soon.

there is a massive blog update coming, i swear! too tired to post now though... trying sooo hard not to fall asleep right now.

transistions

it's sometimes hard to believe that fiji and africa even happened. as i transition back into this so-called "real world," i find myself wondering if the past few months were just a dream. the people i hang out with, my house, my job... everything seems exactly the same. yet i feel so completely different.

i got home and had a few weeks to recuperate before work started which was a huge blessing. while i'm not out on court coaching full-time, being the tennis director is heaps more stressful. i get to deal with the high maintenance edina parents (no, your 7 year old will NOT make varsity within the next year... and don't expect much from your 4 year old, as they can't even see over the net yet!), the late or ditching staff members, hiring new staff, the paperwork, etc. so having a little time to recover from traveling before throwing myself into work was really nice. that being said, not having to run around for 12 hours a day in 90+ degree weather is quite wonderful! 

the first couple weeks back were especially hard. trying to remember how to live in a world filled with cell phones, shopping malls, celebrities, and roofs over my head took some serious adjusting to. it still is in fact. i used to be addicted to my cell phone. in fact, if i left the house without it, i felt completely naked. now i want to throw it out the window every time it rings and frequently just let voicemail pick it up. do you know how well you can get to know a person when there aren't any cell phones distracting you? now i find myself going out to meals with or hanging out with friends who spend the entire night texting other people and i can't help but want to throw their cell phones out the window as well. especially when we were on the island, we got to know each other SO well. we didn't fill our conversations with stupid celeb gossip or zone out from the conversation because we were busy texting. we were fully present and fully there. it was a beautiful thing that i find myself missing everyday. isn't it weird? all these technology things are supposed to make our relationships stronger... and yet, you can have an entire relationship without saying a single spoken word.

NINE days until i leave for australia! i've been busy busy busy getting ready to leave. i've shipped a few boxes with sheets, towels, dresses, shoes, sweatpants, etc ($540... RIDICULOUS! if i had known it was going to cost so much, i would've bought a friend a plane ticket and had them help me cart everything down there!!) and will *hopefully* begin packing any day now. of course, i say that now, but i probably won't pack until next week. i've also been busy trying to find out info about bank accounts and transportation from the airport and registering for classes and the list just keeps going on. and now it's time for a slightly pathetic, embarrassing confession: i'm not sure which i'm more excited about... the fact that i leave for australia in 9 days or the fact that the new harry potter movie comes out in 8! hahaha. but in all seriousness, i AM really excited for OZ. it's a new feeling for me. out of the past 4 schools i've been to, i haven't really been excited for a single one of them. hopefully this is the start of something wonderful :)

some of my avid blog-followers may recall that i met a guy in arusha whose daughter attends UQ. i've been facebooking with her a little bit and asked her what sort of stuff i should bring and what it's like there. her response? "well, bring heaps of dresses (cocktails and formals, especially for the races), trackies, and be prepared for your liver to hate you!" 

obviously i needed a little translation. apparently girls there don't wear pants. ever. i've looked at her FB photos and have not seen a single girl in pants. no wait, that's a lie. there was one picture with about 40 girls in it and one was wearing pants. also, they attend horse races. yes, true story. they wear formal dresses and big hats, so that's something to be excited for? i had to ask alice (a family friend in adelaide) what the heck "trackies" are and apparently they're sweatpants. as for the liver hatred comment, apparently i'm living at the "fun" college. whoo! i really need to start learning my aussie slang so i don't give everyone a blank, wtf stare. tristan, one of the blue ventures staff members who happens to be from sydney, tried teaching me a few new words. when the lady from the bank called me, i had to ask her to repeat herself no less than 14 times. 

