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| The Tongan Flag |
These observations are all done in fun and are simply my observations of our experiences over the past 21 months. We hope our love and respect for the Tongan people and culture always shines through. Tongans also have a wonderful sense of humor and will tease you just about anytime.
In Tonga they eat a lot of fish and even here the quality of fish is measured in how fishy it tastes. If it is good, they don’t say, “it’s good”, they say, “it doesn’t taste fishy at all”. If it’s bad they say, “It’s too fishy”. That’s why I eat beef and chicken and pork … it never tastes fishy!
Two of the tourist sites here on Tongatapu are Tsunami Rock and the Blow-holes. I thought that would be a great name for a band.
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Tsunami Rock - believed to have been deposited 100M inland by a
tsunami approximately thousands of years ago. |
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| Houma blow holes (photo courtesy of John Perry) |
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Parliament of Tonga - even non-Tongan speakers should spot
this one. You had one job . . . |
Dressing like the locals in a Tupenu may seem like fun at first but it has its challenges and risks especially as you enter and exit a vehicle many times each day. The upside may not be worth the downside (if you catch my drift).
The new parliament buildings across from Vaiola Hospital opened up earlier this year. I don't know how many times we're driven by their sign and never noticed anything but this week as parked at the hospital (across the street) Lepeka noticed something amiss with their sign. See if you can find it. Leave a comment below if you spot it.
Top 10 things I learned in Tonga
10. The flag may not be the best thing about Tonga but it’s certainly a big plus (see photo above).
9. The amount of traffic on any given road is directly proportional to the narrowness of the road divided by the time that we are using it.
8. When I arrived in Tonga I was size 2XL. I immediately blossomed to a 4XL. Fortunately in Tonga size 4XL is a medium.
7. They could never play wheel of fortune in Tonga … because once someone buys a vowel the whole puzzle is solved. Malo e lelei - Hello
6. When a Tongan raises their eyebrows it means yes …. or no. The only way to tell which is to assume one … it will be the other. Once you figure that out the meaning changes to I have no idea what you are saying.
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| Mele |
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| Mele happy |
5. Speed limits (unposted) will vary on roads depending on direction and nearness to the lunch-hour.
4. While codeine may not be prescribed at the hospital for pain it is a wonderful cure for diarrhea.
3. Not many people in the United States know what "fakalele" is but it is definitely easier to spell than diarrhea.
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Dirty Phil.
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2. When telling a Tongan mother that her child is beautiful, make sure you understand the difference between faka ‘ofa'ofa “beautiful” and faka ‘ofa “ugly”. (Personal experience)
The G is upside down, mom
ReplyDeleteYes it is (and backwards).
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