Melbourne was quite dark and gloomy during my first two months here, and after getting on top of all assignments, I had decided to treat myself to a small, backpacking trip to Fiji, to get myself some sun and improve my morale, as well as having a small academic break within the mid semester break… and this is what I found:

My first day was just arriving and it was hot and sunny!!! The first summers day I’ve had for a whole year!! I took myself to the shops to get some Fiji water which is only about £1.50 for 2 litres here (UK Import taxes for you) and to the local chicken shop to have some fried chicken – they don’t have a lot of this in Melbourne!! Only Schnitz which is like a bartered chicken breast!! And it was delicious!! Proper fries!! Not the dry ones they tend to

serve in Melbourne!

The next day I had to get up early and wait at a stranded bus stop for my private coach, I thought I had missed it even though I was there 15minutes early but it soon arrived to take me to the port for a 4 hour journey on a huge vessel to get to long beach. When I arrived everyone was really nice and welcoming with all the kids screaming “bula” on my arrival. Which means hello and good life in Fiji. They also put me into my own king size room because I WAS THE ONLY ONE THERE, the three people I met when I arrived there were moving to the next island as I arrived, which I did two days after. So I can literally say I was stranded on an island for a small amount of time! Even though I didn’t get a lot of internet it’s ok because I visited the village where everyone offers you tea and the food here is actually ok. Again, it lacks flavour and a lot of it is based off coconuts, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of coconut I must say. However, drinking coconut water and making coconut milk straight from the coconut was insane. Even in the evening as I’m drifting off to sleep I could hear someone calling “sam” and thought I was hearing things and it’s actually one of the staff asking if I want tea with them. I had to politely decline at 8:30pm because I was just so tired (and sunburnt) from the first day!! Could really have done with an extra hand for someone to apply sun cream to my back as I don’t seem to be doing a great job so far so a t-shirt covering my shoulders was a must for the next activity!

The next day was amazing! I went to visit the caves in the morning and even had to go down a short under water tunnel to the next chamber, holding my breath to get there! People were diving from the caves and into the water and everyone was just very adventurous there. Stopping back at my hotel for lunch and then actually meeting some new people – I wasn’t on my own for much longer! I didn’t catch the sun a lot compared to the previous day, but was still extremely burnt so a t-shirt to cover up was still needed all day! I then went snorkelling in the afternoon and saw a rainbow coloured fish which they call a “parrot fish” here (and to my surprise I later ended up eating a few of them from the BBQ!). They also eat any kinds of fish including turtles on the islands!

The next day was supposed to be a day to chill with my book on a hammock, before I headed off to my next island, as it was Sunday which is a church day for the Fijians, meaning they can’t do a lot. We found that before Christianity, Fijians were cannibals and the last human they ate 100 years ago was an English man, so they all joke about this and tell you to watch out. However I ended up doing a hike in flip flops (bad idea) on my “rest day” and the leader of the hike did it bare foot!! Fijian style. The views were amazing and it only had 2 inhabitants on this tiny island opposite the larger island.

On the Monday the new resort had swimming with the manta rays! So I made sure everything was fully charged (within the power hours) before I headed off at lunch time. It was insane to see the manta rays, doing their somersaults under the water, even though i am not a great diver so I couldn’t get up close, I managed to snorkel and get some great footage of them on my underwater camera. The guides said we were very lucky to see a couple of manta rays as the season for them is ending and so they hadn’t spotted any in two weeks! So I’m really glad I got to experience that. After this, they guys taught us some basic Fijian words in their language, languages are never great at sticking in my head and I really have to work hard at it but I managed to learn the basics hello, goodbye, thank you, mum, dad, husband and 1, 2, 3 – they only have 23 letters in their alphabet as they exclude h x and z, which I think is to do with the phonics and they way they pronounce their words.

The next island, white sandy, was a much bigger resort and everyone again was really friendly. However I did prefer the first one as the staff made me feel the most welcome into Fiji and I think you get the first impressions from your first island and because they were so welcoming, it seemed the best. Everyone’s opinions differ from island to island as everyone has different interpretations of what they like and don’t like, but everyone has their own stories to tell – one German couple in their 60’s traveled 75 countries and have been together since they were 15, another guy who lives just down the road from me in Melbourne and a few boys from England at White Sandy who joked they were father and son but only ended up on the same travel plan my accident, one travelling the world and the other just on holiday before starting a job as a solicitor. That island had great laughs, songs, games and of course the bula dance! As well as learning about the Fiji culture and being integrated with them for a week, hearing everyone’s stories and why they’re here is amazing, and surprising to see most people come on their own. The second island was full of song and fire shows as well as lots of cake (even for breakfast!) because it was one of the boys birthdays.

The last day on the second island we had a BBQ (sorry parrot fish!!) and hacked our last coconuts to drink. It was a nice send off, despite coming across a snake in the bushes!! Everyone was quite scared but the guide managed to get it into a bottle without anyone getting hurt. The same guy also dislocated his shoulder trying to spear fish the fishes for us to eat, but he got it popped back in and carried on as if nothing had happened.

