2.22.2013
2.15.2013
Class Trip...
So I'm back! I just returned from my senior class trip, on which only two of the participants were of my senior class; however, two-thirds of the senior class were on the trip. (confused yet? ;) It was a great trip! It's hard for a trip to Fiji not to be great... unless you get sick, food-poisoning, stung by something, bitten by something, or eaten by something (or someone... cannibals used to inhabit Fiji). Thankfully, I only got sick a little for one day and I was only bitten by a couple bugs and sea-lice. (Sea lice are terrible! You're happily floating on the surface of the warm water and then suddenly they attack you and try to eat you alive! Feels like a swarm of little bugs biting you... which is essentially what it is, except they aren't bugs. x)
The trip was almost two weeks long so I don't know how much I want to recount here because it would take me awhile and I'm currently in the frantic process of picking up the slack I left in my schoolwork when I left on the trip. I made some video blogs on my YouTube channel (very poorly made blogs, I might add... I'm more of a writer than a speaker) that recount some of my thoughts and feelings during my stay there.
The biggest thing I took away from the trip was the kindness of the people in Fiji, a kindness we don't have here in the United States (at least, not anyplace I've ever been here, and I've been around the country a bit). Complete strangers will treat you in as friendly a manner as a friend, and many smiles and waves and simple gestures of acknowledgement are passed throughout the day. This is something I want to try to continue here at home. I am trying to make a conscious effort to keep a smile, or at least a friendly expression, on my face when around other people (I am told I can have a rather grim expression when I am concentrating) and always acknowledge another person's presence, stranger or not, with a smile, a wave, a nod, whatever seems appropriate (guys generally don't wave at strangers unless they, the strangers, are under the age of 10).
Fiji is a lovely place, apart from it's rather uncomfortable humidity. Everything is so colorful and alive there, both in and out of water. The jungles are dense and green, with all kinds of birds (and bats) in the trees and many plants I had never seen before. My favorite plant was this thing called a "praying plant" (or something like that). It's a bit like a small fern. I was fascinated by this plant because of its ability to move. I'm sure it's just some kind of biochemical reflex, but it is a thing of amazement to me to watch the plant fold up as though trying to hide when I touch or blow on its fronds.
No blog post is complete without at least a short rant of frustration at the end: I was very careful with my camera. It survived two weeks in a very wet/humid/sandy/dirty/dangerous-for-electronics climate, and then I drop it as I step off the plane upon my arrival in Seattle, breaking the lens mechanism. [facepalm] <-- if you'll pardon my internet expression. ;) oh, and while I'm complaining, I'm cold.
The trip was almost two weeks long so I don't know how much I want to recount here because it would take me awhile and I'm currently in the frantic process of picking up the slack I left in my schoolwork when I left on the trip. I made some video blogs on my YouTube channel (very poorly made blogs, I might add... I'm more of a writer than a speaker) that recount some of my thoughts and feelings during my stay there.
The biggest thing I took away from the trip was the kindness of the people in Fiji, a kindness we don't have here in the United States (at least, not anyplace I've ever been here, and I've been around the country a bit). Complete strangers will treat you in as friendly a manner as a friend, and many smiles and waves and simple gestures of acknowledgement are passed throughout the day. This is something I want to try to continue here at home. I am trying to make a conscious effort to keep a smile, or at least a friendly expression, on my face when around other people (I am told I can have a rather grim expression when I am concentrating) and always acknowledge another person's presence, stranger or not, with a smile, a wave, a nod, whatever seems appropriate (guys generally don't wave at strangers unless they, the strangers, are under the age of 10).
Fiji is a lovely place, apart from it's rather uncomfortable humidity. Everything is so colorful and alive there, both in and out of water. The jungles are dense and green, with all kinds of birds (and bats) in the trees and many plants I had never seen before. My favorite plant was this thing called a "praying plant" (or something like that). It's a bit like a small fern. I was fascinated by this plant because of its ability to move. I'm sure it's just some kind of biochemical reflex, but it is a thing of amazement to me to watch the plant fold up as though trying to hide when I touch or blow on its fronds.
No blog post is complete without at least a short rant of frustration at the end: I was very careful with my camera. It survived two weeks in a very wet/humid/sandy/dirty/dangerous-for-electronics climate, and then I drop it as I step off the plane upon my arrival in Seattle, breaking the lens mechanism. [facepalm] <-- if you'll pardon my internet expression. ;) oh, and while I'm complaining, I'm cold.
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