Day 3

Today we went to the church near the hostile which we are staying at.  It made me realize just how out of touch this land is with the rest of the world.  Don't get me wrong, the people that inhabit Fiji are some of the kindest people I have every met.  However, with the sermon they showed that they are reluctant to accept any part of the theory of evolution.  They also simplified the issue of abortion to murder when it is really a much more complex issue.  The church itself was rather quaint and nice.  It was in the woods serrated from the rest of the compound to provide peace, and it was very peaceful.  After the church sermon we met the family that is lending their house to us when we are going into the village.  The wife is Angie and very open; while he husband seems to be the strong and silent type.    He is a carpenter and makes all for the money for the family.  I could tell he was a very hard worker because his hands were very rough when I shook them.  After meeting up with them we got in the car and started heading to a swimming hole that has a very beautiful waterfall.  Along the way we all had little conversations; such was (wife's name) pointed out that this one island had a SEVEN STAR hotel.  I honestly didn't even know that a hotel could receive seven stars.  They also showed us places on this island where parts of the movie Return to the Blue Lagoon were filmed.  Not only that but the scenery on the way to this island was beautiful; we saw cows wandering on the beach, and many different settlements on the way to the swimming hole.  However, on the way to the swimming hole I was a bit afraid that it was going to rain really hard again because the sky was very overcast.  There was almost no sun to be found in the sky.  The reason it would be bad if it was to rain was because there is a little bridge that we had to pass in order to come to that waterfall, and if it rained really hard then the bridge would become submerged and we wouldn't be able to get back easily.  Luckily everything turned out well.  We reached the place where the waterfall was located and got out of the car.  We started hiking towards the waterfall, and suddenly it started raining heavily.  We all had to quickly shield our cameras from the water. The waterfall itself was beautiful; it was very large and had a lot of brush.  There was another group that came to the waterfall and found a way to scale the rocks to get behind the waterfall. I brought my water proof camera with me when climbing up there; so I was able to get some awesome pictures behind the waterfall. There was also a place I wanted to jump from, but Lisa told us we couldn't.  She said it was because if anyone was hurt; then they would be held responsible.  I was a little bummed that I could jump from the waterfall.  After that we started heading back and Lucy fell; it was pretty funny.  After we returned from the waterfall we immediately headed to the second one.  When we arrived it seemed like it would be another overcast day, but all of a sudden it started raining like crazy.  We decided to have lunch and see if it would let up, but it never did.  Then Lisa told us we would have the option to stay at the village or go on the hiking trail to the waterfall.  Also that the people going on the hike would have the option to drop off items that we didn't need/want.  I chose to go on the hike and drop off all of my stuff st the van   except my water bottle and jacket.  We started the long hike, and it was beautiful.  There were multiple little streams and villages along the path.  There were also many different flowers and different types of foliage.  On the hike I soon found out that there were only 5 of us leading the pack.  On the way I found a coconut that I wanted to break open, and I named him Wilson ( if you get that reference then you deserve a cookie).  I almost fell and unfortunately lost Wilson. After a lot of hiking we finally made it to the waterfall.  The waterfall itself was beautiful, and it was really fun to swim up to the waterfall.  As we were swimming up some of the group screamed and asked Brett to come and see what was in the water; it was pretty funny.  When we got there Angela was climbing up the rocks and jumping off them; it was really cool.  I wanted to jump off them too, but Brett said I couldn't and it bummed me out a bit.  Everyone had a great time walking back to the village and we were going to have dinner.  The dinner was ok but it was primarily chicken.  Once we made it back to the hostile, we told every one of the highs and lows of today.  After that I immediately fell asleep.

Day 2 

                     

Today we went to the rugby tournament in the city/village.  We were able to get some neat action shots and the kids played rugby intensely.  It was interesting to see how passionate the Fijian people are about rugby.  We were also going to go to a place that was a swimming hole with a waterfall; however, the road was flooded so we weren't able to go to the waterfall - swimming hole.  So we headed back to the hostile to get ready for dinner.  I honestly was a bit worried about the food, but it turned out that the food was amazing.  When we first got to the restaurant, there were four kind men sitting next to a large bowl. They invited us to sit with them.  We talked for a bit and then they offered us a bowl of Kava.  I was very nervous for my first bowl because it sounded like it was an intense alcoholic beverage, and I heard it tasted funky. However, in the end it was ok.  The drink itself didn't really have a pleasant taste because it felt like I was drinking soil.  I also didn't like that it cause my tongue and throat to feel numb.  It didn't make me feel high or drunk (which I was very happy about).  After everyone got some kava, we got seated and ready for dinner.  I was honestly a bit worried about the food because the fish we had last night didn't really appeal to me.  However, the mackerel tasted great and the mashed potatoes complemented the taste of the fish.  was amazed that there was also desert.  The desert was comprised of a piece of chocolate cake; a piece of lemon came; and a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.   All three tasted amazing, and I was extremely lucky because Brett didn't want his piece of chocolate cake and I willingly took it off his hands.  After that everyone went back to the circle, some people wanted to drink more kava.  I unfortunately gave into peer pressure and drank a high tide cup of kava; which caused me to get a massive headache.  I also forgot my sulu at the restaurant so I don't know what I'm going to wear at the village, but Brett and Lisa assured me that everything will be alright.  Once we got back everyone said his or her highs and lows.  I said my low was the weather, but I lied.  It was actually allowing myself to be peer pressured into drinking that second bowl of kava.  After that I was able to get some much-needed rest.

Day 1

                                              

Today was the day that we were finally going to head to Fiji.  After a 3-hour commute to Los Angeles; we met up with one of our leaders: Brett.  We had a short group meeting about each others spirit animals and have a way to remember each others names.   He was then kind enough to purchase us some dinner, and after eating we all hoarded the plane to Fiji.  Brett advised us to sleep as much as possible on the plane so we wouldn't be affected too much by jetlag.  I was able to get a bit of sleep on the plane, but it wasn't very comfortable. After we got off the plane we had to immediately board a second plane to get to the other island.  It was a little bit scary because the plane was so small.  We arrived at the hotel/hostel after the plane landed.  We explored the places around the hostel, and we met a man named Rox.  He was kind enough to let us take pictures of his backyard and daughter.  He also told us about his boys, and how they were hired to build a house on this one American's island.  I didn't even know that you could purchase an entire island. I look forward to getting to sleep so I can actually have a little bit of rest.

This week I'm preparing to go on my trip to Fiji!  I have turned in all of the required documents, and have almost finished packing my bags.  I'm still a bit nervous for going to the village because it seems that we will literally be going back in time.  I feel like I'm going to be burning a lot because there will be not hats, and I don't like the idea that we can't wear sunglasses in the village.  Oh well, I'll have to get used to it.