We Didn't Go Hungry

If there's one thing I can assure you about Tonga: you won't go hungry there. Especially if you pack half your suitcase with food like we did! I think we are all going to have to take a little break from dehydrated apples and instant oatmeal for a while. But everyone knows, a good Tongan is a Tongan who knows how to eat. And as nursing students know, thats why diseases like diabetes and hypertension run rampant there. Buuuuut thats not the point right now. The point is that I wouldn't be surprised if I packed on a few over the course of our time there. Its hard not to when you're eating your own stash of food plus the stuff you buy and the stuff you're given there. I don't have anywhere near enough pictures to show you all of it, but of course i've at least got a little sampling!

I have no idea what to call this. Its a happy little pocket of curry deliciousness. I'm not normally a huge curry lover, but this little thing was yummy, and it was the very first thing we ate in the South Pacific. Thinking back now... this might have been what got me sick later that night. Buuuut more likely it was the Kava feast we had a little later in the day (pictured in previous post!).

Keke - aka fried dough balls. They are delicious. They are everywhere. And they are extremely cheap. We got our first taste from the Fijians, and they actually put sugar on them. Usually they are served just plain, which isn't quite as good. Mal and I decided that these would be straight up heavenly if you scooped out part of the middle and filled it in with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm I can taste the heart attack already!

The night of the Fijian dinner show, we splurged a little and bought some yummy dinner. Kylie and I shared this. It was pretty good, a mixture of noodles and veggies and chicken. A little too much oil though, and I was still recovering from being sick, so I took it easy on this one.

 Our cheesecake dessert, however, was very delectable.

The night before we left Fiji, the ward there made us a feast! There were all kinds of salads, curry chicken curry dishes, eggplant, rice, potatoes, roti which is like their tortillas, and a pineapple dessert. Considering the high cost of some of these foods and the very last minute preparation, we were very touched by this service to us.

One thing we had plenty of was coconut! This thing confuses me. Is it supposed to be a fruit? I think it is... but it really doesn't seem like it. I like the milk on the inside if it is refrigerated and I have a straw to drink it out of (how very un-native of me, I know). But the meat of it tastes looks and tastes and feels like lard. I really wanted to like it, and every time we cracked one open, I convinced myself maybe I just wasn't appreciating it enough and so i'd try it again... nope, I was disappointed every time. At least I tried!

One thing Tongans do really well: fish! I tried all sorts of new fish, both raw and cooked, and I actually really liked most of it. We tried to peer pressure someone into gobbling up this little fishy's eyeball, but no one would do it.

And I WISH I could say that I caught this beast, because that would be a lot more impressive than the only other fish i've ever caught... 

(My first fishy that I caught a few years ago)

We went to a show in Tongatapu where we got to try all sorts of new things - and I promised myself I would try everything at least once. Octopus, sweet potatoes, deep sea snapper fish, seaweed, clams, and so much more fit only my little banana plant plate.

We went to the market in town after clinical a few times, and pretty much our options were really cheap cucumbers, tomatoes, and bananas, or really expensive apples and pineapple. No kidding, be basically lived off bananas for a lot of this trip. No complaint here, their tiny fat little bananas are WAY better than the ones we have here.

This. Day. Was. A. Miracle. We found a CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES. You may think McDonalds exist everywhere in the world, but you're wrong, because they are nowhere to be found in Tonga. At least not all the places we went. So when we had a beach day and found cheeseburgers at this resort, we didn't mind dropping 20 pa'anga to split this delicious baby. And with real fries too! Ahhhh we were in heaven. Best decision ever.

 Yeah, embarrassing and gross, but i'm embracing it.

 April and some of the other girls treated us one night to a special treat. It was some kind of concoction with watermelon and pineapple and coconut milk. And when you plopped a scoop of ice cream in there, oooooh baby so yum.

Everywhere we went, we were given a feast on our last night. The kind people who hosted us in Vava'u went all out on our last night. Whenever there's watermelon, its a good day :) Plus I got to try breadfruit for the first time, which was way good. And yes, that is a refrigerated coconut with a straw, score!

