We interrupt your program for a very important message...

Alright, so I'm not interrupting your favorite TV show. What I am interrupting is my studying, which is actually much happier than interrupting a TV show. I felt the need to take a little study break to give a shout-out to my sister, Lindsay. Her birthday is coming up (I won't say when for privacy purposes), so I just wanted to let her know that I love her. And here's just a few reasons why (with pictures that may or may not have anything to do with my list. That's how I roll :)

I love singing with her because she has the most beautiful soprano voice. Any day I get to sing with her is a good day.

We go on lots of road trips together

aaaaand she puts up with my incessant need to take pictures. Even when she's driving.

She's such a cute mother to two of the cutest little munchkins on the face of the planet

'Nuff said.

She's super crafty and awesome at cooking and doesn't even get mad at me when I have to call her for the millionth time to remind me how to cast on for knitting or exactly how to make a recipe she gave me. (This happens often).

 And sometimes when I am feeling crappy about myself she drops everything (everything, I tell you) to come help me, even though there's a million other things she could be doing.

This is a very condensed version of what I could say, but the point is I love you Linds. I'm so grateful that you're my sister. I'm sad I can't be there for your birthday, but I hope you can have an decent one without me there :)

Happy Birthday! I love you!

Wicked Wednesdays

You know you're in a Master's of Nursing program when your teacher starts class with 10 minutes of meditation to try to alleviate the anxiety felt by everyone in the room. Yeah... that's the kind of week this is turning out to be.

Everyone is freaking out because next week not only do we start having clinicals 2 days a week, but we also have 4 exams. So yeah..... that'll be fun...

In other news, Wednesday's and I are no longer friends. 12 hours on campus is too long my friends. Too long.

I'm a local! ...kinda...

Alright, here it is: my update on life in Boston, finally! It's been a crazy few weeks, and bound to get more so, I'm sure. But don't worry, I've managed to have plenty of fun in the process. Here's a glimpse at life on the east coast:

Mom and Daddy flew out with me to help me move in and get settled. Good thing they did, I'm really not sure how I would have managed without their help.

First getting in to Boston. Daddy didn't know how to focus my camera so the image is super blurry, but you get the general idea.

Why yes, I did check 6 huge suitcases jam packed with my belongings. What you don't see is my backpack and purse that I carried on and Mom's purse and Dad's two carry-ons as well. They were so good to me to let me use all of the checked luggage for my stuff.

We got in Tuesday afternoon and with a few mishaps (aka getting lost multiple times... navigating around here is hard!) we made it to Boston College to check it out.

Bright and early Wednesday morning I had orientation that lasted all day, and while I was at that Mom and Daddy were out running errands for me (aren't they the best?)

In front of the nursing school, my home for the next two years

We spent several days getting everything settled and my room set up (a separate post with pictures to come later). Then finally on Saturday we were able to get out and see Boston. We went on the Freedom Trail and it was really cool!

The cemetery where Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin's parents are buried

Paul Revere statue with the Old North church in the background.

We made a stop at Mike's Pastries, this famous Italian pastry shop in the North end. It was PACKED with a line going down the street for about a block.

This picture does not do justice to the madness that is Mike's Pastry

We also went on a Duck Tour and got a sweet view of the Boston skyline.

I WILL ride in a sailboat at some time while I live here

We thought the moon looked really cool behind this building, so we had to take a picture

Sadly my parents had to leave on Sunday, but I'm so grateful I was able to have them here as long as I did. Thank you Mom and Daddy!

Randomly on Sunday I ran in to my Jerusalem friend Rebekah at church and come to find out she lives in my house! There are two apartments: mine is the upstairs and hers is the downstairs! It was seriously one of the most random experiences of my life, but I was so happy to have a friend so close! And since Monday was a holiday, I went down to her apartment Monday morning to see if she would want to explore with me and she told me that she was going on the Freedom Trail and would I want to come? Why yes, yes I would. Also, her sister married my other Jerusalem friend B, and they were in town for the weekend so they were coming on the trail too! I was seriously so happy! B is one of my most favorite people, so I was stoked to be able to spend the day with him, even if I was crashing their family time.

This time on the Freedom Trail was a little different because we rented bikes and rode them around town for a lot of it. Seriously, so much fun. When you come to Boston to visit me (hint, hint), we will do this. It's that much fun. Riding bikes along the cobblestones made me feel like I was in a scene from a movie straight out of Europe. Loved it.

Rebekah, B, and Rachel on their bikes

B touring the U.S.S Constitution

The four of us chillin in the garden at Boston Commons

Anyway, that's Boston for ya! Oh yeah, and school stuff too, but those are minor details, right?

