FIJI TIME & SETTLING IN SYDNEY

The Yasawa Islands adventure was the best adventure of my life. Mesj, Kris and I went with Awesome Adventures Fiji, and went with the package, A Great Pair. We stopped off at two islands, Kuata and Korovou. Both were beautiful and different in their own ways. On Kuata, we had much more traditional Fijian foods and went snorkling and hiking up to the summit of the island. This is also the same island that they shot the portion where Tom Hanks tried to hang himself in "Castaway" after he lost his ball, Wilson.

Where Kuata was more traditional and intimate, Korovou was a resort aimed at tourists. The food was more international, they had singing and dancing by the "bula boys", and they had a lot more of the comforts that we would be used to at home, such as the internet. Here, I did more hiking, including a sunrise hike that was quite challenging as before the sun came up, we had to hike up by flashlight. The guy I went with, Bjoern, was really scared of spiders, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he would hike infront and point out all the spider webs so I wouldn't walk into them. I did alot more activity on this island including swimming in the dark, sleeping on the beach in order to enjoy the beauty of solar system in the southern hemisphere, and going to visit the village on the island. At the village, the primary school children sang songs, recited poetry and performed dances for us tourists. It was really interesting to see that even though the Fijians have their own language, they are still taught English in their schools. Their school rooms looked very similar to classrooms that you'd see in North America.

Now, I have been in Sydney for almost a week. I spent the first four days and three nights at the Maze Backpackers Hostel near Chinatown. Together with the other three girls, we attended orientation at the Paramatta Campus on the second day. It turned out to be quite useless as all the information that we were given, we had already known from before.

The next couple of days spent looking for accommodations in the city. Let me tell you how different it is looking for places then in Toronto. Before I got here, I had visions in my head about finding a nice little flat for the four of us, and we would each get our own bedroom. RIIIIIGHT. The horrible reality is that most of the apartments in Sydney are crowded with people. I was really lucky to find a place in Ultimo that I am now sharing with two other girls. The other three have found a place very nearby that they share with three other boys. So they have six people in their two bedroom apartment versus my three people n a two bedroom apartment. Also, because people are packed into small spaces, the living quarters are disgusting. Alot of the places that I went to look at were very cluttered and messy. So, I really count myself lucky to finding a place where I have my own space.

I also have free wireless internet, and the place comes with a gym and pool. It's also a 10 min walk to the central train station where I will need to go when I have to go to school. AND, I am a two minute walk from the Broadway shopping centre where they cater to just about ALL my needs. There's several grocery stores there, a pharmacy (which they call chemist in oz), phone place, travel place, tons of clothing stores, food court....EVERYTHING.

Because of all this settling in, I haven't really taken in any of Sydney's sights yet. Also, I have spent a night at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Hornsby. They are a really sweet couple and have offered to help me with anything that I need. I met my cousin, Lanthia, her husband, Tom, and their three children, Crystal, Aaron, and Kara, for the first time. They made us dumplings! yummy!

Tomorrow, I plan to visit the Chinese garden and the Sydney Aquarium. This weekend will also be really fun as I am going to visit my friend Bronwyn in Canberra. It is her birthday on friday so I'm catching the bus and staying two nights with her and PARTYING IT UP!!!!