while it's a tiny bit nerve-wracking to know i'm about to step off a plane across the world and not know a single person, it couldn't be any more exciting. i'm at a crossroads and my life can go any direction i please. it's time for a fresh start. when i first got home, i was jealous of all my graduating friends for about 9 seconds. then i realized i'm moving to aaauusstrraallliaa! AUSTRALIA. australia. AUSTRALIA!!!! man. i may be behind in school, but i've probably gotten to see way more the world has to offer than the some of those people. i'll most likely be updating come wednesday night when i'm panicking and still avoiding packing, but if not, i'll update once i'm down under :)

if she wanna rock, she rocks. if she wanna roll, she rolls. she can roll with the punches as long as she feels like she's in control. if she wanna stay, she stays. if she wanna go, she goes. she doesn't care how she gets there as long as she gets somewhere she knows. --eric hutchinson

she said, get outta my way cause i'm goin' somewhere. this is not where i wanna be. you can say what you want, you can tell me i'm wrong, la dee da, la dee dee. get off of my back, stop sayin' that 'cause i am not afraid of heights. i may never get where i'm goin, yeah, but then again i might. i'm standing on the edge, yeah. i know it's a long way down but you can't walk the wire for anybody else. i might hit the ground but at least i'll have a story to tell. --brie larson

it might be time for you to go. it might be time to change, to shine out. i want to repeat one word for you: LEAVE. roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. it is a beautiful word, isn't it? so strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. and you will not be alone. you have never been alone. don't worry. everything will still be here when you get back. it is you who will have changed.  --donald miller, through painted deserts

stupid jetlag

i've been meaning to write this post forever but have pretty much just been wayyy too lazy/jetlagged to sit down and do it. i'm almost back to a normal sleep schedule, but up until last night i was still pulling 4:30 am-6:30 am bedtimes. yuck. if it weren't for work, i'd just stay on that schedule until i got to australia :) 

okay, where to begin? well, i finally got to dive!... and it was INCREDIBLE. i only got 11 dives in, which sucks since everyone else got in 30+, but the dives i did do were amazing. i actually should have done more, but of course, once my ear cleared up we got hit with some major waves/wind, which meant aborted dives. so goes the story of my life. i did one dive where we saw 5 stingrays and an enormous puffy pink starfish that looked like a cartoon. i did another dive where we saw 7 white tip sharks and another where we saw 5. we saw turtles, jellyfish, and fish bigger than picabo. i did a dive where we saw a porcupine fish that was about 4 feet long. it was SO cool. i ended up not doing any survey diving... by the time my ear cleared up, i just didn't have time left to get my advanced open water certification, do my in-water fish/species/benthic id tests, get trained in how to do the surveys, and then pass the test to show that i knew how to do the surveys properly. it ended up being okay though because i got to do almost all recreation dives! i did have to miss out on doing a homestay in a nearby village though to get my AOW certification, so that was definitely a bummer. the staff knew though that i was kind of sad i didn't get to do as many dives as the others, so a couple times a staff member would take just me out on a private dive :) the other thing i got to do more than other people was manta boarding. tristan (one of the staff members) had a manta board made that we could tow behind the dive boat. it's basically a piece of wood that you hold on to while being dragged behind the boat. you wear your mask and snorkel and keep your face in the water, looking for new dive sites. the best part is that you can angle the manta board down and go really far underwater. so you're being dragged behind the boat while 10 feet under the surface. it was really cool. then we got to dive some brand new divesites where nobody's been before!

obviously i decided not to stay the extra three weeks. while i miss fiji more than anyone could possibly imagine, i just didn't think i would have to stamina to stay. well, it was more like i wouldn't have the stamina to come home. basically i would stay for three weeks, then come home and have one day to recover before i started work. i'm taking on even more shifts this summer than last summer, which means i'll be out teaching tennis from 8:30 am-8:30 pm monday-thursday and then from 8:30-4:30 on fridays. then i would work those ridiculous hours right up until i left for australia. i do sort of wish i had stayed though. i can't believe i turned down 3 weeks in paradise.