"Graduation"

I graduated from BYU on August 12, but was in Fiji until August 13. Not a bad trade-off if you ask me. Anyway, our last day in Fiji was Saturday, which due to the time difference meant it was Friday in Utah, the day of my graduation. We were sitting there at a debriefing meeting and out of nowhere Karen stands up and says that it was a big day and starts humming the graduation theme song. She pulls out a "graduation cap" and "diploma" and Brian calls me up to the front. He says "You know that when you graduate they give you a fake diploma, so as an officer of the school I would like to present you with this diploma and congratulate you on your graduation." It was hilarious, I could not stop laughing. It was so cool! And let's be honest, I think my graduation ceremony was the best anyone graduating from BYU had this summer: short, sweet, and in view of the ocean in Fiji. Awesome!

Brian giving me my diploma. People wear quick-dries to graduation, right?

One of the girls in my program got the whole thing on video, but I still can't figure out how to load videos on this thing. Help?

10 years

I am grateful to be an American.

Today my dear friend Jen invited me to go with her to the September 11 ten year memorial they were holding today in the Memorial Hall at Harvard. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing.

It was an artistic tribute to 9/11, so it was a reading and music and dance tribute. It started off with a powerful picture slideshow set to music that really set the stage for the rest of the program. The music was incredible, and so heartrendingly beautiful and simultaneously haunting. The reading consisted of some excerpts from poems, interviews of people like firefighters and cops, and letters from soldiers after the attacks, to name just a few. It was fabulously well-done and I am so glad I got to be a part of it.

Today is a somber day, a day to reflect on the past and how to rise above some of the horrible things in the world and combat it with the good. This article says it so well. I hope we never forget what happened this day 10 years ago. God bless America.

In my room

I'm sitting here in my room doing my homework, and I had to break out the space heater. Already.

It's September.

What have I gotten myself into?

Bula Vinaka!

First Fiji, then Boston. Also, just a few words about Fiji. Going on this trip I was SO stoked for Australia and New Zealand because they are places I've dreamed of for as long as I can remember, and I just thought that Fiji would be a sweet place. Little could I know that Fiji would steal my heart.

• The children (p.s. don't mind the fact that I look like Quasimodo, that's just my nice little eye infection...)

Samisae braiding my hair

The absolutely cutest little boy on the planet, I'm convinced (minus my nephew, of course)

Also I'm trying to upload a video of the kids singing which was one of my favorites but it's not working for some reason. When I get it to work I'll post it later.

• The villagers

Again, if I could load a video I would, but for now, pictures will have to suffice

They made the sweetest, most elaborate meals for us and they would stand behind the table, just so proud of their work and it just melted your heart.

They would dance and sing for us at our welcoming ceremony and goodbye ceremony

So much attention to detail in everything, from the flower necklaces they gave us when we first got there to this welcoming sign to the food. Everything was perfect.

Again with the detail. This was the archway they made at our picnic on the beach.

•  Lemon leaf tea

This stuff was goooooooood. So good that our director's wife tried to bring some leafs back with her to the U.S. for which she got stopped at customs and is now on the biodiversity watchlist. Note to self, don't try to bring leaves back from other countries.

• Our uninhabited island

Unbelievably and indescribably beautiful

•  And last, but definitely not least, our guides

Seriously, if you are ever planning a trip in Fiji you need to use Tamarillo. These guys did SUCH a good job and honestly made the trip for us. It would not have been nearly as amazing without them. I got so attached to them that I wanted to bring all of them back to the U.S. with me so I wouldn't have to leave them.  Love them.

Johnny letting me borrow his sunglasses for a picture on the top of our uninhabited island

The Tamarillo gang. Top Row (please note that I'm going to slaughter the spelling of their names, but what can ya do?): Gus, Juilian, Tox, Marina, George, Ratu's wife, Ratu, Tony. Bottom Row: Ravai, Thomase, Simone (with Ratu's son), Johnny (with Ratu's other son), Brent (with Ratu's daughter), and Katherine

My favorites: Gus, Johnny, Tox, and Simone

Other things that aren't highlights but that I should talk about anyway...

• My eye infection

This is me trying to open my eye as wide as I could.... epic fail.

•  Cava

It's this ...interesting... drink that they have ALL the time. It tastes like mud and makes your mouth tingly.

Me holding the cava root. They grind this up and mix it with water to drink.

•  Fish

So much fish. I'm pretty sure I've met my fish quota for the rest of my life

I could go on about Fiji for pages and pages, but this is it for now. Maybe if you're lucky I'll post more later :)