So it is a sad time for me, I need to move to a new blog :P.  *tear* *tear* /wrist

Well anyway.  I do actually like vox a lot, but unfortunately it is not very fast on slow connections.  Since my options in Tonga are slow and painfully slow...I really think I need to move to a faster platform.  So blogger it is.I am pretty sure that the reason I have not posted in two months (other than laziness) is the fact that I did not want to spend large amounts of time waiting (it took me about 10 minutes to be able to start typing this post).  Plus the gallery in Vox sucks...can't access older pictures without about 20 pages and 10 minutes of effort.  I digress.I'll do my best to make a happy theme to offset the large amount of bitterness I post, but my laziness may prevail and you'll be stuck with the default.The new address is.

*DRUMROLL*http://squirrelintonga.blogspot.com/

Yeah I know..."Really...squirrel...thats what you chose?".  Well fuck you too :P.Hope this post finds you all well,Enrique

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So after trying for so long to hold onto the notion that my experience here has been relatively normal...I have come to the conclusion that it has not been.I came to the realization after taking a shower next to a spider the size of my hand (the whole thing) and not in any way being bothered about it.  I'm not a very fickle person even in the states, but I am pretty sure anytime i saw a spider the size of my hand in the states I would have started running.

So in honor of this momentous occasion I will list 10 things that I do differently now (no particular order...not even the top 10).1. Shower regularly out of a camping shower.

2. Water garden with camping shower.

3. Ride bicycles with watermelons.

4. Aim for puddles

5. Justify flushing

6. Get drinking water from a water tank.

7. Eat Pee-matoes

8. Eat whole loaves of bread

9. Ask everyone where they are going...even if I don't know who they are...or care where they are going.

10. Say things in a British accent (only joking 90% of the time, damn you andrew)I'll post pictures later.

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calm down, you'll be fine.

That being said, here is the photos from Mexican night at the Fifitas.  The beans came from New Zealand, the Chile Ancho from my aunt in America, and some of the seasoning from New Zealand/America.  However the talent all came from Tonga :D.

Tortillas

Tongan labor!  Cheaper then you'd think!

Denied

I was kicked out of the kitchen.  Here is me giving up.

Fish

Fish, since it is the only meat I eat.

Sabotage

Kitchen sabotage.  I think pepe does a good job of looking innocent...too good of a job if you ask me.

Yvane eating the fish

Oh the Tongan savage.  I tried to tell him to look sadder, but this is all I could get.

ofa atu

Hope you enjoyed the food too :D.

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So I've been thinking lately about the Robert Frost poem.  You know the one...the one that EVERYBODY decides has a very deep and personal meaning for them after their first reading.  While this is testimony to the strength of the poem, I decided to think about it more literally.  Who the hell walks down the road less traveled when there is a perfectly good and traveled road right next to it.  Creepy poets...that is who.  I would personally advise people traveling alone and at night to avoid the road less traveled.As usual I will do a little photo journal for the benefit of you people who probably could care less about the black formations of crap we call type littered throughout this page. Mexican Standoff

First up is the good old Mexican standoff.  To the right we have a little poodle, on the left we have a female cow.  In the middle is me...at my second home stay for my Australia trip. Emily @ Darling Harbour This picture illustrates a few things.  First is my amazing job at following the rule of thirds.  I know, I know, you thought that all this was natural talent, but I attended a few of those photography classes before I dropped it.  The second thing I would like to point out is the sociological study brought to life through the modern miracle of the digital camera.  In the background you will see two Tongans who completely ignored the standard practice of NOT walking into the fountain...needless to say everyone who saw this then decided that it was allowed and I can only imagine security eventually came around to stop it :D

Opening Mass

Here is the opening mass of World Youth Day 2008.  That would be a jumbotron screen with the cardinal of Australia on it.  If I needed to describe World Youth Day in one phrase it would be 'Bonnaroo meets the Catholic Church'.  Keep in mind that I HATE Bonnaroo.

