At the same time
as the King's funeral we had an opportunity to house sit for a Peace Corps
staff member who was taking a trip out of Tonga. Wow, we thought: a real
kitchen, air conditioning in the bedroom, TV (We never turned it on.), hot
showers, and a washer and a dryer. What Peace Corps Volunteer would pass that
up?
And it was
wonderful, but. After the week was over and we were home again, I realized what
I had missed. Yes, we were in Tonga for that week, but it wasn't my Tonga. What
I missed most, I realized, were the sounds. At our house, the day is punctuated
with familiar sounds of life.
Sounds of...
Sione
thwacking coconuts with a bush knife to feed the pigs.
Pigs
snorting, grunting, and squealing in the yard.
Hens
scratching in the dirt and cackling.
Roosters
crowing (at all hours of the day and
night!).
Churches'
bells ringing (some days as early as 5 A.M.).
Women
pounding tapa.
Belinda
rustling and bustling around her kitchen (as early as 4:30 A.M.), talking to
family members, singing hymns.
The
neighbor's children singing in the back yard.
Water
filling buckets at the sima vai in the yard.
Dogs
barking (especially at night!).
This is (my)
Tonga!
Coconut-fed pigs. |
Sima vai. Rainwater for our drinking and cooking needs (after boiling and/or filtering). |
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