Travel the World - Week 46

This is the 46th week in my Travel the World personal challenge. Each week I am randomly choosing one country (there are 195 countries in the world) and doing a little research on that country. I then select one tidbit of information about the country as inspiration for the card I make.

This week's country is...

Tonga

Tonga is an island country located in the southern Pacific Ocean.

The official name of the country is the Kingdom of Tonga.

Its closest neighbors are Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, Niue to the east, Kermadec (part of New Zealand) to the southwest, and New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the farther west.

Tonga consists of 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited.

The coastline of the islands total 260 miles in length.

Tonga has many white and golden sandy beaches and magnificent swimming, diving, and snorkeling locations.

The climate is tropical with a distinct warm period (December–April), during which the temperatures rise above 89.6 °F, and a cooler period (May–November), with temperatures rarely rising above 80.6 °F.

The first question out of everyone’s mouth in Tonga is ‘alu ki fe? Where are you going? It’s another way of saying hello.

The birth of a child is among the most important events, but the official social introduction of a child to the community is celebrated only at the end of a child’s first year. 

The Mapu a Vaea or “Whistle of the Noble” are natural blowholes on the island of Tongatapu in the village of Houma in the Kingdom of Tonga. When waves crash into the reef, natural channels in the volcanic rock allow water to forcefully blow through and create a plume-like effect.

Migrating humpback whales bear their young and breed in Tongan waters from June to November. Flying foxes and small bats are the only land mammals native to Tonga.

Sailing is a popular activity in Tonga.

Christian churches exist in even the most remote villages. Bells or log drums call people for services at the crack of dawn.

The coconut palm is the common plant in Tonga. The leaves are used to make houses and the nuts are used for food and drink.

Some of the chief cash crops of Tonga include bananas, coconuts, vanilla beans, coffee beans and root crops.

A brother and a sister can never be in the same room alone in Tonga as it implies incest.

It's against the law in Tonga to go swimming on Sundays and all stores are closed for the Sabbath. You can get arrested for swimming or doing laundry on Sunday.

Just talking with a girl or being alone with her implies that you’re together.

Tongans won’t walk in the bush at night because they’re afraid of the devil (ghosts).

Any illness that cannot be explained is attributed to the devil. Sometimes when someone gets sick they think it’s because their dead relatives are upset so they go dig them up and clean their bones.

Tongans bathe regularly, but their favorite way to bathe is in the rain.

People shake hands when they meet, and relatives kiss by pressing each other’s noses against their faces and soundly inhaling through the nose.

Tongans enjoy beating things. Husbands beat their wives, parents beat their children, teachers beat the students, and everyone beats the animals. This is no lie, dogs are so used to getting beaten here that they are quite vicious and try to attack strangers. But, all you have to do is bend down like you’re picking up a rock and they run.

I decided to let this Tonga fact be the inspiration for this week's card... Tongans enjoy a relatively high level of education, with a 98.9% literacy rate, and higher education up to and including medical and graduate degrees (pursued mostly overseas).

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: MFT Bedside Manner stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Marina Mist CS and DP from my scrap file

Punch: SU Wide Oval

Embellishment: Eyelet Outlet Nurse (Stethoscope) Brad