All safe and sound in NZ!

Greetings folks from the Southern Hemisphere. We just wanted to let everyone that we are all safe and sound in Auckland, New Zealand. We have been totally unaffected by the tsunami/earthquake that has caused so much devastation to the Samoan islands. We are all hoping that the people of those islands are receiving the aid they need at this moment. Tomorrow, We are preparing to head out north of Auckland to a town called Warkworth for some sweet organic farming! Stay tuned we are in the midst of attempting to upload photos of our first couple of weeks. Much love from Fanz.

Goodbye Fiji Hello Kiwi's!

In the past week and a half we the travelers of the Carpe Diem Fanz group have experienced alot! Our village in Ninannu had setup one of the most unforgetable goodbyes and going away ceremonies I or anyone could have imagined. Tears were shed by every villager and host family member in the village. We were very choked up when they asked for forgiveness that they did not have more to offer when they had truely loved us all and given us if anything too much. Calle our village guide gave a speech and we recieved our Kava in reluctance rather than excitement all to the fact that we were leaving. After this painful goodbye and exchanging of gifts the group headed over to the luxurious Beach house resort in the Coral Coast of Fiji and decided to unwind; Warm showers, Warm beds, palm trees, easy beaches , and ofcourse a big juicy steak were just some of what was indulged in after two weeks in the village. This resort was very cheap and one of the most beautiful spots anyone on this trips has ever been too and I can personally attest to the fact that every male on the trip did flips into the pools within seconds of checking in. The relaxation was short lived because before we new it we were loading our packs into vans and on our way to the airport. One short day later here we are reporting to all you parents and future readers from Auckland New Zealand and boy is it a different place than our humble village of fiji. I am sad and happy to say we are once again in the world of skyscrapers, cityscapes, suits, and starbucks were instead of waking to the sound of roosters, we awake to the hustle and bustle of taxis / business men. In the back of my mind as a member of this group I am releived but also sad to see probably one of the harder parts of the trip over with. With Much Love from everyone on the FANZ trip this is James Flood writing from NZ. Talk to you soon!

Hello from the village

For the last week we have been working in the village and living with our homesteads. Upon arrival, we were introduced to our new family. That night we participated in the Fijian ritual of kava drinking. Over the next couple of days we lifted sandbags, learned to make cement, and hammered shoveled and wheelbarrowed. In other words we learned to really appreciate modern machinery. We also celebrated Kathleen's birthday. After work she was adorned like a queen, set at the head of the table, a sung to by many of the locals. However, for the last couple of days it has been very rainy, and thus we were forced indoors many times. Overall, the last week has been a change of pace for most of us who are used to our cozy American lives.

First update from the land down under!

Hello friends and family of carpe diem travelers!
This is the first of what I'm sure will be many updates from our trip on the blogosphere. There is really only good news to report thus far. We arrived in Nadi, Fiji at about 5 AM the morning of September 10th. Its not often that one is struck by natural beauty when stepping out of an airport, in fact I would say that it was the first time it has ever happened to me. It was cool and breezy that morning, and the sun was just rising, creating a red glow behind the hills. I knew then that I was going to have a very good trip in this place, and my premonition has proved true thus far.
We spent the first day mostly getting to know one another, playing ice breaker games and recovering from our long journey. By the end of the day, our group already felt tight, and that feeling has only increased since then. Our leaders are on the ball, and have laid out very reasonable guidelines for travel, along with good pointers on health and safety.
Yesterday we spent the day exploring Nadi. We split into groups of three and wandered the city, trying to take in all that we could. We met back at the hostel that afternoon and discussed our findings on the local customs, the people and the food. It is a common agreement among the group members that Fijians are righteously awesome. Sometimes their friendlyness is feigned in an effort to get us gringos to buy things. But often, it is completely legitimate, exemplified by big smiles and the many shouts of bula! (hello!) from people we walk past.
Each of these blogs will include a little fun fact or history about the place we find ourselves. In Fiji, Christianity became so widely accepted because of similarities to their traditional forms of worship: mana (meaning spiritual power) and taboo (sacred prohibitions). There are a number of interesting Taboos in Fijian culture that we have been learning. My favorite so far has to be that sitting in doorways is discouraged, because if a spirit should want to enter the house, their way should not be blocked. Fijians do still worship in traditional ways, including the Kava ceremony that the next blog will likely mention. There is going to be a Kava ceremony welcoming us to our next port of call, a northern village called Nannanu, where we will be volunteering for the next two weeks.
The food in Nadi so far has been great, strongly influenced by Indian cuisine which is a favorite of mine. It is going to be a little different in the village we are going to next, no doubt, but the group is excited about getting a taste of authentic Fijian cuisine and culture.
Today we spent the day in Newtown, the more touristy section of the city. The beach there was beautiful. The clear, warm water and palm trees along the shore are the evidence of my facebook status: "fiji: a true paradise." We swam and hung out for a few hours, and headed back downtown.
There is not much more to report, thus far. The group gets along really well together, and we are excited about getting the real itinerary of the trip underway since orientation has gone so well.
On a personal note, our arrival in Fiji reminded me of a part in book that I just read by one of my literary heroes, Hunter S. Thompson. He lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1958, before the place became a haven of tourists and rich americans. Some of his descriptions of the landscape of San Juan remind me a good deal of Nadi, but what really spoke to me in his writing was his sense of freedom and awe in a new and beautiful part of the world. Thus I'm going to end this post with a direct quote from The Rum Diary. I hope that all is well stateside.
"I was feeling better now, warm and sleepy and absolutely free, with the palms waving and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn't had since my first days in Europe: a mixture of ignorance and a loose kind of what-the-hell confidence that comes to a man when the wind picks up, and he begins to move in a hard, straight line, toward an unknown horizon."

