The FANZ eagle has landed! Bula (welcome) to Fiji!

The group arrived in one piece yesterday, although quite jet lagged I'm sure. They will be learning the ins and outs of the semester and getting to know each other during their orientation in Nadi.

Rumor has it that all of the students were sent out to email their families of their safe arrival. So, if you haven't received word, well, this is why our blog exist. So, keep checking back!

Let the adventure begin...
Carpe Diem HQ

They're leavin' on a jet plane...

It's official! All 12 FANZers are together in LAX awaiting their outbound flight. After a few hours of get-to-know you games and scavenger hunts, they will be enroute to Nadi, Fiji. That crazy phenomenon known as the international date line means that they will actually land on the 12th of February. So, everybody sit back, check back (to the blog that is) and let's enjoy the ride!

The FANZ group will take over the blog entries from here so you can share in their adventure. Give them a good 36 hours though. It takes a while to get your legs beneath you after all the twilight travel!

Until then, Bula Vinaka from Carpe Headquarters and the South Pacific!

-Amy Berg
Program Director

Hellos

Well Hi Thar:)
It's your future co-leaders, Drew and Dawn, just checking in with you, sending out warm welcomes. We have just spent the day together running around Portland doing last minute errands, talking Heaps about our upcoming adventure and how truly excited we are to meet all of you very very soon. We've been going over our itinerary, finalizing a few things as well. Anyhow.
So this is the first of many Blogs to come, which you guys will eventually be taking over; it is a way to share with friends, family, and loved ones what we are all up to. You may notice that there are previous entries from the last group who were on this trip...we want to keep these old Blogs as an ongoing way for everyone to access past memories and to see what future groups are up to!
We are sooooo very excited to meet you guys, and to have the opportunity to share such amazing and magical moments with you all.
Yippee Kye Aye,
Drew and Dawn

Welcome back

And all of a sudden we're back home... in a way our FANZ journey can all seem like a dream, eh? From dripping sweat in the heat and humidity of Cairns to back into the chill and Christmas lights of winter, our reality has changed rather abruptly. I trust you're all enjoying soft towels, your own beds, and a good home-cooked 'feed'. Take it easy on yourself over the next several days as you go through the 'fog' of transition. Enjoy revisiting the pictures that ignite your mind to all the memories of being together. And be in touch... our FANZ family continues on, though we've dispersed through the country. Be well, be happy and continue to be open to the amazing journey before you:)

Amanda & Steven

Curtain falling

It seems to be that it’s already time for that final blog entry. I figured I would start this blog and end it as well. But before we say our final goodbyes, here’s the recap of our latest adventures. After we left Adelaide we got picked up by the desert outback patrol. Which I’m pretty sure I can say was one of the more weirdly interesting parts of the trip. The program consisted of the group + 3 German girls + 1 Dutch guy stuck on a bus for SEVEN days straight, driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs. From stopping at every bathroom ever opened in that part of the outback, to visiting a man that can tell who you are as a person by the letters in your name, to watching the sunset at the most touristy place at Uluru, and being flooded in at all main roads and being stuck with sleeping in the rain or camping out in the magical place that some call… the Landry room. I’m sure you could only imagine how excited we were to get to the Alice Springs YHA.

With never staying in one place to long we packed up our bags once again and hoped on a plane from Alice Springs to Sydney, then to Sydney to Brisbane, spent one night there then jumped on a train to Chenrezig Buddhist Monastery. It was equipped with beautiful gardens and trees, a breath taking Gompa, nice and comfy bedrooms, and the biggest spiders and other insects some of us (Me) have ever seen in our lives! We learned about the basics of the Buddhist culture, did some yoga, eat some good (vegan) meals, and went to the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo.

And last but not least (after an excruciatingly long 30 hour train ride) we arrived to the Bohemian Central hostel in Cairns and is in the process of getting Scuba certified. Everyone is thrilled (even Kara) to go Scuba diving but is even more excited to get back home to see their families.

Into the land of Irwin, Jackman, and Ledger...

We have finally arrived in the last leg of our journey....AUSTRALIA!!! We flew into Sydney and spent two days. We went to the Aquarium and walked through a tunnel of sharks and huge sting rays. The last night in Sydney we all got dressed up and went to the legendery Opera House to see a performance of Mozart. One of the days in Sydney we went to Bondi beach and there was an art exhibit called "scultputes by the sea." All of the sculptures were really cool and intricate. After sydney we came to Adelaide and after a day at the really sweet yha (with a ping pong table!!) we found out that the group would be splitting up for a week. Everyone was really upset and worried because we have been together for two months straight. We each went our seperate ways with CVA (Conservations Volunteers Australia) off to different parts of the outback. Kim, Steven, Anna, Gaelen, and Becky traveled 3 hours away to survey wombats. From what i've heard it was very interesting. The house they stayed at had no electricity or water so it was almost like being in the fijian village all over again. They found out Obama was elected only because They were all huddled in the car listening to the radio. My group traveled 7 HOURS away to Leigh Creek to pull weeds and collect seeds. We saw lots of wallabies and kangaroos up close. On the last night we had a "barbie" (bbq) and roasted up some fresh "roo" (kangaroo that is!) When our work was done ww reunnited back at the sweet hostel in Adelaide to swap stories. We're induldging ourselves with target visits (!!), christmas parades, ping pong tournaments, and bike rides before heading back to the outback in 4 days. All is well here.

--Kara & Kim

ps. Sorry this is the worst blog ever... we made a really cool videoblog but we couldn't figure out how to put it up.

WWOOFing in New Zealand

Compliments of Graham--WWOOF host extraordinaire!