We arrived... Malo e Lelei!:)

Day 1: We finally got to Tonga!! 

After the fun adventures in the airport ( best thing was definitely the pizza we ate in the Tom Bradley International Airport in LAX. 800 degrees. Margherita pizza with mushrooms, ham, and roasted garlic. Just for a FYI when and if you’r ever there). As we  got closer to Tonga and when we landed in Fiji, the reality of the trip started to settle in. Bethany and I kept turning to each other and asking if we were ready for this. There’s no preparation for what we found when we got here. 

It has been amazing. It’s winter here so when we landed it was raining outside and as you walk out of the Tongan airport there are benches outside where people are waiting for the arrival of family and friends. Luckily we had one girl who had landed here two days earlier so she was there to greet us. We had some luggage problems with our entire plan so four people in our group don’t have their luggage as well as some other passengers on the plane. The airport workers were really nice and gave my classmates $100 to use for buying clothes here to cover them until their bags get here (which could be Saturday..?). Everyone has been really helpful and nice. We had a driver come to get us and then because the luggage stuff took awhile we actually happened to be there for when Alexa arrived, the other art student, and then we were also there for when Dr Patch arrived which was really nice too. He tried to come earlier this week so he could have things a little more set up and ready for us when we got here, but he got laid up in Hawaii for five days due to mechanical problems with his aircraft. It was great being all together finally in the country. It still seems crazy this all worked and that we made it. haha We got all of our luggage packed up and a few of us were trying to get our phones to work on the Tongan phone services and buy some data packages that didn’t work at the airport so they told us to go into town and talk to them. We drove there first and an hour later only two people had internet service on their phones. They call it TOP UP when they had money to your account. The internet works to pay for, but the data didn’t work for us. It all worked out though, because while we were in the airport getting the phones stuff at first we met Sela, a lady that Patch had actually taught with when he was Liahona. She is really nice and after talking to her and introducing ourselves, she invited me to stay with her and her family in New Zealand when I come. They live a few minutes from the airport so she said she will come get me and I can stay with them. Patch talked to her for a little bit more and then we left to town where we stopped at the phone place and got that sort of figured out. While the three of us were in the phone store, we met some members of the LDS Church who asked us right away if we were from Utah and if we were members. haha I wonder where they got that idea from...?;) The other students went exploring for a little while we were doing that and found some food stands where they bought samosa, which is a little empanada full of a type of potato and curry. It’s really good. I love it here so much because there are so many things that remind me of Chile. I feel like I’m at home. They even have little stores every where which are called Falekaloa I think, which are just like all the little almacens in Chile. They are basically all these little shops on the streets ran by families. They are full of the best part of a gas station. Best way I can describe it. I’ll take pictures, but I love them. I guess they have these little stores in a lot of countries. We stopped by one of these after dinner and got a few things for dinner and breakfast for the next day. They have delicious bread here and its CHEAP. Again, just like Chile. I’m calling it cotton candy bread. It comes in a huge loaf and in a little, light plastic bag. The inside is as soft and fresh as cotton candy...It’s awesome. And a whole loaf is 75 cents or 1.50 pa'anga. Their money is about .44cents to our dollar. So everything is about double than what it would be here. 

Well, we ate at a cafe/restaurant called Friends for dinner after the airport. Quite a few of us were pretty hungry. We had been recommended the cafe from a guy we me at the airport. He has lived here for about thirty years he said and was doing work with getting helicopters to be here in Tonga. It was a good recommendation. We tried coconut, fresh raw fish which Patch ordered and I found out I really like. I’m excited to try the sea food here and try more of that. The rice is amazing and so are all of the vegetables and fruit. I was happy after dinner. haha We finally got to Liahona and our apartment. The campus is huge. Our apartments are wayy nice and a lot better than most things I had as a missionary in Chile. haha I only mention that because I guess I was thinking it would be different since they told us it would be lesser living conditions, but it’s seriously really nice. We have hot water, and they left us towels which was really nice since I had to dump a lot of my luggage at the airport before I left. Well, we unloaded our stuff and then Patch took us to a place called Blowholes. It’s a beach where the shore and rocks have formed to make small pockets and tunnels for the water to come in and when there is a big wave or strong tide it goes inside the crevices and bursts up through these naturally made “blowholes”. It’s beautiful. We get around in a four cab truck and here there aren’t much traffic or road rules and everyone drives around with at least two or three people in the bed of the truck. We drive around with five palangis hanging out the back. haha It’s like an awkward parade wherever we go. They also drive on the left side of the road. I'm still trying to get to used to making left turns and staying on the left side of the road and the main thing they have are round-abouts which are awkward to drive around on the left side. haha 

Well, the next place we went to was even more beautiful. Each place is. It was only 7:00pm but pitch black with the moon and stars out already. It felt like we were at the beach at midnight. We drove by some cemeteries to get to this specific beach. Their cemeteries are amazing. They decorate the graves by piling a mound of sand or dirt on top and then placing all of these flowers, signs, posters, rocks, shells, and anything else all over it. It truly is a monument dedicated to the deceased. It’s so colorful and a true testament to who that person was while they were alive. It’s pretty neat to see. At the beach Alexa, Dr Patch, and I ended up going swimming. The water was clear and calm, and even though it was dark and we couldn’t see much, after our eyes adjusted and when the sliver of moon shined through the clouds we could see some reflection and get to the edge of the reef where we were standing and swimming. It was kind of cold but felt really good and just floating as the current came in and out was really fun. It didn’t seem real. The waves were crashing about 100 yards from us and we just floated, in our clothes by the way, in the four or five feet deep pools we were wading in. The sand is so fine and white, and walking on all the reef and coral rock is definitely a different feeling. I really like it, though. Well, we got back to Liahona, showered and then most of the students went to bed. Alexa and I went and played cards with Dr Patch and Wes, the only guy on the trip. haha He’s awesome and actually came out with his wife and kids at home supporting him in this amazing opportunity we are all taking. We stayed up til about 10:00 which doesn’t sound late, but with the time change that’s about 3:00 in the morning and we hadn’t slept yet. I sleep on a mattress on the floor, home sweet home:) , and I have a queen size here so I upgraded. haha It felt good to sleep. I brought the same sheets I used in the mission, just for memory’s sake;) , and they are actually Rach’s spiderman sheets so thanks sis. I’ve got you here with me!;) Well, the start to this journey has been amazing and nothing short of a dream. It’s crazy it’s only been a day.