It's official ... let this journey begin!

I'm happy to report that I just got off the phone with our staff and the group is officially together and checked in for their international flight to Fiji. As for how things portend for this coming semester this is as smooth a union as I've seen and I'm sure this will be a transformative and enlivening semester for all!

... stay tuned for more blogs from the students starting once they land and running roughly every week.

Yours in spirit,

Ethan

Hello FANZers! This is Heather and Adam writing from Portland OR. We are here at Carpe HQ, taking care of final preparations for our upcoming adventure together through the South Pacific. We are looking forward to meeting you all very soon...Sept 8th at LAX. We are also looking forward to meeting all the wonderful people of the South Pacific who will be hosting us along the way and sharing their lives and cultures with us. We will be speaking with all of you on the phone before we leave, but also feel free to email us with any other questions you might have. Aside from that, enjoy your last week at home and we will see you soon!

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru

Under The Sea

Hey everyone! It's Tyler and Kay-Lin again, bringing you the latest update on our adventures from the Great Barrier Reef. After our final dive yesterday, we all became certified divers! Accquiriing our licenses included starting a 4 day course with Cairns Dive Center. Our instructor Lance had us watch instructional videos and even gave us homework, something most of us haven't done in a while! He and Mel, his assistant instructor, were really thoruogh in teaching us all the underwater technical skills that go along with scuba diving. At first some us were a little nervous about going underwater but once we got the hang of it, we were swimming around the pool like dolphins! After two days of training in the pool, we had a pretty intense boat ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. Our group was well prepared with sea-sickness pills but the other people on the boat were not so lucky. For two hours we were surrounded by people throwing up everywhere. It was defintiely a crazy experience. We were relieved to finally get to the Kangaroo Explorer, our liveaboard boat. Lance wasted no time in getting us into the ocean with our first open water dive. It was freaky while descending down into the murky water. At 15 meters down, we reached the sandy bottom where Lance had us practice our mask removal and regulator retrieval skills. We then swam around to look at the coral and abundant sea life. After returning to the boat, we had a 2 hour break before our next dive. The Kangaroo Explorer was on it's way to a new reef location when the waters got extremely choppy and we were violently tossed around the dining room. At 4 pm, we had our second dive of the day. The visibility was much better this time and everyone was more comfortable in the open water. Us two, Dawn and Reid even managed to go on a night dive! It was a little scary at first while jumping into the dark water but once we were below the surface everything seemed really calm and relaxing. The sea life at night is totally different from that during the day. There was a lot of red bass, cleaner shrimp, poisonous lionfish, a moray eel and a sting ray. It was definitly something we'll never forget. The whole group was pretty exhausted and collasped into their beds once we were done diving. At 5:30 am the next day, we were woken up by Mel screaming and banging on our doors. We forgot to mention that Lance and Mel are absolutely insane once they're out on the ocean, acting like two crazy kids! We had to suit up and get ready for our 6 am dive, which is when we saw a school of Maori Wrasse and even more lionfish. After that dive, we only needed one more dive to complete our certificatiions. On our final dive with our instructors we swam with a sea turtle and a sting ray! Shelby even had a sea cucumber attach itself to her hand. Don't worry parents, she's still fully intact. Before leaving the reef, we got to do one solo dive with our buddies. We got to rent an underwater camera and you can see the photos below. Shelby and Marissa even found a nemo, which apparently can change their sex in case the female is eaten or abandons her anemone.

Now that diving is over, we are trying to enjoy our last two days together. So this is our last post and we've loved sharing all our memories and experiences with you these past three months. Can you believe its over!? We can't wait to see you in a few days!


With lots of love to everyone,
-Kay-Lin, Tyler, Chelsea, Marissa, Reid, Elizabeth, Blake, and Shelby