For clinical hours one day in Vava'u, five of us girls went to teach at a primary school. My part of the lesson was all about nutrition and making healthy food choices. After our time there, the teachers told us there were some refreshments outside. I walked out expecting maybe a fruit plate and some water. I did not expect to see this entire table filled with food. Cookies of every kind. Hot dogs. Donuts WITH FROSTING (you don't see much frosting there). Cupcakes. Juice of every imaginable flavor. Waters. And two different chocolate cakes, again WITH FROSTING. I'm not sure i've ever been so shocked. We looked at the table, then looked at each other, then looked back at the table and wondered how five of us could even begin to make a dent on this (especially when we had eaten an entire loaf of cheese bread from the bakery before we went to the school). So much for my lesson on healthy eating... we did the best we could, but by the time we were done the table still looked untouched. It was then that they gestured to the baskets and baskets of fruit that they told us we were supposed to take home. Coconuts, pineapples, bananas, and some other new mystery fruits. Whaaaat the heck?! These people had learned just a day in advance that we were coming, and this is what they did for us. It was unbelievable. Incredible. Overwhelming. We felt extremely touched and blessed. As did the rest of the group when we brought back a massive frosted giant cake haha :)

SO.MUCH.FOOD.

Probably some of the best food we ate was the dinners that we made for one another each night. Two girls per day were assigned to feeding everyone for the evening meal. We had all sorts of really impressive meals. French toast, breakfast burritos, pasta dishes, and more. It was awesome.

We all just got so used to snacking and eating constantly. It was like if we ever went two hours without eating anything, we were practically starving! Thank goodness that trend hasn't carried over to normal everyday life since being home! ;)

Sisterhood of the Traveling Nursing Students

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I am a cheeeeeeesy person. I can't help it. Its who I am. I get sentimental and nostalgic and sappy and cheesy. I love it. Sorry if you don't! 

The number one miracle about my trip to Fiji and Tonga were the people that I went with. Picture this: 13 college-aged girls. Nursing students... aka a bunch of headstrong, type A personalities. Some married, some engaged, some dating, some single. Together 24/7 in very close living quarters for almost a month. Doesn't that just sound like a recipe for disaster or drama or cliques?! Here's the miracle: EVERYONE GOT ALONG. Not only did we just get along, everyone genuinely liked and enjoyed the company of each and every other person. It didn't matter who you sat next to on the bus, who was on the bunk bed with you, or who wanted to chip in to share bread and bananas. Its not just that I like and have a tolerance for these girls. I love them. I now consider them my sisters. I know some of these girls better than I know girls that i've lived with for an entire semester. Every single day there were either one on one or group conversations covered every topic in the book. We talked about literally anything and everything. Seriously, I think they all know now every story i've ever told. I feel like I know their families and significant others personally just from everything we've chatted about. I consistently came away from these conversations feeling uplifted, inspired, and/or entertained. I'm pretty sure my abs are significantly stronger now just because of how much they made me laugh on a daily basis. This experience would not have been nearly as wonderful if it hadn't been for these girls. Throw in a few incredible instructors that were just as friendly and fun, and our group was unstoppably awesome. I am so thankful for each and every one of them and look forward to our continuing friendships!

Debbie. Debs. Deb-step. She was our instructor for this trip, but she was so much more than that. This woman knows how to be a leader. She would give direction, then step back and allow us take the lead in our various activities. She let us find our own rhythm and our own flow. She was flexible and didn't try to dictate or dominate over the group. Very quickly she gained our respect and our love. It is clear that she has a heart of gold and is a wonderful teacher as well as wife, mother, and grandma! We would do anything for our fun, adventurous, caring Debs!

