We Didn't Go Hungry

If there's one thing I can assure you about Tonga: you won't go hungry there. Especially if you pack half your suitcase with food like we did! I think we are all going to have to take a little break from dehydrated apples and instant oatmeal for a while. But everyone knows, a good Tongan is a Tongan who knows how to eat. And as nursing students know, thats why diseases like diabetes and hypertension run rampant there. Buuuuut thats not the point right now. The point is that I wouldn't be surprised if I packed on a few over the course of our time there. Its hard not to when you're eating your own stash of food plus the stuff you buy and the stuff you're given there. I don't have anywhere near enough pictures to show you all of it, but of course i've at least got a little sampling!

I have no idea what to call this. Its a happy little pocket of curry deliciousness. I'm not normally a huge curry lover, but this little thing was yummy, and it was the very first thing we ate in the South Pacific. Thinking back now... this might have been what got me sick later that night. Buuuut more likely it was the Kava feast we had a little later in the day (pictured in previous post!).

Keke - aka fried dough balls. They are delicious. They are everywhere. And they are extremely cheap. We got our first taste from the Fijians, and they actually put sugar on them. Usually they are served just plain, which isn't quite as good. Mal and I decided that these would be straight up heavenly if you scooped out part of the middle and filled it in with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm I can taste the heart attack already!

The night of the Fijian dinner show, we splurged a little and bought some yummy dinner. Kylie and I shared this. It was pretty good, a mixture of noodles and veggies and chicken. A little too much oil though, and I was still recovering from being sick, so I took it easy on this one.

 Our cheesecake dessert, however, was very delectable.

The night before we left Fiji, the ward there made us a feast! There were all kinds of salads, curry chicken curry dishes, eggplant, rice, potatoes, roti which is like their tortillas, and a pineapple dessert. Considering the high cost of some of these foods and the very last minute preparation, we were very touched by this service to us.

One thing we had plenty of was coconut! This thing confuses me. Is it supposed to be a fruit? I think it is... but it really doesn't seem like it. I like the milk on the inside if it is refrigerated and I have a straw to drink it out of (how very un-native of me, I know). But the meat of it tastes looks and tastes and feels like lard. I really wanted to like it, and every time we cracked one open, I convinced myself maybe I just wasn't appreciating it enough and so i'd try it again... nope, I was disappointed every time. At least I tried!

One thing Tongans do really well: fish! I tried all sorts of new fish, both raw and cooked, and I actually really liked most of it. We tried to peer pressure someone into gobbling up this little fishy's eyeball, but no one would do it.

And I WISH I could say that I caught this beast, because that would be a lot more impressive than the only other fish i've ever caught... 

(My first fishy that I caught a few years ago)

We went to a show in Tongatapu where we got to try all sorts of new things - and I promised myself I would try everything at least once. Octopus, sweet potatoes, deep sea snapper fish, seaweed, clams, and so much more fit only my little banana plant plate.

We went to the market in town after clinical a few times, and pretty much our options were really cheap cucumbers, tomatoes, and bananas, or really expensive apples and pineapple. No kidding, be basically lived off bananas for a lot of this trip. No complaint here, their tiny fat little bananas are WAY better than the ones we have here.

This. Day. Was. A. Miracle. We found a CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES. You may think McDonalds exist everywhere in the world, but you're wrong, because they are nowhere to be found in Tonga. At least not all the places we went. So when we had a beach day and found cheeseburgers at this resort, we didn't mind dropping 20 pa'anga to split this delicious baby. And with real fries too! Ahhhh we were in heaven. Best decision ever.

 Yeah, embarrassing and gross, but i'm embracing it.

 April and some of the other girls treated us one night to a special treat. It was some kind of concoction with watermelon and pineapple and coconut milk. And when you plopped a scoop of ice cream in there, oooooh baby so yum.

Everywhere we went, we were given a feast on our last night. The kind people who hosted us in Vava'u went all out on our last night. Whenever there's watermelon, its a good day :) Plus I got to try breadfruit for the first time, which was way good. And yes, that is a refrigerated coconut with a straw, score!

For clinical hours one day in Vava'u, five of us girls went to teach at a primary school. My part of the lesson was all about nutrition and making healthy food choices. After our time there, the teachers told us there were some refreshments outside. I walked out expecting maybe a fruit plate and some water. I did not expect to see this entire table filled with food. Cookies of every kind. Hot dogs. Donuts WITH FROSTING (you don't see much frosting there). Cupcakes. Juice of every imaginable flavor. Waters. And two different chocolate cakes, again WITH FROSTING. I'm not sure i've ever been so shocked. We looked at the table, then looked at each other, then looked back at the table and wondered how five of us could even begin to make a dent on this (especially when we had eaten an entire loaf of cheese bread from the bakery before we went to the school). So much for my lesson on healthy eating... we did the best we could, but by the time we were done the table still looked untouched. It was then that they gestured to the baskets and baskets of fruit that they told us we were supposed to take home. Coconuts, pineapples, bananas, and some other new mystery fruits. Whaaaat the heck?! These people had learned just a day in advance that we were coming, and this is what they did for us. It was unbelievable. Incredible. Overwhelming. We felt extremely touched and blessed. As did the rest of the group when we brought back a massive frosted giant cake haha :)

SO.MUCH.FOOD.

Probably some of the best food we ate was the dinners that we made for one another each night. Two girls per day were assigned to feeding everyone for the evening meal. We had all sorts of really impressive meals. French toast, breakfast burritos, pasta dishes, and more. It was awesome.

We all just got so used to snacking and eating constantly. It was like if we ever went two hours without eating anything, we were practically starving! Thank goodness that trend hasn't carried over to normal everyday life since being home! ;)