My last island was a bit of a downer on the trip as you could tell it was run by the backpacker cruise company and not from the villages and families that inhabit the island. I found the further north you go, the more traditional it is with people not wearing any shoes and catching their own food to eat as well as sharing it with you and also demonstrating and sharing the knowledge of how to do it with you. On my last day I got off the island and did an adventure tour, it stopped off at the Castaway island where Castaway was filmed, with such beautiful scenery, we also visited to village where we had a traditional Cava ceremony and could buy souvenirs by the women who just rely on tourists to come and buy small things for $5 and as it was my last day I paid more for things I should have as they didn’t have change, and I didn’t need the dollars anyway as I wouldn’t get much back for them in Australia. They were shocked and taken aback by this and seemed extremely grateful, it’s nice to know that something so small for you can help them for the next couple of weeks to buy what they need for their families.

My final day before my flight was in mainland, I had a couple of hours to burn before my transfer to the airport. So I went to a local coffee and cake shop and had a massive slice of cake. Which actually came unexpectedly as I ordered chicken pasta for lunch and when I finished they bought me a massive slice of cake over, plus I had a coffee so I was absolutely stuffed!

Fiji has shown me that the people here are so kind and generous, even when they have so so little to give, and that Westerners need to take note on this sort of culture and be more generous to those around them. The people are always smiling and happy despite not having a lot, and they really do show their appreciation for any effort given in helping them. They live a simple and effective life and experiencing the real Fiji, not just something made up by holiday reps (like my last island resort), has shown me how to appreciate what’s around me and maybe even how to survive with fish and coconuts if I ever get stuck on an island!

The memories made, experiences had, things seen, people met, and stories told will stay with me forever and that is invaluable. I would absolutely love to go to Fiji again, as nothing comes close in the Western world to the warmth those people were able to offer. Although it seems to us they have a hard life by having to fend for themselves, really they seem to enjoy it and actually see it as normality and what they have to do in day to day life. It simply makes you realise that as a developing country, they have not been overexposed to things such as technology and media, and it makes them really sociable, welcoming people, who are happy to have you around and want to know everything about you and do everything to accommodate you well, even if you only stay with them for one night, they treat you like family – everything about them is just so inclusive it is unimaginable, you really have to go there and experience it to imagine the different feelings you exhibit.

Overall, I think the Fijian experience was way more up close and real than I had expected, but i’m glad I got to learn all about their culture on this extremely educational trip and I think we definitely have a lot to learn from them, I will definitely return to Fiji one day to relive the smiles ad the memories made here! VINAKA FIJI!

Flying out to Australia wasn’t too bad, apart from I was unable to sleep for 24 hours on the flight. The panic started as soon as I landed, I had no Wi-Fi connection and couldn’t find my arranged taxi driver. Turns out he was just a little late and in a few minutes I was in the back of a Mercedes with Voss water and Mentos mints, feeling very out of place – and stinky!

Once I got to the hostel that I had booked from home, I went straight to my room and had no idea. I was connected to the most rubbish Wi-Fi, had no idea how to get around and had no one to talk to due to the time difference. I was so alone and lost, and slightly emotional. I slept a little until I woke up at 5am, still hadn’t eaten since I left the aircraft.

It’s all such a blur writing it now but I stayed in my room the whole day, drifting in and out of sleep, due to the insane jet lag and not wanting to leave in case I got lost. Eventually on the second day I think I got up and had to go to uni to sort out a student ID card and get some food to eat and water to drink. It took me ages and I got really lost but I made the way in the end. That night I was up until 5am messaging family and friends and just had a complete breakdown…. what am I doing here? Why didn’t I just stay at home? I feel so alone and had no purpose. It’s difficult to put into words but I missed home and just felt so unfamiliar. No matter how much people said it would be fine, I didn’t feel fine but just had to reassure them it was ok as well as trying to hide emotions in a shared room – which is very difficult.

I think the shock of emotions came as this is my first time away from home and outside of Europe alone. Also I was expecting this to feel like more of a holiday and getting that holiday feeling when I got into bed at night, instead I was just full of worry and upset, that was so immense it’s indescribable. But I’m starting to worry less as I become more familiar with the area, which sounds obvious but you don’t really know that until you’re in the situation so far away from home that you feel so lost.

Fast forward 6 weeks and I feel the complete opposite! University has started here in Australia and I am already in my fourth week! The mid-semester break is in two weeks and I have managed to bag myself a small break to Fiji – It’s only 5 hours away and I turn 20 during that break so why not!

University is similar and different to Cass here. Similar in the way the buildings are laid out around the city, but different in the way lecturers just talk at you in the traditional way, not how they interact with you like they do at Cass, they leave that for the tutorial classes here, where you are encouraged to expand and apply theories. However, most of the subjects are based on theory and do not prompt your own thinking like Cass does.

It took a while to settle down but now I have moved into a flat-share and away from the hostel, time is flying and it’s now a rush to make the most of it. The journey has been emotional and interesting (Yes, I have seen kangaroos, possums and done the Yarra Valley wine and chocolate tour – who wouldn’t?) so far to say the least, but it is quite easy to find the balance between university work and enjoying the city and surrounding suburbs – not to mention once I finish exams I should be here for another month or so before my flight back and it will be a great opportunity to travel the East Coast of Australia to see what it has to offer!