This week, I am bringing attention to the recent underwater volcanic eruption off the coast of Tonga. On January 14, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted suddenly and loudly, causing a tsunami that impacted Tonga—and coastlines around the world.
Why am I discussing this? Back in 2015, I visited nearby island country, Niue, while on a year-long working holiday visa in New Zealand. In Niue, I met the Tongia family who are originally from Tonga. They gave me one of my most cherished memories from my long-term trip around the world.
In this post, I reflect on my time with the Tongia family and how easy it is for us to forget how connected we all are on this fragile rock we call Earth.
I was in New Zealand a little over a year ago. I was sitting in my partner's home in Napier when I felt it—the entire couch was shaking. Then the lazy boy started thrashing about on its own.
I've been reflecting on this moment this week because of the earthquake that happened in Kaikoura, New Zealand early Monday morning.
Natural disasters like this always put things into perspective for me, like with the Louisiana flooding after my visit to New Orleans this summer. But New Zealand hits particularly close to home for me because of my ongoing connection to the country.
In the midst of posting about my visit to New Orleans last week, I neglected to acknowledge the tragic flooding happening in Louisiana.
The effects from the flooding continue to devastate.
So I'm going to take this post to express something I communicated on social media in the last few days. I will go back to my regularly scheduled posting next week!
