today's sampling of funny quotes from the road....

Last night we had dinner with a family from the Central Synangogue in Sydney, we were talking American and Israeli politics...

The Dad: "Do you know what's the difference between Natan Sharansky and Ehud Olmert?"
Lauren: "Lipstick?"

And in Fiji, our guide on the islands, Levi (a Fijian who had served in Israel as a peacekeeper) got us coconuts from a nearby tree....

Lauren: "Are there a lot of coconut trees in Fiji?"
Levi: (looks at her like she's an idiot)....."Are there a lot of olive trees in Israel?"

I write from a Land Down Under....

Hello from Bondi Beach! So here I am in Sydney Australia, crazy! Lauren and I flew yesterday from Fiji and we're currently staying in Bondi Beach. We're here because 'Rosh Hashana starts tonight and we'll be going to shul and having meals with some people the rabbi set up for us. Otherwise I might not stay here...I'm basically the exact opposite of a surfer chick and Bondi is like the hot spot for people to go to the beach. Its nice though, it reminds me a lot of Tel Aviv but bigger. Yesterday was SO crowded because it was Sunday, its a little more chilled out now. I think we're going to head to the beach once I get my internet fix. We're in a hostel that looks out over the ocean, and we're sharing a room with four British dudes....it seems that the entire population of Brits in their 20's is backpacking, I don't know who's left in the country! Still the only Americans, and a Serbian guy this morning told us we were the first Americans he had met traveling (besides when he was in America). I feel like we've been spoiled so far because in Fiji we often had the dorm rooms almost completely to ourselves and now we're in a proper hostel, I'm sleeping on a top bunk, it's like a bizarre summer camp :) But its all good and we're still having a great time. Sydney so far looks just like an American city except that everbody has funny accents.

I think that's it for now, more details and pictures to follow!

oh yeah, i got to use my medical kit....

I forgot to mention, I saw Hillel left a comment on one of the photos of me petting a cat saying not to touch them...that cat was lovely! However, there's a cat at the Nadi hostel we're staying at that I was petting; I thought we were getting along great and he BIT me! I now understand Hillel's desire to dropkick a cat....

It's Friday here, which means its Thursday by you

I'm here in Suva, Fiji's capital city at an internet cafe full of dudes playing weird warcraft games. Just an average evening! We just had dinner at a yummy curry house and found this cafe next door. Half of Fiji's population is Indo-Fijian, descendants of Indians who came here as indentured servants in colonial times. I believe the political tension here is due to the split population thing but our book says not to ask anyone about it because apparently its TOUCHY....so I have no insights. Its interesting though, there are many places in Fiji renowned for Indian cooking and you can see both Hindu temples as well as Indian mosques around.

Today we took a very touristy tour from Nadi along the one road that goes along the southern coastline, we were taken on a longboat to see some waterfalls and went far up the Navua river to see a "traditional" Fijian village. It involved singing and dancing, welcoming ceremonies and many thoughts on my part on the notion of authenticity. I'll spare you the bulk of it, but it is endlessly fascinating to me how not only tourists view locals, but how locals choose to "perform" their culture for tourists. We also had a kava ceremony which is done whenever someone enters a village and is still done in most communities, not only for tourists. Kava is a root that gets crushed up and mixed with water to form a drink, its supposed to make you relaxed and can numb your tongue and lips. We didn't see the rest of the village, it was basically like they take the tourists to this one building to do all the stuff and then send them on. Although we did get a look at the medical clinic which receives donations from tourists and serves around 20 surrounding villages.

When we got off the river Lauren and I arranged to catch a local bus the rest of the way to Suva instead of heading back with the rest of the group. Tomorrow we'll see the Fiji Museum and some of the city before heading back to Nadi, we fly to Sydney Sunday morning. So far we're having a great time and lots of fun....Lots of love to all!

In which i almost pass out on a hike up a hill because i'm wildly out of shape

Bula from Fiji!

SO finally here is my update. Lauren and I have just spent two days on Malolo Island, about an hour's ferry ride from Nadi, where we flew in. It was a nice beach resort, kinda quiet but a good place to start. A few families, us, a British girl, and obviously, an Israeli who insists he made a 5 figure fortune in New Zealand by selling paintings door to door. Hm. Anyways, we slept, we swam, we drank coconut juice, we had amazing Fijian fish cooked in coconut oil, we made numerous Sarah palin impressions. Also, we hiked with a guide up to the highest point on the mountain, and it turns out if you only drive places for several months, hiking is harder than it used to be. I actually got really dizzy and almost barfed (it was also really hot out) and it was generally fairly embarrasing.

So...today we took a tiny little plane back to the mainland cause it was only 5 dollars more and seemed like fun. Fiji is NOT a cheap place. You have to book all your island stuff in advance and once you get there you have to eat their food...but live and learn. I figure this is the only time in my life I'll ever be here so I may as well have a good time. But anyways, the plane was hilarious, it was like being in a van in the air. Tomorrow we are going on a tour to some waterfalls and will be spending the night in Suva, the capital. I'm going to wrap this up because I only paid for a half hour of internet....but pictures are here!!! More to follow...

it's a real place!!

Me in front of High Voltage Tattoo in LA,  site of TLC's show, LA ink.....and Kat Von D giving someone a tattoo!  Don't worry, I didn't get one, they have a $200 minimum...

Live from the capital of the US of A...

Okay, okay, Mom...here is my new posting. I'm not yet in the habit of posting stuff cause I still have my cellphone and thus feel still somewhat connected to the world. This week in Washington has been lovely, I got to see my besties AND really cool art (the photo is a piece from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, its made of license plates, see if you can read it). I also visited the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of African Art, a place i feel is often overlooked but was very impressive. Good food, good drinks, good people, this is kind of a great town....parents, consider saving some pennies for me to go to school here? Anyways, tomorrow I'll be saying goodbye to DC and flying to LA to see Hillel and Keren. Lots of love to all!