Fiji Part 2:

Sorry this is so delayed...I have not been doing very well updating this past month. I have so many papers and projects due this coming week....BUUUUT here is an update about the rest of my Fiji vacation.

So the second day my friends Ashley, Kelly and I decided to skip the rainforest walk, mainly because we have been in a rainforest every other day of our lives here for a field trip for school or fun day trips. Rainforests are great and rare and amazing to see, but I have definitely had my fair share. Anyways so instead of taking that trek we were dropped off at our second hostel, The Uprising Resort and had a relaxing day there laying out in the sun and getting my very first massage. Now I know massages are supposed to be relaxing but I found it more of an awkward experience haha...this might have to do with the fact that I am freakishly ticklish and I just could not stop squirming. It got to the point where I had to ask for the woman to just massage my back instead of going through with the full body massage. Little did I know that asking for a back massage included the entire backside of my body... strange. But I didnt have any knots in my back after that, which was very nice. The rest of the group came back around lunch time and after that we had a coconut carnival where we learned all the functions a coconut is used for in villages. We had free time until dinner and then after dinner there was a huge bon fire on the beach...it was really nice and relaxing. That night I slept in a huge "tree house" with 27 other people. Fun. Although I actually slept pretty well. All about the experience I guess.

The third day of the Feejee experience was spent driving through Suva, the capital of Fiji. We stopped at the presidents house and took pictures with the guard. We drove through all the embassies and saw many other houses of government. After that we stopped in a small town to buy some school supplies we would later give to the children at the school we were visiting. We got back on the bus and made the long drive to a village where we would be having a traditional kava ceremony. It was a really beautiful and peaceful experience. I loved hearing the native language and seeing traditions being practiced that have been in use for hundreds of years. I tasted kava for the first time here...it basically tasted like dirty water and then numbed my tongue for a few minutes. After the ceremony the girls and guys split up...the guys had a discussion and the girls made bracelets out of bandanna leaves. I bought my bracelet I made for 2 Fijian dollars :-)After the villlage we went to visit the school. The school was made up of three classes. There was the preschool, 2nd and 3rd graders and then 4th and 5th graders. The kids were adorable and sang us songs and danced. It was a really special experience. I love visiting kids, it reminded me of Israel when I went to an absorption center. Activities like these always seem to be my favorite parts of the trip. Our final stop of the day was going Volli Volli rafting down a river. You are basically just sitting on large bamboo like sticks that are tied together with a rope. It was really fun floating down the river, however we had to walk back instead of floating back on the rafts because the current was too strong. It was fun though and makes for a good story and memory.

That night we stayed at the nicest hostel EVER! The Volli Volli Beach resort. It was BEAUTIFUL! The views were amazing and the rooms were very nice. I had an "american burger" for dinner that night which was so so good. Our Volli Volli beach resort organizer Sasha (or Sasha Fierce as we like to call him) organized all these games for us to play and contests. All in all it was a really fun night. That morning Ashley, Kelly and I woke up super early to see the sun rise. AMAZING! There were so many colors in the sky, I will never forget that.

Our last day, we had lunch at an Indian restaurant where I had chicken curry. I am usually not a fan of Indian food, but I actually liked it! That was surprising. After that, we headed to the mud pools and hot springs and then it was time for our long drive back to Nadi where we would have a final good-bye dinner complete with a traditional Fijian meal and fire dancing!

All in all Fiji was an amazing trip and I learned so much about the culture, the country and the people. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.
BULA!


-Melissa