The Road Less Traveled : Journey to the New World

First, I need to give credit where credit is due, and thank my grandpa, Papa, for the title and name of this post. My last few posts have focused on my American visitors, and as Papa confided to me on the phone, it seems only fair that I similarly recount some of my trip back to the United States. Second, this week’s post will be a bit on the shorter side, but I promise to make it up with an abundance of photos taken by other Peace Corps volunteers of the King’s birthday and the Wesleyan Conference.

I have spent the last three weeks in San Francisco, spending time with Katherine, Bennett, and my parents, plus a host of college friends who I didn’t even know lived in the Bay Area but that I happily ran into on my short travels. I walked around for miles throughout SF, a city I had never visited before, went to a Giants game with my dad, drank wine in Napa on two separate trips, walked through the beautiful Muir Woods, and for good measure spent the 4^th of July in Lake Tahoe. The trip was an absolute whirlwind, offering me my first taste of America in over 6 months, and helping me mentally prepare for the completion of my Peace Corps service and my final return to the US in a few short months. I can hardly believe it’s been almost 2 years since I left.

Back in Tonga, I am ready to make the most of my last few months. The past few days have been terrific, as I have made the rounds in the village, caught up on all the recent gossip, and passed out hordes of candy to all the kids... and a lot of the parents for that matter. Due to last minute changes in the school calendar, I have a full week to slowly work my way back into my Tongan life, as school does not start again until next Wednesday. Further, I am working with the Peace Corps office on the main island and in D.C. to get my funding for Camp Grow/Glow approved, and I will hopefully have more information concerning my project in a few weeks.

Last but not least, below is a short list of some of the things that I was asked and did bring back to Tonga:

Advil and Fish Oil for my host grandmother
7 pounds of candy and pencil sharpeners for my school
Burgundy hair coloring for my host family's neighbor (I actually went above and beyond here as I brought two shades - dark and normal - of burgundy
Tequila for my host brother

As always thanks for reading, and please enjoy the incredible photos below taken by volunteers Mandy Pederson (the first three) and Abby Kloberdanz (the last three).