Thoughts from a Bean Bag

-


We just arrived here in Magnetic Island, and after a plane ride and ferry ride have made it to Bungalow Bay. At first, I wanted to sleep, but I decided to go sit on the bean bags outside and relax. Now that I am here, there is no one else around and it is so peaceful and quiet. I am also realizing that this is the first time in a long time that I have been in solitude. It feels like a breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my roommates and spending time with them, but it also feels good to have some alone time. I haven’t been alone in so long that I am not even sure what to do with this fleeting time. I could read or enjoy the scenery or just do nothing at all for once. The options are endless! As I look around me, all I can see is green. There are palm trees, shrubs, tall trees, short trees. There is a very tropical feel here, and the heat here is relentless. I occasionally feel a breeze throughout the humidity, but it is a rare commodity. Regardless of the heat and humidity, I still feel so at peace. I also feel like I am sinking deep into this bean bag because of how comfortable it is. It feels like time has stopped here on the island. We are constantly on the move in this program, especially in the ladder six weeks. So far and by the end of this semester, I will have travelled and flown more than I ever have my entire life all within this short 12 weeks. That is crazy! I have now mastered the art of packing under an hour and playing the balancing act of getting each bag at the perfect weight to meet the airport standards. Although making sure my bags are under the weight is the biggest challenge I have faced thus far. I have had to say goodbye to quite a few items. I have also learned how to navigate just about any airport now. Before this, I was very dependent on others especially my family, on how to find my way in an airport. Now I just mindlessly make my way through the airport and somehow find myself sitting on a plane. I miss my family, and I can’t wait to see them and tell them about all of the amazing things I have seen and done here so far. I can’t wait to go see movies with mom, aunt Kiki, and Nana and go antiquing and any other fun activities they find. I also miss my brother and trying to force him to hang out with me, and I miss eating all the Asian food I can with my dad. Of course, I miss my Pop Pop’s sarcastic sense of humor that never fails to make me laugh. I know my family loves reading my blog, and I always text them when a new post is up. Since I am sure they are reading this, hello family! I love and miss you! I also miss my dog so much. Sorry for the excessive use of “I miss” that I just used by the way. I remember freshman year when I left for college and would come visit home she would get so excited. Whenever I would come home and call her name, she would run as fast as her little legs could to come greet me, and it was the best feeling in the world. She still does this every time I come home. This 12 weeks is probably the longest I have ever been away from my dog, so I am sure I will get the best greeting from her when I get back. One of the best parts of this trip is all of the friends I have made. Everyone here is friends with each other, and we all have such unique bond. I have made such a great group of friends here, and we do absolutely everything together. We room together, travel together, eat together, study together. We do it all together! We have even picked up each other’s little habits. For instance, Genesis will excessively use italics in her writing, and I have also been known to throw in an italicized word every once in a while. Or we will pick up each other’s sayings which is funny. We have almost gotten too comfortable with each other. One of our favorite things to do is have movie night, and we will fit up two or three of us on a twin bed just to fit everyone. We talked about this the other day, but it will be so weird when we all go home. We have spent almost every waking moment together, but when we go home we will not see each other nearly as much. So, I am in conflict of missing my family and friends at home, but I know I will also miss spending lots of time with my friends here once I am home. I just hope we all keep in touch after the program ends because they have all helped to make this trip so special for me.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Snorkeling in Heron Island

-
Image
My absolute favorite part about Heron Island was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The statement itself sounds surreal to me, and I definitely never imagined I would ever be able to before I heard about this program. I remember the ferry ride to Heron Island was incredibly choppy, and I got seasick for the very first time. Once I saw the island from the ferry, I was immediately cured by the excitement that rushed over me. The water was a vibrant turquoise color and there was a huge shipwreck with snorkelers exploring all around it. I knew at that moment I could not wait to go out and snorkel. My friends and I chose to snorkel on the south side of the island for the first time mainly because of how close it was and we were just eager to get into the water. Before we even entered the water I saw a baby blacktip reef shark swimming around was thrilled because sharks are my favorite animal. Once we got in the ocean we saw huge cowtail stingrays lurking below us. I was scar
Read more

Sevusevu Welcome Ceremony

-
Image
Last week, our program had the opportunity to visit a local village here in Fiji and partake in a welcome ceremony known as sevusevu. This ceremony is performed for visitors coming into and being accepted into the village by the village headman or Turaga ni Koro. Before we went inside for the ceremony, the Turaga ni Koro said a chant in order to announce our presence for the ceremony to begin. All of the students and staff then entered the building where the ceremony took place and removed our shoes before coming inside. We also all dressed moderately out of respect for the people of the village, and the Fijians were similarly wearing clothing that covered their shoulders and knees. We then all sat down on a woven mat before the Turaga ni Koro and the elder men from the village with Dr. Garton sitting before us as our representative. For this ceremony, a half bundle of waka is offered to the village which is the lower part of the same plant that produces kava. The Turaga ni
Read more

Life After Pacific

-
Image
        My life since coming home from my study abroad has been nothing like I had expected. For starters, I was very nervous about coming home and seeing my friends and family. Before the Pacific Program, I had never been away from home this long. I thought my friends might have forgotten about me or that the dynamic in my friend group would feel different. I even thought that going to my own home would be different. Regardless, the desire to come home and be with loved ones trumped any nervous feelings I was feeling.         The trek home was long, tiresome, and emotionally draining. On the bus ride to the Fiji airport, music was blasting, and we were all loudly singing together. I couldn’t imagine not being with these people every day from here on out. These people in a sense had become my family over the course of the program, and we all have grown and experienced so much together. It wasn’t until we reached the airport that the reality of our final departures was settling in.
Read more