The Adventurer

Okay so it is time to play a little catch up...and by a little I mean a lot. So first off I went on ANOTHER study abroad. It was a blast! One of my good friends from my last study abroad went on it as well so it was just an extension of our first adventure together. Where do I even begin with Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

Well first, Fiji. Let me tell you, this type of trip to Fiji is not anything I would have imagined. Like not at all. When I think of Fiji I think of resorts, beautiful beaches, drinking yummy smoothies while laying out in the sun, etc. Well this experience was nothing like that, at all. BUT...after looking back I would not change it for anything.

There are only 2 things that I struggled with in Fiji:

1. Showering
2. Food

I am just going to talk about the struggles first so then I can talk about the wonderful people of Fiji. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love to shower and wash my hair. It is a necessity everyday **cue everyone telling me how that is actually really bad for my hair...I know, I get it. But I love it and I am going to do it anyway.** Well for the first two weeks of the study abroad I think I showered twice. Okay maybe three time, maybe. Are you kidding me?? We straight up lived in villages that had to conserve their water supply, so when they had about 30 people come and stay with them they really had to conserve it. I only packed a backpack, which most people wouldn't believe that I did that because I am known for over packing. But I did it, and it was nice to only have a little bag for traveling between villages on boats and kayaks. Next, the food. We had fish every meal. I hate fish. Which means I did not eat. Luckily, I was prepared for this beforehand so I packed two boxes of Cliff bars for this leg of the trip. I had a Cliff bar every meal. I promise I did try the meals, but nothing would go down. I just don't do fish. By the end of the trip me and a couple other girls were exchanging different flavors of protein bars, I needed to mix it up. I was over peanut butter and chocolate chip and wanted to add some variety to my life.

Fiji was not all bad. A lot of it was great. The people were so kind and generous. We went to two different villages and stayed at each place for a couple of nights. The people took us in like we were apart of their village. It was an incredible experience. We helped them make meals, painted buildings, went on hikes, it was great. We also kayaked. And when I say we kayaked, I mean we kayaked a lot! Kayaking is how we traveled to one of the villages we were staying in. I grew to love the people of Fiji and everything about their villages. It was sad to say goodbye, but I was excited to continue our travels.

It was time to leave the villages, we were supposed to take about a five hour ferry boat ride back to Suva, Fiji before our flight left for New Zealand the next day. But I guess there was an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean that resulted in some tsunami warnings.

So instead of boarding a nice little five hour ferry ride, they sent an industrial/cattle/immigrant/transportation ferry. It was filthy. I felt disgusting. We boarded the ferry at 9 AM. This ferry was probably the grossest most germ filled place I have ever been in my life. The first thing I encountered when entering this ginormous ferry was a live pig ties to a pole. Soo...yeah. And the bathrooms were overflowing because of the huge waves that were happening. They locked the doors to try and keep the gross water from coming to where the people were. We were able to stay in a "lounge" room. Which the word "lounge" is used very loosely, because basically there were about 10 bunk beds for all 22 of us. So we got cozy and set off on our journey.

The tropic storm got so bad that the boat had to slow down. People in our group were getting motion sick, throwing up, etc. It was crazy. I settled down on the top bunk next to Kayla. We both were seriously frightened that we might die. I legitimately had that thought. So every HUGE wave we would hit that would rock the boat back and forth we squeezed each others hands sooo tight. And when I say ever huge wave we would hit, I mean that happened probably every 3 minutes or so. So that was fun. I felt so bad for the people throwing up, I wanted to get up and help, but I knew that if I would have sat up and helped I would have been right next to them throwing up, so I decided to stay in my bunk and be there for Kayla...while eating my cookies.

We finally got off of the boat at 12 AM. So we were on the boat traveling for 15 hours. Yes. 15 hours on a germ infested boat. I will never forget that day. I would not have wanted to experience those 15 hours with anyone else but those girls, and Ed. I have never felt so safe once I finally stepped foot on land again. I was so thankful that nothing happened on that trip. So many prayers were said during those long 15 hours. Through all of those prayer thankfully I felt peace and was calmed through the Savior's comfort. He helped all of us through this scary time, but I am so thankful that we made it back safely.

Fiji overall was a wonderful experience and I would not change it for anything. The people we met while staying in those villages will forever be in my heart!