I got kind of sick on the plane ride over. I haven't really been able to eat a whole lot since.... Not good for Tonga! If you go to their house and don't eat at least two plates of food they assume there's something wrong with you. Have I eaten anything weird yet? Not really. I've tried some new fruits and vegetables, and I was even able to down some fish! (that's a big thing for me!) I have had manioka (tapioka root) and some ufi (yam) They're both basically the "Potatoes" of Tonga. The Tongans love ufi. As far as fruits, I got to eat a passion fruit, which I've never eaten before, and I got to drink straight out of a fresh coconut! (niu) It is kind of sweet to the taste, and also kind of fizzy! So thus far, nothing truly adventurous. But, a family this week told us they'd cook us some Kuli. (Screams inwardly) Kuli is dog. I'm not sure what to do when I get to that moment!
Tonga is very very very humid. When I first got here I felt like I was drowning on land! I've gotten used to it a little bit, but when it's like 95 degrees with 100% humidity it feels like you're going to melt into a puddle. Luckily it's winter time right now! Winter in Tonga is opposite to Utah. It will get really hot in november, december, and january here. So right now it's not too bad!
My new ho'a's (companion's) name is sister Vaa'i. She is from australia, and she is very nice! She talks with an awesome accent and she knows english. She is a sister training leader, which makes me a sister training leader also. (weird, right? I just got here!) She will be my trainer for 12 weeks.
Our little house is very small. It only has two rooms, a main room and a bathroom. The main room is about 11ft by 10 ft, and the bathroom is very small. (It always smells TERRIBLE and we're not sure why. We'll get it checked out when we can.) Our house is smaller than most tongan houses, but it is a lot nicer by far than tongan houses in this area. For one, we have doors! Also, we have thick walls that are not made of cinderblock like most of the houses here. It is very small, but kind of cute! We have a fence that surrounds the house here, and there is a small banana tree in the yard. The bananas are super green right now, but when they ripen we will try them out.
One thing I'm trying to get used to here-- there's no hot water! All of our showers are freezing cold. Tonga doesn't have working pipe systems like we do. When it rains, the water runs off of the roof into a pipe that connects to a huge barrel on the side of the house. From there there is a pipe that runs into the sink/shower in our house. And that is how we get water! It is not good to drink, so we have to clean the water to drink it, or buy bottled water from the falekoloa (the store.)
The stores here are very little. They look like baseball dugouts with bars on them. They are mostly only run by Asian people, so we call them china huts. You go up to the window and tell them what you want, and then you just swap bills and they push it through the metal bars of the shop. These stores are always closed on sundays. Tonga is they only Country that observes the sabbath day by law. if you're caught with a store open, you get fined a lot. Swimming isn't allowed for the people here on sundays, either.
I will send a picture of the clothes we wear here. They're very hot to wear. The skirt is called a Tupenu, which is a big wrap skirt that ties in the back. The Kofu is the shirt, which has long sleeves and is a single color. All of mine are too big for me right now, because I share with my Ho'a. You cannot get Kofu's in Utah! The woven mats we wear are called tupenu's. They are symbolic of ministers and people of high rank in Tonga. We cannot go proselyting without them! There was a bit of a scuffle when I got here because I did not have a Tupenu, So we had to search around for someone who had an extra. Thats the thing about tongans, if you need something, they simply give it to you. It makes me feel awkward asking for things, so I don't. If my ho'a sees I need something! She asks for me, even if I don't want it! We are well taken care of here. The Sister missionaries are not allowed to wear nail polish, jewelry, or makeup here. We are also required to braid our hair into two long braids, wherever we go. We are not allowed to be seen in public without our traditional clothes on, or with our hair down! Basically, this makes me look like Laura Ingalls Wilder all of the time. Google Her if you don't know what I'm talking about, but I look just like her!
Animals roam free in the Tongan streets. There are Chickens, Pigs, and Dogs all over the place. Tongans rarely to never keep pets, so all of these are for eating. even the dogs. All of the dogs are terrified of humans, because the Tongans basically hit them whenever they want. It makes me sad! But, that is the Tongan way. There is a small puppy that lives in the home next to our little house, where the stake president lives. He is not afraid of me anymore, because I coaxed him to me and I scratch him behind the ears whenever we return home. Sister Vaa'i and I feed him food scraps whenever we have extra food-- which is all the time!\
The area we are in right now is called Navutoka. It is very beautiful! It is on the main island of Tongatapu, and the main road is right along the beach. All the people here are very willing to help with the missionary work, and they all look so happy so see us every day, even the non-members. People volunteer to feed us all the time, even if they are non members! We do not have a lot of investigators right now, because the elders before us didn't keep very good records... but we are asking around to see who they taught! These people are so laid back and happy, it is very humbling. They are so content with the little that they have. Often times, I don't know what people are saying, but when people talk about the gospel I can feel the spirit in their words, even if I don't understand. It's amazing! |
I'm so very sorry for the long letter. There was a ton to talk about! I love and I miss you all, and I will hopefully be sending some pictures very soon!
ofa atu!
Sister Wunderlich
Sister Unitalisi
Sister one-ter-rich
Sister Lisi
Sister Rich
They can't pronounce my name so we're still trying to figure out what to call me. :D
The puppy.
The falekoloa (store)
Living quarters!
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