As a speechie I feel its imperative that I explain the pronunciation of the written Fijian language so as to prevent further incorrect readings of my blog and other important Fijian literature (namely maps, my blog and travel books). Here goes:
The vowels:
a - pronounced as 'ar' as in 'father' for example - "Ba" (aka "the hood")
e - pronounced as 'e' as in 'let' for example - "Viti levu" (the mother island)
i - pronounced as 'i' as in 'it' for example - "vinaka" (thank you, good, very much and almost any other meaning you wish)
o - pronounced as 'o' as in 'hot' for example - "lovo" (supposedly delicious ground oven, tho still not sure about the tinned meat (mutton) that is a favourite component)
u - pronounces as 'oo' as in 'flute' for example - "sulu" (a very becoming man skirt)
The tricky ass consonants: (as a side note I believe these have come about as Fijians have an aversion to consonant clusters thus by combining 2 sounds into 1 letter they technically don't have consonant clusters in their language... pft)
b - pronounced as 'mb' as in 'remember' for example - "bula" (to live, life, hello, how are you and any other word that is not covered by vinaka as mentioned above) (also as in Ba - the hood)
c - pronounced as 'th' as in 'mother' for example - "Caqelai" (which you are still not pronouncing correctly just yet, a supposed tropical paradise which I shall be frequenting next week, will report back on this claim so as to keep this blog accurate and well researched)
d - pronounced as 'nd' as in 'and' for example - nadi (tourist hotspot and gateway to Fiji and the fake Fiji aka Denerau)
g - pronounced as 'ng' as in 'sing' for example - "ruasagavulu" (the number 20. no wonder everyone counts in English)
and finally the most interesting:
q - pronounced 'ng' as in 'linger' for example - "yaqona" (aka kava, grog, dirty dish water)
So hopefully you now know how to pronounce Caqalai and Namaqumaqua and Malololailai and Nananu-i-Cake and Beachcomber Island, and all the other wonderful places I will be posting about!
Vinaka Vakalevu!
Sunday 22 May 2011
Saturday 14 May 2011
The Trip
So we finally made it to mBa, and The Trip was definitely a lesson in Fijian culture.
We were collected from Hotel Capricorna (such a lovely place, such a lovely place, such a lovely place, any time of year) the obligatory 1hr late by Dan our Dad. Luckily we were prepared this time, unlike last time. We waited on the curb at 5:30am on a Saturday morning only to give up at 7am and roll back into bed just in time to receive a call from reception that our lift had arrived. Then we filled up with petrol. Then we stopped at the supermarket for snacks. Then we were told that we were going the queens road (lpong way round) instead of the kings road (interesting way round) becuase Dan our Dad didn't want to drive over the log bridges in the Land Cruiser, "but when you come in bus it is ok...". Then The Trip finally started, and it was a long one.
The radio ran out of signal about 1/2hr out of Suva, but it remained on anyway so we listened to symphonic static for about an hour (possibly better than J-Lo, G6s and Rum/Redbulls anyway). The Trip was punctuated by a few snack breaks for Dan our Dad and toilet stops for myself. My entire nutritional intake for the trip consisted of a packet of Extra Cheese Twisities, a popper and a few prunes.
Although the sites out the window were beautiful (the Coral Coast) The Trip was entirely uneventful. I did manage to read my guide book's blurb on every single resort we passed which I think was a great use of empty time, and good research. Now I know all the hot spots and I have consolidated peoples suggestions, guide book information and personal geographical orientation to commit the Coral Coast to memory.
The Trip was almost ready to be wound up when we passed through Lautoka. However instead of passing through we were given the driving tour of Lautoka by Dan our Dad. A nice thought, however after 6 months of preparation, 1.5 weeks of nearly there and 5 hours in the car we kinda just wanted to see mBa. After driving down the main street of Lautoka 3-4 times we finally continued with The Trip.
Then in almost no time it was mBa! As we craned our heads out the windows taking in the sights Dan our Dad took us to look at our 1st housing option. A miniscule ground floor apartment, previously rented by "the 2 VIDAS", and otherwise usually connected to the rest of the house as a guest residence. It was nice, but the land lady (living upstairs) was potentially nosey ans there was no spare beds for all the guests we are going to receive in mBa. however Dan our Dad spent the rest of the evening slipping in comments about all the positive aspects of option #1 (neat, clean, cheap, close to school, close to town, very safe, bills included, cheap, bills included, extra money for holidays, cheap etc..).
Finally The Trip came to an end when we arrived at the Famous mBa Hotel. Amy and I started unloading our gear from the Land Cruiser whilst Dan our Dad collected our keys from reception, which took an incredibly long time. Luckily I had unpacked my camera so took a few shots.
and it turned out The Trip hadn't come to an end at all. The Famous mBa Hotel had mixed up our dates and was now completely full up with people attending a work shop. So we hopped back into the Land Cruiser for another 1/2hr on the road to sleepy Tavua for a night in the lovely Tavua Hotel.
