Day 1: Flights on Flights on Flights

Today was a very exhausting day: from a 3 hour flight from Houston to LAX, an 11 hour flight from LAX to Nadi, and a connecting flight from Nadi to Taveuni we finally made it. We left Houston on June 10th and arrived in Fiji June 12th, it felt like eternity. We reached Nadi at around 5am and the short glimpse of the sunrise confirmed that we had reached an island of beauty. After getting all our luggage we had a 5-hour layover in Nadi where we booked a room at Smugglers cove. Before we left the “resort” I had to exchange my money for Fijian cash, it’s a 1:2 ratio from US to Fijian. While I was exchanging my money the people told me they didn’t accept the old type of $10 because it was apparently out of date which sucked because half of my ten-dollar bills were like that. After, when we reached Smugglers Cove, we changed our clothes and sat outside in the bright sun to get a little tan. Walking along the beach with my friend Elizabeth we came across an old man named Johnny. He told us that for about 40 years he has been climbing up coconut trees to get coconuts for people to drink as well as for marketing purposes. This kind man offered us fresh coconuts, I gave it a try but I wasn’t too fond of them anyways So after our layover in Nadi we headed in a very small plane that could only hold up to 20 passengers. When I looked out the window the water was a mix of teal and dark blue, it was stunning. When we reached we drove to out first official resting spot called “Tovu Tovu”. It was beautiful we were grouped into mini cottages and were right next to the beach. Our assigned room was considered the best and the worst. It was the most spacious out of all of them yet the toilet and sink didn’t work. I hope it gets fixed but for right now we are exhausted and dirty and without a shower. We didn’t have Wi-Fi here so more than anything I was worried that my parents would be concerned that they hadn’t heard from me since I had left.  Dinner was approaching and we officially had orientation for our National Geographic Expedition. Right before it began I broke my toenail and it completely came off, what a start to an adventure!  It wasn’t too painful even though it seemed like it was. After cleaning my toe we began introductions. On this trip we have a great group from our two Nat. Geo. guides, Brett and Lisa to the students themselves we were getting along well. Wrapping that up we had dinner in the main lounge area and to stay safe from any stomach issues I stuck with rice and pita bread. Ending the night with a not so filling dinner I hope I can get some sleep.