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Published: April 7th 2008
Greetings from New Zealand! I just arrived a few hours ago, so not much to write about from here yet; I'll get to that in a later post. But as for Fiji.... it was wonderful. Since this is my first post, I'll start from the beginning.
The first actual realization as to where I was going and really how far away I am was on the plane from LAX to Fiji. The flight left at around 1 AM and I immediately went to sleep on the plane. When I woke up, I turned on the video monitor in front of me and switched it to the map of where we were. At the time, we were just crossing the equator, and the map showed Los Angeles waaaaaaaaay up in the top right hand corner, and Fiji dead ahead. It wasn't until I saw that little blinking plane in the middle of the Pacific that it really hit me...
But as for my time actually in Fiji, I was amazed at the number of backpackers there. In hindsight, it makes a very good stopover point from NZ/ Australia to the States. Most of the people I have met are Europeans,
with a few Australians and Americans thrown in. And if anyone thinks my trip is impressive/ lengthy/ all-encompassing, a two minute conversation with any of the people that I have met will immediately change your mind. One girl that I met from Belgium is on a 16.5 month trip (an extreme example), and most other people will be traveling for about a year.
Fiji itself was beautiful, but in all honesty, not terribly different from the Abacos in the Bahamas. I spent my first and last nights in a hostel on the main island (near Nadi), and the two nights in between on a small island (Beachcomber) off the coast. I greatly enjoyed my time on the main island because I got to meet many people travelling by themselves, and converstations were easily started since pretty much everyone was travelling alone. The two nights on Beachcomber Island, however, were quite different. About 80 to 90% of the people were Brits on holiday, and they were all in groups of 8 to 10, which meant making new friends was more difficult than before. It wasn't a total downer, but it did get pretty annoying because except for their accents, I
on the bus ride to Nadi Town
I think some of the interior of the island rivals the beaches... very simple island livingmight as well have been in Destin on spring break. It didn't help that we were all saying in a 96 person dorm (yes, thats right, 48 bunk beds in one room), but it was pretty funny in hindsight.
A few funny points about Fiji: 1) one of the most popular songs at the bar on Beachcomber at night was "Sweet Home Alabama," which made me laugh uncontrollably because being the only American there, I seriously doubted whether anyone else on the island could actually point to Alabama on a map. 2)for some reason they offered Tabasco with your meals. I dont know how it made it from Avery Island to Fiji, but it was there and made me smile. 3) Bula in Fijian means hello, and anyone that has been to Fiji can tell you that, because the locals make a point to tell you bula at every chance. The locals are EXTREMELY nice, by the way, and very interested in American politics. I was asked who I am voting for 6-8 times, and was asked to explain the American political system a few times as well. 4) And finally, a little Fiji fun fact (mostly for my
dad, because I know he enjoys this kind of stuff): When in Fiji, I was actually closer to Tokyo (7111 km) than I was to Los Angeles (8886 km), which made me realize exactly how far west I am.
I hope everyone is doing well, and I look forward to hearing from you all... don't hesitate to send me a message!
Ni sa moce!
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Jennifer
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Hope you're having a blast!!
Hey Buck!! Hope you're having an incredible time. Take lots of pictures......we can't wait to see them all. Be safe! Love ya! Jenny