First post in Tonga

 I've been on this island for almost 3 weeks, and away from home for 4. Internet costs money and also renews my homesickness, so I've kind of been trying to stay away. I miss you all soo much and I miss America probably a little bit more. This place is very third worldish, soemthing that I think I may not have been completely prepared for. Most days we eat bread for breakfast, crackers for lunch, and crackers for dinner (or bread). Often it is accompanied by hot chocolate, which is weird in such a warm environment, but we've gotten used to it. There is also the occasional ramen noodle meal. Then on Sundays we feast. We've had this really good ginger chicken, a recipe that I'll probably bring home. And a dish called lu sipi. It's lamb meat with coconut milk wrapped in taro leaves, then foill, and put in the oven. It is soo yummy, especially with a little salt. We've also eaten raw fish a few times, which I'm getting used to, adn horse, which kind of freaked me out to think about. It's very tough and gamy, but the taste is fine. Also I eat like a total savagee now. There is never knapkins and almsot never silverware, plus eating is usually a lot of picking meat out of bones. So my hands are always greasy and there is lots of slurping. the people here stuff their mouths full and chew with their mouths open and talk at the same time. I was really taken aback by it at first, but I've gotten ove it. Even the kids just go to town. We think it's because when they have food, they have to eat a lot of it because they won't get soem for a while afterthat. And you have to get all the mat you can off the bones because it costs money. And there's no such things as leftovers becasue things won't lastm ore than a day unless it's crackers or bread. 

We had the horse at a funeral I went to. At the funeral they put teh dead guy on a bed inside the house and people sing and wail for hours. It started at about 7 in the morning, we went to get the body from the hospital and joined a big procession of cars to go back to the house. they pu tthe body in the house and then everyone sits and sings and mourns until like 1. They fed us though, so that was good.  Alot of meat. We went in and saw the dead guy. You could only see his face, but he definitely looked dead. Then the next night I had weird dreams about eating weird meat and seeing that guy rot. I didn't think I was affected, but I guess I was.

The house we live in is tiny. There is almost nowehre to put our stuff, but I gess thats good because I don't have much anyway. There are always ants. Everywhere. In our beds, on the walls, on the kitchen table, in the kitchen. We've seen a couple rats too. One of them was in our room and I stood on my bed for an hour, kind of freaking out. Hahah we tried to swat at it with a broom, but we couldn't hear it moving anymore so we went to sleep. There are also these longish centipede thigns that are really nasty.. Showering consists of filling up a bucket with water and trying to rinse yourself. So I shower for real like once a week, the other days I just put water over me. We wash our hair about every three or four days.. But nobody cares what we look like because we're palangi (white people).

church is rough because i'ts all in Tongan-- ends up being very boring, even with our host mom translating for us. tongan is a very backwards language, but we're learning a few phrases and sometimes we can pick up on small bits of conversation. The island is only about 12 km across its longest length. Gas is at least 10 dollars a gallon, but our family still insists on driving lots of places. Like the rugby field about 4 blocks away, chuurch (3 blocks away), a grocery store (4 blocks away), etc. Rugby here is really popular, my roommate plays with some people some afternoons and they make fun of her b/c only boys play rugby in Tonga. But she's a really good sport about it, plus it's exercise and we certainly need that.

The kids here are brutal. The wrestle each other, hit each other, throw sharp sticks at each other. The parents, for discipline, smack kids in teh head a lot so they'll listen. I have to say that I've hit a kid or two when they go into our room and steal candy, or seomthing along those lines. And tehy aren't afraid to hit back. I'm starting to think it's almost a form of affection. These poor kids. I just want to take them home and take them to a dentist. Almost all of them have rotting teeth. Then you remember that it's just their baby teeth, but I'm certain that they're brushing habits don't change when they get the next set. If they even had brushing habits. I didn't bring mouthwash because I thought it would be too heavy, and I'm really missing it. The kids also almost always have open wounds from playing so hard. And everyone here is always barefoot. They have really tough feet. I have a hard time decided whether I want my kids to be as rough or not.. sometimes it seems liek a good thing because they learn a lot on their onw, but I don't want them to be sick all the time. Hahah.

I've really been missing home, but things have gotten better as I've become accustomed to the place and the people. Everyone stares at us because we ride around in a van with a brown family. And we're very very white. And people are too shy to speak English, so only the brave ones say hi or ask us our names. But then I think everyone already knows our names because white people in a small tongan village is sort of exciting. And I think they all mean to be nice, even if they laugh at us a lot.

Almost every friday night we go to a church activity, which is just a dance. But in order to dance, you have to have a partner for even the slow songs. So the boys (of all ages. like 10-60) come and bow to you and then you don't have a choice, you have to follow them to the dance floor. Then dancing is like, no eye contact, stand 3 or 4 feet away from each other, and don't talk. It's really weird, but we're getting used to that too. 

We've been volunteering at a primary school to help with English. We thought we'd just be helping the teachers with a few things, but we have to go with a lesson prepared for a half hour in each of the three classes. It's sort of annoying, but when we find something that works well, it feels good. then on thursday mornings we go help at the "kindergarten" which is mnore like a preschool. That's more fun because it doesn't matter that we can't speak Tongan and the kids are adorable and like to throw things at us. We color and sing. I now know the Tongan alphabet and a few other tongan songs. This place is really great. The people just seem to value different things. Like it's really important to be clean and welld ressed when you go to churhc or some meeting, but the other days you can wear whatever you want and get as dirty as you want and no one gives is a second thought. But everyone is able to LOOk clean, much cleaner than us. We always look pretty shabby. But it's been less humid here and kind of rainy, which sucks because then you can't go out at all. I've read a lot of books since I've been here too, becasue there's a little library and a lot of free time, so that's nice. And I have to say it is kind of nice to not be on facebook all the time.. It's different, but nice. And no phone isn't so bad either, I've gotten used to it and to finding other ways to pass the time.

I have yet to begin learning about plants, but that should occur in the next few weeks.