Fiji?!?

So, I’m going to Fiji tomorrow… I’ll be gone for two whole months, which is kind of a long time. This is my second trip out of the US. My first was a spring break mission trip to Guatemala earlier this year with a group of people that I know and love from Presbyterian Student Fellowship - Vanderbilt and Belmont’s PC(USA) campus ministry organization.

My trip to Fiji is going to be a completely different international experience. First of all, I’m traveling alone. ALONE. That means no one will be there to help me navigate my way through four different airports or to keep me company as I spend approximately 18 hours in the air.

I have a feeling that the drastic time change is going to be one of the most interesting/strange parts of this trip. I’m leaving Nashville at 6:00am on Friday, but I’m not getting to Fiji until 11pm on Saturday. Yep, you read that right. Fiji’s time zone is 17 hours ahead of US Central time. It kind of blows my mind to think about the concept of time zones. I get confused every time I try to calculate what time it will feel like to me vs. what the real time will be when I get to all of my stops (Houston, Honolulu, and finally Fiji!). I’m the kind of person that really appreciates set routines, so knowing that my current sleeping and eating schedules are going to be thrown out the window tomorrow is pretty nerve-wracking. But it should be good for me. I could use some more flexibility and spontaneity in my life.

Needless to say, I am VERY excited about the next two months. I realize that not many people have a chance to spend two months in such an exotic and beautiful place as Fiji! This opportunity is just another one of the many blessings I have received. I cannot wait to meet my host family and start working at the kindergarten, and I know I will have a blast. Let’s be honest though… I’m a little bit terrified. For starters, I’d just like to make it to Fiji in one piece. (Also, it’d be great if my luggage could make it there, too.) After that, I think I’ll be okay.

Stay tuned for pictures and stories about my coming adventures. At this point I’m not sure how often I will be able to access the internet, but I’m hoping to write frequent updates!