Class of 2007!!!

Joey, the answer is, yes. I'm a graduate! I hope these pictures work so that you can see all the fun, too! Basically, I graduated on October 26th, from Liahona High School, Nuku'alofa Tonga. My class was 195-ish people big, The week before included Seminary Graduation followed by a stake dance, Graduation dance, and practices all week for the marching and singing. It was fun to hang around with all my friends before they all left. There were a few parties here and there, including a real kai me'akai for my friend Nata! I went by myself and enjoyed a genuine Tongan feast! It was my first one, and it was cool! Tongans can eat probably 4 times as much as any palangi I know!

I think the highlight for me about graduation was graduating with people I could really call friends. The idea of moving to a tropical island and leaving my friends behind didn't really worry me, because I knew I'd make more here. But at first I was a little worried because I still felt so much like a stranger, even after three months! I didn't feel like I belonged with my graduating class, but it's amazing what four months will do that three months won't. I was so, so happy on that night, because I could look back on all of my HS experience, and I was happy with all of it, but especially happy with the past four months. I still don't know half my classes' names, but that's ak, because I love them anyway. :) They're all my friends. Ok! That's all I can think of, so here are the pictures!!

This is Nesi, me, and Suka, a Fijian, on the night of Seminary graduation. They are two of my best friends.At the Graduation dance, there was a special swing number, and this is some of the group. The colors are hard to see, but the matching colors indicate partners. (My partner is not featured in this picture...)This is my best friend here, Nesi Latu. Her nice Grandma was the one who made that beautiful kahoa (lei) I'm wearing, and it was the first one I ever had that was made especially for me! (this picture even made it into the graduation DVD as the background for all the selections!) The green balloon says it all: LHS 2007! One of the funniest things about Tongans is that where the camera is, they will be. This picture group probably started with three people trying to get a picture together, and ended up with someone jumping in every second or two. But this is a good picture of lots of my friends and it captures the moment pretty well. This is mom, with her two Spanish students. When they were Saineha HS in Vava'u, she taught the very first missionaries departing for Spanish speaking missions. These are two, Brother Kupu (right) and Brother Kulu (left), and their wives. Here's my class at Graduation, with the straight A students wearing yellow at the front. All I can say is, I'm glad I came here, because I never would have been included in that elite group at Skyline!

Well, I can't get this one to rotate, but this is me, seconds from receiving my diploma! (I also included this one because I think I look like Load Runner.)

This is all of us, after the ceremony, and right before things got hectic! Man, I love graduation in Tonga! Everyone was packed in the gym because of the rain, and everyone was giving candy and flower kahoas to everyone! Apart from the fact you could hardly breath, it was very fun, and my cheeks have never been so sore from smiling. Sorry, again, it won't rotate. (oh, wait! No, I was just laying on my side for this one! ....Jk) This kahoa was so special because I didn't think I'd really get one from the family, because no one actually knows how to make them, but Sneeky Mom and Sneeky Lani planned/made this for me, and it was gorgeous! It was easily the prettiest one I've ever had.

Mom, me and Dad. Man, if you think that was a lot of kahoas, that was nothing! I eventually got so many they were falling off my shoulders! (Luckily, Tongans are as gracious receivers as they are givers, so as soon as the younger students made it into the gym--hence, adding to the confusion--it was easy to get rid of a few.)

Yeah, I would say this is the best picture if you want to see how many kahoas they were giving out,although it's still not as many as I got that night. This is me and my friend, Tiane. (That's short for Kalistiane, or Christian)Meet the President! This is Pasimi Mesuli, SB President of Liahona High! (He's obviously emotionally moved by the intensity of the night...)Nancy, Shelia, and Me. Shelia was the Valedictorian, and Nancy was first runner up. Nancy was my marching partner. (Well, and she's my friend, too.)This is Nesi, Michelle and me....with a bunch of dorm boys. After graduation, Mom said I could invite a few people over and have lemon bars. (Sometimes she doens't realize how much Tongans eat...) Anyway, no one was around except for the dorm boys, so they all came over for a while...Unfortunately, Nesi told them we were having a feast, so I think some of them were a little dissappointed when they got a small rectangle of lemon merangue. Oh well, I had fun!

So there you have it. Graduation at Liahona. That's a lot of pictures, but I think it will make up for the fact that pictures haven't worked until now. (I think it may have something to do with the fact that I switched to gmail.) Love you all! O4A2!