October 2019 – Tonga 2020

Through Melissa’s Lens

Lush. Spectacular. Abundant. Colourful. Stunning.

Friendly. United. Joyful. Generous. Relaxed. And yes Mum, random. Beautifully random.

Tonga landscape
Tongatapu from the air

Last week, I had the immense privilege of hanging out with Mum and Dad (well known by the locals as Sapene & Lofi) in Tonga, following them in daily life, work, and of course some sightseeing. I was warned Tonga isn’t touristic like Fiji, so I arrived with an open mind and no expectations.

And so I took him snorkeling

Following on from the last Blog by Rolf: Rolf is no longer waiting for me to take him snorkeling.

The WHY Makes a Difference

“So what if you have worked in the job for three months and haven’t achieved a single goal from your job description? What would you do?” This was a hypothetical question placed to me by the psychologist who interviewed us for the VSA assignment back in February 2019.

Critical for the interviewer was obviously the testing of our resilience and how we would cope in an environment where things don’t always go to plan.

New Perspectives

We’re nearly at the three-months mark; the ‘magical milestone’ that everyone says means you’re settled in and have adapted to the ‘new normal’. We find this to be true in our case, too. It’s daily life Tonga style.

Ooops? A new Look!

Yes, you ARE on the right site! – Lofi just had a bit of fun today creating a new photo, taken at the Nuku’alofa harbour, a true original, with the help of a coconut seller at the market and a friendly post office assistant who sold him a stamp and let him borrow the other stamp – the one for stamping.

Our next post is in the making… Thanks for checking in! Have a nice week!