Trip finally over.
We were collected from Hotel Capricorna (such a lovely place, such a lovely place, such a lovely place, any time of year) the obligatory 1hr late by Dan our Dad. Luckily we were prepared this time, unlike last time. We waited on the curb at 5:30am on a Saturday morning only to give up at 7am and roll back into bed just in time to receive a call from reception that our lift had arrived. Then we filled up with petrol. Then we stopped at the supermarket for snacks. Then we were told that we were going the queens road (lpong way round) instead of the kings road (interesting way round) becuase Dan our Dad didn't want to drive over the log bridges in the Land Cruiser, "but when you come in bus it is ok...". Then The Trip finally started, and it was a long one.
The radio ran out of signal about 1/2hr out of Suva, but it remained on anyway so we listened to symphonic static for about an hour (possibly better than J-Lo, G6s and Rum/Redbulls anyway). The Trip was punctuated by a few snack breaks for Dan our Dad and toilet stops for myself. My entire nutritional intake for the trip consisted of a packet of Extra Cheese Twisities, a popper and a few prunes.
Although the sites out the window were beautiful (the Coral Coast) The Trip was entirely uneventful. I did manage to read my guide book's blurb on every single resort we passed which I think was a great use of empty time, and good research. Now I know all the hot spots and I have consolidated peoples suggestions, guide book information and personal geographical orientation to commit the Coral Coast to memory.
The Trip was almost ready to be wound up when we passed through Lautoka. However instead of passing through we were given the driving tour of Lautoka by Dan our Dad. A nice thought, however after 6 months of preparation, 1.5 weeks of nearly there and 5 hours in the car we kinda just wanted to see mBa. After driving down the main street of Lautoka 3-4 times we finally continued with The Trip.
Then in almost no time it was mBa! As we craned our heads out the windows taking in the sights Dan our Dad took us to look at our 1st housing option. A miniscule ground floor apartment, previously rented by "the 2 VIDAS", and otherwise usually connected to the rest of the house as a guest residence. It was nice, but the land lady (living upstairs) was potentially nosey ans there was no spare beds for all the guests we are going to receive in mBa. however Dan our Dad spent the rest of the evening slipping in comments about all the positive aspects of option #1 (neat, clean, cheap, close to school, close to town, very safe, bills included, cheap, bills included, extra money for holidays, cheap etc..).
Finally The Trip came to an end when we arrived at the Famous mBa Hotel. Amy and I started unloading our gear from the Land Cruiser whilst Dan our Dad collected our keys from reception, which took an incredibly long time. Luckily I had unpacked my camera so took a few shots.
and it turned out The Trip hadn't come to an end at all. The Famous mBa Hotel had mixed up our dates and was now completely full up with people attending a work shop. So we hopped back into the Land Cruiser for another 1/2hr on the road to sleepy Tavua for a night in the lovely Tavua Hotel.
Trip finally over.
Monday 9 May 2011
week 1: arrival and orientation
So finally after about 6 months lead up I boarded the plane to Fiji. I thought at this time reality would have hit, but it still hasn't. The plane trips were uneventful, with the occasional bragging of who got the most excess baggage through for free. (most certainly wasn't me, but i wasn't the worst. phew. had a few other dilemmas to sort out at check in).
The arrival in Nadi was... hot. After delicately re-balancing my swathe of bags after the security screen I was pulled up for a suspicious jar object in me bag. After a lot of shouting across the arrivals terminal and miscommunication the offending bag and pocket were located and inside was found an innocent jar of survival Vegemite. Sega na lega (no worries) we were waved through. on the other side I was met by a cold bottle of Fiji water and a lovely but itchy flower neck decoration and introduced to our Fijian mum and dad, Lice (Lithe) and Dan.
The next 2 days were passed uneventfully in Nadi easing ourselves into the heat and culture. We visited the ridiculous creation that is Denerau Island, tasted the local dishes and sweated out more liquid than was possible to replace.
The arrival in Nadi was... hot. After delicately re-balancing my swathe of bags after the security screen I was pulled up for a suspicious jar object in me bag. After a lot of shouting across the arrivals terminal and miscommunication the offending bag and pocket were located and inside was found an innocent jar of survival Vegemite. Sega na lega (no worries) we were waved through. on the other side I was met by a cold bottle of Fiji water and a lovely but itchy flower neck decoration and introduced to our Fijian mum and dad, Lice (Lithe) and Dan.
The next 2 days were passed uneventfully in Nadi easing ourselves into the heat and culture. We visited the ridiculous creation that is Denerau Island, tasted the local dishes and sweated out more liquid than was possible to replace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)