Travel to Oceania, Fiji, Nadi.

Arrived at Fiji airport to a wave of tropical heat and a cheery welcoming band. Quickly adjusted to relaxed "Fiji-time" by lazing and swimming at the resort pool with a brief trip to Nadi to see the colourful Hindu temple, stopping for a freshly-cut coconut en-route. Next day hopped on a 5 to-a-row local bus across Viti-Levu to Suva the chaotic capital, staying at the aptly named Raintree lodge on the edge of the jungle. Took a very hot and muggy guided trek through the Colo-i-Suva forest park, slipping and sliding over rocks and muddy paths to waterfalls before visiting the national museum with its giant ocean-going canoes and tales of cannibalism (and dodging the heavy tropical thunderstorms that started to flood the museum !).

Travelled up to the Navua valley in the highlands for a scenic whitewater rafting trip down a deep canyon with the river running high after all the rain - paddling the rapids with brief stops for lunch on a rapidly disappearing sandbank and a powerful back-massage shower under one of the many waterfalls streaming down the rocks. Finally took a boat trip out to visit Mana, one of the small idyllic island resorts, swimming out  Hindu Temple, Nadi from white sandy beaches to colourful coral teeming with fish and starfish, and chatting to the friendly locals in the sun....

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Travel to Fiji, Yasawa Islands.

Unfortunately we awoke to rain (it hadn't stopped all night!) and the forecast for the day wasn't great. We had booked onto the caves trip but a minimum of 5 guests from the local resorts are needed to run the trip and the rain had put everyone off so it was cancelled - hopefully more people will want to go tomorrow. So instead we decided to do the Nacula hike up into the hills. There were some great views from up there and the land really is untouched. After lunch 10 more guests arrived, along with 8 travel agents (resort inspection). The rain really started pouring down and so it was back to chess and basket weaving! Guess what - I beat James at chess for the first time ever! Dinner was fab, Nabua lodge serves awesome food and the fish topped it off tonight. The finale was Bula dancing aided by a Fiji beer!

Bailey's bit: On the walk I noticed a bird flying close above us, after a while I saw why. While we were walking we disturbed the insects and when a grasshopper would jump away the bird would swoop in and catch the tasty snack, clever
Picture 043bird! The afternoon consisted of waiting for the cake from the tea house to arrive (chocolate today) and the rain stopped long enough for some quick games of volleyball which Cat actually played in!

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Travel to Oceania, Fiji, Suva.

So here's the thing about Fiji: it's weird. And I mean really weird. So much so that I am dedicating an entire blog to all things odd and Fijian. Starting with coffee. Back home in the states I survive off coffee, my blood is about 40% leukocyte and Erythrocytes and 60% caffeine. So needless to say I was shocked when I found out that all coffee here is instant, yes instant. I feel a bit like a crack addict going through withdrawals, hopefully this will pass. Thank God for a little place called the Republic of Cappucino which offers a pretty decent espresso served in an air conditioned environment with free Wifi (coincidentally that's where I am sitting now).

Now let's talk buses. The transportation system in Suva is pretty decent all in all. There is a bus that stops right outside my flat every 15 minutes. These buses are all brightly colored, windowless, and there is always some horribly done Fijian remix of an American pop song. I no longer remember the real lyrics to Justin Bieber's "Never say never",only the Fijian version.

Let's talk school. This will really throw all my Tech friends for a loop, it sure did mess me up! When registering for classes there is no set schedule, this comes out the day before classes start.Consequently, it is very common to have multiple classes all at the exact same time. So what do you do? You either a) try talking to your lecturer to see if they will change the time of the classes, which to my surprise most of them will or b) you go to one classes one week, and another the next and alternate accordingly. And that is just the beginning of classroom issue but I won't bore you with the details. Next, if you ever have to use the restroom while on campus I sincerely hope you brought your own toilet tissue with you, because it's not provided. I found that one it the hard way! Back home we call toilet tissue "mountain money", guess here it is Jungle money!

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