I live for the weekends

Since we weren't under the threat of cyclones this weekend, it turned out pretty great.

On Thursday, I decided to join the rowing team here. I had missed the informational meeting, but anybody interested was allowed to come to the first practice to check it out. Many of my friends were also doing it, so we all made the trek down to lower campus where the ocean is, and I'm glad I did. The first practice was just to get acquainted with the paddling styles, the role of each person in the boat, and how to row in sync, but in the future they will be longer and more intense. The coach, Lili, was SO excited to see a pack of girls show up. Apparently for the last two years it has only been her and two other girls on the team and she had been wanting to up the number of female members. Competing in races is optional, but she encouraged us to consider it. Some of the marathon races are up to 18 km, but I think I want to do it anyway. I just need to get working on my shoulders.

The next day, I had my first "exam" in my ED184 class, which is called something along the lines of Integrating Games and Movement in Education, but is really almost like being back in elementary PE, except that everybody is a lot bigger than 10 year olds. Our exam consisted of our instructor dividing us into groups of 8 and giving us random equipment, and we had to come up with a game using them. The class isn't turning out to be what I expected, and is certainly the easiest class I have, but it's actually really fun.

Later on in the evening, a ton of us international kids met up in Ali and Malcolm's apartment for a Flip Coconut tournament. Even all of the Koreans, who are studying here to learn English and usually don't hang around us as much, came out for the event. They're a pretty funny group of people. In case you didn't pick up on it, Flip Coconut is the same thing as the game Flip Cup, except obviously with half-coconut shells. It's way harder because coconuts like to roll, and no two are the same size or shape, so the game is really just a game of chance. Or at least that's what I'm going to keep asserting since our team lost. I blame that on Dan though.

Saturday was also really fun. There was a huge rugby tournament at the ANZ Stadium right off campus that went all of Friday and Saturday and featured pretty much every team in Fiji, which apparently is a lot (Fijians take their rugby very seriously). I had never been to a rugby game before, but I really enjoyed it. I think I like watching rugby more than football because it's simpler to follow and they don't take a bazillion breaks in play. Each half is 7 minutes, so each game is just about continuous action for 15 minutes and then it's over. It's so intense too, they go all out with their sprints and tackles even in the 100 degree heat. Speaking of heat, myself and Dylan turned out to be the only ones that didn't have the forethought to buy tickets in advance, so when I got to the gate and tried to buy a seat, the lady told me that the stadium was full and I would have to sit on the grassy hill. The view was still okay, but there was no shade anywhere, so the two of us sat frying in the sun while watching the rest of the group enjoying the shade. After about an hour and a half, though, everybody got hungry and crossed the street to McDonald's, which was blessedly air conditioned, and when we got back to the game I managed to make my way into the stands. I just told the security guard I was just heading for the bar,which was inside the stadium gate, then made my way back up the stairs to where everyone else was sitting (there were plenty of open seats too!) After the tournament, I took a much needed nap after being in the blazing sun all day, then we all reconvened to hang out and watch 47 Ronin, which was terrible.

Yesterday was just what I needed. A handful of us caught the 9:30 bus out to the Beachouse again, just for a day trip. I didn't do surfing or snorkeling again this time (there was a surf competition going on and Matt didn't come this time so I couldn't borrow his snorkel gear), but I still had a wonderful day relaxing at the beach. All I had to pay was bus fare to get out there and I got to spend a day in paradise.

Speaking of beaches, at the paddling meeting on Thursday, Riccarda and I came up with a plan. Since you obviously have to enter the canoe from the water, you have to walk across the small sandy beach area between the grass and the water. Now, the beach in Suva is nothing like the beach pictures I've been posting. There's a reason we take an hour and a half bus ride to go to the beach. Here, it's so polluted and absolutely filthy. Just covered in garbage that has washed up and accumulated, not to mention all the industrial waste they dump in the harbor. Fiji has a litter problem as it is, and you can really tell there. So, while we were picking our way through the garbage down to the water, we both expressed how sad we thought it was and decided to have a day in which we go down and clean up the beach. Riccarda made a post on facebook to round up a group, and we're planning on going down with rubber gloves and garbage bags tomorrow. A friend of ours, Ronish, is working as a journalist for USP and heard about our plan, so he is going to come along and create a story for the school news to try to spread the word and maybe spread the effort.