Suva-the Tulsa of the Pacific Islands

Suva-the Tulsa of the Pacific Islands
After sleeping for a few hours in the airport, I boarded a bus heading
for Suva. I knew the capital of fiji was much bigger than Apia-but I
didn't expect such a gigantic metropolis!
There were so many cars and busses headed in every single direction
making it difficult to cross the road. I spent my first day in awe of
this giant city (and a little intimidated).
My brother and I spent a Sunday in this great city-a day which I
expected to be slow and peaceful based on my experiences in Samoa and
Tonga..man was I wrong! On a Sunday evening the bus station was packed
with busses coming and going-it was too much for me to take in.
My brother and I went for a walk and I felt my brain bring
overstimulated with all of the advertisements and shopping centers. At
one point I told him I needed to slow things down, so we sat on a
bench outside a department store. (that was a strange enough site to
see!) There was an elevator taking customers up and down and it was
bringing me into a trance. It was so peaceful and enjoyable to watch
it go up and down. I don't think I have ever been this fascinated by
them. I felt like one of those tourists that I always used to make fun
of in New York. I must have watched the elevator for at least half an
hour before my brother had enough.
Billy took me to the mall which felt insane to see all of the
different stuff people buy. We had to take the escalators up- and I
felt like a little child mesmorized with all there was to see.
We then went to a movie- the first theatre I've been to in almost two
years and saw the feature in3-D. I of course am behind the times and
this was the first movie I had seen in 3D apart from those rides at
Disney.
When my sister arrived, I reaccounted the trip to her, and told her
Suva is the "Big Apple" and it is just as busy as any city around.
Billy and Jen tried to get a reality check on me. After much
discussions I agreed it might be smaller than Ny and I can't give it
that name...the question was finding a name that fit it. Somehow
Tulsa, Oklahoma came into our minds, and Suva became the Tulsa of Fiji.
Reverse culture shock is such a huge thing. I talked with some
American girls studying at the University of the South Pacific who had
travelled to aukland, New Zealand for a holiday and they experienced
the same shock as me in Fiji.
Being in these big cities make me miss my tiny village in Savaii where
everyone knows me.
*please excuse spelling and grammar-it is worse than normal since I am
typing on my iPod.

Sent from my iPod