Joey Trowbridge
” Spending time in Fiji will be my first ‘real’ vacation since I started law school two years ago; shocking since I used to travel outside the U.S. twice a year before I started law school. It’s still hard for me to believe that my law school journey will be complete in December, I suppose now is an ideal time to reflect on how far I have come and prepare myself for the exciting adventures that are yet to come!” – Law school is life changing, and so is living and studying in another country. Here’s a snippet from WMU-Cooley Study Abroad student Joey Trowbridge’s Blog! Keep up with her adventures and legal studies in Australia on her Legally Abroad Blog page.
WMU-Cooley Down Under law student Joey Trowbridge
Checked into the Hilton Denarau Island Resort and was pleasantly surprised when they upgraded me to Diamond status for this stay. Oceanfront 1-bedroom condo, free breakfast and dinner, I’ll take that! Enjoyed a real Fijian breakfast; the waitstaff sang local folklore-like songs to the guests in the dining room, it was spectacular. Afterwards I relaxed by the pool, read and soaked up the sun and incredible sea breezes.
This afternoon I took a boat over to Mana Island for snorkeling, shelling and a bit more relaxation. I snorkeled around a coral reef, spent some time in the salt water pool and just relaxed. The Mana Resort was amazing as well.
The tour guide mentioned that they will be filming a movie on the island very soon. They have carpenters onsite building the sets already – the entire island will be closed to the public for six months. They were interviewing the crew for the film while I was there; I probably should have applied – I could get used to living here!
Anyway, while having lunch, a guide asked if he could join me. We chatted about how he had lived in the U.S. for a few years when he played rugby on a sports and entertainment visa. Since I am seriously considering immigration, this was all very interesting to me. I spoke about my desire to get out of the U.S. and he spoke of his desire to go back to the U.S. While I don’t have a plan right now to make my dream happen, he has a well thought out plan to make his happen. I will be praying for him as he has an appointment with the U.S. Embassy next week in order to get a visa. He has inspired me to work on my plan.
What struck me about these islands is how friendly all of the people are and they seem genuine; there are a lot of smiles and laughing; you cannot walk by another without being greeted with “Bula,” Fijian hello. I suppose waking up everyday feeling the sun on your skin and taking in this spectacular beauty would put a smile on my face too; this is a place I can see myself living long term – time to start working on my plan!
Having traveled throughout the Caribbean extensively, Fiji really is superior in every way.
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