taveuni with us, and he informed us that he couldn't go. We were disappointed, but it was okay. We looked at the boat schedule, and decided to go Monday at 7pm. Whoa! Everything happened so fast. I almost didn't want to go because we didn't know where we'd stay or what we'd do there or anything. Fortunately, I took a deep breath and went anyway.
We booked with Suilven Shipping to go to Taveuni. It is a LONG boat ride. We boarded at around 6pm, the ship left at around 7. We didn't get to Taveuni until 1pm the following day. Ugh. I was really sea sick for about an hour even with Dramamine. Then, I decided to try and sleep. Sleep helped, and I wasn't seasick anymore when I woke up.
Once we got to Taveuni, we found a hotel. They had one $40 room and a few $60 rooms available. They wouldn't let all of us stay in the $60 room, so we split the difference and got one $60 room (equipped with bathroom, shower, stove, and mini-fridge) and one $40 room (equipped with 2 beds.) That way, each person could pay $25 a night, not too bad.
From the hotel, we found our way to the beach. It was beautiful, sunny, and deserted. Have I mentioned I love Taveuni. We spent time at the beach Wednesday and Friday too. On Wednesday morning, we visited the International Dateline (or where it would be if it didn't skirt around Fiji for ease). We also were led to a natural waterslide by an eighty-two-year-old man. It was so much fun! I actually went down too (I tend to chicken out a lot). At one point, I had trouble getting out of a natural pool of water, and a local man (not the guide) jumped in to help me out. He was really nice. We all survived the waterslide and the hike. On Thursday, we went to see a waterfall in Buoma National Park. It was really pretty (and the water was really cold.) We went behind the falls and jumped off some rocks into the pool there. Yep, that was fun too. We also got to eat at Cannibal Cafe (slogan: we'd love to have you for dinner).
Overall, Taveuni was a lot different than Suva: more relaxed, cleaner, friendlier. The buses only run three times a day up and down the island. There is less litter. It was SUNNIER!!! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we had to return home. We got back to Suva on Sunday at 6am, and the rain greeted us. :0( It's still raining here.
Well, back to work. There are only four more weeks of school while I'm here. School offically starts tomorrow. Time is flying, but I'm excited to be coming home. I can't wait to see how everyone is doing.
Wow! This is getting really long.
It seems like forever since I've written. At the same time, the last two weeks have FLOWN by! I've had a blast, and I have to admit that I'm not really excited about school starting tomorrow. I hope I don't bore anyone, but at least a few people (mostly family, really) are interested in what I've been up to the past couple of weeks.
Week 1
Unfortunately, I cancelled the solo trip to the Yasewa Islands. I had been sick the week before and the cancelling deadline was coming up, so I felt safer cancelling. I was a little disappointed, but time heals all wounds.
I was planning on spending the week alone, in blissful solitude, roaming the city, watching movies, etc. Things don't always happen how we plan them. A couple of nights before my roommates were to leave on their trips, we hear what could only be described as a domestic disturbance in the flat below us. I won't go into details, but needless to say, we all agreed that I shouldn't stay alone in the flat, especially not for a week. I was not happy. Fortunately, someone suggested that I stay with the Steele's, a family from Orem, in Suva with their dad on business. That sounded okay to me and the Steele's were gracious enough to take me in.
The week was heaven. It has been awhile since I've been around a real family, and I really enjoyed spending time with the family. There were a couple of other perks. They have a DVD player, so I got to watch a TON of movies. I was in heaven. Another plus was that Sister Steele can cook. wonderfully. AMERICAN FOOD!!! enough said.
I spent some free time shopping at the flea market and handicraft market. It was a lot of fun.
Rachel, Sister Steele's daughter, was in my class five class, but it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. The family was really nice, and I never really felt out of place. I was sad when the week was over. I was tempted to try and stay another week, but they're in process of moving back to the States, so I knew I couldn't.
Week 2
This last week was a little more exciting. Sunday, everyone got back from their respective destinations. They were all in one piece and well. We talked to Danny, a local friend who was going to go to Taveuni with us, and he informed us that he couldn't go. We were disappointed, but it was okay. We looked at the boat schedule, and decided to go Monday at 7pm. Whoa! Everything happened so fast. I almost didn't want to go because we didn't know where we'd stay or what we'd do there or anything. Fortunately, I took a deep breath and went anyway.
We booked with Suilven Shipping to go to Taveuni. It is a LONG boat ride. We boarded at around 6pm, the ship left at around 7. We didn't get to Taveuni until 1pm the following day. Ugh. I was really sea sick for about an hour even with Dramamine. Then, I decided to try and sleep. Sleep helped, and I wasn't seasick anymore when I woke up.
Once we got to Taveuni, we found a hotel. They had one $40 room and a few $60 rooms available. They wouldn't let all of us stay in the $60 room, so we split the difference and got one $60 room (equipped with bathroom, shower, stove, and mini-fridge) and one $40 room (equipped with 2 beds.) That way, each person could pay $25 a night, not too bad.
From the hotel, we found our way to the beach. It was beautiful, sunny, and deserted. Have I mentioned I love Taveuni. We spent time at the beach Wednesday and Friday too. On Wednesday morning, we visited the International Dateline (or where it would be if it didn't skirt around Fiji for ease). We also were led to a natural waterslide by an eighty-two-year-old man. It was so much fun! I actually went down too (I tend to chicken out a lot). At one point, I had trouble getting out of a natural pool of water, and a local man (not the guide) jumped in to help me out. He was really nice. We all survived the waterslide and the hike. On Thursday, we went to see a waterfall in Buoma National Park. It was really pretty (and the water was really cold.) We went behind the falls and jumped off some rocks into the pool there. Yep, that was fun too. We also got to eat at Cannibal Cafe (slogan: we'd love to have you for dinner).
Overall, Taveuni was a lot different than Suva: more relaxed, cleaner, friendlier. The buses only run three times a day up and down the island. There is less litter. It was SUNNIER!!! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we had to return home. We got back to Suva on Sunday at 6am, and the rain greeted us. :0( It's still raining here.
Well, back to work. There are only four more weeks of school while I'm here. School offically starts tomorrow. Time is flying, but I'm excited to be coming home. I can't wait to see how everyone is doing.
Wow! This is getting really long.
