Done with Classes!

We finished up classes this week! For me this just meant doing a lot of end of term projects and lab reports, but some of my friends haven't fared so well. One of my friends found out Thursday evening that he had a field trip leaving at 5:30 the next morning (he had a test or something the next day, and the professor told him tough luck), in addition to a large essay and another group project due in a few days. Group projects are like having 3 regular assignments since it's impossible to try to get local students to work on stuff - some don't check their email, and others just don't want to do any work. Another friend found out that since their professor didn't show up to any of the lab sessions all semester, she has to carry out 5 labs on Monday and turn in reports for all of these. So I'm very grateful that I haven't had to put up with anything too terrible like that. I'm going to love Williams when I get back.

In celebration of finishing, here's a bunch of Fijian sentences that I've learned throughout the semester. Every class we go down a vocabulary list making sentences with the words going down the list, and I think my professor thinks I'm a bit off since I usually make strange sentences. Oh well. Remember: c = th, g = ng (soft), q = ng (hard), b = mb, d = nd, v = wv, j = ch, and r's are rolled.

O yau o gonevuli. I am a student.

Voseti au niu bera, tou sa tekivu. Sorry I'm late, let's start now.

Au yabaki ruasagavolukadua. I am 21 years old.

Sa uda na kaloko. It's 1 o'clock.

Na motoka i Catarina e ca. Katie's car isn't working.

Au a lako mai viti lai vaqara en dua na wati. I came to Fiji to find a husband. (I pulled out this gem for our oral exam which made my professor think I'm more than a little crazy, I think).

E na kania e ciwasagavulu na maqo. He will eat 90 mangoes.

Drau taleitaka na dalo tavuteke. You (addressing 2 people) like fried taro.

Na dausoko sa gunuva na mequ bia. The sailor drank my beer.

O a gunu vica na memu bia? How many beers have you drank?

Na noitou qasenivuli e cata na gonetagane lia lia. Our teacher hates the stupid boy.

Au a gunu loli vakasivia au sa tauvimate. I ate too much candy and now I'm sick.

Na luve ni manumanuvuka a lutu mai na nona sova. The baby bird fell from its nest.

Ni o sobu mai na basi, nanuma nomu ivola. When you get off the bus, remember your books.

Ke katakata na draki nimataka, keirau na lai sili i na uciwai. If the weather is hot tomorrow, we (two people, excluding you) will go swimming in the river.

O Ana e tukuna ni rui balavu na yavamu. Ana said your legs are too long.

Na kalavo levu vuko e a cici i na cakau, qai e a luvu i waitui. The big wise rat ran to the reef, then drowned in the sea.

Luvedaruyalewa e sivia nonavosa. Our daughter talks too much.

Au cata na noqu loya, e tamata lasu lasu. I hate my lawyer, he's a liar.

So na gauna e kata na siwa, so na gauna e sega. Sometimes the fish bites, sometimes it doesn't.

As you can see, I've learned many useful things that will help me if I'm ever stuck in a village. My exam should be interesting. Tomorrow we leave to camp on a beach on Vatulele for a few days - I'm extremely excited, since Vatulele is next to near impossible to get to and is a super interesting place. After that we're renting mopeds so that we can circumnavigate Viti Levu in a few days, then we've got a few days before exams start. My exams don't start until the end of the first week of exams - maybe I'll try to go off on a little adventure at the beginning of the week? I'm super excited, and still can't believe that I'm leaving kind of (sort of not really) soon.