Hello, everyone!! It came a rain season now !!
Would it bring calm and abundant rainfall this year ??
Many Tongan children enjoy rain shower instead of begging rain.
I haven’t though we Japanese use same rain water through a dam.
How different using rain although we are in same the earth!?

Firstly, there is a big rain tank in each family.
Living in Tonga, I had started every morning with drawing water from a tank.
While more and more Tongan people drink bottled water , I always drank raw rainwater because I didn’t want to throw plastic bottles out and I was so lazy to boil it.
Is that OK?? I was not sure what is not okay without stomach upset.

There must be beautiful rain on this small island !!
I was convinced that because Ha’apai is an island that boasts sky and sea.
I believed that it would be much clearer than the water of not only Japan but also capital of Tonga. More than anything, I was pleased I could get fresh undisinfected water instead of disinfected tap water like japan. If you ask what I miss the most about Tonga now, I can confidently say that rainwater tank！！

From this article, you might imagine “I can’t live that way . I can’t live in a developing country.” Actually I was the same.

Especially a cold water shower !!

It took about a month to use to it “the best “ and make me fresh.
Huuuu, it’s amazing to be addicted !!
This is my second change . I totally hated to have a cold shower after I started an islander life so I washed my body by combining cold water and boiled water. Compering now, I feel that cold shower can wash away the muddy thoughts in my brain. Maximum is three times a day.I changed my mind with quick cold shower.

This is not mean Tonga is extremely hot .The sun always shines brightly in the daytime, but it’s enough cool in the morning and evening. I think July – September was colder than May in Japan. The moment I hit the water, I was shocked.
Even so, on very very cold morning, Tongan people take a shower before going to church. Considering that, I suspect our sense of temperature will adapt.

At this point, I might hear someone ask me that Does it our body clean up with cold water ??

The answer is NO. I doubt they are turned skin because of it.
However, It was enough to shampoo 6-8 times a month.
（Before I went to Tonga, I had a chance to try to wash with only hot water ,but I basically washed with soap every day.)

Tongan women wash their hair 3 to 4 times a month in average.
I asked my housemate while I had never seen she didn’t wash her hair every day. Although there is some difference, it seems certain that most of Tongan will not wash daily. My housemate has long hair up to her waist, but she seems not uncomfortable. So I tried to wash my hair fewer times. I can say this is not practice ,I suspect it depend on air pollution, what we eat or humidity etc. because I wash more and more times now in Japan.. Well, it was easy to maintain its scalp and hair condition in Tonga.

By the way, Tongan women have the habit of cutting hair only when their dad dies, and many have long hair. Students wear uniforms and tie their hair in braids.

Tonga is classified as a developing country, nevertheless it’s a very well-balanced and rich country . They can usually get the necessary items, it’s even for Japanese, but at the same time, I feel they maintain a good lifestyle and environment that they don’t require large dams or latest electrics. Besides, the sea is quite beautiful !!
I’m expecting that it’s not a technique or electronic issue , but a result of what Tonga wanted.

When you go to a central office of ministry, you will see the air-conditioning works well like a fridge ,and there are some houses with hot shower . So the day might come all of them get another life like Japan in a few years.
However, I think it’s more like Tongan people to suspend work and enjoy cooling in a shade of trees saying ‘Ahu(hot)’ on hot days ,rather than working hard with air-conditioner strongly.

There are fewer days to think about Tonga day by day. I still compere Tonga and Japan when something interesting happens or I still have the habit of Tonga, but if I couldn’t return over there, I wonder whether my memories of Tonga would disappear or not,,,,

No,no,no, Tonga is a very lovely country for me in my life.
I’ll remember Tonga with a rain shower on a rainy day and a cold water shower on a hot day.
Please try it out!! It’s really comfortable !!

Author ; Miki Kato