The Palangi Files

Subsidize My Authority!

What are the Palangi Files?

The blogs of a guy who quit his job, sold or gave away all of his possessions, joined the Peace Corps and moved to the tiny island Kingdom of Tonga. This is his (and only) his story.

Important!

The contents of this website are my own PERSONAL opinion. They do not reflect the opinions, policies, actions, feelings, emotions or sleep patterns of the Peace Corps, the U.S. Government, the Kingdom of Tonga or anyone else for that matter but me.

By visiting this site you agree to have read and will abide by the terms and conditions provided in the disclaimer.

12.29.2005

No seriously, I'm not dead

I know many of you may believe it, but I am truly not dead. In fact, I'm back in the good ole' United States of America trying to get my laptop into writing emails and soliloquies. There is much for me to discuss, but to be honest, I think the days of the Palangi Files are numbered. I'll write more as soon as I am able. Hope everyone had a great christmas and ate some Jesus.

Misi.

6 comments - Post a Comment

hope all was well with your reentry into the new world. if you are interested in seattle, I just saw a job posting for a tenured professorship in IT and networking at a local college. :)
# posted by Mark & Erin : 12/31/2005 3:17 PM

If you arent dead, then where the hell are you? Since your return we have been searching for you, hearing news that you are at a friends place. Contact us as soon as you have settled in. We really want to see you!
# posted by Nicole : 1/06/2006 5:54 AM

Don't be surprised if you see your photograph on the "Rewa" milk carton.

Under the caption: Wanted Dead or Alive.
# posted by laminar_flow : 1/22/2006 4:49 PM

Not mentioned on your site is that your work and efforts (as are the efforts from all the PCVs) has been very much appreciated.

Thanks for having shared your time and energies with us.

Sam T.
# posted by SamT : 2/03/2006 4:48 PM

I am happy you are having a good life
# posted by Datingmaster, Jerusalem : 2/08/2006 11:21 PM

Here are some Peace Corps / Tonga journals and blogs that I have found online. If you know of any others that I have missed please let me know. Thanks!

-Mike Sheppard
RPCV / The Gambia
www.journeyacrossafrica.blogspot.com

==
http://adriannetonga.blogspot.com/
http://www.chemistry.natsci.csulb.edu/newslttr/98/troublep.htm
http://chris.fleizach.com/
http://davidratliff.blogspot.com/
http://www.deanpatti.com/
http://garrycrain.blogspot.com/
http://gaudineerandtonga.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/paul_neville/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RPCVsTonga/
http://www.halfro.com/
http://homepage.mac.com/jasonkearns/Menu12.html
http://homepage.mac.com/jasonkearns/tonga/Menu21.html
http://islandtime.typepad.com/
http://joannintonga.blogspot.com/
http://www.koorse.com/
http://kristinarhicks.blogspot.com/
http://lassana.blogspot.com/
http://lesleybethharris.blogspot.com/
http://mike-munita.squarespace.com/
http://palangifiles.com/
http://randiintonga.blogspot.com/
http://www.shinfamily.info/
http://tongasteve.mypicgallery.com/
http://umufoil.blogspot.com/
==
# posted by Mike Sheppard : 7/01/2006 8:44 AM

12.07.2005

Vesetapola 'i he Maketi - Vegetables in the Market

This is like a live action market shot. This is a great picture because it covers pretty much all of the vegetables that I have eaten in the last two years in a single photo and it has a nice range of colors and some people in action, which for the most part, is a rarity in Tonga. Just kidding motion happens on the way too and from church.

0 comments - Post a Comment

Wading in the Tonga Tidal Pools

This is a cool water/shadow photo that I really dig. Once again this photo is from 'Eua and once again, this is during the sunset.

1 comments - Post a Comment

beautiful photos, Jim - all of them.

This one would look great as a print on a wall.
# posted by nicole : 12/09/2005 11:46 AM

Falelotu fakatonga - Tongan styled Church

This is a little I think catholic chuch in 'Eua. What I really like about this photo is the way the sun is kind of pink and you can see the shadows of the church. I took this is a little snapshot, but I like it. As you may or may not know, Tonga may have the record for most churches per capita anywhere in the world. If I doesn't, I am positivie that its in the running for that record. This is one of the many.

0 comments - Post a Comment

A south pacific landscape shot

And, honestly, probably my favorite photo. This is a nice little landscape shot that I took spur of the moment on a nice little walk in 'Eua. What I like most about this picture is the composition of it and the way the light and the darks go so well together. This is a picture of one of the coral tidal pools that are very common around the Kingdom of Tonga. Its also amazing to see just how darn close trees will come to salt water and to see them growin right in the sand. Also, sunsets in Tonga are one of my favorite things and I just happened to be at the right time and the right place with the right lighting.

