Leaving Tonga

After 26 months of Peace Corps service in the Kingdom of Tonga, we have finally begun our South East Asia backpacking trip! We've been in Bali for 4 days now and it's still crazy to believe that we've finally begun the trip we've been planning and talking about for 2 years.  Peter, Chiara, Joey and I left Tonga on November 4 and it was definitely one of the hardest nights of my life. Tonga has been our home for over  2 years and we have each developed very close relationships with our communities. Saying goodbye is never easy but it is particularly difficult when you are not exactly sure when you will return or if and when you will see your loved ones again. The weeks leading up to departure were filled with tears as we prepared to leave our villages, our island groups, the country and each other. It feels utterly surreal that our service in the Peace Corps is over...we are now RPCVs and unfortunately unemployed.... Even though we have begun our trip and closed our service, I still have the feeling that I am returning to Tonga, to 'Eua, to my village after a vacation when, in fact, we are returning back to our homes in America in December. So it was definitely with very heavy hearts and after days and days of crying that we have begun our trip and are trying to adjust to vacation mode.

We are currently in Ubud, Bali and Michael has joined us, back from a brief return to the states after leaving Tonga a couple of weeks before us. We had a great day yesterday, exploring rice paddies, eating mie goreng (fried noodles and Joey's new favorite food) visiting the monkey forest, and watching a traditional Balinese Kecak trance dance. Prior to Ubud, we spent 2 nights in Sanur. Joey and I went for an awesome dive and Chiara and Peter have been guiding us with their Indonesian language abilities. Today we are planning to visit some temples and have a wild night out in kuta before continuing on from Bali to Java on Sunday.

We hope to post often throughout our 7 week-7 country trip so that you can follow along on our adventure!

All of us before we get on our plane leaving Tonga for Indonesia! 

Playing with Monkeys in Ubud.

Katy