I officially ended my service today. I feel sorrow and joy at the same time. Peace Corps had been a dream for such a long time, it is difficult to end it early, but my life is now with Jason and I could not be happier about that. We will be married in about three months and see where our next adventure lies.

As I sat in one of my two metal folding chairs last night, writing a letter to Jason, as I have done every single day since he left, I caught sight of an extremely fast moving Molokau as it raced from my front door and into the dark living room of my house. I have yet to be bit by one of these and did NOT want one (especially one this large) in my house. I'd heard horror stories about how aggressive they are, how they'll bite you while you're sleeping in your bed, and how painful their bites are. I hopped up quickly and grabbed my faithful can of Mortein (like Raid) ... hoping that it was true that Mortein could actually stop (or at least slow) these incredibly LARGE poisonous centipedes. I tiptoed into the other room. Luckily, I only have a box and a few papers in there so it was pretty easy to find him ... with my adrenaline pumping and my finger primed on the spray button, I moved the box - out he came in a hurry! With me spraying like mad, he slowed down and eventually came to a halt before reaching me. I continued spraying until I used probably half the can. The Molokau continued writhing on the floor for over 20 minutes. Even though I hate & fear this thing, I didn't like to see it slowly dying. I tried to put it out of it's misery by pounding on it with my shoe and anything else heavy ... finally about 15 minutes later it had stopped moving. Here's a photo of my fun friend once he'd stopped moving and I dared to get close. He's probably 6 - 7 inches long ... a mid-sized Molokau really. I've seen others that were longer and much fatter (over an inch wide!)

This is something I don't have pictures of which is very sad :( ... today we had a staff/volunteer Thanksgiving potluck celebration at the Peace Corps office. Each person brought a dish in to share - I'd gotten a great receipe from my friend Julie for a cornbread pudding and (miraculously) had gotten a pack of cornbread mix from a fellow volunteer. The craziest food was probably the sweet potatoe dishes. Since the sweet potatoes here are bright purple! It doesn't seem right to be eating food that color! It was a lovely day - even though is was really difficult to be away from home and specifically away from Jason ...

Our immediate supervisor (APCD) was "let-go" in October for embezzling (according to rumors) and the Tonga Country Director left shortly thereafter for "personal reasons." In the interim while new leadership is identified and hired, we have had the incredible opportunity to have Pam Martin come to Tonga. Outside of our trainers, she has been the first individual who has exhibited that she genuinely cares for volunteers. She has been tireless in requesting to hear our thoughts, has listened patiently and not downplayed any of our numerous concerns, but has offered great insights and openly admitted that things here have not been handled as they should have. It has been rather tragic though, to catch a glimpse of how different our experience could have been with leadership who was actually invested in the volunteers. Here is a photo of a group of us and the staff with Pam before she left.

The power went off shortly after lunch yesterday while I was at work. I didn't think anything of it as the power goes out here regularly. But later as I was getting ready to leave, the very eccentric woman who uses an office in our building and seems to think she runs the place, told me it was not a good day to be outside, grumbled a bit about how ridiculous "this" was and said she would give me a ride home. I didn't really want a ride home as she is truly quite crazy, but she's not exactly someone you say no to.

Once in her car, I realized it was probably better that I was, just a 1/2 block from the Chamber building, an entire building was engulfed in flames. People were running around on the streets, there was a car on fire - it was pretty scary. Kololiana (sounds like Gloriana) asked if I minded if we drove around and the proceeded to tell me she need to check the palace to ensure the royal family was safe and that she was going to go home to get her guns. I continued to wish that I had just driven myself home...finally we made it to my side of town and she dropped me off at my little home...

I started receiving text messages from other volunteers about what was going on and in the aftermath we learned that in very unusual fashion, supporters of "Tongan Democracy" had organized and had three groups set fire to and destroy 3 businesses belonging to the Prince. Unfortunately, once the looting/rioting/fires began, there was no way to stop what was started and 80% of the central business district was destroyed with heavy targeting of Chinese businesses.

These photos were taken by another volunteer who happened to be in the thick of things! Whoa!

The aftermath ... the entire central downtown area is completely destroyed. All entrances into town are heavily guarded.

