I made it!

I'm finally in Fiji. The flight went well. I ended up sleeping most of the day. I met my group in LA. Everyone seems friendly and we're getting along well. Stepping off the plane was amazing. The first thing I saw were lush green mountains and fields.
Our first day was busy. We're currently staying in Nadi for orientation. We met with our program coordinators and and then were given free time. We decided to explore the city. Nadi is an incredible place. Walking through the streets is like sensory overload. We ate lunch in a place called the curry house. I had fish cooked in coconut milk and cassava, which is a really starchy root crop. It was pretty tasty. Our waitress from the restaurant led us to this little craft shop where we had our first kava ceremony with some artisans from a village. Kava is a drink that is used in a traditional ceremony for welcoming. It sort of tastes like dirty dish water. It's also a narcotic. It made my mouth go numb. I also felt light headed for a while. The ceremony in the store was kind of a gimmick to get us to buy stuff, but it was still a neat experience. We ended up walking back from town, which was about four miles because of road construction and a traffic jam. We got really muddy, but it was a good bonding experience. We spent the afternoon swimming and then had pizza for dinner. It didn't taste like anything in the states and was kind of gross.
Today we went to a Hindu temple in Nadi. The complex was covered in paintings of Hindu deities and was very brightly colored. We talked with a priest for a while about the practices at the temple. It was really interesting. We looked around Nadi for awhile after that. We went through a fruit and vegetable market. They had lots of things we couldn't identify. We had some pineapple there that was really sweet and juicy. I had lunch at a fast food place. I tried lamb curry, which was not my favorite. (Not anything like my Dad's) Tonight we're going to a Mosque and having dinner with a Moslem family. We actually met the man whose hosting us for dinner at the vegetable market. He seemed like a nice person.
The people in Fiji are wonderful. Everyone has been kind and helpful. Almost everyone greets you with a friendly "Bula!" (hello) on the street and asks you where you're from. I'm having a great time so far. I'll try and post some pictures soon.