 Gary. Our Gar-bear! Gary is Debs' husband, and he didn't originally want to come on this trip, but she insisted that he come to help her out for the first few weeks. Having Gary there was the BEST. He was the daddio of the group! Watching him interact with the people in the environment was so great. Whether he was taking young mens' measurements to pass onto the BYU football coaches, showing teenagers pictures of snow on his iphone, or engaging in fun with the little kids, he was working hard to learn and grow and develop a love for the people and places we were at. Having a priesthood holder with us was comforting and useful. We are so grateful for his sacrifices in lifting lots heavy things, putting up with our endless girl talk, and leaving his comfort zone in order to embrace the experience. We are convinced that by the time he went home, he loved us just as much as we loved him :)

Casey B... Bur...Barker.... No no, its Casey Bunker! ;-) No one has never made me love sarcasm so much as this girl. She is full of it in all the best ways and she always keeps me laughing. She is way too fun to tease and has the best one-eye-closed laugh ever.

Miss Emily Plowman. Somehow, Emily was always looking pretty and cute even in the middle of a hot, sticky, busy Tongan day, which the rest of us definitely found to be a challenge. With her entertaining comments and quirky personality, she was so fun to have around.

April. Our dietetics student add-on :) I'll admit, I was jealous of her when we got to Tonga because she lived there in high school and knew the lay of the land and the language and all that. Turns out this girl is so awesome. She is so smart and such a good example of everything that a good person should be. We were so grateful to have her with us to help us adjust and learn the ways of the Tongan people. 

Brittni. Despite the fact that she is getting married in a month, she was happy to be there and contributed to all the fun. We are so excited for her to be married to her boy soon! She was great on this trip because she just took everything in stride and didn't let anything get her too down. 

Then there's Courtney. I had to choose this picture because of that little boy looking up at her. Courtney has to be one of the sweetest, most loving people in the world, and the kids loved her. She has a talent for knowing what to say to people, and how to say it in a way that ends up having a real impact. Her words struck me more than once and were always uplifting and made me feel good. And I have to say, she has some unexpected traits about her that always took me off guard and got a real good giggle out of me.

Ohhhh Kylie. This poor girl dealt with a lot on this trip. From crazy infected bug bites to bruises bigger than her face, to getting sick for a little while, she stuck through it all. No wonder she won our survivor award! I am so happy that one of my besties from this last year of nursing school was there with me to be a buddy on this trip. We had fun getting ready to go and we have made great memories that we will be able to look back on for a long time!

I don't even know where to begin with Anna. All it took was a few late night conversations with this girl to develop a serious love for her. She has such an optimism and joy about her all the time. And she is funny as heck. No doubt many of her quirky mannerisms have already been incorporated into my personality. 

Mallory. My Mal-pal. This girl came out of nowhere. It all started on the day we were in the OR together (notice her awesome OR scrubs featured below haha). Nothing bonds two people together like watching thigh skin get sliced off with a human cheese grater and being grafted onto a foot without any toes! But seriously, thats what did it for us. I think maybe in many ways she and I are a lot alike and thats why we meshed so well. Together we remembered that "its all part of the experience" and we just needed to "embrace it." Love her to pieces. And so excited that we are both from Sea-town so that we can keep this newfound friendship going! 

Oh Rachel. If there is one thing she'll be known for on this trip, its that she was always prepared for anything! Does anyone have a bandaid? Rachel does. Does anyone have any Neosporin? Rachel does. Does anyone randomly happen to have an otoscope in their bag? Of course, Rachel does! Her preparedness saved us and helped us out on several occasions. She is going to be such a great nurse!

Erica had me laughing so hard I was crying before we even took off from the SLC airport. Her storytelling was always something to look forward to. Plus she is pretty much the fittest and healthiest person i've ever met, and I aspire to be a little bit more like her. She speaks her mind and isn't afraid to be herself, which again sometimes had tears of laughter rolling down my face!

Angela, trip nickname "Gela", beholder of stickers and candy and games for the little children! She never ignored or forgot anyone. Without any effort she expressed and served everyone around her. She didn't turn down any opportunities to learn and grow and embrace the Tongan experience. I admire her spirit of service and love.

Sarahhhh! My twin. Okay so not in appearance, but i'm pretty sure our brains work the exact same way. I cannot even count the number of times that we would say the exact same thing at the exact same time or instantaneously start singing the same song and other things like that. We freaked out the first few times it happened, and then it got so regular that we'd just nod our heads and fist bump every time. So legit. Plus, she was so obviously born to be a quidditch player (unlike that other weirdo chick flying next to her).