After spending several days cleaning out a completely filthy place and being told by my PC supervisor that it looked just fine to him and trying to deal with the thought of living in that place for 2 years and then finding out that my supervisor had been terminated for what amounted to embezelling and finding out that the safety officer at PC had NOT approved the filthy place as a safe place for me to live, I continued living at Sela's for several more weeks until my employer found this perfect place for me to live! All of the drama was worth it to be in this truly lovely place. It takes me about 30 minutes to walk to work in the morning and about 20 minutes to walk into town, but walking is good and I definitely don't mind! This is a brand new duplex-style bungalow on the compound of a Tongan family, so it's a safe place too! I love it!

Views from my front porch - another volunteer lives right next door!

My new bedroom - so light & cheery! Not a lot of closet space, but since I don't have much, it works perfectly!

The bathroom - indoor toilet and shower (with only cold running water, but I'm just HAPPY to have a clean place to shower!) My most frequent visitor is this HUGE brown pig at the neighbors house ... here's a few photos of me in my new place! How do you like the counter & cupboard space in the kitchen? I think it's great!!

Since literally everything closes down from noon or 2 pm on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. The fact that bakeries open up on Sunday afternoon has made it a ritual for a group of us to wander down to the best bakery (Pacific Delights) every Sunday afternoon. Sometimes by the time we get there, we're so "starved" that we can't even wait to eat and we crouch on the ground outside the bakery to eat one of our treats (since standing & eating is extremely rude in Tonga). Usually though, we're able to wait until we reach some of the water front benches, here and visit while we snack away.

The amazing house that Adam finally was able to move into is on the way back into town ... he has this incredible view from his second story balcony!

This is the royal tomb - for 100 nights after the King's funeral certain individuals stay at the tomb, watching over it and caring for it.

All of us met up today at the PC office to catch a ride to the airport to welcome the new group of Peace Corps Trainees into Tonga. I still remember hearing PCV's cheering for us when we got off the plane - it was a great feeling to hear them, so it was really fun to be part of this today. The men in our group were especially excited that the new group had 13 women!

New group, watching Poli mix the kava...looking a little uncertain about all of this!

Sarah and Ann-Marie performing tauleunga (dance).

Jason left Tonga yesterday. I still can't believe that he is actually gone and I am left here. We were at least able to spend the day together yesterday - cleaning the disgusting place that is to be my "home" for the next 2 years ...

In the evening, a large number of our group hopped into Taua's van and headed out to the airport to say one last farewell to Jason. Watching him leave me was one of the hardest things I've had to do. In the past few weeks since we started dating, I have come to realize that Jason is the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. To come to that realization and then to seemingly have the possibility snatched away from me is brutal.

Since Jason was basically forced by Peace Corps to ET (early terminate), a group of us decided to enjoy one last weekend at Pangaimotu before he leaves on Tuesday...

The water was so rough that we headed into the cabin to keep from getting soaked. You can see the legs of some of the Tongan Pangaimotu employees through the glass behind us.

The dock at the "resort" of Pangaimotu.

Jeff, Sami, Jason & I - primed and ready to watch the sun set ...

Spectacular sunset!

View from the patio where we had our dinner - the make the MOST delicious fish-n-chips here!!

Sleeping at Pangaimotu is always at the minimum for me due to the numerous holes in the mosquito nets in their open-air fales. I got up as soon as it was light and headed to the other side of the island (about 10 minutes) to catch the glorious sunrise.

No surprise, Jessie was an early riser too ...

The boys going "tropo" with some of the local flowers.

Sami catching some zees in the hammock before we head back to the mainland.

I was sooo happy to hear from the Chamber of Commerce that they'd identified a place for me to live (that was very close to the Chamber). One of my supervisors took me over and my excitement quickly dwindled. Although I loved that it was upstairs, it was really filthy, not very stable feeling and really MUCH too too large for someone with no furnishings.

These photos don't dipict well, just how gross everthing was ... there was old food & drinks crawling with bugs littering every cabinet in the kitchen, the bathroom had congealed urine covering the floor around the toilet and we found remnants of "romantic" rendevous in the bedrooms.

After spending a full day cleaning (with the help of Jason), I was close to tears most of the time with the thought that I was going to have to live here, in a place that would never feel or look clean...and where was I to sleep? Certainly not on the 'uli (dirty) mattresses left by the previous disgusting tenants.