Opera House Here is the Sydney Opera House.  I was very disappointing with it.  I expected a lot more then an ugly turtle shell looking building, but there you go.

Or maybe it actually is Justin! Justin impersonator....?

And he is off

This image best describes my interaction with the pope.  I think he drove by at like 50 mph.

Randwick Racecourse And here is the final day at Randwick Racecourse...where the pope oversaw the final mass.

Overall I think Australia was pretty good, but I think in the future I will make the trip a bit shorter.  I also think the food situation was a disaster and the sleeping arrangements were negligent.  But what can you expect out of volunteers (note: i am a volunteer in tonga).

When I got back I attended the coronation events for the new king, but I did not really take any pictures.  I will steal those from other people and make another entry with them later :D.

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So I had another couchsurfer stay at my house (Katriina) and she left a bunch of awesome pictures for me.  I went ahead and uploaded them all.  Here are a few highlights. Opening of Parliment

This picture was taken at the opening of parlament.  All the schools (and many other organizations) marched in celebration.  Here is a band leader.

Teamwork, it's what makes marriages last Andrew and Alexis showing that marriage may be a good choice.  Look at that teamwork.  When life gives you breadfruit....climb the fucking tree and get that shit down.

Fish mo chips Here is a very flattering picture of me deep frying stuff.  This is my job on the weekends.

Defeat

Sometimes the Tongans just get you down.  Here it is expressed quite literally.

Blowholes

I'll never get tired of attending the blowholes

Kuni's Mother

I met Kuni's mother (2nd from right) and her friends.

Kuni

Watched some Rugby with Kuni (same location as the shot with his mother)

Maki Rolls Had Cory and Joe show everyone how to make Maki Rolls.

Ancient Trilithon Ha'amonga 'A Maui Made silly poses at the Ha'amonga Trilithon.

Gettin Ready for Kava

Got ready for some Kava drinking

or maybe not

And then got served!

Overall the last few weeks have been pretty good.  My first semester teaching is done and I am looking forward to my trip to Sydney next month.  I'll hopefully have some pictures of the Opera House and bridge before too long

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So I went to the Houma blowholes again this weekend.  The pictures came out pretty good.  I was with a couchsurfer (Julia) and I would say the tide turned out perfect. Houma Blowholes

Houma Blowholes

I also ended up actually reading a statue that I pass quite often.  It turns out Tonga had men serving in both WWI and WWII.

WWI and WWII Statue WWI Statue

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So I have lost or had almost everything stolen that I have brought to Tonga.  Here is the list.First up MacBook

My brand new core2duo macbook.  This little beauty was a victim to LAX.  The airport with awesomeness all over.

It was partially my fault since I did leave it behind, but when asking the flight attendant to call back he told me he could not until they were in the air (and the 'all clear' was up)...he then proceeded to tell me they were to far and not call until about 8 hours later when landing in Samoa.  Woot!

Next Up is!

Ipod Brand new iPod that I got alongside the MacBook.  This beauty was stolen on the boat ride over from Tongatapu to Vava'u during Pre-Service Training.  Was taken in a room full of Peace Corps Volunteers...let the finger pointing begin!

After several small thefts (shoes, small gadgets, etc) we have my first time ever becoming the victim of an armed robbery!   Man breaks into the room I am staying with (along with 4 other guys) and starts stealing stuff.  John wakes up and yells (this will be stuck in my head for life)...UP...UP....WE'RE BEING ROBBED.  The portly gentlemen proceeds to make his out the window with a dive and leaves behind his knife.

My losses were small, but odd.  I lost a pair of flip flops, swimming trunks, a shirt, and a towel.  Others lost much much more.

