hello to everyone from Fiji!
we arrived in fiji at about 530am on september 8th, which is 1230pm, september 7th in NC. it is now sunday afternoon here in lautoka, which is the second largest city in fiji with a population of 5000. the shift key on the computer i'm on doesn't work very well so please excuse the lowercase.
we were greeted at the airport by a band of island singers with mandolin looking instruments. once we got through customs we were bombarded wiht locals trying to give us cab rides and convince us to come to their resorts. after getting some information we decided to walk (or hitchhike or catch a bus) toward the town of lautoka which is about 24 km north of the airport. nadi is only about 4 km south of the airport but is a tourist trap. once we got on the main road a man named peter stopped and offered a ride in his taxi. we bargained him down to 15 fijian dollars which is about 9 us dollars.
once in lautoka we got some food (chicken stir fry at about 7am) and went and found a hotel with a courtyard and a pool on the ocean. we hung out there for a while until the cheaper dorm style hotel down the street was ready for us to check in. While at the nicer hotel, a priest and about 5 people went to the pool and we were able to witness 3 people get baptized.
yesterday around lunch time we ran into a guy named pana on the street. he took us into the electrical/hardware store where he worked and gave us all our first taste of cava. this is a local drink that is made from the root of a plant. i don't really know how it's made but it is basically muddy water that has spent some amount of time under ground. it is suposed to make you hallucinate it just made our mouths numb and caused us to walk aimlessly around town for about an hour. pana invited us to go outside of town and go swimming in the woods but we declined. the first thing he told us about himself was that he had just gotten out of prison and he was clearly not all there. also, a man who has lived in the states before told us not to trust him.
we arrived in fiji at about 530am on september 8th, which is 1230pm, september 7th in NC. it is now sunday afternoon here in lautoka, which is the second largest city in fiji with a population of 5000. the shift key on the computer i'm on doesn't work very well so please excuse the lowercase.
we were greeted at the airport by a band of island singers with mandolin looking instruments. once we got through customs we were bombarded wiht locals trying to give us cab rides and convince us to come to their resorts. after getting some information we decided to walk (or hitchhike or catch a bus) toward the town of lautoka which is about 24 km north of the airport. nadi is only about 4 km south of the airport but is a tourist trap. once we got on the main road a man named peter stopped and offered a ride in his taxi. we bargained him down to 15 fijian dollars which is about 9 us dollars.
once in lautoka we got some food (chicken stir fry at about 7am) and went and found a hotel with a courtyard and a pool on the ocean. we hung out there for a while until the cheaper dorm style hotel down the street was ready for us to check in. While at the nicer hotel, a priest and about 5 people went to the pool and we were able to witness 3 people get baptized.
yesterday around lunch time we ran into a guy named pana on the street. he took us into the electrical/hardware store where he worked and gave us all our first taste of cava. this is a local drink that is made from the root of a plant. i don't really know how it's made but it is basically muddy water that has spent some amount of time under ground. it is suposed to make you hallucinate it just made our mouths numb and caused us to walk aimlessly around town for about an hour. pana invited us to go outside of town and go swimming in the woods but we declined. the first thing he told us about himself was that he had just gotten out of prison and he was clearly not all there. also, a man who has lived in the states before told us not to trust him.
last night we went out drinking with some kids that nate met on the street. when i say last night i mean 4pm and when i say kids i mean that the youngest was 13 and the oldest 20. the 20 year old was a police officer. we went into a dark, cave like club with music and lights that you would expect to see in america...only it was 4pm. after a few fiji beers i walked outside for a reality check and also to wake my self up a little. we hadn't really slept in 36 hours. robert, the police officer, followed me to 'protect me' and offered to show me his police station. we went in and i found a young boy with hand cuffs and a radio. fiji is under martial law so i am not sure what the police situation is but these were just kids.
anyways, we danced with some fijian girls and walked around with them and all of the kids that we had befriended...went to the sea wall and got told to leave by the cops. it was hard to drink with them because i knew that they were nice and wanted to protect us from criminals that could attack tourists but i also knew that they wanted us to buy them alcohol. it was a great first night and we learned alot from the locals.
it is now sunday afternoon, and cameron and i just left a methodist church where we sat and prayed in the empty sanctuary. we may attend the night service there but i do not expect that they will speak much enlgish, even though everyone here speaks english. everything is closed on sundays as it is a day for family and god.
the weather is nice, but hot and humid. it is about 80 or 85 degrees with a nice breeze near the coast. we haven't seen a beach yet but cameron and i are heading south to another island called kadavu to see our friend dillon. we will be on amazing beaches for about a week. nate is heading to a small island north of us where he has payed membreship dues to go and stay on the island. it is a self sustaining island with people working to create a 'zero carbon footprint island.' check out http://www.tribewanted.com/ for more info on that.
well even though it only costs 1dollar an hour to use the computer i do not want to spend all of my time inside. i will be away from email for a few weeks so until next time please take care of yourselves and if you get stressed by the grind of life in the states just think of ryan sitting on a white sandy beach in fiji! :)
love you all,
ryan
the weather is nice, but hot and humid. it is about 80 or 85 degrees with a nice breeze near the coast. we haven't seen a beach yet but cameron and i are heading south to another island called kadavu to see our friend dillon. we will be on amazing beaches for about a week. nate is heading to a small island north of us where he has payed membreship dues to go and stay on the island. it is a self sustaining island with people working to create a 'zero carbon footprint island.' check out http://www.tribewanted.com/ for more info on that.
well even though it only costs 1dollar an hour to use the computer i do not want to spend all of my time inside. i will be away from email for a few weeks so until next time please take care of yourselves and if you get stressed by the grind of life in the states just think of ryan sitting on a white sandy beach in fiji! :)
love you all,
ryan
women that have told me they love me: 1
women that i have tatooed with my permanent marker: 1
times i have been afraid of getting arrested: 2
words i have learned (probably mis-spelled):
welcome - bula
thank you vinaka
beautiful - raranaka (or something like that...with the rolling r sound that i can't do)
dance - danacia
welcome - bula
thank you vinaka
beautiful - raranaka (or something like that...with the rolling r sound that i can't do)
dance - danacia
1 comment:
RYAN!!! I WISH I WAS WITH YOU!! I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT YOUR BLOG!!!!KEEP ME POSTED!
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