A couple of the "critters" who'd been making this place their home ... they are normal residents in Tongan homes and although the fact that the spider was too BIG to wash down the drain is a little scary, they were the least of my concerns in this place that I will have to live in for the next 2 years.

Craig has quite the pad to live in - it's two bedroom, painted fun colors & cement (so no termites). It was his birthday today and he invited everyone over to help him celebrate. And help we did - our group definitely let loose a little bit and Craig gave quite the speech!

You'll notice Jason in these photos ... he'd been on his island 'Eua (a 3 hour boat ride away) for about a week and there was basically no job for him there and although there is one other volunteer there, she is a 45 minute walk away. With few to none english speakers around, no job to do and missing me so much, he returned to Nuku'alofa to see if he might be able to find a place in the capital where he can actually be useful and also be nearby.

Yes!! It's true. Sami found supplies and decided to treat us to some homemade sushi! She is quite the chef!

So...although volunteers are supposed to have a house and work site once we are sworn in, I have neither. Apparently, a document needs to go through approval with the government for me to work at the Chamber of Commerce (and for them to be able to fund my housing). While that is waiting to go through, I am living at the hostel and tagging along with Sami to work. Rather odd, but I'm not going to complain. Another volunteer, Jeff, and a guy from Australia working on his doctorate as also regular guests at Sela's, so I have good company.

Outside of Sela's guest house...

My home...

Sami & I, "working."

Where I am supposed to be working.

The King's funeral was a VERY big deal. The last time a ruler had passed away was in 1965. Every Tongan who could possibly make it to Nuku'alofa for the ceremony came.

A group of us decided to sit a little ways away, so that we could exit without notice after a few hours instead of staying for the 8+ hour ceremony.

Jason & I had decided to start dating a couple days earlier ... we don't look disappointed, do we??

The King's coffin was carried by a 1000 pallbearers - you can see the black structure being carried here. This whole structure had been carried from the palace all the way to the tombs. There is one man allowed on the structure with the King. But, since NO Tongan is allowed to be higher than the King, the man was a Samoan man who had been friends with the royal family. He had a fan that he was waving around to ensure no flies or other in appropriate pests bothered the King.

The volunteers who have been assigned to outer island areas are being allowed to stay until next Wednesday so that they can be present at the King's funeral on Tuesday. Since this is our last weekend together, a group of us decided to rent the large room at this rustic resort and spend the night at Pangaimotu ... this time without breaking into the Peace Corps office for our life jackets!

Our very rustic accomodations...

We had brought mats to sit on and plenty of coke and Tongan rum (which was really rough) to enjoy the sunset with ... we must have been in a good position for a meteor storm as we saw SO many "shooting stars!"

The group ran off to get some more beverages from the cafe, leaving Jason & I watching shooting stars alone together...we thought that was a coincidence (ha ha!). It had been nearly a week since we talked about how he felt about me ... after shedding many tears because I knew I could not be with him, I finally realized that if I didn't at least try, I would most likely regret it for the rest of my life. And that is what I told him. So we held hands for the first time while watching shooting stars on a beautiful beach in the South Pacific ... not bad!

The group room we stayed in and the beautiful ocean just steps away.

Jason showing off his incredible back flipping & rope climbing skills!!

William, Jason & I went for a wander the other day ... as we passed to local prison on our way through town, William had the idea that it would be fun to see the inside of a Tongan prison and asked the front desk attendant if we could go see. They joked that it would cost 50 cents and let us go in. The first thing I noticed was that the prison doors were OPEN and then I noticed one inmate in just a towel who made some remark about me before I turned and quickly headed out of there! Here are some proud photos from our experience:

Several volunteers in our group (who are being based in Nuku'alofa) are already being taken to their site today. Although this is what we are here for and what we went through training for, it's really hard to see our group being sent in different directions already...

Today, we officially became volunteers of the United States Peace Corps. We've only been "trainees" up until now ... we took our final language test yesterday and I passed!! And today we had our ceremony. Generally the ceremony is quite an affair, but due to the King's death, it was very subdued - a read a hymn in Tongan and we sang a couple songs, got our certificates, then watched the incredible video that Adam and Sami had been SO many hours into making

The King's body was returned to Tonga today from New Zealand where he passed away. From the time the body left the airport, the roads were lined with Tongan school children and adults, paying their respects to the late King.

