Malo e le lei!

Malo e le lei! 

I finally made it to Tonga!!! It has been a crazy week or so ( it honestly feels way longer). We landed in Tonga this past Saturday, after a couple days of training in Fiji. We landed in Tonga, went through customs (this talented girl left her passport and ticket on the plane as we got off, thought I should really make the experience memorable…) Good news though, the flight crew was kind enough to run out to the plane and find it for me, so I made it safely to and into the Kingdom of Tonga. Woohoo!!!

After we landed, we collected the collective mass of luggage from our whole group as we waited for everyone to go through immigration/customs. We were greated by the best welcoming party ever, current Peace Corps Volunteers and staff, who warmly welcomed us to Tonga with excited shouts and wonderfully smelling lei’s. We then loaded up and took a bus into the capital, Nuku’alofa to Peace Corps Headquarters. There we unloaded our one bag we didn’t need for home stay, and ate dinner with the other volunteers (current and new). We received our phones and were then rushed to Nuku Nuku, where we are staying for training. We met our home stay parent or parents and went home that night with them.

My home stay family is wonderful, there are three boys (ages 12, 7, and 3) and my host mother and father. They have been so welcoming and friendly, and I have really enjoyed my experience so far. However, I have to admit the first night we got dropped off (we were literally adopted at the church and went home with our host parent) I was definitely feeling the way you do when your parents drive off, as they drop you for your first weekend of college, just amplified by 10! It worked out though, and I am settling in more and more each day.

On Sunday I went to church, and I was dressed up in the traditional dress (with a tupenu or tied skirt on bottom, and the tavala long grass skirt/mat on top).

(At church with my fellow volunteers (Chiara, Liz, Kevini, Me, & Alex)

After church we had the traditional lu (which is typically made with a meat of some kind, we had corned beef and beef cooked in coconut milk, wrapped in taro leaves, it’s delicious!) It is cooked in an underground pit and is started early in the morning before church (at 10 am) and is ready to eat when church is done!

Monday we were officially welcomed with a Kava ceremony, Tongan style (nothing like kava at 9am :P) Keleti (a current volunteer, also from Washington, woot woot!) danced a traditional dance for us!

Since Monday, we have been in training pretty much all day, with language classes at night. There has been a lot of information in the past few days, and culture shock is definitely a thing ( I have to admit I was expecting it, but between jet lag and just the idea that this is finally happening is still pretty crazy). However Tonga is a beautiful place and the people are hilarious and so kind hearted, that settling in will not be super difficult. 

So far the hardest part, has really just been taking it all in, which I am sure will get easier with time.

(This is some of the trainees buying phone cards at the local street store during a lunch break)

Palangi out! 

(P.S Palangi just means foreigner or white person, not really sure the exact translation, but it’s definitely funny to get called pretty much everywhere I go!)

Also, shout out to Keleti, for letting me borrow her internet! She's pretty much awesome, and has been such a help in every way!!! :)

September 1st is HERE!

September 1st is HERE!

Packed and loaded, the family dropped me off at the airport.

          (Gotta say walking through airports with a backpack in front and back, made me respect on another level the mothers walking around with their kiddos attached!)

                  (Sorry for the blurriness, but I couldn't leave out a picture with my dad!)

                  (Erik was rocking the front backpack!)

After a couple of tears and some menagaling of baggage I was off to security and on my way to LAX for my pre-pre training as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tonga!

Safely landed in LAX, collected all the baggage (gradually getting easier each time, can't say the same about how ridiculous I look :P), hoping I got on the right shuttle, and eventually made it to the hotel.

Currently, I'm waiting for registration at 6pm to meet the other soon to be Volunteers!

2 days and counting...

2 days and counting...

Just 2 more days and I fly out for staging to start my adventure as a Peace Corps Trainee and hopefully soon to be official Volunteer!

These past few weeks have consisted of gathering every item I can't live without or buy in the Kingdom of Tonga for the next two years.

It's been a pretty slow process of gathering items (it seems like I'm still gathering items, but I'm not really sure where to put them, now that every available space in my luggage is filled).

So it all started as a big mess in my parents living room (it takes a patient loving person/persons to let someone completely take over their formal living room with stuff a.k.a. my parents, who I can't thank enough for helping me prepare for this new adventure!)

No picture needed for the explosion of stuff (it was that bad!)

This is about halfway packed.

And this is as packed and ready as I am going to get!

I got it down to four bags, two checked bags, one backpacking backpack (my carry-on) and of course the normal sized backpack as my "personal item". Hoping that I can roll with that, but we'll just have to see.

Where I'll be for the coming week:

 September 1st : I officially leave for LAX, which is my first stop during staging (so many emotions happening: excitement, nerves, and lots of unknowns; pretty sure this first week is going to be a blur, no matter what I do!)

We spend about a day in Los Angeles, for a little orientation and a quick low down on how the trip will go, then we head out again.

We take about an 11 hour plane ride to Fiji, where we stay for about two days and orient ourselves to the time difference (there is a 16 hour time difference). We will have a welcoming to Fiji ceremony, some training (or at least information sessions) and prep before we head to Tonga.

After the two days or so in Fiji, we finally head to Tonga, where we are welcomed by other Peace Corps Volunteers, and I believe the community and our host families.  After the ceremony we get to go home with our host families, and start learning about the community and our new family.

From what I understand training starts not too long after that!

I am very excited to get the trip started, but I am also very sad to leave friends and loved ones behind. It has been a crazy last few weeks in the United States, and I want to thank my parents, and everyone who has helped me prepare for my service, and genuinely supported me as I get ready!