The Shanghai commute has extended its travel time to about 19 hours each way.  We, Liz, Petrus, and I, just got back from Fiji where we stayed for an entire month.  It was a trip unlike I’ve ever taken before for two reasons.

One, we stayed in one place for a month.  There was no driving from place to place, meeting up with friends and family, which is great but can be exhausting.  It was a period of pure relaxation (as much as can be had with a two year old who’s just beginning potty training and coming down with a severe case of the screams).  We set ourselves up for a cruisey, as Liz says, time.  This was such a difference Shanghai and anything we’ve ever done that it took us about a week and a half to really let ourselves believe that peace, tranquillity, and rest were actually possible.

Second, It’s Fiji!  It’s a tropical paradise.  We stayed on the Island of Venua Levu, in Savu Savu.  When we were on the main island, before we flew to Savu Savu, the locals would ask where we were headed and every time we replyed they would say “Oh, beautiful.  It’s paradise.”  We rented a cottage for the month right on Savu Savu bay.  We could swim, snorkel, kyak right from our front steps.

We’re not rich, not by any standards, but we pulled of a life of luxury for a month in Fiji.  In my wildest dreams I never thought I would travel to Fiji let alone live there for a short period of time.  A lot of people kept saying to us, “I can’t belive you’re staying in Fiji for a month.  I could never afford that.” Then they go and spend $2000 on flights to the states and another $2000 while they’re there.  It wasn’t that hard to do and we had an amazing time.