Arrival

Bula!! Hello, Bula is kind of like Fiji's Aloha. It's pronounced boola, kind of like booya. I am safe and unpacked here in Suva with an exceptionally amazing host family. Both of my flights were good. From NY to Cali, I sat in a 3-seat row with the middle seat empty so I had lots of room for multiple kinds of sleeping positions. On my Cali to Fiji flight, I sat next to a native Indian Fijian guy who's dad happened to be one of our flight attendants. Also, next to him was a girl who's mom was one of our flight attendants. So I got to sit next to airplane royalty for 10 hours, which was great ha. They both told me a lot of what to expect about Fiji. It was interesting because they were coming from vacation in Cali. They were obsessed with the fast food it was cute. After talking and eating airplane food dinner, I was able to sleep which I needed.

Once I arrived in Nadi (pronounced Naandi), it was 4:15 am Fiji time. I was greeted by Oripa and another volunteer who was going to be located only 15 minutes from the airport. Oripa bought me a bus ticket for Suva and sent me on my way. The bus ride was about 5 hours because there were many stops. I think it would usually only take about 2-3 hours. It was good though because again, I got the chance to sleep. At times I was awake though, I was greeted by the beautiful beachy scenery. Everything is so breathtaking. I took some pictures I promise I will post pictures next time. I am at an internet cafe and I didn't bring any of my hookups for the computer. I also saw people horseback riding on the beach which is definitely something I will be looking into doing. 

The last stop on the bus was my stop at the Holiday Inn in Suva. I was greeted by Karishma and Jessi who helped me with my bags and went in a taxi with me to my host family's house. Everyone was extremely helpful. When I arrived (around noon), we all went in and talked in my host family's cozy living room. I met my host father Weiss (I don't think that's how it's spelled.) who is extremely nice. He asked me if I have any food preferences and I told him that I cannot eat mayo. He was extremely grateful that I told him that because they put mayo in some of their dishes. I also met my host family's god daughter Barbara who is seven and their son, Tony who is ten. Barbara was getting picked up that evening. I taught them how to play Uno and War. They had a lot of fun.  

My host mother, Nisetta came home shortly after and greeted me like she was my own mother. She's full of life and makes me feel like I am part of the family. She has made it very easy to feel comfortable in a new place. She made lunch and it was excellent. I ate pumpkin, rice, a chicken dish, and some kind of beef and mutton dish. There was a dish with mayo in it but both of my host parents told me to stay away from it. I'm really glad I told them I don't like mayo. 

I unpacked most of the evening into my amazing room. I will post pictures I promise. I have lots of space with a bed and a futon. It's really more than I ever expected. After I was unpacked I showered!! So crazy. It's one of the electric showers but I was used to using it since I saw them a lot in Central America. After I was all settled, another volunteer who is also living with me came home. She is from Germany and extremely wonderful. She showed me around after dinner. Speaking of dinner, it was amazing. I ate some type of fish that was soaked in coconut milk. It was probably one of the best things I've eaten in a while. 

But yeah, everything so far is amazing. I adjusted really quickly to the time change (probably because I slept so much while transporting) and my host family was impressed by it. I went to bed around 9:00 pm last night and woke up more relaxed than ever. People really are living the life here even though it's different. I feel like people are more cooperative and friendly around here which makes everyone a lot more happy and relaxed. I've also noticed that people smell really good here. I'm not sure if it's their natural body odor but they really smell like a mixture of coconuts and paradise. I hope to find this secret to eternal smelly goodness. 

Today I will be meeting with Jessi and she is going to show me how to use the buses to get into town and to work at the SPCA. Tomorrow I will start my induction into the SPCA so yay!! I promise blogs will be cooler later with pictures I just had a lot to say and not much time to really say it. So if you have any questions feel free to ask me. I was given a new sim card so I can call you (I don't think you can call me) so let me know if anybody wants to arrange a time for that. The sim card is actually amazing because everyone in the program uses it from the same company so we can text each other for free. So it's nice to be able to still use my phone. 

Ok I have to go now and get ready for the day. I will post a new blog soon thanks for reading!!