It has only been a month yesterday since I left Canada but so much has happened I don't know where to begin.
Leaving North America was quite the ordeal, there was a storm in Detroit, I was re-routed through Chicago, only to hit a storm there and miss my flight from L.A. to Fiji! But it all worked out really well because as it was not my fault the airline put me up in Los Angeles for a few nights and I was able to tour around and check out a city new to me which was great!
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| Where Pretty Women was filmed |
Arriving in Fiji was a bit crazy as well! The largest cyclone in years had hit the day before I arrived. I was one of only a handful of tourists that actually left the airport without first booking a connecting flight out but I am very grateful I did. Sometimes my decisions not to exercise any form of foresight sends me on the greatest adventures! The town was completely flooded, all roads were closed, supplies were getting low and the locals were being evacuated. Then there is me... ha ha, wondering in with my back pack..
Fiji was just amazing. I met some of the most fascinating people there and one of the most inspiring cultures I have to date encountered in my travels. Their resilience was touching, when the rain finally subsided and I was able to walk through town I thought it was going to be depressing after hearing all of the stories on the news, but it wasn't at all. The children were laughing and singing as they were bailing out their homes. They had lost most of what little they had to begin with and were still amongst the happiest people I have met. As I witnessed how happy the people were I couldn't help but admire the culture. As I walked through the streets every single person I passed stopped to talk, asking me how my day was, if I was okay (which I found particularly interesting given their circumstances), where I was from or where I was headed.
After five days I left most of my stuff behind with some locals I had met and walked through the town to a near by highway that had opened where I caught a bus to Suva.
Once in Suva I spent my last three days in Fiji doing what I had initially headed there to do, scuba diving. It is amazing what they will let you do there after you sign the appropriate papers because with only my open water padi certification I went diving 45 meters down with sharks! I came within arms reach of a bull shark and a Grey nurse! The dive master fed them as we went and they didn't bother us but I do have to tell the story of the speech I was given prior to the dive because it makes me laugh just thinking of it.
We were all suited up and I peered into the ocean (about 10 kms from shore) and notice baby sharks swimming along the top. The dive master turns to me and says, "it may help to know that sharks do not eat humans, that is a myth. When someone is attacked by a shark it is because they are curious or feel threatened by you being in their territory. Humans hold no nutritional value to a shark so they will often only bite. People die from blood loss before they surface after loosing only a limb or two to a shark, not from being eaten" with that he> signaled and went under.
The other girl who dove with me was a Norwegian photographer who was taking the dive for some exciting/rare photos and has sent me the below pictures which she took on the dive.
Two days later I was in Australia! I flew into Brisbane, rented a car and drove the Gold Coast down to Newcastle where I checked out the university I will be attending (which is huge), met some amazing Aussies, found a place to live, set up my room and then caught a train to Sydney two weeks later.
I think I am really going to like it here, the beaches are gorgeous, the wildlife like no other, water sports of all kinds are plentiful, the sports are all different and fun to figure out and get into, the weather is great, Aussies thus far have been very helpful and friendly and I am actually anxious for school to start to learn what it will be like here. I will keep you posted with how everything unfolds.
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