Fiji Incentive Trip Day 1

Wow! What a fabulous time we had in Fiji! I think I am still on "Fiji Time"..... and anyone that has been to Fiji will understand that means I am still pretty relaxed, and even a few days after my return I haven't completely succumbed to my frantic lifestyle. And in their usual style, Stampin'Up made us feel very special... I guess you could say spoiled... and I so love being involved with a company who go to so much trouble to make sure we feel valued and rewarded for what we do. It's an amazing thing.. and I am so glad to be part of that!

So... here is a summary of the first couple of days of our trip. This year my travelling partner was Denielle Bernauer, and to say we had a good time together would be the understatement of the century. Denielle is in my wonderful team of demonstrators, so its great to get along so well with someone that you also work with! Our flight was due to leave at 11am on the first day so we had stayed at an airport hotel the night before.. Simon and Vanessa Webb collected us from the hotel and we boarded our flight very excited to be on our way. I haven't been through customs or anywhere that requires a passport for quite a few years, so it was a real adventure for me. I love airports, flying and everything about the actual trip... so I was already happy. The fact that I got to share the flight with many of my demonstrator friends made it extra special.

The very first thing you see and hear in Nadi airport when you arrive is the troupe of strumming, singing Fijians welcoming you to Fiji! I love those guys! We had only a short transfer to our gorgeous hotel.. the Sofitel on Denarau Island. What a gorgeous hotel... its right on the beach, and everything is just beautiful. The weather was warm but not too humid - it feels tropcial, and storms nearly every afternoon, but it was perfect. Here are a few pictures of where we stayed:




Hotel Lobby


Our Room



View out the window



We were told to wait in our rooms to be collected for the welcome Dinner on the first night. But there was a mix-up with the rooms and we waited, and we waited, and waited. Finally they found us! We were only 45 mins late... our "collection party" consisted of two big Fijian men in their war paints and costume... who introduced themselves with a loud and somewhat scary "BULA!!!" Denielle nearly jumped out of her skin! I was worried about being late... but one of the men assured me that "No-one is ever late in Fiji!" Hmmmm.... I think I could learn to like that philosophy!

Of course our dinner was amazing... there were some wonderful Fijian specialities to try, and we were serandaded by a great group of Fijians during the meal:





One of the fun things was giving Shelli her first birthday gifts from us all.... her birthday was the day before the trip... so Denielle had made a couple of sets of her gorgeous Beveled Window Frame jewellery for her.. and Shelli loved it, so that was fun. We also had the singers do a Fijian version of "Happy Birthday" which was loveLy. We were given a talk by a Fijian gentleman who gave us the "do's" and "dont's" in Fiji.. the "Dont's" really stuck with me... they are:

1. Dont Rush
2. Dont Run
3. Dont worry

Like that!

The other thing he explained were some useful Fijian words, and how to say them. "BULA" is the main greeting... and everyone says it to everyone! And you aren't supposed to say it quietly either. :-) "Vinaka" is "Thanks".. or "Vinaka Vaka Levu" is "Thank you very much". We used those a LOT.



After such an early start we were all pretty tired so that was the end of our day... and we had to be up early for the following morning's River Rafting Adventure!!! More on that one later! But I was pretty excited to get back to our room anyway because there was of course waiting for me the first of my "Pillow Gifts":




My "Baravi" Bag (Beach bag)... which I took nearly everywhere with me whilst I was in Fiji. I'm sure it's going to get lots of use! How lucky are we... I loved all our gifts each day! I'll try to show you all the stuff we got (except for the upcoming product that I'm not allowed to show you just yet ;-)

I'll be back soon with another installment... glad to be able to share this one with you!