Fiji

BULA! (Fijan greeting)

Ok, I know scenery pictures are no fun.. but on this particular occasion I felt that it was necessary to capture the essence of the situation.

We arrived in Fiji at 7AM in the morning, and by 7:30AM we were on a boat heading out towards the Pacific Islands in the so-blue-it-makes-you-want-to-cry-and-laugh (at the same time) water. It's amazing because you can walk around the perimeter of the whole island! It was very relaxing to sit on the beach in the shade of palm trees while looking at the mountains at the same time. (You can see the mountains in the background of this picture).

I had a lot more pictures to upload, but this is all I am able to do right now for some reason. We spent two days on the islands and I went horseback riding on the beach, jet-skiing, and kayaking. Most people are extremely sunburnt and eaten alive by mosquitos.. however I have been fortunate to avoid it all.. somehow. We also went to a Hindu temple the other day and an old man gave me a total of 10 bananas throughout the day. I didn't really know what to do, so I just thanked him (saying "venaka venaka") and ate 3 in front of him! Hopefully that was appropriate.

Now we are at the South Pacific University in Suva and our lectures have been canceled for the day (how unfortunate). We are staying with local Fijan families and will be here for 4 or 5 days. It is extremely hot.. way hotter than I have ever experienced. The houses do not have air conditioning or anything, but they are all open and breezy. My particular house is on a hill that overlooks the village, and you can see the ocean in the background. While the islands and luxury resorts are nice, Fiji is really very poor. Most people walk around barefoot and shouting "bula!" everywhere they go, very friendly. Alright I'm paying by the minute in this little cafe, so that is all for now!

(More pictures to come!)