0 comments - Post a Comment

Boats in Tonga - Pangai, Ha'apai

Boats in Tonga. I really like this picture here because it has all these little things in it that remind me of Tonga in so many ways. This photo was taken down at the harbor in Pangai in Ha'apai right before I was leaving. This is pretty much the standard inter-island transport for much of Tonga. As you can see in the back there, they have a little metal tugboat, and that's probably the biggest boat in the whole darn island. Very fakatonga.

1 comments - Post a Comment

I love this photo, very nice
love yea, A. Nancy
# posted by Anonymous : 12/08/2005 7:31 AM

Kai Fakatonga!

Kai fakatonga! This is a cute picture of some girls eating during the kaipolo or 'feast' at our school. The prison looking bars behind them are not actually the bars of a prison, but the entrance to the school library. As you can see, girls in Tonga love their food. I think these kids are adorable, especially the second girl there.

0 comments - Post a Comment

Re-introducing media in a way that only New York City could....

New York is quite a bit different and bigger than Tonga. I just remember how overwhelmed I felt when I visited New York City during christmas with Petey and Nate. The world can be a very different, very large place. So can advertisements. And elves.

1 comments - Post a Comment

Yes, if you enjoy mind numbing advertisements, drilled into your very being misconstruing self worth and turning people into robots that purchase and consume to feed self loathing images developed by american anorexic and homogenous ideals.
# posted by Zeckarias Nefarious : 5/15/2009 10:25 PM

The Handicraft Girl at the Market in Tongatapu...

This is a great picutre. I hate the fact that my camera is cheezy and always messes up the left and right ends of all of my photos, but this is a cool picture of one of the young tongan girls who both makes these handicrafts and runs her own booth at the main market in Nuku'alofa. She's got some of the nicest wall hangings out of anyone in my humble opinion. I picked this pircture because I really like the browns in it and I like the layout of it.

0 comments - Post a Comment

A young tongan girl and her young tongan brother...

This is a picture of a couple of very cute kids from Caty and I's trip to 'Eua. I just thought that this picture turned out exceedlingly well and we met these kids on an awesome walk that we had and I had a good time taking pictures and making little movies of them. I liked it so I decided to include it here. Nothing really special about it except that its normal. I think that's the catch of this photo.

0 comments - Post a Comment

Coconut slathered Togan maidens and they fashions they don...

This is another good picutre of some Tonga girls or 'tahine's dancing. I like the colors here and I think it came out well. This is also known as the tau'olunga and all of the girls in this photo are raising money for the school that I worked at. I wish my Tongan was a little bit better and I could name the cool dresses that the ladies are wearing, but I can't. Sorry.

0 comments - Post a Comment

The King of Tonga's church, Zion (Saione) or Jesus lives here...

This is the main chuch in Tonga for a couple of reasons. First, it is the King of Tonga's main church and where he usually attends mass when he is feeling well and actually in the country (which is less and less frequent anymore). Second, its where the school that I teach at, Tupou Tertiary Institute holds all of their big masses for celebrations and graduations, etc. Third, this is the Free Wesleyan Church's Flagship Curch and as the Free Wesleyan Church accounts for about 65% of Tonga's Believers, I figured I should include it. One of my favorite things about this church is that it is probably the biggest church in the kingdom and the 'starship enterprise' of the FWC. However, like all things Tongan, it has its quirks. For example, in the two years that I have lived in Tonga, that clock has never worked. Ever.

0 comments - Post a Comment

Tamasi'i si'i si'i moe ako aho taha! The young boy and his first day of school!

This is great! This is my neighbor's son getting ready for his first day of Kindergarten of 'kindy' as they call it here in Tonga. I like becaus Kalisi's (Chris's) face is priceless and he made such a ruckus when his dad was taking this photo. I don't take credit for this photo, but its one of my favorites. Give all credits to my homey and counterpart for this most excellent photo.

1 comments - Post a Comment

this is adorable!
# posted by Anonymous : 2/08/2007 9:06 PM

On the ambiance of Fafa. Island Resort in Tonga..

So this is a great picture of the bed from fafa island resort. I like it because the picture came out really nice and beause it reminds me of one of the best weekends that I spent in Tonga. I like the symetry of this photo as well. Very palangi in a very tongan atmosphere.

0 comments - Post a Comment