Allison and Amelia's Adventures Abroad

Nadi, Fiji Do you pronounce it Na-Di? No. Surprisingly, that is incorrect! There is another “n” sound before the d so it would sound more like “Nan-Di”  Today I went on an exo trax bike ride. I was sitting on a piece of wood, and the bikes were attached to it. When I pedalled on the bike, it would charge the battery to keep me moving. There was also an accelerator for if I got tired. Did you know that sugar cane is one of Fiji’s biggest exports? There are about 50 sugar cane fields across Fiji. The bike transport line was the old sugar train transport line but the Fijian government decided to stop using it after a big hurricane. Did you know that the Fiji sugar cane company is 120 years old? It was started in 1903 by the government and was probably the first to make crystallized sugar in 1862. Do you know how brown sugar is made? They burn the outside of the sugar cane (sometimes the inside) and then grind it up to make brown sugar! Some basic Fijian language: Hello: Bula “Boo-La” ...

 Today we went on a cruse to an island! On the island we planted some coral and went snorkelling! Did you know that coral is nocturnal? If you pick up some coral in the night, and magnify it by 100, you can see little tentacles feeding on the stuff in the water. My family also saw some baby reef sharks! Yesterday we went to the market. Here are some photos: I couldn’t believe how cheap everything was!!! We got 3 pineapples for 5 fijian dollars!(3 Canadian dollars)  the pineapples were so good! I don’t normally like pineapples, but I haven’t stopped eating them! The kiwi here is also amazing!!! I find kiwi is normally sour, but these ones are so sweet. By Allison

First impressions-ok… The plants are very pretty, but there is garbage on the ground pretty much everywhere. It makes sense though because there isn’t a garbage dump. On the bright side, I am able to get fresh mangos from a tree! There is an 18 hour time difference so it will take some getting used to but it is very humid, warm, and the greenery is lovely. I also lost 1 shoe somewhere so I only have old high tops to wear for the 7 months. We are staying at an air bnb that has a pool and mango trees. My Mom said that we are not staying in a hotel because we want to see how Fijian people live, and it is very different. The houses are very basic, but that makes sense. The houses don’t need a lot of insulation because of the warm climate, and they need to have low houses in case of a hurricane.  Here are some photos of the air bnb By Allison

We are all very exited but nervous. I find it so funny that so many people are asking me to take them with me in my suitcase! 😄 my room is now filled with boxes of stuff that we are packing up as we are renting the place out while we go away. (There are about 20 boxes in my room right now!)

 Hello! We are leaving in 2 weeks and my mom is going crazy with packing. I am super excited for the cruise that we are going on in Australia and also visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand! Unfortunately we will be missing Halloween and Christmas, but we will be in some pretty cool places for the holidays. I hope we are ready on time!

 Hello everyone! This is Jenn and this is likely the only post I will make - from here on out this will be Allison and Amelia's blog! Feel free to ask them questions or let them know if there is something specific you would like to see. We are excited to have you join us on our travels!