Last weekend was one of the best weekends I've ever had. We got a group together and stayed here, and it was just as beautiful as it looks online. Not only did our group of 8 go, but two other groups of international students also came to stay, many of them I vaguely knew. It was awesome getting to know so many of the other study abroad/exchange students, they're all pretty cool people.
Saturday was hands-down the best day. Breakfast was provided by the resort, and who doesn't love free food?! One of my roommates here, Sam, is from Australia and is a born and raised surfer girl, so I asked her if she would teach me to surf at some point while we're in Fiji. Turns out the Beachouse does surfboard rentals for only $20 (and they forgot to ever ask me for my money), so after breakfast, I got a board and went out with Sam and the other surfer kids from our clan. We had to paddle wayyy out to get to where the waves were breaking over the reef, and I quickly found out that the paddling doesn't end when you get out there. In fact, it seems like about 90% of surfing is just paddling and waiting for the perfect wave. I managed to stand up on my first try, but it was definitely beginner's luck. They didn't go quite so well after that, but it was no less than I expected. Surfing is hard! After about 2 1/2 hours out there, I finally caught the right wave at the right time and did the right thing and actually rode a wave! I did not expect to manage that on my first day out, so I was pretty excited and proud of myself. We spent a total of about 3 hours out there, and when I finally went in I was so incredibly exhausted (that's 3 straight hours of paddling and being beat up by the ocean!). It was all I could do to go get a big bottle of water (I was so thirsty; I swallowed a lot of salt water and the Fiji sun is hot!) and order a pizza, which I ate almost entirely by myself within 10 minutes of it getting to me.
Once I recuperated and got my energy levels back up, I went back down to the beach to join in on a game of ultimate frisbee that some of the people from my group and many from the other study abroad groups were playing in the water (it was really shallow for a long ways out). We had so much fun just running through the water and playing together, and I got to meet some new people. It was the perfect idyllic afternoon.
Later on, I went snorkeling with Sam, Rowan (another Aussie surfer), and Catherine (an adorably hilarious girl from New Zealand), and we went back out towards where we had been surfing. It started off pretty neat with a couple different kinds of fish and some big blue starfish, but then once we got to the reef, it turned incredible. The ocean floor was covered in coral and would abruptly turn into drop-offs 20 feet deep or more every now and then. I saw so many different fish, many of them the beautiful, vibrant tropical colors you would imagine. Words and even photos (yes, there are tons!) could never do justice to the beauty of the reef. We probably spent a good two hours out there just floating around and taking everything in. The pictures are all on Taylor's camera, but I'll try to remember to post some once I get them from her.
The next day was spent just hanging around and enjoying the laid-back beach life. I needed a rest after how much I did the day before (and how sunburnt I got). We left late afternoon around 6, and coming back to reality was a bit of a let down, but it was so worth it. Staying at the Beachouse was only $35 FJD a night, which is pretty cheap, so I'll definitely be going back there at least one or two more weekends.
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