Hi everyone! I am now well into my 4th week in Fiji and just visited the temple in Nadi with my friend Julie, from Tennessee, who is also working at my school, Mount Saint Mary's. Once we read the notice explaining all the rules and regulations of what you can and cant do in the temple (must not have consumed meat or egg in the last 24 hrs, no alcohol or kava and no photos ...) we went to pay the reasonable $3.50. We were then told that if we wanted a tour we had to pay the man in the canteen but the actual amount was unclear. He later forgot he had even asked us for extra money which was definitely a scam anyway.

The temple was beautifully decorated with paintings depicting the different gods and there were lots of shrines with statues inside. This was only one of the many things on mine and Julie's list of things to do before we leave Fiji and it was well worth the visit!

Last weekend, a group of 5 volunteers including myself, traveled up the yasawas to Oarsmans Bay; a beautiful island (and I have put pictures on my facebook if you want to see. Unfortunately it takes too long to upload on this website at the moment). It was a 5 hour boat trip to get there and on the first night, we experienced 'Fiji night' where the staff made a traditional meal cooked in a lovo (underground oven). It was so tasty and the whole evening was fun as everyone sat on one long table on a veranda on the beach!The chief of the island was also there and served us kava which I can only describe as the feeling after you consume 20 aniseed cough sweets at once and your tongue then goes numb!

On Saturday, the five of us (Heather, Tamara, Julie, Andy and myself) went to swim in some caves inside another island rock face. At first we swam through a cave which had an opening to the outside and was fairly large. Then one of our volunteers disappeared and I found out that there was a tiny hole under the water which we had to swim through to get to some connecting caves which were in the dark. Unfortunately I could not take any photos but it was such an awesome experience! The rest of the day was spent reading, listening to music and sun-bathing on a hammock!

On sunday, I went to a local village and went to a Fijian methodist church service. We were dressed in Fijian clothing before we went there which explains the photos! Unfortunately the service was in Fijian so I was unable to understand most of it but the singing was beautiful and all in harmony.

After arriving back in Nadi, my family has informed me that we are actually moving house on friday to a larger house about 10 miles down the main road away from town. I'm excited to experience moving house in Fiji especially as it all happens on one day and nothing goes into storage. It barely seems to cause them any stress especially as they have a baby and a toddler and no car!

My plans for the rest of the week are saying goodbye to 3 of my best friends out here who all leave on Thursday and so tonight my room mate is taking the family to the Hilton hotel for a meal!!! Tomorrow is the monthly social night where food is all paid for by Projects Abroad and we are going to an Indian/Thai restaurant. This weekend, Julie, Kris and I are going to Suva, the capital city of Fiji on the eastern side of the main island where Kris is from.

Thats all for now!... Hope you are all well and enjoying summer

love Molly xxx