So I Won an Award...

Thursday was ordinary- Woke up and got ready for the day. Did laundry (yeah I still hate hand washing. It is terrible). Then went to my exercise class, which was kind of a flop, again, but we still have a good time. Then Audrey and I went and picked up some paint for a sign we are painting for Hilton. Then we went to the Flea Market and Handicraft stores where I spent entirely too much money, but boy did I do pretty well! I'm getting the hang of this bartering thing. Well, most of the time anyways :). Then we went to tutoring and so much fun helping them with homework. It really is fun. Then we went home and had dinner (have I mentioned how amazing Tiko is at cooking? Like seriously- she's a Fijian gourmet chef). Then I showered and finished watching Harry Potter, then headed to bed.

On Friday, Brittany, Audrey, and I spent most of the day planning and preparing for our trip to Tavua next week. We'll be doing 2 workshops on nutrition and exercise for women's groups there and one school activity presentation on team work. I'm actually pretty nervous, but  I hear anything helps. Plus it will be nice to go somewhere new. We did a lot of planning and it got a bit stressful. Then I got to take a nap, and it was glorious. Woke up and we all got ready for our fun night ahead! We went downtown and we all got delicious food and then brownies at Jody's. Then we headed to our ward ball. Yes, you read that correctly. A ball. Oh- the ward is our church congregation. And they were having a "Christmas in July" Ball! None of us were dressed for such an occasion, but we went anyway. And I am SO glad we did! It was an absolute blast. Immediately when I walk in, I was accosted by someone with blonde hair giving me a hug. I was like "WHAT THE?!" and she stood back and said "SARAH. DO YOU REMEMBER ME?!" and of course I recognized her face, but I couldn't remember her name. Courtney. From my Nauvoo EFY group last summer. IN FIJI. WHAT THE HECK?! She was there doing HEFY. Humanitarian EFY. All I really know is that they do some projects and it's kinda EFY. Imma need to look up this business. But seriously, we met up again in Fiji of all places. What are the odds??

So we all started dancing around like crazies. We LOVED dancing with the kids. They were so cute and fun. They did some awards throughout the ball. One of the first awards given, was most enthusiastic female dancer, and that went to..... Alex! And it could not be truer. She totally deserved it. It was so funny. Then we danced more. They also had Polynesian dance performances throughout it, and it was so awesome! We danced more and more and more. And it was so hot and nasty sweaty. But it was great. Then they were doing more awards and I was sitting on the side trying to fan my face (I looked like a giant sweaty tomato because that's how Jenny and I are- working hard = beyond red face) and the leader said our judges (they were 'secret judges' watching everyone dance for these awards) have decided that this award is for "one of the best female dances" and it goes to......SARAH! And he looked over in my direction, and I started looking around, because that just couldn't be right. But then 2 of the guys that was in the dance circle when I was busting my most fabulous moves, pointed at me all excitedly and said "It's you! Go get your award!" and I was just so embarrassed as I walked up to the front. And then, before they gave you the prize, you had to show your dance moves to prove it. Oh my holy embarrassing. So I did the shortest presentation ever, and then waved everyone off and sat down. But it was a glorious moment. And these people are Polynesian and that means they're good dancers and that means that my award is LEGIT. All hail one of the BEST female dancers! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH! But seriously, it was super sweet of them to include us and make us feel awesome about our white American selves :) Oh, and the prize.... was a relief society CD. Mom will be so proud. FIST PUMP.

We got home much later than we had intended (we were just going to stop by for a few minutes, but we were having way too much fun. And it was a good thing we stayed or I wouldn't have gotten an award! But we finished watching a movie with the rest of the team and then went to bed (after showering, of course. sick).

It was a fabulous Friday! But, I also had had my first feelings of homesickness that day. All my family was in Michigan on vacation (Becky was there earlier this week) and I just missed everyone so much. But that's ok. There will be other vacations. There won't always be an opportunity for Fiji! Just know that I'm missing bunches of you and I'm so grateful for all of you wonderful people in my life! Your continued prayers and support mean the world to me.

Moce and much love,
Sarah

PS Sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I have been having a few technical difficulties as of late, but hopefully I will have some up tomorrow when I have some time to check some things out.