island life was amazing. 2 dives went out every morning... one at 7:30 and one at 10:30. i basically hung out with the people that weren't on the dive or chilled in the hammock in the morning. in the afternoons we either had classroom lectures, watched a movie, helped map the island and surrounding area, snorkeled, walked around at low tide, did laundry or just hung out with each other. most nights were spent stargazing (best stars i've ever seen) or watching movies or talking about life. saturdays were our party nights. there was an island rule that you couldn't have more than 2 beers, 1 drink with hard alcohol, or 5 bowls of kava the night before a dive, so weekday nights were pretty tame. however, sunday was a totally free day so saturday nights were always INSANE. since i wasn't diving i was nominated to be the sole member of the party planning committee. the party i planned was a reverse rubik's cube party. basically, everyone came dressed head to toe in one color. the goal was to exchange clothing/accessories with people and be wearing as many different colors by the end of the night as possible. the twist was that in order to get an article of clothing, you had to partake in a dare of the wearer's choosing. it was pretty entertaining. our first saturday we had an ice breaker party with lots of games, our second saturday we did the reverse rubik's cube party, then we had an anzac day party (it's an australian holiday), then we spent a saturday in levuka, and our last saturday night was a priscilla, queen of the desert party, based on the australian movie about transsexuals. haha. we all went shopping in levuka at a second hand store the week before and bought costumes. the guys got way into it, wearing everything from pink miniskirts, to glitter head to toe, to blue silk camis, to bras stuffed with balloons. oh, and howard, one of the staff members actually wore a thong, which we only know because his white skirt was a tad see through :)

the facilities were sufficient. it took a little getting used to the fact that we only sporadically had electricity and that the water was frequently turned off in an effort to promote conservation. by the end though, you didn't even notice when you were showering by flashlight or worry about the fact that it took 3 days for your ipod to fully charge. in fact, it was actually pretty weird to get back to the capitol and be able to turn on the lights at 2 in the afternoon. the only time water was a problem was when they turned it off while you were in the shower, which definitely happened to me a couple times. at one point, my hair was covered in conditioner, my body was covered in soap, and my legs were covered in shaving cream when all of a sudden the water sputtered to a trickle and then completely turned off. a stupid lady at rei had convinced me to buy this micro-fiber towel before i left... which was great except for the fact that it only covered about 1/4 of my body. so there i was, stuck with no real towel to wrap myself in, covered in soap, and with no water. i had to stand there until i thought i heard someone walk by and then yell at them to find someone to turn the water back on. good times.

i was in a little wooden box with a tin roof with 2 roommates. the 6 of us uni girls were placed in one house with 2 rooms (there was a thin piece of wood separating us... but there was no real point in it being there, as we could hear everything that went on in the other room and there were gaps at the top so you could see the others), about the size of my first dorm room. they were pretty basic, but it didn't matter since we were only in there to sleep. we learned to battle hoards of red ants, jumping spiders the size of an open hand, and mozzies carrying dengue fever. it's weird being home now and in enclosed spaces. the restaurant on the island was a thatched roof over an open air area, as was the bar. even the bathrooms were basically just ceilings. i think we all had a bit of a panic attack when we got back to the capitol and found ourselves in enclosed spaces. we all got especially antsy when we got on the airplane and realized that we had to go 11 hours with no view of the ocean. 

the food was really good, but not all too healthy. it included a lot of white bread, white rice and fried... everything. a typical day of food would be: breakfast-2 pieces of white bread and a homemade doughnut. lunch-a bowl of white rice, 1/3 of a banana, fried vegetables. dinner-a bowl of white rice, potato/carrot curry and a bowl of soup. french fries were also served regularly. because it was pretty much all carbs and it came in teeny portions (try cooking for everyone on the island in a kitchen the size of... a tiny room), everyone was always hungry. people would legitimately fight over food and the people who finished first would watch everyone still eating like a hawk, determined to take any leftovers. i was pretty convinced that all the fried food and carbs were causing me to gain weight, but i actually lost just over 10 pounds. that may be due to the fact that i was tapering off of my graves disease meds while i was there, but hey, i'll take it! the guys dropped heaps of weight... some of them were struggling to keep their pants up by the end of the trip.

