The title of this post describes a situation that has happened at least a handful of times since I have started telling people about my adventure into the Peace Corps.
They might be confused because when I initially described my desire to join Peace Corps I mentioned how neat-o (yeah, that word is still in my vocabulary) it would be to travel to Africa. This didn't happen due to a severe allergy to fire ants, but I'm not complaining. Everything happens for a reason.
Now here I am... headed to the South Pacific.
Back to Tonga.
Here's a quick lesson about Tonga - let's call it Tonga 101. You ready? I bet you are.
Top 10 Interesting Facts about The Kingdom of Tonga (according to me):
1. Location: The Kingdom of Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean. See the above map.
2. Nickname: The Friendly Islands
3. The Kingdom of Tonga is the last remaining Polynesian kingdom in the South Pacific. Which means that Tonga has a king.
4. There are 170 Tongan Islands. Only 36 of them are inhabited.
5. Population: 102,000.
6. What is the capital of Tonga? Nuku'alofa. I'm very excited to learn how to actually say that. The " ' " means that there is a glottal stop. The glottal stop is something that I have no mastered yet. In time, hopefully I will.
7. Food and feasting are an important part of Tongan society, and the feasts of the Kingdom are renowned throughout the Pacific. Tongan diet includes: spit roasted suckling pig, steamed fish, coconut cream, octopus, yams, taro, sweet potatoes and cassava.
8. The official currency of Tonga is the pa'anga. Right now, $1 in the US is equal to 1.75 pa'anga (TOP).
9. The highest point in Tonga is Kao Island.
10. The literacy rate in Tonga is 99%. What a great number. I wonder what America can learn from Tonga?
Until next time... I think we'll talk about the Tongan language next.
They might be confused because when I initially described my desire to join Peace Corps I mentioned how neat-o (yeah, that word is still in my vocabulary) it would be to travel to Africa. This didn't happen due to a severe allergy to fire ants, but I'm not complaining. Everything happens for a reason.
Now here I am... headed to the South Pacific.
Back to Tonga.
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| Source |
Here's a quick lesson about Tonga - let's call it Tonga 101. You ready? I bet you are.
Top 10 Interesting Facts about The Kingdom of Tonga (according to me):
1. Location: The Kingdom of Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean. See the above map.
2. Nickname: The Friendly Islands
3. The Kingdom of Tonga is the last remaining Polynesian kingdom in the South Pacific. Which means that Tonga has a king.
4. There are 170 Tongan Islands. Only 36 of them are inhabited.
5. Population: 102,000.
6. What is the capital of Tonga? Nuku'alofa. I'm very excited to learn how to actually say that. The " ' " means that there is a glottal stop. The glottal stop is something that I have no mastered yet. In time, hopefully I will.
7. Food and feasting are an important part of Tongan society, and the feasts of the Kingdom are renowned throughout the Pacific. Tongan diet includes: spit roasted suckling pig, steamed fish, coconut cream, octopus, yams, taro, sweet potatoes and cassava.
8. The official currency of Tonga is the pa'anga. Right now, $1 in the US is equal to 1.75 pa'anga (TOP).
9. The highest point in Tonga is Kao Island.
10. The literacy rate in Tonga is 99%. What a great number. I wonder what America can learn from Tonga?
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| Source |
People always think Africa when we talk about it too. ha! Can't wait to meet everybody-only two weeks....wow so much to do in so little time!!
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