The much-anticipated uike tu’i [week of the king] has finally arrived! In typical Tongan fashion, everything came together at the last minute, but also in typical Tongan fashion, it all worked out! Every day of the week-long celebration in honor of the King’s birthday was filled with fun activities. Kicking it off was a performance by all the primary schools, dancing a choreographed routine in the shape of the Tongan flag, called a ta fuka [draw the flag]. We also sang HAPPY LONG LIFE , YOUR MAJESTY which was adorbs! I think it is pretty cool that I can say I danced before the King of Tonga, not many people can say that, eh?

Can you find the one palangi in the picture???

This is Fa’aki and I with her two sons, Viliami (William)and Sione (Jon), but we call him None. Fa’aki insisted on me looking my absolute best for the King, so she handmade a new kiekie for me! You may recall from an earlier blog post that I was in dire need of a kiekie a few months back, so I was pumped when my principal made me one. Now, I am SUPER lucky because I get to choose between two, depending on my mood!

Each high school also performed a traditional Tongan dance for the King, called a taulunga. This is my neighbor Teine before her school’s performance.

And here is the King himself! Sitting in the back…Nice guy, can’t you tell!

In addition to the schools’ day, there was a parade, a talent show for the youth, and a Miss Vava’u beauty competition. Unfortunately, I missed the King’s ball and cocktail party (no royalty invited me!), as well as the block party, but from what I hear, the block party was ta’eoli [boring], to which I say, must’ve been because I wasn’t there ;) All in all though, it was a fun week!

Amidst all this admiration for the King, did I mention that there was a huge church conference for the Free Wesleyan Church taking place simultaneously?? For which 3000+ Tongans attended?? Well, that number might be an exaggeration…but there were HEAPS of people here, I swear! (I like using the word “heaps” now, because a lot of the Tongans and Aussies use it. Just a fun word to say, you should try it!) Anyway, this konifilinisi [conference] was a big deal, mostly because of the feasting. If you haven’t already picked up on it, eating is a big deal in the Tongan culture, and with all these church goers in town, it meant a lot of feasting, 3x’s a day. See below:

Tables on tables on tables of food! Roasted pig, traditional lu, whole lobsters, potato salad, coconuts and other fruits, cakes, puddings, chips, candies…the list goes on! Each village was given one meal to prepare, and even if you were’nt Wesleyan, you pitched in because you would want your village’s table to be the best. A lot of tables also had treats and sodas from overseas, which was most likely sent by family. That is what I call going over and beyond! There was a lot, I mean a LOT, of eating during this week, and a lot of church (although I did not attend…) but I imagine it was enlightening!