Lovo, Meke, and Songs

In Fiji, a Meke is a traditional dance done for a party. Men and women wear grass skirts or long dresses and dance. A lovo is an underground oven used for cooking food. Traditionally at a lovo, people sing and dance and enjoy good food. If you ever go to Hawaii (part of our country but also in the Pacific Ocean like Fiji) you may go to a luau. A lovo is similar to a Hawaiian luau. Shawn loved all of the meat that was cooked. I enjoyed the cooked pumpkin, a taro which is a root that tastes similar to potato. Another pastime in Fiji is singing. We were able to enjoy some songs written by Sailasa (the chef on the island) and his trio. They play the guitars and sing songs in their local Fijian language.

Bula Bula (that means hello) from Fiji

Bula and sorry for the delay in blogging. We have not had wireless Internet for a while but we are safe and sound and having an outstanding time. I am going to post a lot now so you can see what we have been doing so far...then hopefully I can post more regularly after this. Figi was outstanding! We flew first class so we got to sit in the front of the plane, we had lots of room, and they fed us a lot. It was awesome! We landed in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) 2 days after we left the states becuase it was a 10 hour flight and we crossed the International Dateline. So basically we are already in tomorrow over here. After landing, we went to another airport and hopped on a seaplane to Turtle Island which to us was paradise! SOme great things that I learned about Fiji are: Fiji is made up of over 320 islands (no one knows for sure how many)...that means if you went to one island a day, it would take almost a year to see them all. People from Fiji are some of the nicest people in the world. Fijians used to be cannibals a long time ago (that means that they ate people) The language of the government is English but most people also speak Fijian and their local village language (that's 3 languages!) Alot of people from India live in Fiji so they eat a lot of Inidan food (yum!)

The wheels are up....

We left our house today around 1 and went to the airport. Shawn and I were pretty nervous all morning trying to make sure everything was taken care of. The nerves, atop our excitement over the SAINTS winning, made for an interesting morning. Mysti took us to the airport (thanks Mysti!) and took a cute picture of us before she left but I put my camera cord in my checked bag so I can't upload a picture! The flight to LAX was easy and now we wait 4 hours before the 10 hour flight to Nadi! We won't have Internet access at Turtle Island but I will hopefully be able to post a quick something when we land in Nadi. Then I will share all about Turtle Island (Tina just told me that it is one of the most romantic places on earth!) when we get to New Zealand. The trip is actually happening! I miss everyone!

THE SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!

The trip started in Miami...

So in week 6 of the season, Shawn and I decided to postpone our trip around the world just in case the SAINTS went to the Superbowl. We though that leaving after Superbowl Sunday would be best so that we would not be leaving the South Pacific for the 1 and 32 chance that the SAINTS went to the Superbowl. People thought we were foolish to delay our trip, but on January 24, 2010 the SAINTS beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship which sent them to their first ever Superbowl. So me, along with 7 members of my family, dressed in our best SAINTS garb and headed to Miami to watch the underdog SAINTS take on the "unstoppable" Colts. It was a Christmas present from my dad and I am so glad that I had my family there to watch the game with me. I even got to talk to my mom after key plays from the stadium. We yelled, we cheered (some more loudly than others), we tried to engage Colts fans in a little rivalry (they said they are too refined to cheer), we cried (even me) and on February 7, 2010, the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 proving to the world that they are THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE WORLD! It was the happiest day of my life! Next stop: Fiji!

The Hair Cut

So I did it...I got my hair cut. It was hard to do but I was glad that I was able to donate it to kids (www.locksoflove.com). I went to the salon alone and was so nervous (kind of like I am right now for the SAINTS game). Joy (my hair cutter) was so nice and did it quickly and painlessly. Now my hair is 14 inches shorter but will be perfect for traveling (it takes A LOT less shampoo and brushing!)

LUGGAGE!

Christmas was good to Shawn and I this year. We got some much needed luggage for our trip (thanks Dad and Tina) and I also got the most fabulous travel purse ever (thanks mom). We also got other odds and ends that will help make this trip happen! Now on to figuring out what to bring and how to make it all fit! AAAAGH!