"You haven't lived until you've gotten a haircut in Vava'u."

These were the words that stuck in my head as we left the city of Neiafu, in the Vava'u Group of Tonga, headed to some not-so-distant anchorage to spend the next two nights. They were spoken by an English man outside of a small shop that advertised three things: jet kayaking, cart safaris, and Billysnip's Haircuts. It was the afterthought sort of way that 'haircuts' was added to that repertoire of goods that made me think long and hard about the drastic change I had in mind.

While we explored the beaches, villages, and caves around Vava'u, I was mentally going over the pros and cons of such a haircut. Pros: it would no longer blow around in my face. It would look better (hopefully) when I don't wash it for days. It would be cooler. It would dry faster after swimming in the ocean. I could style it using the easy method of 'bed head' and make that mohawk I'd always secretly dreamed of. Cons: it would be the shortest I'd ever had my hair and that's kind of scary. I couldn't do my usual ponytail. If I wanted it long again it would take a long time to grow it out, which may look silly. More pros clamored over the cons: short hair is better when it's so hot! Ponytails don't look good when you haven't showered in four days! So what, it's not permanent!

On our last day here in Neiafu, I went back to that small shop and spoke to Billy of Billysnip's Haircuts. I said, "I'm back for that haircut." "Well you've only been thinking about it for days now!" he replied. We paged quickly through a couple old magazines and I told him the general idea of what I wanted, but in the end he just picked up his scissors and started cutting. The end result is a haircut that will suit being on a boat much better than the long hair I had when I woke up this morning. And I'm really looking forward to bed head when I wake up tomorrow morning.

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Baron, Isis, and Dart

On a recent sat phone call, Mrs. Palmer's class asked a tough question- are you homesick? I don't think I was quite prepared for it, but the answer is yes. I have friends in Raleigh- people I met in college, from my job at a coffee shop, neighbors from my apartment, and fellow trail runners. I also miss my parents and brother in Charlotte, and being able to call them whenever I want, from wherever I happen to be. The good thing about traveling now is that you can email and call home from almost anywhere in the world, so I still talk with all these people as often as I can.

Another big part of my family are my pets- my dog Baron, and my cats Isis and D'Artagnon. It was very hard to leave them, because I can't just send an email to Baron or call up my cats on the phone. Luckily, my wonderful parents are taking care of both Isis and Dart. I get email updates about their escapades, like how Isis very stealthily rubs against my mom's legs, and how Dart enjoys surveying what's happening below him from a perch high on the cabinets and fridge in the kitchen.

Baron is also living the good life at my friend Kelly's house while I'm away. She has a dog of her own, Vernon, and he and Baron are pretty much best friends. Kelly has a huge yard for them to play in all day, and he even gets to go down to swim in the lake. He's an awesome dog, and the best part of my day back in Raleigh was the moment I opened the door coming home from work. I knew he'd be there to greet me, sometimes carrying a toy to show me, always wagging his tail, and stretching in preparation to play outside and go running. Although I miss him very much, I know Kelly and Vernon are taking great care of him!

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Kitten!

On the hike around Mt. Rotui, the inevitable happened. I found a kitten. My friends and family back home won’t be surprised by this, in fact they may only be surprised that it happened on my third day here.

While walking up a road listening to birds chirp, I remarked that one particular bird sounded a lot like a kitten. That comment quickly turned to, ‘Oh it IS a kitten!’ and I ran up ahead to see if I could find it. It wasn’t very hard, as the kitten ran out to meet me. As soon as I picked him up he started purring, rubbing up against my chin, and meowing very loudly.

We didn’t know what to do with it, so I decided to carry it along and see if anyone along the way wanted to keep it. It’s a mystery as to how the little guy got out there in the first place! We soon came upon the Ranch Opunohu Valley, where people can go horseback riding. There were many dogs, cats, and other animals here, and it seemed like it would be a good home for the loud kitten. We explained to the young girl there that we were on a boat and the kitten wasn’t ours, and asked if she wanted it. A simple ‘ok’ and she ran back to the house with the kitten, undoubtedly purring, in her arms.

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