Swamp Thing

I walk my language instructor, 'Ofa, back to her house. We wade down the flooded road and laugh at the pigs who gleefully frolic in submerged wallows. This is serious pig weather. I return and snap this shot of the outside of the place I sleep. The white door on the left is the same kitchen door you saw from the inside last week. This is just a corner of a large house, I have a couple of rooms, the rest are occupied by the landlord's family.

No cyclone today, but still plenty of filthy sewage infested water to play in! If only I owned a Kayak!

A young girl (20ish?) runs up splashing through the gunk. "John.... John..."

I have NO idea who this girl is, but everybody seems to know me.

"I called to you last night. Didn't you hear me?" I think - There was a girl downtown calling a waving yesterday afternoon? "No. Here. Last night. I was watching you sit and watch television," she announces.

I correct her. I had been reading a book and listening to Tonga radio. I do not have a television.

It creeps me out that as I sit in the campsite, stranded there by heavy rain, there are people a couple of meters away - standing in the heavy rain - just watching me. This happens every night - all night - even in the worst weather.

I'm nice to her though. I grab my bike and I'm off to work. By the time I get there I'll be soaked to the skin for the 3rd time today!

I get to my posh office and power up my PC. I look beneath the desk and there is a cloud of bloodsucking insects converging on my fast food delights. The mosquitoes that I fed during last weeks cyclone can announce success - they have bred a new generation.

The Internet is working again! We were down yesterday. Seems we were eight months in arrears on our Internet bill. Don't they have a sense of humor at the ISP?

I check my usual disaster sites. As Tongatapu Emergency Coordinator I check continuously for Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic Eruptions etc. I even check the local papers for announcements of demonstrations that we should all avoid.

Today we have a new cyclone, Funa. It's just getting going up around Vanuatu. I check the surface water temps - pretty warm. I pull up projections - it is expected to turn in our general direction this weekend as it strengthens. Still too far off to worry about, but I'll keep my eye on it.

I read an email from the USGS. A 6.4 earthquake overnight about 244 miles from here. Again no worries. Earthquakes around here all the time. Didn't even feel this one.

I check our Peace Corps newsletter. The medical office reports a lot of botulism cases. Canned goods from Chinese Shops are blamed by the Tongan Government. There is a lot of prejudice here against the Chinese, so I take this with a grain of masima (salt). I note that it is not canned goods from china, but from Chinese shops. Subtle.

Oh well - No worries.