We lined up in town to watch and be part of this event...every building had been covered in black and purple cloth - signifying the colors for royalty and for mourning.

While checking my e-mail after class yesterday, I received the shock of my life. One of my fellow volunteers had sent me an e-mail that I was completely unprepared for! He'd hoped to speak with me in-person but since all of us were always in a large group, hadn't been able to and had to tell me (basically) that he liked me! I most definitely did not see this coming. I even wondered for several minutes if it was a prank of some kind as I'd never gotten any vibe from this guy that he was remotely interested...

After deciding that this was not a prank, the real difficulties began ... I think the world of this man - he is absolutely everything that I could imagine wanting in a life partner ... strong Christian, adventurous, completely hot, easy-going and very considerate. The catch ... I'm 4 inches taller than him. Even he realized this might very well be a problem. But, he had to tell me anyways and now I have a decision to make.

We spoke for nearly 4 hours today - alone - and I still can't make a decision. I've asked him to give me time to think about it and he's given me all the time I need or want. I'm really conflicted over this - as great as I think he is, I don't know if I can date someone and feel like a giant ogre all the time we're together and it wouldn't be fair to be bothered by something that is completely outside of his control ...

We arrived in class today dressed in our usual clothing that contains color ... we were advised by our trainers that they King had passed away in the night and we would need to go back to the guest house to change into all black during our lunch break. Black clothing is a requirement during a period of mourning. Mourning can last from a week to 6 months...hmmm, black clothing for 6 months, that could be interesting!

The eight of us who had taken life jackets in order to adhere to PC policy got to stay behind during lunch today (does this remind anyone else of elementary school??) and have the PC Director yell at us for a while.

Obviously, in retrospect we realized it wasn't the best thing to do and that maybe a different avenue should have been pursued, but we didn't do it maliciously and no harm came out of it.

None of that seemed to matter to her. She said she could send all of us home for this (I wonder how it would reflect on her as a leader if she had to send 50% of a group home??) and couldn't believe that we didn't think it was going to be a problem with breaking & entering into a government building and stealing from it. When she put it that way, it did sound bad. But to us, taking a life jacket that was assigned to us from a locked storage shed while a security guard watched, didn't seem quite as serious.

Dawn was our main spokesperson during Betty's interrogation ... I hoped that since Dawn is older than Betty, it would go easier. It really didn't seem to matter ... I'd previously had a difficult time finding Betty to be sincere in her interactions with us, well, she was sincere this time. I'm hoping to limit my interactions with her in the future.

We awoke to find a glorious day today and eight of us quickly decided to venture to Pangai-motu - a rustic resort island only a 15 minute boat ride from the Nuku'alofa warf.

Sami & Kiki waiting for the shuttle boat at the warf.

During training, we'd had hammered into us that the PC requires us to have a life jacket anytime we're in a boat. We'd been issued one when we went to Ha'apai, but on our return, they had been placed at the PC office. So before heading out, we went by the office to find that the life jackets had been moved from where they'd been during the week. We roamed around a bit and finally found them in a locked storage shed in the back. While the security guard looked on, we checked the windows which were all shut tight and then used a credit card to pop the door open. We got our life jackets, relocked the door and headed out....completely oblivious to the trouble we had just gotten ourselves into.

Don't we look happy (& innocent) here in our life jackets??

When we arrived - we were elated to see how wonderful this little island was ... and we began to feel a little worry also as one of the PC staff members was sitting on the dock when we got in, on his cell phone advising someone we'd arrived. Rose went right up to him and explained exactly what we'd done ... but we soon realized, we were in pretty big trouble. Evenso, we did our best to enjoy the afternoon and worry about the consequences when we returned.

Our first real day of being "on our own" was wonderful! Sela's (the guest house we're staying at) has the feeling of a college dormitory right now. There is a small, central courtyard area where we all congregate, playing cards, playing "would you rather?" and just talking the night away.

We realized very quickly though that getting food today might be a trick - all stores and restaurants are closed on Sunday's. Our trainer promised there would be something open, but I don't think we found anything other than the bakery, in the afternoon ... what a DELIGHT that was though! We bought "bun-nies" --- buns with a sugar cream filling and went to sit on the warf while we gobbled them down.