Fiji!

So I arrived in L.A. to catch my flight from LA to Sydney via Fiji. Originally I was only spending 2 hours in Fiji for a layover. Yet, I learned last Tuesday that my flight from L.A. to Fiji had been canceled for two days since a bird flew into
the engine of our plane. I got 2 nights and 1 day in LA...my flight was set to depart to Fiji on Thursday. I then met Brian in the LAX airport---he's from Iowa and is travelling the world after graduation to possibly pursue writing. He is truly
amazing and I will consider him a friend for life--sounds so cliche, but
true. I had met Brian in LA after He approached me--the blonde girl, frantically
talking to her mom on the phone and crying her eyes out. They put us up
in a hotel for two nights and gave us meal vouchers. Brian showed me
around LA...Venice Beach and Santa Monica. As we roamed around L.A. for
the next day and a half, we got to know each other pretty well, deciding
that we could trust each other and that we were no longer strangers. All
the bird in the engine really meant days in LA and Fiji. I arrived in Fiji Friday night. I booked a flight to Sydney Sunday
morning...I spent one free night in accommodation from the airline and
the second night I stayed in my first hostel!!! Ew!!! We took a SeaSpray day
cruise of the islands in Fiji and I feel as though I do not need to go
back for my stopover on the way home. We saw the island where the latest series of Survivor was filmed, and snorkeled to the island where the movie Cast Away was shot. We visited a village of 700 Fijians, participating in their ritual of drinking kava, a tasteless liquid made from a root which numbs your mouth. On the boat  ride back we listened to the locals play songs like "Knockin' on
Heaven's Door" and "In the Jungle" on their guitars as we sipped our beers and chatted with other travelers from Australia and England. You really only need
1-2 days in Fiji. I do have to say that the Fijian people are some of the nicest in the world though. It is clean, safe, and very quaint.

It took 6 days of travel to finally arrive in Sydney. I met many people along the way---a couple of English kids, Evan from CO and his uncle, Tim from Macquerie University---or uni in Sydney (the first Australian I met), Emanuel and his daughter Zara (who I loved!), Nash from Fiji, and lots more English and Austrlian folks. It seemed as though Americans don't really travel frequently. The flight from LA to Fiji was insane...lots of drinks with the Fijian rubgy team! We befriended the Air Pacific staff Jeffrey and Fay and they showed us a good time. After my Fiji experience--only 1 day but very wonderful, I said goodbye to Brian as he was travelling to New Zealand.

I was on my way to Sydney...all alone...ready for the time of my life!