We made it!!!!
Yet can I just say that it STILL has not hit me that I'm across the globe?!?! I know I'm weird.
We just flew right into Fiji like no big deal. It was awesome. Never thought I could do an 11 hour flight but I did it. It may have been because I slept the whole time haha ops.
So we land in Fiji and everyone is so exhausted but I'm grinning because HELLO is Fiji BABY! Unfortunately there are only some pics because it was 5 am and it was dark. But all is well don't worry we shall be back in Fiji in August and I will take lots of pics (promise).
So because we have a layover I decide to explore the airport and....umm
1) the airport was so small it only took like 10 minutes to see it all.
And
2) the prices were insanely high (as shown below)
I mean really?! Two boxes of chocolate for $59.99. I mean the currency is only a bit different so that was cray cray
Alas, the time to aboard and head to New Zealand was upon us.
So when we landed to New Zealand we had to make sure to mark everything we had so I was kind of nervous. Not that I was transporting illegal stuff but still that process always freaks me out. Luckily, everything went well and I got a nice visa stamped in my passport!!!! I say this with joy because others who went through went through something called "easy gate" (in which everything was electronic) and they did NOT get a stamp! So hurray!
After all of that, we went through security and everything went smoothly. Some lady got stopped by a dog but other than that smooth sailing. We had to wait a bit though because our professor's wife got stopped but eventually after what felt like a while we were on our way out.
Oh man was the weather cold! It was raining and it was cold but we jumped in our shuttle bus and went on our merry way to pick up our rentals.
Now this is where life gets super exciting at least for me. After an hour or less (who knows I'm jet lagged)... We hop in our vans. I am driving btw. Haha I laugh because little did I know the adventure I was in for.
Clueless to what's to come :)
1) ALL cars have their steering wheel on the right so that was different.
And
2) Cars drive on the left side.
So as soon as I drive off the van with some of the people in my group I get on the wrong road! Hahahaha that was funny. Luckily my team was great about fixing that and then we were ready to follow the rest. So as we are driving my co pilot is freaking out. She was like "close. TOO CLOSE!" Lol poor girl I bet her life flashed before her eyes a few times. Apparently I was driving too close to the other cars. Ops. So we are driving and following the other three vans when all of a sudden the front van gets lost. (Happened twice btw) So in an effort to help them and us we decide to wait and travel together but... who knows what happened and we separate ONCE AGAIN. Man I hadn't prayed so hard in my life! I was praying that we wouldn't crash and that we would find our way to the hotel. After many tries we finally made it on the right road and we landed! We had arrived at the Auckland City Oaks Apartment Hotel. Pretty nice place btw ;) (good job Stacey)
Then we decided to drop of our stuff and get dinner. Even though I wanted to shower cause after 2 days of traveling my hair and body was like "umm shower now cause you nasty." But I'm a trooper and a good sport so I tagged along.
A few of us went our separate ways but my group and I went to this little cafe shop I believe. Shelby and I decided to get a oven made authentic (at least that's what I'm telling myself) Meat Lover Pizza. It was good and we were so full that we barely finished it but like the 2 champs that we are we stepped up and finished it. Maybe not a good idea cause we could barely move after that hahah.
Then we decided to just come to the hotel! After al,l I was still dirty and tired and really wanted to shower. So after a nice (and I mean NICE shower) I was ready to just chill.
After everything was said and done I think we had a great day! Definitely learned a lot of things. Some of which I want to share with you!
1) Prayer
When we were at the car rental place I felt that we needed to pray. (Jessica Hart I have to thank you for your example. Remember that day you prayed when we were in the car by BYU and your car was not turning on and you said we should pray?!) So we prayed as a group and went along. A few times I was so close to other cars that honestly I am seriously shocked I did not hit another car. I swear angels where watching over us. One of the girls in the car was like I think we just crushed our guardian angel (hahah). Then we got lost a few times and when we decided to stop at a store to ask for help. The lady was so kind, she actually gave us good directions which was awesome cause normally people send you on a chase! Am I right?!
2) Trust
I learned to trust in my group, Heavenly Father and myself. My co pilot Jess was awesome eventhough she is from New York! Jokes. She was so good at giving me directions and helping me stay on the left lane! So was everyone else. I don't normally trust people specially when I barely know them but it felt good to know that I can trust her and my team. Also I learned to trust in Heavenly Father. The whole time I was driving I was at peace (ask my group). I just knew Heavenly Father had my back. I knew no matter what everything was going to be ok and finally I learned to trust in myself. Often I stop myself from doing a lot of things because of fear. Today I proved to myself that I CAN do anything I put my mind to. With Heavenly Father and good people behind me I can do anything.
I am really excited to explore more of Auckland New Zeland and I'm excited to experience it with my study group!
Vinaka (thank you in Fijian) to all those who have supported me and helped me to get here! I love you all!
Xoxo,
Your traveling soul
BTW: Apparently I am the ONLY one who packed light for this trip! I mean I packed lighter than all the boys on this trip! And I was worried I had too much lol.
Also here are more pics of my group :) More pics to come :)
Me, Shelby, Aubry, Tavia, Cory
Amy, Me, Emma, Brittney
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