So now we are all back home. We are spread out around the country, reunited with husbands and boyfriends and families and old friends and school and jobs. How do you take relationships that were built around being together all day every day for a month and keep them thriving from a distance? It will be difficult, and I guarantee that the closeness we shared will not always exist to the same degree, but I have faith that if we make an effort to stay connected, we can be friends and sisters for life. I am so looking forward to our September reunion when we get together and have another day of fun as we reflect on our trip and remember the good times! I love you all!

I'm On Fiji Time

When I signed up for this nursing trip, I signed up to go to Tonga and Tonga only. But the way our flights ended up being scheduled, we had about a three day layover in Nadi, Fiji. Thinking about it now makes me feel silly, but before we left I had the mindset of, lets just get through this Fiji layover and get on to Tonga where we're actually supposed to be. It did not take long at all for that way of thinking to change. Within hours of our time in Fiji, we all just knew we were supposed to be there. The three days there felt more like ten, and I could have come straight home from Fiji feeling completely fulfilled (but i'm so thankful we still had three full weeks left in Tonga!). At first we didn't think Fiji would be much of a big deal, but now we all agree that it was definitely a highlight of the entire trip, and we wouldn't trade our time there for anything! It was the perfect way to kick everything off.

After the long flight... BULA AND WELCOME TO FIJI!

This is where we stayed. Holy moly, definitely a titch nicer than what we were expecting!

Immediately after we arrived and before we even checked into Smuggler's Cove, we headed out for our first big adventure: island tour, cave hike, and kava ceremony.

Ready for adventure!

Here is our mode of transportation across the river...

This here little bamboo structure is now endearingly referred to as spider raft. As we sat there, suddenly big spiders started crawling up through the cracks and all over us. I'm talking like A LOT of spiders. Some of us handled the surprise better than others... but it certainly made for some entertaining memory material on our very first day! :)

We hiked through a cave that was once inhabited by about 100 Fijians hiding from invaders of the island who were out to kill them... we learned quite a bit about how it was a cannibalistic society at the time. Gross.

Yup, theres the human oven.

On our way back, some of us opted to swim across the river than have another go on spider raft. We were assured there were no snakes or piranhas or anything else deadly in the water, and it ended up being a highlight of the day!

Kava ceremony time! For those of you who know what kava is, just know that we had VERY little sips of it. For those of you who don't know what it is, just know that it tastes like dirt and it makes your tongue go numb.

Not the most exciting video in the world. Just a little bit of the ceremony.

They fed us lunch. And this is where I made my first very grave mistake of the journey: I ate it.

I'm not positive, but it is very likely that the consequence of trying a bite of everything here is what led to my very unpleasant episodes of puking my guts out later this night... Not exactly the most pleasant way to wrap up the first day.

Without a doubt, a huge factor in what made Fiji great for us was the LDS ward there. After knowing them for a mere 48 hours, we felt as though a forever bond had formed. I've never felt so much love from strangers in my whole life. Their kindness and service will never be forgotten. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of them!

The women and children made these necklaces for each of us to honor our presence and thank us for being there. We were the ones who were really blessed to be there with them.

Church in Fiji :)

We spent most of Monday holding a clinic for the Navaki community in Nadi. For hours we measured heights and weights and took blood pressures and blood sugars with the help of the ward there and a few of the local community nurses. It was HOT, but it was a wonderful day. We were told that usually an event like this attracts six people. In a matter of about four hours, we screened 76 people! In fact, we are even famous now! :) An article was written and published about our visit there. Read all about it HERE!

Okay sooo... Fiji also had some serious party time for us. It was so fun!

Probably one of my favorite things from here was "Fiji time." People are constantly saying, "I'm on Fiji time." AKA, take it easy, go slow, when you mean one hour you really mean maybe two or three, but it doesn't matter because we are easy-going and time doesn't really matter or apply at all... I miss being on Fiji time.