Malo e lelei ki he pongipongi'ni! (Good morning!!!)

Thanks so much to everyone who is following my blog! I can't tell you how exciting this is for me and I really appreciate your interest in my life here in Tonga :) Thank you very very much!

Right now it's Sunday and I am breaking so many cardinal rules in the Kingdom. For one, I did not attend Church- not at 5am nor at 10am. Maybe i'll hit up the evening service but I may just be a lazy palangi for now ;) (Palangi means foreigner- anyone who is not Tongan. Though contrary to what you may think, it has no negative conotation for it).

Secondly, I am on a computer; doing work. In Tonga there are three things that everyone does on Sunday: go to church, eat, and sleep. Honestly, that is all. They only thing open on a Sunday is a bakery and these are rare to find. Your luck in finding one would be the capital or maybe some of the main towns on other island groups. I went to one already today and got a yummy apple struddle stuffed with, to my surprise, tomatoes! It was actually quite tastey :)

Today, I am heading over to my friend's home. Her name is Poli and she is apart of the staff here at P.C. We're going to have umu which is what everyone does after church. An umu is and underground oven which Tongans will use to cook traditional Tongan foods like kumala or lu. Kumala is a type of sweet potato and lu is a type of leaf that they fold meat and vegetables into with poured coconut milk on top. It's really delicious and actually the old Tongan food I like that is, when it's lu vesitapolo! (Vegetables ONLY; no canned corned beef, thank you!)

After the umu, my friends and I are going to ride over to the west side of the island where they have beautiful blow holes, caves and gorgeous beaches to explore. No swimming today because it's Sunday and technically, we are not suppose to be riding there because biking or any form of excercising is illegal on Sundays. You see, you can bike but you can't bike with a purpose. It seems strict but all the rules are set up so that your day is centered around worshiping GOD. But in reality, it is just that way so you can be lazy. Eat, sleep, and go to church. It's wonderfully relaxing but hard to get used to.

This is my last Sunday until I officially reach my site! I have two more days of pre-service training and then Wednesday, I have my swearing in ceremony :) I am so excited but it will be hard leaving all my fellow trainees.

Well, I suppose that's it for now! I have to ride over to the umu. Maybe they'll be roasting some pigs today over the umu. Yum! Pig drippings to season over the kumula cooking underneath ;)

'Ofa atu!