Surprises

I have been surprised that:

All Adele songs sound better with a reggae track.

Celine Dion is making a comeback in Tongataupu.

Tonight, for example, 30 potato sized root crops were on the table to be consumed during dinner.

I get a cold when seasons change, even in the Pacific Islands.

When at 5 am and 6 am and 7, 8, and 9 am, and 5 pm and 6 pm, etc etc, the church bells are rung, they are not rung once, or twice but many, many times. This morning at 5 am I stopped counting at 20. 20.

Things like garlic on a piece of chicken, and a bowl of cereal can make my day.

I prefer egg and butter sandwiches to egg and ketchup sandwiches.

Today, during a conference with the current volunteers (who are nearing the end of their 2 year commitment), we explained things like spotify, siri, Netflix, pinterest....and they had never heard and didn't know...What won't I know in two years? Things change so fast!

There isn't really a Tongan entertainment industry. The current hit movie is from India. I think it's called Dezi Boys, that or the Dezi boys are the main characters. It has wonderful music.



I decided to name our cat Dezi, cause no one had named it yet. The name has caught on rather quickly.

My biggest fear is not the Molokau (giant, stinging centipede), but the kulis (dogs). There are packs of dogs evvvvverrryyywhere. Some are pitiful, literally starving puppies. Others are vicious. I feel a dog bite is inevitable.

The "coconut wireless" is not to be underestimated. It is quicker, and reaches more people than even Facebook. Yesterday I heard a group of women discussing what a fellow PCV had bought at the market. Last week I was told interesting news about myself from another PCV, who heard it from their homestay family. And always, always, always, everyone knows where the palangis have been, what they have done, who they were with, and anything/everything remotely "funny" they have said. The coconut wireless is not a force to be reckoned with.

Full of surprises,

Alissa