Fiji day one

Monday 5 January 6:46 pm (I could be an hour or 24 off, because I don't have a clock for this time zone)

Today, after a 11-hour flight from LAX that left Saturday night (well, it ended up leaving Sunday morning), we arrived in Fiji. It is so beautiful here-- turquoise oceans, coconut palm forests, and mangrove trees make up much of the scenery. Today felt like an endless day-- or was it yesterday? I am so confused by now I just need to go to sleep and it'll all work out in the morning.

Our flight was okay. For an 11-hour flight, it was great-- we were flying Air Pacific, a branch of Air New Zealand that is based in Nadi, Fiji. The flight attendants were very sweet, and the six of them managed to keep 500 people happy. The bad part was that it was an 11-hour flight, which are never good. As everybody has heard and/or experienced before, it is IMPOSSIBLE to sleep on planes unless you a) have the whole row to yourself or b) are a super sleeper who can fall asleep anywhere. Neither of which, may I add, is true for me. I actually slept surprisingly well this flight, maybe even getting four hours. Normally my total sleep time for long airplane rides maybe inches up on a few minutes.

The owner of the villa we are staying in arranged a cab for us to get from the airport in Nadi to our villa outside of Rakiraki, about a 2.5 hour drive. After the shock of arriving in a hot, humid tropical island, the air conditioning of the van was very nice. Our cab driver, Jai, was very competent and sweet, which helped the whole experience. I tried all my might not to fall asleep during that ride so I could look at the scenery, but failed. I slept for about 5 minutes, the kind of sleep where even though I knew I wanted to be awake my eyelids just wouldn't open up.

Then we got to the villa. I could not believe how beautiful it was-- a huge open-air house with a giant kitchen in the middle of everything, a pool, and a spectacular view. The house itself shaped in a slight arc, around a stone patio with a table on it and a pool. Directly in front of all these (so everywhere on the property can see it) is the ocean. We're about 40 feet up, so there's an amazing view of clear blue water and green islands, but also have access to the water below. On the edge of the ocean, about 20 feet up, there is a thatched-roof gazebo with wooden lounge chairs. About 40 minutes ago my mom and I were out there, and at that moment life seemed just about perfect. With wind chill the temperature was about 69 degrees F, with the perfect amount of breeze and view and full stomachs. Tonight for dinner we were brought a giant fish fresh off the fishing boat by the house's care taker. It was humongous; at least three feet long. As he was going to give it to us, he thought a second and asked, "do you want me to clean this for you?" Ah, a blessing among blessings. There was so much fish we ended up only cooking half of it and still had leftovers.

Tomorrow is B's 26th birthday. I don't even think that has dawned on him. We haven't planned anything too special other than dinner (which we haven't actually planned yet, we just know there will be a special plan). According to him, a trip to Fiji is present enough.

My only complaint (I always have to have one) is the heat. During the day, standing or walking seems unbearable. Today we had lunch at the resort next door to our villa, and I was worried by the end that I would be glued to the seat because of sweat and sunscreen. Our house doesn't have glass on the windows, so most of it is basically like being outside (which is very nice in some respects), but I figured out how to close the wooden slats and turn the air conditioner on in my room. I am sort of a picky sleeper, which I know is not a good thing.
I hope by tomorrow I'm more acclimated.

The people here are so nice. Everybody smiles at us, waves, offers us help, and everywhere we go people say "bula," the Fijian greeting (meaning hello, good morning, welcome, etc.). The mix of cultures here is amazing-- the military government is run by the native Fijians, who have the highest status in the community. A large part of the population are Fiji-Indians, who are extremely oppressed legally and societally. Fiji-Indians by law aren't allowed to own land, or even call themselves "Fijians." It's almost like Apartheid, except much less one-to-one oppression (as far as I know). The people of Fiji are supposed to be a mix of Melanesians and Polynesians and because of the mix of so many cultures (also various European influences) everything is rich. The food is amazing, the people are beautiful, and the different languages are fascinating.

It's nice here. It's definitely a J-F tropical paradise, with some adventure (maniac driving, no caucasians anywhere except the resort, etc.). Friday, when we leave for New Zealand, is going to come very soon.

Well, I am exhausted and confused about the time/date. I should go to bed.