When Midwestern University comes in two weeks, they are bringing me a biking helmet. I just had them pick one up at a bike shop in Phoenix, rather than mailing them one from Spokane. The only real hazards that I have encountered (because I stay on the Liahona Campus) are speed bumps (8 of them) that are almost impossible to avoid. There are a couple of rain grates, but they are cross-hatched, so I’m not going to torque a wheel or anything. The main problem is that I ride before the sun comes up and it is hard to see. There are a few street lights, and joggers and walkers (who, when you come up behind them and call out “On Your Left” they seem to always veer to the left.) Now, I just give them a wide berth.
This is a photo of my new bike. I raised the seat, adjusted the handlebars, and pumped up the tires, so not having any gears isn’t so bad. I have learned how to avoid the speed bumps, curbs, and grates, so not having any shocks is not a problem. I do need to leave it outside, when I am not using it, so it is subject to the elements.
I left my bike outside for 24 hours and this is what happened to it. Everything rusts very quickly. And gets soggy quickly. Bread, crackers, cereal, etc.. On the bright side, it’s good for opening up the pores of one’s complexion.
On a typical day in the clinic we see patients from Tongatapu, Vava’u, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. Some are here visiting, some are visiting their children who are going to school at Liahona, some are at the Tongan branch of the University of The South Pacific (USP), some are expats, and some are associated with the school.
This photo represents one mornings’ surgical instruments. I have found that I am going to need a lot more surgical length burs. Bombed teeth don’t leave much to grab on to, and many patients come in with just decayed roots.
Today in the Clinic – the new vacuum pump lasted about 20 minutes. Doing restorative and third molar extractions without suction was interesting. Fusi decided to take a little rest, while I was cranking on a wisdom tooth. I’ll be focusing on what I am doing, and ask for suction, and………….where’s Fusi? Luckily I had Patterson Technical Services there to trouble shoot the problem.
We stopped at the fish market by the wharf in Nuku ‘alofa on Tuesday, when the boats had just come in. We had ordered tuna and swordfish, and luckily that’s what the boats had caught, so we had them filet 2 kg each for us. $4.00 per pound!
When we leave home to go into town, we drive past the temple. It’s only a few hundred feet from the house, but when mom went Thursday morning (at 5 a.m.) there was a sudden downpour, and she was soaked by the time she arrived. Too bad she wasn’t doing baptisms!
In church on Sunday, one of the speakers said in case of tsunami, we should run to the temple. He said it is built upon the highest point of land on the island, and he pointed out that the power of the priesthood is there. Good advice!
We had lunch at a nice casual restaurant in town that specializes in hamburgers. Mine was great. Mom had a wrap of some kind that was also delicious.
We had a nice dinner on Halloween night at a great restaurant in Nuku ‘alofa. Our waitress was from Fiji.
We had mahi mahi. It was great. (Mom felt undressed, though, without her name-tag.)
Sometimes, dinner is served on a banana stem.
And sometimes on a table cloth.
The beaches are kind of random, and are generally accessed by a dirt road; and there are virtually no street signs on the island,
Phil and Jan's Adventure in Tonga 