Imagine, 11 students and 2 leaders piled in a bus with all of our belongings, bouncing along with every bump of the gravel road below us. That is how we started our week long student directed travel at Vatia Beach Resort. Our suspicions of a dirt ramshackle hut were quickly destroyed by the view of white, sandy beaches, wooden swings for our lazy afternoons, and crystal clear water reflecting the hot Fijian sun. After we settled ourselves in the secluded bungalows or shared dorm room, many of us quickly started our week of “do nothing” with a nap.
The next day, for the first time in what felt like weeks, we awoke to the sunlight streaming into our room, and meandered outside onto the deck without the worry of time constraints. We were soon suited in our swim attire, and splashing into the water, leaving all prior fears or doubt behind us. After a much needed day of laying on the beach, our next morning started with the first ever game of Carpe Diem Survivor, created by our very own, Bridget Dubus. This was not some lame game for a couple of newbies, this was hardcore fight to the death (aka $25 AUS dollars for Sydney). The teams were “Venom” (Margo, Jen, Lauren, Lina, Will, and David) and “Shark Bait” (Avi, Olivia, Bryan, Tiff, Claudia, and Hannah). We kicked off the games with volleyball, then a Fijian trivia, relay race, boat race, blindfolded maze, Carpe group quiz, hold your breath underwater, and one footed rock holding. After each game, we went to “Tribal Council” and one person was “kicked off the island”. At the end, we were left with our two strongest competitors, Lina and Avi. Once the sun went down and we had filled ourselves with food, we all took part in the “last bonfire” to vote for who we wanted to win. After a very close tally, our winner was Lina.
After a long day of Survivor, the next day was mostly filled with a lot of hammock time, until about 5 pm when our program director for our trip, Simone, arrived with her partner Jeremy. Eager to show her all our group has to offer, we played a game of bounce ball (created by Claudia and Avi), shared a sunset dinner, and gathered around the bonfire pit to sing them a song. Our night ended in many fireworks, and dancing around a speaker, showing off our most awkward dance moves.
The next morning, the majority of us took off to snorkel along the coral to view the beautiful sea life below. The rest of us went with Simone and Jeremy to a village that was a part of one of her previous Carpe trips.
After a good night’s sleep, we left for a hostel closer to Nadi so that tomorrow we can catch our early flight to our final destination, Australia!
Catch ya later mate!
-Jen