the people were great great GREAT. well, most of them. the people i got along best with were a 28 year old guy from the UK (petey), a 19 year old girl from seattle (tamara... who may transfer to macalester this fall!!!), an 18 year old girl from asheville (leah), a 30 year old guy from the UK (duncan), and an 18 year old girl from the UK (georgie). there were some people who definitely got along better than others, but for the most part, everyone got along pretty well. it was hard because everyone was always hot, sleep deprived, and craving 10 minutes of alone time, which was pretty hard to come by. i already miss a lot of the people. in fact, i missed them by the time i made it through security in LA. 7 of us flew together (we all got into the same exit row! what are the chances??), then split up once we got off the plane. i re-checked in (but not before missing my connecting flight) and was immediately looking around for people to talk to. i got so used to giving a running commentary on my life and the people's around me to the others that suddenly i didn't know how to go more than 15 minutes without conversing to one of like 20 people. the last like 48 hours of the trip, i think i spent maybe... 6? hours apart from petey... and those 6 hours were spent sleeping, so it was weird to suddenly be alone. the cool thing about the island is that it is also a tiny backpacker's resort, so anytime someone would come check in, we'd get to know them pretty well. i met a girl from brisbane, some other guys from australia, and a guy named mark from sydney, who i ended up hanging out with when we got back to Suva at the end of the trip. one of the best parts about traveling the past few months is that i've met people from all over the world. i'm super excited for new year's this year because i'm hosting a fiji reunion at my cabin! we talked about doing a reunion and then realized that everyone either lived in a dorm room, a 1 room flat, or at home with their parents. so i suggested my cabin. i gave them ample warning on weather conditions in january in minnesota :) seeing as how much i miss everyone now, i can only imagine the state i'll be in by january!

so, longest post ever, but i was sort of slacking while i was away. despite the world's most persistent ear infection, the past 6 weeks were hands down the best 6 of my life. add in the time in africa and the past 3 months have made me the happiest girl EVER! :) all of my friends are graduating right now, which was hard for about 45 seconds and then i remember, "i just spent a month in africa, 6 weeks in fiji and i'm about to move to australia for the next 2 or 3 years." really? how upset can i be? loving my life.

ps-i just bought my ticket yesterday for australia! i leave july 16. so much to do before i go, but i'm so excited. scuba diving in fiji certainly helped me get in the mood for some marine biology. and by the way, there's a mad sale on tickets to sydney at the moment. if you leave after july 20, you can get tickets for under $500. that's right. $500. i expect visitors!

3rd time's a charm

i just visited the hospital for a third time and great news! I HAVE REGAINED HEARING IN MY RIGHT EAR! whooo. they hardcore cleaned it (super gross) but now i can hear again. i have yet to go diving and was told by the doctor that i should wait until i finish my antibiotics (thursday) before i start diving again. however, the doctor also didn't know how to work the blood pressure cuff, so i'm fairly confident that monday will be sufficient.

things have been fun, boring, frustrating, and relaxing all at once. it's been nice to have some time sitting in the hammock looking at the gorgeous ocean, but it's definitely been difficult hearing everyone come back talking about seeing sharks, turtles, huge fish, sting rays and today, dolphins. so, if my ear clears up, i'm thinking about joining the next expedition and staying in fiji for an extra 3 weeks. 9 weeks in fiji? not bad.

my experience has been vastly different from the others, but it's been pretty good. hopefully by the beginning of next week i'll be out getting my advanced open water certification. then i have about 5 trillion in water tests to take and i have to learn/practice doing survey dives. the good news is that they're going to let me dive more than once a day, so i'll be super busy :)

one of the things i got to be involved in since i wasn't diving was planning a kids conservation club at a nearby island's primary school. we kicked it off by doing our own rendition of the harry potter puppet pals show (i'll post our version when i get home), then doing a rap, then splitting into small groups to chat, then doing a relay race in fins, mask and snorkel. so fun.

the people here are incredible. i love almost every member of our group, which is good because the island is so small that you physically can never be alone. there are a few exceptions, but i basically just steer clear of the people that make me want to jump in the ocean while wearing nothing but a weight belt. i think everyone is learning the value of patience and it's been fun watching some of the younger girls start learning how to grow up. almost everyone on the trip is in a life transition phase--changing jobs, moving, transferring schools, taking a gap year before uni... i've certainly never been in a situation like this and it's fascinating to hear and experience everyone's stories as they try to figure out the right direction. i have no idea how i'm going to be able to say goodbye to everyone in 2 weeks.

while not diving has been so frustrating, i'm getting better at looking on the bright side. i mean, cmon. i'm in FIJI. the water is the brightest blue you can imagine, the sun is brilliant, and the stars at night are breathtaking. plus, a few times now the water has had bioluminescence... no idea how to spell that... personally, i like to inform people that the "water is sparkly".... but basically, when you run your hand through it, it looks like there is a trail of glitter or sparks in the water. one of the best moments i've had is when petey, a volunteer from the UK, and i took a kayak out at midnight and looked at the stars above us and the stars in the water. it's hard to ever feel stressed here.

alright, the internet cafe is about to close. we're spending the night in levuka (a nearby island that almost counts as civilization) so we're about to get dressed up and go out to PARTY!

