What was the highlight of your trip?
Stephanie: The highlight of the academic aspect of the trip would be taking the Fijian for Beginners course. I was able to learn the basics of the language. Although the main language in Fiji is English, it still helped me a lot while I was there. There are signs in Fijian that I could understand and also my local Fijian friends would talk to each other a lot in Fijian, so I was able to pick up on some things in their conversations. Also the class didn't just teach the language, it also taught Fijian customs and traditions. I learned so much about the Fijian culture.
I wanted to go to Fiji and immerse myself in their culture as much as possible. I was able to completely fulfill that by joining the basketball team at USP. I was very hesitant on joining at first, but I was so glad I did. I met so many friends through basketball. I saw my teammates almost every day of the week. We had practice a few times a week and games every Sunday. Also everyone from all the local teams would come together a couple nights a week to play pickup games at the school or church. So I was able to grow very close to them. There is a big basketball tournament called the Easter Games and teams from all over the island come to play in this week long tournament. I spent all week with my teammates and made many new friends from other teams. It was the best experience, and I am still close to so many of them.
Describe your typical morning.
Stephanie: I loved my mornings, I was able to sleep in every day until about 9am. I started every morning with a hot cup of tea with a view of lush green trees and the sun. I cooked breakfast or walked down to the local produce stand to get some fruit to eat. Then, some days I even had time to go into town to get some coffee or do some grocery shopping. Then I would go to class every day til about late afternoon. This is what my typical morning looked like during the week. During the weekends I would travel somewhere closer to the ocean, so my typical morning started off at 7am with a morning swim in the ocean. Then I would get breakfast at the hotel, and then lie on the beach for the rest of the morning.
What about your afternoons?
Stephanie: Every afternoon I would go to class then come back every day between classes to eat lunch back at my flat, it saves a lot of money because food on campus can get expensive. I was lucky to have enough time between classes that I also took an afternoon nap every day too. I definitely adjusted to the laid back Fijian lifestyle very quickly. During the weekend, my afternoon consisted of relaxing on a beautiful beach.
And evenings?
Stephanie: Most evenings I cooked dinner for myself and sometimes for friends. With a kitchen and fridge in the flats, I had so much fun cooking. Some days after dinner I would catch a movie at the local theater in town with friends. I joined the basketball team at USP to meet local friends, so I had practice three times a week and a game every Sunday evening. During the weekend, I spent my evenings watching the sunset on the beach. I also spent it talking and hanging out all night with my travel mates. The weekends were a lot of fun!