Wrapping Things Up

With just over a week remaining for me in Vava’u there isn’t much left for me to do at work.  Today was my final business development workshop, the 20th workshop we’ve done since I’ve been a Peace Corps volunteer in Tonga.

The workshops are designed to help Tongans better understand how to run a business and how to keep records.  I estimate that more than 500 Tongans have participated in those 20 workshops.  Some of them, like the woman featured in a video I produced for the bank, have made big improvements because of what they have learned at the workshops.  Hopefully some of them will continue to improve in the coming years.   Wouldn’t it be great to come back to Tonga one day and see that one of the past participants has done great things?

Meet my Co-Workers

For the past two years, I’ve worked with the same group of people at the Vava’u office of the Tonga Development Bank.  All of them have been great to me and many of them already know about my family and friends, but very few of you know much about them except perhaps for the photo I shared in my last post.  I asked my friend Chad to videotape me so that I could introduce you to the people with whom I have shared an office.  It’s about five minutes long.

TDB Vava'u Office Tour from Steve Hunsicker on Vimeo.

The Week Ahead

My final day at the Vava'u bank is next Thursday.  I fly to the main island of Tongatapu on Friday to say good-bye to the folks at our head office and to do my exit interviews with Peace Corps.
I leave Tonga for good on Monday the 23rd when I’ll fly to New Zealand for about 30 hours before heading to Australia for a couple of weeks.  I’ve got a lot planned for Australia including a five day dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef.  On Thanksgiving Day,I’ve arranged to have a traditional American dinner with Turkey and all the trimmings.   While in Australia I will also be going to a place called Cape Tribulation before wrapping up the trip with five days in Sydney.  It’s my 3rd trip to Australia.  I went to Brisbane in September, 2008 and to Melbourne and Adelaide/Kangaroo Island in September of this year. 
I fly back into West Palm Beach late on December 8th.