Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. This three week break has been busy! I just got back from the Cook Islands with my IES Abroad group for a week. If you don't know where the Cook Islands or have never heard of them, that's okay...I didn't know either haha They're in the South Pacific near Fiji and Tahiti. Basically, they're gorgeous!
We stayed on the main island of Rarotonga although there are like ten other islands or something like that. It was such a great time!We left at 5:30 am on April 16th. It was pouring rain so we were happy to be leaving ChCh haha We landed in Rarotonga on
April 15th because we passed the International date line even though the flight was only 5 hours total. Craziness. So we were a little thrown off that we had to redo Thursday again. We got there, got settled into our little house (which included tons of geckos and millipedes) and went to watch all the local schools in a dane competition. It was so cute! The little primary school kids were all dressed up in their polynesian dance costumes and danced for the public. It was a great way to see a little bit of the culture right when we got there.
To be honest, all the days blur together from here on out. We were so so busy with stuff all day long. We visited farms, plantations, made sarongs, learned how to make plates out of coconut leaves, learned how to husk a coconut, learned so much about the culture, snorkeled, did a cross island hike...so much stuff! 
We were constantly on the go. We also learned how to dance aka shaking our hips like crazy. The boys also did something crazy with their legs haha We always had great food for dinner, including going to resorts or doing a progressive dinner where we had entrees, the main course and dessert all at different Cook Islanders homes! They are so hospitable here and so willing to share their culture with you. It's so great. The weather there is HOT. You are just constantly sweating and greasy looking. The humidity is rough. And with humidity brings bugs and geckos haha I got eaten alive basically but I guess that's what comes with paradise. There are also roosters just randomly walking around every where.
They don't belong to anyone necessarily. They also loved to wake us up every morning when the sun rose...and for hours after. We had great weather until the last two days it rained. When it rains in the Cook Islands it RAINS. Torrential down pour all day long basically. Other than that, it was a really fun trip. I learned so much about a place that I hadn't even heard of before I came to New Zealand. It was so cool to see how differently people live in places around the world. Their pace was so laid back, their mentality was very chill as well. "Island Time" was constantly referenced because they just start when they want to start! Such a change from the U.S.! Also, they eat SO MUCH FRUIT. We were constantly eating coconut, mangos, papayas and bananas. They would just throw them at us haha I became totally sick of coconut after like the first day! It was pretty hilarious how much our group despised coconuts by the end of the trip. My break is almost over which is sad but it will be good to get back into some routine again! I only have classes for the month of may and then finals! It's crazy how fast this experience has gone by and I know the last month and a half will go by even faster. I'll be keeping you updated until I get back safe and sound in the states. Miss you all!
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