Walks Home

Originally written on Friday, October 12, 2012: One of my favorite parts of the day is the 45 minute walk home from Ha'asini after TEFL/Technical Training. The road that Alissa, Mark and I walk is parallel to the Pacific Ocean. The only thing that keeps us from the water is a field of coconut trees and cattle, and the beach. We sometimes see vehicles on the road and every single one will stop and ask if we want a ride, which is a constant reminder of the kindness of strangers and the people of Tonga. The "school bus", a large truck with an open back, drives by with at least 20 students perched in the bed of the vehicle. They wave and yell things about the "palangi" and "fakamalohisino" (exercising). We smile and wave back, continuing our talks about Tonga, the day, language, the fact that the combination of cattle and the walk remind me of Jurassic Park. (Seriously, it does. The noises bulls make around Tonga make me think that someday a giant T-Rex is just going to run out onto the road and charge in my direction.)
When we enter Fatumu everyone knows our names and greets us from their homes, yards and roadside stores. Una is sometimes waiting for me on the street, ready to walk me back to the house and make sure that I have a good meal to eat. Tonight it was fresh lobster caught by a family member and purple sweet potatoes. I feel connected to these people and it's going to be so hard to leave them in 2 weeks... and leave Mark and Alissa. I'm ready for the next part of this adventure though, and look forward to finding out where I will be placed. (We find out exactly 1 week from today where our permanent posts will be!)