2:27am Fiji Time
Well 3 buses, 2 planes and 6 taxis later, I am finally in Suva, Fiji. It took me a total of 36 hours to get here and when I did, I took a shower and I'm pretty sure I was out cold before my head hit the pillow. It's the middle of the night here and I'm not sure if it's the time difference or the howling dogs, but I am wide awake thinking about the day i had. I landed in the Nadi International airport at 5:30am, and as I was sorting my luggage out, my best friend Api found me! I was so happy to see her in person for the first time in almost a year. After I finished at the airport, Api and I met Nia in a taxi and we made our way to Lautoka. The drive over was absolutely beautiful, there were so many shades of green and the air was so cool and fresh. We made our first stop at the Lautoka Warf so that Api and Nia could load housing materials on to the Village boat which comes from Gunu Village to Lautoka every Thursday and returns every Saturday. The Warf was a sight to be seen, it was bustling with people and taxis, Men with ice cream trolleys rang bells for business and little ones ran around freely while the adults busied themselves with loading things on to the boat. I recognized some of the people on teh boat from my last visit to Fiji and some recognized me as well. I was greeted with hugs and kisses on the cheek by Api's friends and those who had heard I was coming. I met the Head Teacher and Chief of the village and both were happy to see me. The language barrier was difficult and I found it sort of unnerving to have no idea what anybody was talking about at times, Api helped by explaining things to me when she could, but I realized that I'd better start learning the language ASAP. After we loaded the boat, we caught another Taxi back to the Lautoka bus stop, we got food and caught up a bit in the restaurant until it was time to drop off Nia at the boat again. We caught another Taxi back to the Warf and said goodbye for now to Nia. Api's brother and father then joined us in a taxi back to the bus stop where we waited for the next bus to Suva. Api and I went to the bathroom, which is free to use, but you must pay about 10 cents for toilet paper! I'd never seen anything like that before but I thought it was interesting. The bus stop was right outside the market and Api and I walked through it to say hello to some of her old friends and to buy water for the bus ride. When the bus arrived, we made our way to the very back and settled in, it was about 5 hours after my plane had landed and I was exhausted. I sat thinking about Lautoka and how different it was from where I came from, the house were smaller and more colorful, the people moved fast like they always had somewhere to be, Api said Bula to almost everyone we saw and she explained that she used to live in Lautoka so she really did know everyone. The small Fijian city was a bit too fast paced for me, and Api agreed. We both took a nap on the bus to Suva and woke up periodically throughout. The bus took us through the Fijian countryside which was vast and green, there were so many hills and the houses were very far apart. We stopped in lots of smaller villages along the coast and they all had similarities that seemed unique to Fiji. There were children hidden behind train tracks and up in trees, families eating together, women doing laundry and people looking for shade. The ride was long but we finally arrived in Suva. We were on our way to catch a taxi when I realized that my camera was still on board, I ran back to get it right as the bus was leaving, but I did find it right were I left it. Api and I laughed about my luck for the day, Not a thing had gone wrong and I was feeling pretty good about my first day in Fiji. We caught a final Taxi to Api's home and when we arrived, we were greeted with hugs and kisses again, Aunty Caroline, Api's Landlady was very happy to see us, she lives in a very big house with her husband and son and seemed delighted to have guests. She was a very nice lady who used to be a nurse, we talked for a bit and she gave me a tour of her home before it was time to go to sleep. It was a good day, exhausting, but fun. Tomorrow Api plans on showing me Suva, hopefully I can get to sleep before then!