Hello!! My last week in Fiji was really crazy. At the beginning of the week, I had no thoughts that I would even have to leave. Then Trump declared the 30 day Europe travel ban and my roommates and I started to get a little bit nervous. We assumed we wouldn’t be able to stay until June, but wouldn’t have to leave that week.
By Friday, things had escalated enough throughout the world that I figured it would probably be my last weekend in Fiji. So, I decided to go to Nadi with Talia. We hung out with some of our local friends, and just sat on the beach. Talia’s friend from the US also came to visit that day, but had to leave to go back to the US just a few days later because of corona.
By the time I woke up on Saturday, my mom had already decided it was time for me to come home that Monday. I was completely devastated. I was sitting on the beach while talking to her, staring at exactly what I had to leave behind.
Now I am back at home. It actually hasn’t been as bad of an adjustment as I thought it would be. Turns out I am very used to doing nothing haha. But it is really sad to look outside and see no people, and nothing green. The sunsets do not compare, and shivering when I walk outside is not something I enjoy.
Though I was very upset to leave Fiji, I am very grateful that I have a safe home to go to, and am not worried about having a lack of food or resources. In Fiji, most people don’t have anything. The water and electricity turn off all the time, and no one really knows when it will come back on. They import most of the supplies they have, so when it runs out, it is very hard to restock. Health care is not good, and their government is unstable. I feel horrible for all the villagers I met who do not know what they’ll do if one of them gets sick. The resort workers we would hang out with are all out of a job now too. It is scary being in a first world country while this is all happening, I cannot imagine living through this in a third world country like Fiji.
grace monshausen 