You know how the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers;" well, the beginning of this month has already brought the rain, but, I have never been scared about getting a little wet ;)
Last week I was able to explore history, dance in the street, and *CHEER* on the Australian Swannies at my first Australian Football League Game. ((Side Note: You do not ROOT for a team here...you CHEER, unless you really do mean ROOT, in Australia, you are 'having sex' with the whole team. Don't be THAT American ))
Monday morning the interns and I had the opportunity to visit the Sydney Jewish Museum. This visit gave me a new perspective of the aftermath of the Second World War. Walking over three floors of exhibitions, video presentations, newspaper clippings, pictures, narrations, letters and first-hand accounts, I was able to focus on the Holocaust and learn about the life for those people and their families in the early days in the settlement of Australia. Interestingly, about 30,000 survivors of the Nazi Holocaust migrated to Australia and settled mainly in Sydney and Melbourne.
Tuesday evening while Shauna and I were on our run, we heard that Ke$ha was performing at a free concert in the city-- haha, why not!? The American pop-singer brought in teeny-boppers all throughout Syndey. But you couldn't miss me, singing along to her hit 'TIK TOK'. It was so random, and so fun :)
To wrap up the week a group of us bought Australian t-shirts and headed to the Sydney Olympic Stadium for our first AFL Game, or "Footie" as they call it here. With 18 players a-side there is never a dull moment on the field! There is kicking, punching, running, bouncing and no offside rules. The men are allowed to shove eachother, even if they don't have the ball! Fans were wild, beers were flowing, and the Swannies won :)
.... and now, let's make it rain ......
On our walk back home, the girls and I were still energized from the game, we had also just came from "our spot" and ate some delicious chicken kebabs; we were happy and had full tummy's -- AND we were headed to Paradise for break, the FIJI Islands... we were basically floating on cloud 9.
We all got in the house and per usual, I went right upstairs to my room. The first thing I noticed was my bed ... papers were scattered all over the place. If you know me, then you know that this sent chills right down my spine. I KNOW my papers had been neatly piled on the side of my bed ready to get packed into my bags. I quickly looked at Shauna's bed and all of her papers were everywhere. "The wind?," I thought.... ( Mind you, this whole thought process happened in a matter of 7 seconds)... I looked at Stephanie's closet and all of her things were scattered on the floor. I grabbed Shauna who was walking into the room and said, "someone was in our house!" At this point Stephanie was still downstairs and we yelled for her to come upstairs. Long story short, what started out as a great week, ended with an unfortunate event. We were all torn and completely shaken. I had had hopes of packing, blogging, and going to sleep early. Instead, I couldn't get over the fact that SOMEONE had sat on my bed and had rummaged through my papers, tore up my agenda book, stolen my money, and helped themselves to my cereal and milk... I kid you not -- the robber actually had finished what little milk I had left in my room and stuffed all of our wallets with cereal. Needless to say, we didn't sleep.
We had the Police and Coordinators in and out of the house while I not only managed to throw a few belonging for my Fiji trip, but also packed up my whole room back into suitcases and had my friends store all of my things at their place for the week. .... oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden sun.....
That did not stop the girls and I from experiencing the most of what Fiji had to offer. Think of the 5-star resorts, with pool-in-bar and scheduled events on a remote island in Fiji.... and toss it out the window!! Stephanie, Shauna and I took on the "real" Fiji. We took 6 days to hit 3 islands and a Fijian village.
Switching between island to island and from boat to boat, all transfers were literally made in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A motor boat would take you and your luggage out to the ocean to meet with the regularly scheduled "big" boat that would drop you off at your next island! By the end of the week I could make a swift move from motor boat to "big" boat without breaking a sweat...it was so much fun! From Tavewa to Naviti and lastly to Mamanuca Island, the girls and I ate like Fijians (eating only what they cooked and served us), sang like Fijians, learned Fijian words ( BULA!! -- our favorite, meaning Welcome!), and we even got to dance like the Fijians, joining the BULA BOYS in the rain during their evening show! That night went on until the wee hours of the night as we danced in the rain all night long and finished with a midnight swim in the ocean.
Anyone who says only sunshine brings happiness, has never danced in the rain. [<3] Life is Like This: Sometimes Sun, Sometimes Rain...both beautiful, just depends how you look at it.
Our Fijian adventures continued as we visited a remote Fijian village on Yanuya Island and participated in their 'Kava' ceremony. The kava ceremony is one of the central Fijian traditions; it was great to participate in the ceremony and drink kava. (( I only had one serving and it numbed my tongue! Fijians will pound sun-dried kava root into a fine powder, called "grog" because of its groggy effects on the drinker- this will usually bring the men together for hours of storytelling and socializing in the village ))
But that was not all, we were greeted with more BULA welcomes, spent nights by the beach, sailed the Pacific Ocean on 'Seaspray', snorkeled the waters where they filmed the 2000 film, starring Tom Hanks, 'Cast Away', ate the most delicious seafood known to my tastebuds, sipped on umbrella drinks, shoo-ed away mosquitoes, experienced a life with the Fijians... and learned what it meant to be on "Fiji Time"!! ... the good life :)
Although the house was broken into and it rained on a few nights of my vacation in paradise, I learned that life is _______________. That is right. YOU fill in the blank! Sometimes it's this and sometimes it's that; but I've learned to take the good with the not so good -- I only have 1 life to live.
WHAT IS LIFE?
Life is an Adventure ... Dare it
Life is a Beauty ... Praise it
Life is a Challenge ... Meet it
Life is a Duty ... Perform it
Life is a Love ... Enjoy it
Life is a Tragedy ... Face it
Life is a Struggle ... Fight it
Life is a Promise ... Fulfill it
Life is a Game ... Play it
Life is a Gift ... Accept it
Life is a Journey ... Complete it
Life is a Mystery ... Unfold it
Life is a Goal ... Achieve it
Life is an Opportunity ... Take it
Life is a Puzzle ... Solve it
Life is a Song ... Sing it
Life is a Sorrow ... Overcome it
Life is a Spirit ... Realize it
--Anon
Fill in your own blank & Live the life you Love.
I'll be back the 19th. Next stop; a 10 day trip to Broome and Perth in the remote northwest region of Australia. Bring on the hiking boots and flashlights
<3 This post is in remembrance of my angel Maria Adela who opened my eyes to what it meant to be young, alive and living life <3 "When someone you Love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure" Maria Adela, my angel ♥ I love you, everyday....everyday* 11.20.88-04.06.08
Peace,
Shavely