Friendly Island Hotel

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So I know I have not been posting a lot, but I have an excuse!  Not really a good one, but the one I am definitely going to stick with.I lost my battery charger for my camera.  No camera = no pictures...no pictures = no posts.  I just find it hard to post a lot of text without some pretty pictures to distract people with.Getting beyond that a bunch has happened since my last post.  I took a trip to 'Eua and have some pictures in my gallery to prove it (I lost the charger in 'Eua...lol).  Here is one of my favorites...Krystal giving me some sort of angry face? Krystal

I also have been a little more active with the church.  They are taking a trip to Australia for World Youth Day and it looks like I will be joining them.  Here is the obligatory picture of a cute kid from the church.  In the background you can see the Prime Minister (white hair on the right), Priest (white hair on the left), and even the security for the Prime Minister (awkward looking guy in the back right [green]).

St. Micheal's Church

I've hosted some couchsurfers and here are two sets of them (they stayed at completely different times).

Couchsurfers Couchsurfers

I've read a bunch of new books and started saving the ones I have read on a new site.  The site itself is Goodreads, I suggest you sign up and add me as a friend.  Although if you don't want to, here is a link to my books (two shelves...the currently-reading and read) http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1006028.

In other news my aunt says she sent me a package, but after she told me how much it costs I kind of felt bad (over 100 dollars to ship!).  It has a rolling pin though...which should help make my flour tortillas respectable.

My next door neighbor's husband passed away.  Today is my fourth day wearing black.  I will stop on Tuesday after the body is laid to rest.  The whole idea of wearing black here is a little different then I am used to.  Usually in the US you wear black on the day of the funeral (if you're a family member or friend) and then maybe a few days/weeks before or after if you are mourning.  Here in Tonga I am wearing black more as a sign of respect towards the family.  I have never personally met the father of the children next door, but since I am a neighbor and on good relations with the wife/children it is respectful to wear it.  I'll post more info later on the actual funeral procedures (with differ greatly from the US)...should make for an interesting post.

Well I hope somebody is actually reading this :P, Later

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So I'm a kid.I don't mean that in a maturity way (which is totally true), but in the way I am perceived here in Tonga.  By contrast there are Tongans who are younger then me who are not kids...actually there are a LOT of Tongans that are younger then me, but not kids.  How is this?In Tonga you are a youth until you get married.  The fact that I am unmarried makes me a youth.  30 years old, no job, and still living with mom?  Not a big deal...you're not married.In other news Grant came into town a few weeks back because of an infection.  He had to be put on an IV for two days, but that didn't stop me from making him administer eye drops. Grant going in for the kill

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So this past Friday we had a really good rain.  Unfortunately I did not take any pictures directly afterwards because I am lazy and assumed this happens often.When I found out that this was a 'freak' occurrence I was pretty disappointed, but I am confident in the ability of Tonga to deliver something else picture worthy before my tour is over.Overall, just under a foot of rain fell in less then 24 hours.  I had to wade through my yard into my house where the water line fell less then a quarter inch from flooding the inside of my house.  Many other houses were not so lucky.  I was walking down the road off the ocean and saw a man sitting on his couch with a few inches of water below him.  I did take this picture about two days after the 'flood'. Two days after the flood and this one today! Nice clear day in Tonga

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Right of way, this is something you hear a lot in the states.  "John got into an accident.  He was side swiped by a guy, but he had the right of way" and "Mary got hit by a car, they didn't give her the right of way" are some common phrases heard when discussing traffic.I don't believe there is a strong grasp on the concept of 'right of way' in Tonga.  I found this very surprising since roundabouts are found on every other block here in Tonga.  I'll have to admit that I was not very familiar with a roundabout since I live in the states, but I did some research and it turns out that the whole concept of roundabouts is built around a 'right of way' mentality.To further bolster the point that Tongans do not understand the right of way, I was hit by a car last month while walking down the street.  Just walking along and I get hit by a side view mirror.  I would say this was just one jerk driver, but John was hit by a car while riding his bike.  Add this to the fact that most Peace Corps members are not entirely used to traffic coming from the opposite side of the street and we have a nice recipe for disaster for our first few weeks in country.Here is an roundabout thats is nearby my work Roundabout

In other news I ran into a freaky looking sheep wolf dog thing.  Here is photographic evidence of this Frankenstein breed of dog.

Wolf Sheep dog

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