2 hospitals in 4 days. story. of. my. life.

bula!

i am back on the mainland in fiji, about to head to my second hospital in 4 days. gooood times.

fiji has been decent so far. the weather is pretty gorgeous and we have a lovely island pretty much all to ourselves. the food in incredible, the view is unbeatable, and the people are fun. it's been pretty interesting to see the group dynamics, as there are people from all walks of life are on this trip. i'm sure you can imagine though that there is definitely drama, as we're on an island that you can walk the perimeter of in about 12 minutes and it's super hot all the time, and people are always low on sleep. add in some bounty rum, and you've got a great show, as i learned saturday night.

one of the highlights of the trip so far has been the fact that we got to meet the future king of fiji! we were personally invited to his island to drink kava (ground pepper roots i think?... it's a narcotic, so your body goes numb after a couple sips. very interesting and quite disgusting tasting, but you can't really say no to the king) and hang with his team. we all dressed up in traditional fijian clothing... the guys were in what were essentially skirts and the girls were in these super unflattering hawaiian print floor length dresses.

the past week on the island has been spent studying, studying, and studying. we've had a bunch of tests on benthic lifeforms and inverts, along with tests on fish ids. everyone is a little stressed, so we'll be glad once the testing is over and we can really start everything.

i, on the other hand, have yet to do much of anything. my ear started hurting as soon as we got to the island, and 3 dives into the week, i went completely deaf in my right ear. the next day, howard (the head of the program) took me on an hour long boat ride to levuka, the nearest semi-large island. it was quite an experience. the "nurses" couldn't figure out how to assemble the little flashlight thing that looks into your ear. and then they realized they didn't have batteries, so howard had to run to the store. there were no doctors in the hospital and 2 of them refused to come in. they tried to prescribe me meds over the phone without a single person looking in my ear. then howard called the doctors and started namedropping and they hustled right in. the female doctor came in wearing a tshirt with a giant wine glass screenprinted onto the front, camo sweatpants and flip flops. after finally figuring out how to piece together the flashlight thingy, they gave me some meds and sent me home. they were going to send me home with ear drops as well, but they couldn't remember where they were kept. good times.

the next day, my other ear started hurting and going deaf.

now i am back in suva, heading to a private hospital. here's hoping they figure it out, as i haven't even been allowed to go swimming or snorkeling. it's a bit depressing watching everyone get kitted up to go diving every morning in the bright turquoise water filled with sharks, turtles, jellies, stingrays and tons of cool fish.

not sure when i'll have internet again, or if i will before i get home. pray my ears heal super fast so i can get back in the water!!

rain rain, go away...

hello from fiji!

it feels like i've already been away from home for ages now, but really i think i've only been here... 2 days? crazy.

the flights were fairly uneventful. the 14 hours of flying felt like nothing compared to the 20 to and from africa. i had a bit of a mishap in LA when i was unaware i had to exit the airport, walk down the curb, and re-enter a terminal 3 buildings later. also, i booked my flight on qantas... but it seems that the flight was actually air pacific, which i didn't realize until after i had waited in a big line at qantas.

i happened to see a guy holding a scuba book in the LA airport and randomly asked him if he happened to be with blue ventures. tom and i ended up on the same flight and then went through customs and caught the shuttle to the hotel together. we waited in the lobby of the hotel for 5 hours before our room was ready. it was the most painful 5 hours ever, as we were sitting in like 90+ degree weather with probably 100% humidity. and we were jetlagged and wanted to sleep. there were a few others from our flight who were in the same boat, so we sat with them and just hung out. that first day was spent lounging around and trying to keep our eyes open. that night, all i wanted to do was sleep, but let me tell you: our hotel was super sketchtastic. as in, i pulled back the blanket to my bed, only to discover a giant hair and a crusted smear of blood. it literally had a big scab in the middle of the pile, implying it hadn't been washed. definitely didn't sleep. at all. i had to stay perfectly still in order to not inadvertantly roll into the puddle of AIDS.

