I'm official!

This week Group 74 of the Peace Corps in the Kingdom of Tonga had our official Swearing- In ceremonty, which is to say that we celebrated our survival of traing. To commemorate the experience I have compiled some of my personal training highlights. (Viewer discretion: some context not appropriate for children but I will try to keep it PG) *Our arrival in Nuku'alofa closely followed by my first illegal activity in Tonga: buying bottled water on a Sunday. It was a back door purchase instigated by an Aussie (or maybe he was a Kiwi... I'm not sure but apparently "It's kinda shady, eh?") *Vava'u, the heat, kapapulu and spegetti-o pizza, and the naked children *Basketball Jones: Daily basketball games on the Mormon court. Tongans vs. Palangis. And finally being a major baller, quite possibly the one of the best female ballers in the nation at that moment. *A new definition of clean. I was sitting on the porch of my first homestay playing around with One and Sifa while Va'inga washed sheets in a large barrel of the edge of the porch. He left the wash for a minute. I hear a tinkel and to my dismay, see Sifa leaning off the edge of the porch and peeing into the open barrel of wash with a big 'ole grin on his face. *Fevers, boils, parasites and fakalele (which means "like running") * "In da Bush" * Watching the monumental moment that was Election Day on a foreign island and our celebratory dip in the harbor. *A Pornographic Experience: My host family borrowed a t.v. and dvd player from a neighbor and was so excited to have a "sio vitio" night with me. My host dad presented me with their selection of dvds. Both he and my host mother stood over me watching as I flipped through the titles. I stumbled upon a couple "Barely Legals","Almost Legals" and a few I should not mention (I will let your imaginations fill in the blanks). I tried not to gasp or react in an obvious manner but glanced up at my host parents. They were nodding in approval and complete absence of recognition on their faces. "sio vitio?" I forgot to mention that pornography is illegal in the Kingdom. *Anga faka-palangi: the boat trip, the beauty and the drama *Quickly discovering what they mean by "The Tongan Sneak Around" and just how sneaky they can be... These last two months have been a ride. Now the real life part begins.