Phil has asked me to post his e mails for all so what better place than short stories. I'll keep you posted strait from Tonga. Jon
Hi Everyone,
Well, I made it to Tonga just fine. Tried to email a couple of times, but was unsuccessful...so I've changed my email address to see if this one works. Hope it gets through to you. This place is amazing....unreal people (both Peace Corps and Tongans) and landscape. Right now I'm living with a Tongan family, learning about their ways and language. Went to church for two hours yesterday, followed by umu meat and vegees.....definitely gonna get fat here. We're all blowing it a lot with the language, but the locals are really patient and helpful. Haven't had a chance to surf yet, but saw some huge waves detonating on the reef just down the road....have a feeling I'll be breaking out the speargun before the surfboard. Anyway, once I figure out how to send pictures with gmail, they'll be coming your way. This is a test email, to see if it gets to you. Will write more later if it does. .......more language class coming up right away this evening, so gotta go. Miss you all a lot. Ofa atu.
Phil
Malo e Lelei from Tonga
Moderator: Moderator
malo au pi'to. fefe hake'
try tonga online if you are anywhere near nuku alofa. heh heh saw you said umu meat
of what species is the meat? heh heh. enough of the food lets hear about the fai kava and of your new wife that im sure one of the aunties is trying to hook you up with 
look forward to seeing some pics
try tonga online if you are anywhere near nuku alofa. heh heh saw you said umu meat
of what species is the meat? heh heh. enough of the food lets hear about the fai kava and of your new wife that im sure one of the aunties is trying to hook you up with look forward to seeing some pics"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air… "
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
6'1", dean cleary tri, 6'0 Flashpoint tri, 5'9 chuck dent (epoxy quad), 9' velzy (single fin triple stringer)
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
6'1", dean cleary tri, 6'0 Flashpoint tri, 5'9 chuck dent (epoxy quad), 9' velzy (single fin triple stringer)
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Jon Manss
- Legend (Contribution King!)
- Posts: 504
- Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2003 5:00 pm
- Location: Santa Cruz
Yo Everyone,
Glad to hear you got my email....took a while to figure out how to get it across the sea. So we've had our first week of Peace Corps training. I and another trainee have been living with a Tongan family in Fua'amotu on the island of Tongatapu. It's been action-packed for sure. A typical day would be: get up, breakfast with the family, go to the local hall for class, class on culture, morning tea (ti pongipongi), language class, lunch, health class, afternoon tea, safety and security class, go home to hang and practice with the family (and dinner....never eaten so much in my life) for a couple hours, then back to evening language class. So it's been a little difficult to find time to get to a computer, and when I do, there's usually a line so time on the thing is limited. The people we're living with are great....very helpful with our language studies and very accepting whenever we blow it on the culture side of things. Our house has dogs, chickens, and pigs all over the outside. We eat on the floor of the dining room (I'm getting better at sitting cross-legged for long periods of time) and grab cold showers morning and night. A typical meal would be yam, sweet potato, coconut anything (crab, fish, octopus), coffee, and taro leaves boiled and wrapped around some type of meat. I'm definitely going to fill out my tupenu (men's wrap-around) here. Saturday is hang-out day. Sunday is church day (yes, it's true....Phil is going to church).....the whole town goes to church, followed by an umu (underground oven) feast, then rest all day long. Found a great beach down the road from the town.....postcard-like scenes of the sand with cocont palms and bush hanging over it and a shallow walk across coral to the edge of the reef. Went over the reef yesterday with my speargun and got a nice lupo (trevally) for the family, which we ate tonight. Turns out that our "mom" Meleane didn't take me seriously when I mentioned going outside the reef (apparently the locals don't do that much) and freaked when she heard what I'd done (about the time I presented her with the fish). So when I tried to go again today the idea got nixed. I'll have to work on getting her used to the idea. We're here for another week, then off to an outer island, Vava'u, for 5-6 weeks of more training, this time each of us living alone with a . family, for more language, culture, and job training. Won't know my specific job site or activities until mid-late December. Hope you are all well. Please pass on my news to family and friends. Ofa atu.
Phil
Glad to hear you got my email....took a while to figure out how to get it across the sea. So we've had our first week of Peace Corps training. I and another trainee have been living with a Tongan family in Fua'amotu on the island of Tongatapu. It's been action-packed for sure. A typical day would be: get up, breakfast with the family, go to the local hall for class, class on culture, morning tea (ti pongipongi), language class, lunch, health class, afternoon tea, safety and security class, go home to hang and practice with the family (and dinner....never eaten so much in my life) for a couple hours, then back to evening language class. So it's been a little difficult to find time to get to a computer, and when I do, there's usually a line so time on the thing is limited. The people we're living with are great....very helpful with our language studies and very accepting whenever we blow it on the culture side of things. Our house has dogs, chickens, and pigs all over the outside. We eat on the floor of the dining room (I'm getting better at sitting cross-legged for long periods of time) and grab cold showers morning and night. A typical meal would be yam, sweet potato, coconut anything (crab, fish, octopus), coffee, and taro leaves boiled and wrapped around some type of meat. I'm definitely going to fill out my tupenu (men's wrap-around) here. Saturday is hang-out day. Sunday is church day (yes, it's true....Phil is going to church).....the whole town goes to church, followed by an umu (underground oven) feast, then rest all day long. Found a great beach down the road from the town.....postcard-like scenes of the sand with cocont palms and bush hanging over it and a shallow walk across coral to the edge of the reef. Went over the reef yesterday with my speargun and got a nice lupo (trevally) for the family, which we ate tonight. Turns out that our "mom" Meleane didn't take me seriously when I mentioned going outside the reef (apparently the locals don't do that much) and freaked when she heard what I'd done (about the time I presented her with the fish). So when I tried to go again today the idea got nixed. I'll have to work on getting her used to the idea. We're here for another week, then off to an outer island, Vava'u, for 5-6 weeks of more training, this time each of us living alone with a . family, for more language, culture, and job training. Won't know my specific job site or activities until mid-late December. Hope you are all well. Please pass on my news to family and friends. Ofa atu.
Phil
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barry
- Legend (Contribution King!)
- Posts: 405
- Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2003 12:37 pm
- Location: Hopefully the Tube
island style
Jon, if you could forward this on to Phil
Glad to hear that things are going well for you Phil.
Your Smile and attitude tend to make a positive difference wherever
you happen to be at the time.
It is amazing that you choose to go out and experience theses cultures and
traditions first hand while lending your time and abilities to benefit others.
Keep Smiling Phil and Thanks for Sharing,
Peace, Barry
Glad to hear that things are going well for you Phil.
Your Smile and attitude tend to make a positive difference wherever
you happen to be at the time.
It is amazing that you choose to go out and experience theses cultures and
traditions first hand while lending your time and abilities to benefit others.
Keep Smiling Phil and Thanks for Sharing,
Peace, Barry
Barry
