Two weekends ago, five of us got PADI open water scuba certified in Nananu-i-ra at a place called Safari Lodge. The snorkeling there was incredible with corals right at the surface the but the diving was even better (duh). Our instructors, April and Craig were awesome and from British Columbia so it was nice to be with some fellow North Americans. We did the scuba class in three days and it was normally supposed to be done in 4-7. So it was a crazy crazy 3-day weekend for us with constant studying and diving.
The second we got there, we had to start watching the long chapter video in order to start answering chapter questions the next day. It was difficult to be forced to do homework during the beautiful sunny day on Saturday but we got the chance to practice scuba drills after lunch. It was all good and we all felt in good hands with our instructors.
The most difficult part of scuba diving was probably getting used to creating neutral buoyancy but by the 3rd day we were all pros. These scuba classes usually take place in a swimming pool and we got to do it all in the warm beautiful Fijian Pacific Ocean. I'm also pretty sure that there isn't a cheaper place to get certified since we only paid about $300 US for the entire class which included 4 beautiful dives into Fijian coral reefs. So yeah totally won at getting scuba certified.
We Did It!!
Here is a Fiji Clownfish in its natural habitat
The diving wasn't the only amazing thing about the weekend. We were the only guests staying at the lodge the entire time. So we basically owned the place. Also, the dorm we stayed in was located up a huge hill which had the most amazing view of the ocean. We all felt so at home there at the Safari Lodge in Nananu-i-ra, I never wanted to leave.
The stars at Nananu-i-ra were something that can never be explained. I have never seen so many stars in all my life. Yeah yeah I bet you've heard people say that a million times. But trust me, I've been to the middle of nowhere also but nothing compares to what I saw. Not only were the stars abundant, they were surrounding us like we were in a dome or a planetarium. You can see stars if you just look straight ahead!I think it has to do with being so close to the equator. A few of us were so amazed by the stars that we actually fell asleep outside for a few hours. The stars I saw that weekend really made my entire trip to Fiji worthwhile. I'll never forget how beautiful the sky was.
So yeah getting back to work again was difficult but I started on a Tuesday because we needed Monday to finish our scuba certification. I still see a lot of sad cases but being close friends with all of the animals makes it all better.
This cat did not want to get her picture taken.
I just so happen to work across the street from the Fiji Bitter beer factory. Oh how convenient. I still have yet to go in there though. One day...
This was a sad find hiding in a room waiting to be put down. The owner brought this completely emaciated dog into the SPCA and asked to have it put to sleep. This type of neglect happens more times than I'd like to say in Fiji and is heartbreaking every time. People here really think differently of dogs and it makes me sick. Today, a man came in and asked the vet nurse if he can have some poison to get rid of the stray dogs annoying his livestock. The vet nurse had to explain to the man that the SPCA is the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. He didn't understand and again asked if he could have poison for the dogs. Eventually he walked off angry for not getting what he wanted. I just hate people sometimes.
Home life during the week has been great. I took last weekend off from traveling and just stayed home and relaxed. We went to the Holiday inn hotel in Suva a few times because they thought we were guests only because we're white. Racism at it's finest right there. They have a nice pool and bar there so it's great.
I really enjoy spending time with my German housemate, Ina. I think we get a long so well because we brush our teeth for the same amount of time. You can really tell how close you will be with somebody based on how close your tooth brushing times are. There are eleven new volunteers coming in in March so I'm excited to meet a lot of new people.
I found out that I think I'm allergic to roro leaves (it's kind of like spinach) because they make me extremely numb. It's a weird feeling, kind of feels like I swallowed a bunch of Novocaine. I actually freaked out one night after I ate a lot of roro leaves saturated in coconut milk (amazing). I tricked myself into thinking a cut on my foot was infected because it was white and numb. I almost went to the hospital but my host family calmed me down and cleaned my wound. I'm stupid. But seriously cuts get infected a lot quicker here than at home and if you don't take good care of yourself, you'll probably get sick and die.
I'll have end this post a bit quickly because I'm about to run out of time at the internet cafe. Sorry about that. Here's some laundry. Ciao!!
My laundry got rained on the other day. It's a hard knock Fiji life over here.
No comments:
Post a Comment