I miss my mom's OCD with cleaning...

So for the past 6 days I have been in a homestay in Suva. The internet never worked and I rarely got to talk to my parents. When We first arrived at the home literally I thought I was never going to make it through this… The house was a complete disaster!! It was so dirty and infested with bugs.. I HATE BUGS so this was a challenge! Thankfully I had another girl from my trip named Jenna so we made the best out of it. The family consisted of a mom and a dad in probably their 50s who were super sweet. There was an older brother named Hans who was about 28 and a daughter named Mika who was about 26. Mika had a 6 year old daughter named  Lauryn who was always full of energy and trying to tell us what to do! Mack was the youngest brother at the age of 8 and he had Down Syndrome. I was excited at first because my mom works with special needs kids and was hoping Mark would open up to me but I was very very wrong. Regardless that he had special needs, kids should be able to have some sort of manners and know how to be respectful of others and their personal space and things. Mark and Lauryn were always all over the place and constantly in our room. When we were trying to get ready to go out somewhere they would start crying because they couldn’t get their way and come with us.. I know this is a completely different side of the world and families are different, but it seemed like the parents just didn’t want to deal with the younger children and just let them do whatever they want. I felt that if they at least gave them attention they would be a little better. Anyways we were staying in the homestays to be able to experience a new lifestyle and boy did I get the experience of a lifetime. I will never take my mom’s OCD for cleaning for granted EVER AGAIN! I missed having a hot shower and clean water that I felt safe brushing my teeth in. The only thing I loved about my home was the food. It was always amazing and I felt like I was constantly eating! After we first night we realized that we would never be sleeping past 6am. Dogs are always fighting outside throughout the night and roosters and birds wake you up at the crack of dawn. The first full day in Suva was spent at the University of the South Pacific (USP) We took classes all day and it felt like I was back in school but just 8,000 miles from SAC. (my mom obviously looked up exactally how many miles I am away from home…) After a day of classes a group of us went to go see Harry Potter ! If you know me then you know that I am a HUGEEEE Harry Potter fan! It wasn’t the same as seeing it at midnight but I am so happy that I at least got to see the movie with friends. I was kinda sad that the movies are over but all good things must come to an end. Also the movie was only $5 in Fiji. That is about $2.50 in the US. I wanted to see it a million times for that price! Haha The next day we had a free day and my family spent it on a field trip with Lauryn’s first grade class. It was actually really fun and we went to a police K9 unit and a firewalking presentation! At the firewalking presentation I was in complete shock at how the performers could walk across 100 degree coals. After the firewalking they did a reenactment of how tribal life was back in the day. They were playing games and needed a prize for who could take the husk off the coconut the fastest. Guess who they decided was going to be the prize that they were going to keep… ME… Yepp they made me stand up and tell everyone what my name was and they proceeded to tell me what they would do if they won me as a prize. I will keep their comments to myself for fear that they will come kidnap me! After the firewalking we went into town and met up with a few people from our group then went shopping. The next day (Thursday) we had exams on the one day of lectures we had. It was a joke and they wanted us to write 8 pages of essays. I wrote about 5 and called it a day. Its not like SAC will accept one day of classes for a credit anyway. I finally got to call my parents and got to say happy birthday to my dad! It was so great to just hear their voices instead of trying to email them at an internet café. After the exam we went to an art museum that was at the prison. All if the paintings were done by inmates which I thought was pretty cool. They were all amazing and I bought a postcard of one of the paintings for $1. After the art museum we went to the Fiji Museum. There I bought a handmade clay turtle for my mom and a shot glass for my dad. I was starting to panic that I wasn’t going to find anything for them! That night we went to O’Reiley’s which is a local bar in town that everyone from AIFS recommends us to go to. It was a lot of fun but weird at the same time. At home I am not allowed to order drink because I am not 21. So being legal to drink here was nice. I didn’t overdo it. Jenna and I left early because we felt bad making our family stay up but when we got home they were doing laundry… Reminded me of my mom!  The next day we went to a village and it was such a great experience. We saw how 300 people live in their own self sufficient community miles away from civilization. They offered us the traditional drink of the Pacific Kava which I was not a fan of. It is basically roots of a plant mushed together and served with water. It literally tastes like dirt but I am glad I at least tried it. We learned how to make bracelets out of dried leaves which was pretty cool. We learned how to do their traditional dance which was basically walking around with two other people but it was still really fun and we were all laughing the whole time! They served a great lunch that they cooked in an outdoor pit called a lovo. (spelling?) After a day at the village we went back to our homestays and then back out to O’Reiley’s with everyone.  We had another free day on Saturday which my host sister took us all shopping. We went to this place called Pure Fiji which is a factory that sells amazing creams and soaps and other products. They have a huge sale on Saturdays so I bought a few things. Next we went into little shops with Mika and found lots of really cool things. I bought a wooden bead bracelet and wooden earring for only $5! I bought a few things for my family too! After a day of shopping we went and saw Friends with benefits which was so funny! That night we had a farewell performance and dinner which was a nice ending to our stay in Suva. There were dance performances by the Oceania Dance Theater and even performances from some of the host families with other people from my trip. That night we went back to our house and just hung around with our family for the last night. Today (Sunday) we left our homestays and departed for the hotel we started our trip at. On the way back the weather was gross and rainy. We stopped for lunch and then went right back on the bus for a ride to the sand dunes. We took an hour long hike which was a lot harded than I expected it to be. And on top of it, it started raining.. lovely! But it was still fun and we walked on a beach with huge yet beautiful waves! After what seemed like forever and in a bus that  I thought would never make it back to the hotel, we arrived safely! I actually got to skype with my brother and parents and was the first to wish my brother a happy birthday! It is crazy to think that I have only been here 8 days and I missed my dad and brother’s birthdays. I know they understand but I wish I could just give them a hug and say happy birthday in person! After a much needed hot shower I finally felt like I was back to normal! The internet sucks here so uploading pictures to facebook is going to take forever! Eventually I will upload them !  Tomorrow is our last day in Fiji and we are going to a temple and shopping! I will finally get to buy my dad stuff from the Hard Rock and possibly be able to buy a Pandora charm for myself! Tuesday morning we are taking an early flight to Sydney. I have loved every minute of Fiji, even the horrible living conditions. I have realized that I can’t take anything for granted and just be happy that I had a place to stay. I can’t wait to finally be In Sydney though and start the semester! I miss my friends and family but I will get to talk to them more once I am finally not living out of a suitcase! So for now I am just living in the moment and enjoying everything that this trip has to offer!