Last Wednesday night Nina and I were at Cost U Less (ironically named, 'cause most things cost you more) shopping for some food and housewares for the flat. After searching high and low we could not locate a can opener. We decided we had enough food we could make for dinner that night without it so we thought we'd check out and head back home. Let's just say I'm glad we couldn't find one.
After checking out and loading up a heaping cart full of bought-in-bulk groceries, Nina and I were approached by an Australian woman named Jessica. Since she had overheard us, she thought she'd advise us on where to find a quality can opener fit for first-worlders like ourselves (one that wouldn't brake after six uses or so) and even offered us a ride home in her car. We only talked to her for 10 minutes; about the Ambassadorial Scholarship, settling into Suva, and about not having time to get to the beach yet 'cause of all the stress of getting settled. Nina and I didn't think anything would come out of what we were saying, just smalltalk. Boy were we wrong! Jessica told us that her and her husband own the Beach House, a backpacker's resort in the Western Division which was once the site for a British TV show called Love Island (kind of like Real World, ahhh YouTube!). Here comes the good part! Within a few minutes the woman was offering us her home. She was off on a trip for the weekend and asked us to stay in her house on the water, food's on her. To top it all off, she said we could take her daughter's car for a couple days, she'd drop it off in the morning! I know some of you are thinking that I'm lying, but I assure you I'm not! Needless to say, we accepted the offer.
So I've just come back from my weekend getaway at Love Island and although I did not find the woman of my dreams, I did get to relax and forget about the stresses of living in the hustle and bustle of the city. It was truly what I needed and the beach was absolutely breathtaking. Sunsets, sea, palms, sand and sky - it was phenomenal. I even got to realize one of my dreams; I got to play my guitar in a hammock on the beach. It was tough, but somebody had to do it!
Alas, the weekend is over now, but I've returned to my city dwelling renewed. Yesterday, I did laundry by hand. Let's just say I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although I did not have a washboard, it took me about 5 hours of soaking, kneading, ringing, hanging, and ironing to get my clothes ready to wear again. It really made me appreciate the modern amenities of the American household. Even the wealthy here rarely have a drier, but have their housekeepers hang clothes on the line and press them afterwards. You have to iron your clothes post-hang because it's too humid here for anything to dry before it gets musty. I think I'm going to be glad I only have lectures twice a week, not for the free time but just so I'll have time to get my laundry done. Holy cow!
Time is starting to pass by quicker now and I'm starting to get into a routine. Admittedly, I still find time in the day to miss people and places back home, but I can tell that the things I'm learning here are worth it already. I hope all of you are taking good care of yourselves and loving life as it should be loved. You're in my thoughts and prayers continually. Peace and grace, y'all.
After checking out and loading up a heaping cart full of bought-in-bulk groceries, Nina and I were approached by an Australian woman named Jessica. Since she had overheard us, she thought she'd advise us on where to find a quality can opener fit for first-worlders like ourselves (one that wouldn't brake after six uses or so) and even offered us a ride home in her car. We only talked to her for 10 minutes; about the Ambassadorial Scholarship, settling into Suva, and about not having time to get to the beach yet 'cause of all the stress of getting settled. Nina and I didn't think anything would come out of what we were saying, just smalltalk. Boy were we wrong! Jessica told us that her and her husband own the Beach House, a backpacker's resort in the Western Division which was once the site for a British TV show called Love Island (kind of like Real World, ahhh YouTube!). Here comes the good part! Within a few minutes the woman was offering us her home. She was off on a trip for the weekend and asked us to stay in her house on the water, food's on her. To top it all off, she said we could take her daughter's car for a couple days, she'd drop it off in the morning! I know some of you are thinking that I'm lying, but I assure you I'm not! Needless to say, we accepted the offer.
So I've just come back from my weekend getaway at Love Island and although I did not find the woman of my dreams, I did get to relax and forget about the stresses of living in the hustle and bustle of the city. It was truly what I needed and the beach was absolutely breathtaking. Sunsets, sea, palms, sand and sky - it was phenomenal. I even got to realize one of my dreams; I got to play my guitar in a hammock on the beach. It was tough, but somebody had to do it!
Alas, the weekend is over now, but I've returned to my city dwelling renewed. Yesterday, I did laundry by hand. Let's just say I felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although I did not have a washboard, it took me about 5 hours of soaking, kneading, ringing, hanging, and ironing to get my clothes ready to wear again. It really made me appreciate the modern amenities of the American household. Even the wealthy here rarely have a drier, but have their housekeepers hang clothes on the line and press them afterwards. You have to iron your clothes post-hang because it's too humid here for anything to dry before it gets musty. I think I'm going to be glad I only have lectures twice a week, not for the free time but just so I'll have time to get my laundry done. Holy cow!
Time is starting to pass by quicker now and I'm starting to get into a routine. Admittedly, I still find time in the day to miss people and places back home, but I can tell that the things I'm learning here are worth it already. I hope all of you are taking good care of yourselves and loving life as it should be loved. You're in my thoughts and prayers continually. Peace and grace, y'all.
You plunge and you scrub...you plunge and you scrub... and when you've finished all your plunging and scrubbing, if it's still not clean, well then... you do it again. Plunge and scrub... plunge and scrub.
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