"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?

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 :)

Down Under

Alright, I'm going to break my study abroad into segments so it doesn't seem as overwhelming for me. First up: Australia.

Back row buddies Ryan and Rachael. We were literally on the last row of the 747.

So, getting to Australia takes a really long time. Especially when you have a million hour layover in LA. But even without that, the plane ride from LA to Brisbane takes 14 hours. Not overly pleasant when you can't sleep on airplanes, which I can't. But, I worked on some homework and watched some movies so it all worked out in the end.

My reaction to being in Australia...

...vs Emma's reaction to being in Australia. Yes, I was a little excited. And yes, I am aware I look like a maniac.

Anyway, we flew into Brisbane but our final destination was Cairns, so we caught another flight up there. When we got to the airport we had to wait for our van, so naturally while we were waiting we took pictures.

Our life for the next 6 weeks

These random statues outside the airport

The security guard told us we should plank on these... not comfortable at. all.

Beautiful Cairns

Kate my tent mate trying to get the stakes in

Part of our campground. Notice the misshapen tent on the left? Yeah, that was mine. Come to find out, one of the poles was cracked and being held together by duct tape, and it just snapped while we were setting our tent up. Awesome.

After we pitched our tents we headed straight to the pool. No one is in the water because it was FREEZING.

So, we bought this "towel: at REI because it was quick-dry. Never opened it until I got to Cairns, and this is what I found. My sweet little handtowel.

Where we stayed in Cairns. With Kate and Emma.

We ate SQUID

Ok, this is already taking too long. Some highlights from Australia (get ready for a picture overload. also, sorry the pictures aren't in the same order as the commentary, I'm really bad at figuring out blogger...)

Ally, Katie, Me, Neeley, Stephanie

• The stunningly beautiful esplanade 
• Botanical Gardens

My diving buddies Neeley and Ally

• 

  Stephanie, Me, Katie, Julie, Neeley, Emma, Rachael, Liz, Chalay, Kaye, Ally

• Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef!
• Feeding a wallaby and holding a koala
• Sleeping in swags in the outback
• Hiking in the Blue Mountains
• Sydney Temple (sorry no pictures, it was pouring rain)
• Rugby Game in Sydney
• Manly Beach

Neeley and Me (what am I doing with my hands?)

Me, Julie, Ally

Julie, Neeley, Ally, Me (with Kate and Sarah in the background)

Katie, Me, Ally, Julie, Sharon

Back Row: Rachael, Julie, Me, Sarah, Neeley Front Row: Katie, Kate, Emma, Ally, Liz

15 days...

and a million things to do. Good heavens, sometimes there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to accomplish everything you need to, ya know? And yet here I am... (I just finished writing a paper, which is why I'm allowing myself to write a blog post. Detox for a minute and then dive right back in.)

And yet even though I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done, it won't even matter because in 15 days I will be on my way to here:

Image found here

 and I could not be more excited.

Grateful

"It is so hard when sincere prayer about something you desire very much is not answered the way you want. It is difficult to understand why your exercise of deep and sincere faith from an obedient life does not grant the desired result. The Savior taught, “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you.” At times it is difficult to recognize what is best or expedient for you over time. Your life will be easier when you accept that what God does in your life is for your eternal good."

Richard G. Scott, Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer

I've been thinking a lot lately about how sometimes our disappointments can ultimately be our greatest blessings. Even when we want something SO badly, we don't always get it. It's so hard to understand why, when we feel like we've put in the effort and we should be rewarded. But like Elder Scott said, your life is easier when you accept that God knows more of what you need than you do.

Example 1: When I first tried out to be an Anatomy TA, I wanted it more than I care to admit. I honestly made myself sick over it, because I wanted it so so badly. And not only that, I had worked for it. I knew what I wanted: I wanted to be a TA. But, the interview came and went and I didn't get it. I was devastated. Seriously crushed. My confidence was shattered. I had put the effort in and had gotten nothing in return. Then, that next semester was the hardest I had yet experienced. I was taking way too many ridiculous classes at the same time, like Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology and Biomechanics, and Chemistry just to name a few (just another testament to my masochism). It was also the semester that I broke my foot and had to have surgery. Looking back on it, being an Anatomy TA that semester would have put me over the top. It would have been a commitment of 8 more hours a week that I didn't have. And I can't even imagine trying to get around the lab and trying to teach on crutches or with my really attractive TLC (the Turning Leg Caddy :). It would not have been anywhere near as positive an experience as I had when I actually did become a TA. Looking back, I realize that it really was a blessing in disguise.

Example 2: I'm leaving on a study abroad to the South Pacific in 25 days. We're going first to Australia then to New Zealand and finally to Fiji. There is a small group that is going to Tonga and Samoa when we finish in Fiji. I really wanted to go with them. It only cost about $800 more for a chance to go to two more countries. Knowing the travel junkie that I am, I was set on going with them. The only problem was, I couldn't get the money in time. My loan didn't go through in time, and I certainly didn't have the money in my bank account to afford it when they were buying their tickets. So I couldn't go. I was really bummed about it. Even now I would still love for the opportunity to go, but I see now that my inability to purchase the tickets was God's way of looking out for me. You see, I get back from my study abroad on August 13. Fall semester at Georgetown starts on August 30. So I have 17 days to come home, pack up all of my stuff, say goodbye, move to the other side of the country, and get settled in before school starts. BUT, if I had gone to Tonga and Samoa like I wanted, I wouldn't get back until August 19, leaving myself only 11 days to do all of that. Would it have been possible? Yes. But it also would have greatly increased my stress and severely limited the amount of time I could spend with family and friends before I left. So really, just another blessing in disguise.

Basically, I'm just grateful that life doesn't always go according to my plan because, let's be honest, my plans aren't always the greatest. And though it's hard to say it at the time, I am grateful for my disappointments.