End of homestay...

Sadly our end of seven weeks is coming to an end this coming Saturday the 25th of October. Training has flown by and I am soo excited to head to site!

 However, it's very bittersweet to be leaving my wonderful host family and training group and staff.

It's been an exciting past few weeks from  Church all day Sundays to ,waking up to dog fights at 3 am, and to snorkeling on a beautiful sandy beach! There have been many ups and downs these past few weeks, from being really sick to just having rough days and it's really been amazing to see how everyone in our group has got one another's back.

I also have to give a shout out to my family and loved ones at home who have been super supportive, from listening through tearful sickly calls home (happened once so far) and random  stories about life so far in Tonga . 

What I've learned these past few weeks:

- ORS ( oral rehydration salts) is my best friend!

- fleas and Mosquitos suck but life goes on 

- mosquito nets are gods gift to the human race

- in Tonga just say yes, (whether you mean it or not)

- (tao'ulunga) dance EVERY NIGHT!

Some highlights from these past 7 weeks!

Random resort visits!

Definitely going to miss this cutie! ( so much trouble in that little smile)

Otai, the best drink on a hot, humid, sunny day, So pretty much anytime!

Making faces at church...

Palm trees and driving through the bush with my host family.

Taking lesi ( papaya) from the bush and eating it EVERDAY..

 

I've learned a lot so far and there is still so much to learn! 

I will find out my site placement October 29th, and if all goes well with language and technical tests I will be officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on October 31st!

Another Sunday in Tonga...

So Sundays in Tonga are the real deal! Literally everyone goes to one church or another. The main churches are the Free Wesleyan Church, The Free Church of Tonga, The Church of Tonga, and the Mormom Church. 

My family attends the Free Wesleyan Church ( which is similar to the Methodist church). 

Every Sunday each family wakes up early ( we're talking the whole house is up and moving by 6 am!) and starts to make the Lu. ( which is a traditional Tongan dish that consists of chicken, turkey,or beef (usually corned beef) wrapped in taro leaves with coconut cream/milk inside. 

Poli jr. Scraping the coconut meat to make the cream for inside the Lu.

Ma'vae gave it a try too! 

The boys get the umu ( Tongan oven) ready. Basically they start a fire with dried coconut husks and add volcanic rocks to create coals.

While thats getting heated up the girls are in the kitchen getting the actual Lu ready. 

This FanguFangu ( the one standing up, fun fact: it's actually her house we are staying in). Lile ( my host mom) is chopping meat on the right.

Once the meat is chopped a handful is placed on top of about 7-8 taro leaves with chopped onions sprinkled on top. 

When it's all ready to wrap it looks like this! All that's left is the coconut milk.

Here Poli Sr. ( my host father) is using the coconut husk to squeeze the cream/milk from the coconut meal.

Here Christopher ( my oldest host brother) is peeling the manioke (cassava).

Meanwhile back in the house Polisi'i ( jr.) is keeping the flies out of the almost ready Lu!

Like pours the coconut milk into each set of Lu leaves, wraps the foil, and voila Lu ready to cook!

The umu right before we put the Lu in!

Everything packed tightly in our umu ( the white things on top is the cassava) it's ready to cover!

It's ready to cook for the next 3 hours while we are at church!

Of course before we get ready for church we had to have our second Tongan breakfast of manioke and left over coconut milk, gotta admit it was pretty tasty!

And finally I got ready to to'a for the kava circle before church ( decked out in some fancy accessories that were supposed to be for Friday nights dance performance but that's a whole other post!)

After our two and a half hour church service we came back to our feast!

Now it's time to rest, possible got to more church, and repeat until the day is done. 

Basis summary of a Tongan Sunday is : make the Lu, go to church, eat , sleep , and repeat!

Where I live...

Here's a couple snapshots of where I've been living the past month or so...

My room, my mom just found this mosquito net for me and it's been amazing, a hangingosquiiti net is highly underrated I must say! ( cacooning in your mosquito net like I have been the past few weeks just doesn't quite cut it :P) 

The bathroom area and freezer.

Our living room, Where we occasionally watch rugby as a family, the Tongan culture channel, or religious programming.

The field in front of our house, which is usually filled with kids and teenagers playing volleyball or just hanging out through the week.

Our back yard/ porch area where the boys will eat dinner when it's not raining or Lile will beat the tapa root ( which is used to make the decorative wraps for dancing and big celebrations.

The local cemetery. ( the graves here are above ground and very colorful)

A family of pigs that live on the and where my host parents are going to build there house!

One of the many dogs that wanders in and out of our property, generally they are not allowed inside but he was sneaky!

Our umu ( Tongan oven)

And of course the Free Wesleyan Church where we spend most of our Sunday's :)

My Tongan Family

This is my host mom Lile, she is 33.

This is Ma'vae ( standing up) he's 3 and full of energy! Next to him is my middle host brother Poli Si'i ( or Poli junior).

Poli all dressed for church. ( Lile my host mom in the background)

In the far back is my oldest host brother Christopher ( he's 12) and just took his class 6 exam to move into secondary school!

This is my host cousin Mele 'Ana, and she is 16, and taught me the Tongan ta' ulunga ( dance).

Lile, Christopher( holding Sifa, who is a baby host cousin), and Polisi'i

This is Polilahi (senior) my host dad, and he works in the Prime Ministers office in Nuku'alofa. (and Christopher preparing the Lu.)

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!