BULA! From Fiji!

I am the last one standing of Apartment 20. Everyone moved on out and got on a plane to head to Fiji. Me on the other hand didnt get to go until the day after. I spent the night at Mouses house with my fellow straggler Ali. We had a fun night of hanging at the Bronte Surf club and drinking "scooners" (beers) and watching the sun set. We had our farewell dinner at Ali's favorite Indo place. ( a brave step for me)

The next morning I said my final goodbyes to Australia. I can't believe this day has come! On the bright side I'm headed to Fiji for one last trip and a chance to rap my head around the fact that I the most memorable experience of a lifetime has come to an end. On the 5 hour flight to Fiji I am sitting next to two New York boys who also happen to go to Indiana! Small world huh! I arrive in Fiji around 10pm and navigate my way through customs and try and figure out how to meet up with the rest of my roomies at the hotel. Everyone in Fiji is super friendly with big smiles and "Bula" which means Hello (this is a word I herd close to 5 million times! Bulas left and right) An airport employee asks me if I need a taxi and I do, so he runs out and calls someone for me. This guy takes my luggage and says he will be right back with the car. He pulls up in a station wagon, no taxi sign anywhere! It was his personal car, there wasn't even a meter! He is speeding through the dark, the roads are barely paved, not lined, and no lights. We driving through some pretty seedy places and I start to think this is how the movie "Taken" starts and I'm panicking inside but keeping cool on the outside (I think) But all goes well and I get dropped of at the beautiful hotel and then totally get ripped off by paying in Oz money and getting Fijian back...oh well small price to pay for making it there alive!

We stayed at the Westin on the island of Denaru which is basically an island of resorts. But very pretty! I meet up with my roommates and Sasha has been eaten alive my mosquitoes and Britty has a horrible sunburn! Looks like I missed out on a good day lol! We ate some dinner and then promptly passed out in our ultra plush beds. The next morning we did some more sneaking around because again we were only paying for 2 guest and there were 3 of us. Breakfast was included so we did this shuffle so all of us could still get the free breakfast! My first day there it was rainy and yucky but it turned out to be the best day I had. The hotel recreation director asked us if we wanted to try some cava, a traditional Fijian drink. So we all sat in a circle and watched him prepare it. Some powdered root and water were mixed together to make dirty water and that's what we drank. It tasted just how it sounds, like dirty water with some sand in it, and the effects make your tongue go numb for a few seconds. In the background there was a ukulele band playing and we end up singing along and dancing. That night we ventured out of the resort island and found a traditional Fijian restaurant. We were the only ones in there and the food was amazing! We inhaled our dinners and deserts and the chef came out so we could thank her, she was the cutest little lady ever! Also at the restaurant they had a cd of some awesome drum music and one thing lead to another and there was a big dance party with all us girls and the two women who worked there. They showed us traditional dances and we laughed and danced all night. A very memorable experience.

The rest of the stay in Fiji was low key, the weather got better and we sat by the pool and reminisced about the last few months. All we did was eat, sit by the pool, eat some more and sleep! It was very relaxing and just what I needed before I came home. Sasha and I had a few Pina Coldas at the bar and then headed off to the airport. I slept the whole way to LA and finally arrived. I was super jealous of Sasha because this was her last stop. I had a 6 hour flight back to the NY, I fought to stay up the whole fight in hopes that it would beat the jetlag. I landed in NY around 1:30am July 3. I was greeted by my whole family! Mom and Dad, Maggie and Erin and James too! They were all holding signs, Dads was the funniest saying "Party's over!" I immediately started crying as soon as I saw them, it had just been too long!

Its good to be home and now it all feels like one wonderful dream!