the second day... yesterday? yes, yesterday, we took a 4 hour bus ride to the capitol. we are currently in Suva, Fiji. our accomodations are slightly better, but all 9 of us girls are in one little squished room. yesterday we went for a gorgeous hike through the jungle in the pouring rain to a waterfall and swimming pool. we ended the day with our first real lecture by the staff. "hazardous animals you may encounter." we watched a slideshow of everything we may run into... snails with poisonous darts, the 2nd deadliest snake (sea snake) in the world, sharks, jellyfish, stingrays, crown of thorns, lionfish, eels, on and on. i think we probably should have been nervous, but it made most of us even more pumped to get in the water.

the group so far is pretty fun. there are 5 girls who are 18-19 taking "gap years," then a few people in their thirties, and another in their forties. we've got people from the UK, sweden, US, ireland and canada. one of the staff members currently with us is from australia. the weird thing is that this is the third time in the past month that i've hung out with people from the UK, US, sweden and australia. it's awesome. there are 2 american girls who are a lot of fun, so i've been hanging out with them a lot.

today we went into town to run some errands. i got a phone (it cost about $14 USD)! so feel free to look up how to text fiji and then text me. my number is +679-740-0124.

i seem to be in a weird transition phase... i keep using some random swahili words and expecting there to not be toilets, but at the same time i keep thinking i'm going to have some of the comforts at home. it has been absolutely pouring rain nonstop and there's currently a cyclone warning for an island near ours, so we're hoping it blows over so we can head to the island tomorrow.

time to go hear a lecture then study study study. our first week is FILLED with tests. fish tests, scientific method tests, scuba tests, etc.

i don't think i'll have access to the internet once we arrive on the island, so i will most likely be signing off for the next 5.5 weeks. text me so i don't get lonely on our isolated island!





i'm going to live the life. sipping on tequila, night after night. dreaming of the moment where everything looks right. a little bit of love goes a long way tonight. would you like to meet me there? we'll be dancing on the sand... --wave

here we go again

in almost exactly 24 hours i'll be on my way to fiji!

believe it or not, i am actually almost packed. it took 6 unpacking/repackings, but i'm finally just about done. also, my wetsuit, fins, snorkel, mask, blanket, pillow, and a pair of shoes are packed in my carry-on since i ran out of space in my suitcase. dang. you think that i'd be better at packing having had so much practice.

the past few days have been absolutely insane. i discovered that i am not certified to a high enough level for scuba diving, so i had to go pick up the textbook from the scuba store. 400 pages. FOUR HUNDRED PAGES! ahhh. so i have to read that, study it, and take some practice tests to prepare me for the real tests once i get to fiji.

i have not started studying the hundreds of fish i'm supposed to learn, as i have been studying the scuba book. we have to pass a test where we can identify all the fish before we can dive. i also have to take a test on blueventure's research methods. haven't started studying for that either. shoot shoot shoot.

i also applied to "college." in australia, the university's are made up of colleges. basically, a college in australia is like a college in the US except you don't take classes there. it has dorms and sports and a caf and gym, but then you go to class at Uni. anyway, getting into these colleges (housing) is ridiculous. you have to have 2 references, 4 passport pictures, a biography, an essay on why you want to be in that college, a list of extracurriculars/leadership roles, etc. there's only one college taking applications for second semester, so hopefully i get in! figuring out how to fax that to australia was a process that took like an hour and a half. such good times.

so, things have been busy and i can't wait to get to the beach! i'm ready to live the island life and be away from the states again. even though i've only been home 2 weeks. oh well.

i will try to update my blog as much as i can, but our grass huts may not be internet accessible :) if i can't update, i'll be back may 14!

something about the ocean makes me rise up and praise. something about the heavens makes me stand in awe again. something about the sunrise reminds me of your faithfulness. something about the ocean and i'm lost in love again. --ten shekel shirt