Solomon Islands - Sunbathing Here We Come!

How'd you like that Chadian re-broadcast? Pretty good, eh? Ellen spent a lot of the day switching between the four channels trying to find the most ridiculous music or talk. It seemed to be a four-way tie.

OK, let's pack our bags full of sunblock and snorkel gear and head over to Oceania and tune in to the Solomon Islands-ish! It's Friday, so let's make this one last the weekend!

pardon the fuzziness... but we had to blow it up to make it relevant.

Full disclosure, this station isn't actually out of the Solomon Islands. It was made by some lady that grew up there and writes cliché poetry about it. Here's a stanza just to give you a taste:

Now the waves on the shore

Don't seem the same any more

Their stories full of grief

Are filled with a warning

About global warming and its consequences

For our people on the reef.

Wow. Annnnnnny way...

 Folks have been on the Solomon Islands since about 30,000 BCE. Wow! Imagine being a primitive human crossing all that water on just a canoe. Dang... mad props. The Europeans showed up in the mid-1500's with a Spanish crew sailing out of Peru, but the British eventually ended up in control.

warriors from the 1890's

Before Europeans brought Christianity and colonization, the indigenous population was notorious for headhunting and cannibalism. Independence came along in 1970, but a civil war erupted in the late 90's, and tensions have sporadically fired up since then.

Today, we remember the Solomon Islands mainly as a hot-spot of WWII. The battle of Guadalcanal took place there, as well as JFK's infamous torpedo boat war heroics. We hear he kept that coconut paperweight.

mmmhmm. that is one handsome dead president.

We recognize that we didn't have a lot to say about the Solomon Islands, but give us a break. It's Friday and y'all probably have better things to than sit back and relax on the beaches of the South Pacific. Hope to see you there!

Pacific Islands Radio

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Tonga - It's So Nice in Nuku´alofa

Dig that Icelandic station, huh? It's totally a super good one. Maybe even one of our favorites!

OK, we've had enough of this 5° F windchill, let's head back to Polynesia and visit Tonga today!

yup, those tiny green dots!

Known as "The Friendly Islands" Tonga was the only Polynesian kingdom to resist colonial pressures during that era and remain independent. It did allow itself to become a British protectorate in 1900, and then joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. They've held onto their monarchy all along, though, and take great pride in that fact. They are currently transitioning to a constitutional monarchy. Their first elections were held earlier this year.

oh hey King George Topou V and PM Feleti Sevele. what's up? y'all look like fun!

OK, with the boring stuff out of the way, we can get on with the trivia! You'll rarely see folks skimpily dressed in Tonga as it's against the law. Even when swimming, folks keep their shirts on. Weird, huh? We think that's totally counterproductive to the cooling principles of swimming. Also, Tongan women are supposed to be really good jugglers. That's a nice talent to be expected to have. Tongans also play "lafo", which is a miniature version of shuffleboard played with seeds. The international date line loops around the islands, so foreigners are often a bit discombobulated as to what day it actually is. Also, guns are illegal and the national rugby team does a war dance before each match, which is a totally rad thing to do. You can see them (Red) dance off against the New Zealand team (Black) here:

This station has just a short little playlist for us, so feel free to bump back over to one of our previous stations when it's completed. We suggest Lebanon and Oman! Even though it won't be long, we will get a nice little auditory glimpse of Tongan music. We're so excited about our subtropical escape to the capital city of Nuku´alofa!

Tonga Radio

Listen Here

Obviously, pick the Tongan-Only-Music channel.

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Fiji - Stellar Suva

Guatemala? Meh. It was OK. It's kind of hard to listen to that much dance music before 9am.

Let's head to Fiji today! Here's a map to give you some perspective:

Once known as the Cannibal Islands, European sailors used to steer around Fiji and keep on goin'. Cannibalism was rampant and an everyday practice, integral to their culture. Apparently "Eat me!" was a proper ritual greeting from a commoner to a chief. One of these chiefs, Ratu Udre Udre, holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's "most prolific cannibal." In the 1800's, he consumed between 872 and 999 people, keeping a stone for each one, which were piled beside his tomb when he died. Guess he didn't get eaten. Apparently, he'd take a few days and eat every part of them, and was quite fond of the head. Woah... (Here is Ellen's PSA about spongiform encephalopathies: don't eat other people's brains! You WILL get Kuru or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and WILL be miserable before you die.)

that's a lot of rocks.

By the 1800's, Western settlers had gained footholds in the islands and power was being consolidated among the warring tribes. Around 1870, Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was able to defeat other chiefs and, with the help of settlers, set up a monarchy. America had recognized his throne's claim long before Fiji's other Ratus had ceded it. 

Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau

This relationship kinda fucked him over when Fiji held him responsible for burning down the American consul's house. It had been set alight by a different chief's tribe, oops. He couldn't pay the reparations they demanded, and fearing invasion and annexation (and also with the hopes they'd bring civilization and Christianity) he ceded the islands to the English.

He must've worked out pretty gnarly deal with them, as the British "adopted a policy disallowing the use of native labor and no interference in their culture and way of life." How often do you hear that about the indigenous population of a colony? Virtually never. The British brought in a bunch of Indian labor for their sugar plantations instead. Don't think all was gravy for the Fijians, though. The British brought Small Pox with them, wiping out a third of the native population.

yes, please!

That influx of Indian labor would one day lead to civil unrest. Fiji carried on as a British colony for about 100 years until it was granted independence in the early 70's. A series of coups followed in the 80's as Fijians perceived their government to have too much Indo-Fijian influence. A whole bunch of those Indo-Fijians emigrated at this point, and it was probably a good idea, as two coups have occurred in the past 10 years, along with a military takeover and a constitutional crisis. Oh boy. Political and ethnic tensions are still high.

that is all we want in our lives!

With all of that said, Fiji is an amazingly gorgeous place with natural wonders abounding. Also, Fiji Water is Ellen's favorite mainly because of it's perfect pH. **apparently Fiji Water is the devil's spawn. Ellen now only drinks tap water.** But, that is neither here nor there...

fishes.

Well, let's tune in to Radio Bula Namaste broadcasting out of Suva, the capital, and hear what the Fiji Islanders are listening to. Enjoy!

Radio Bula Namaste

Listen Here

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Micronesia - Y-Y-Y-Yap, Y'all!

Good morning, weary world travelers! We hope your day of respite was refreshing. But, as is the case so often, we're itching to go! As much as we hate to make you do it, it's time to put your anti-embolism socks back on, creatively fold yourself in that coach seat, plug in your headphones, and drink yourself into mile-high oblivion. Wait. That sounds kinda nice...

So our little trip to Olomouc in the Czech Republic had some regional stuff but turned out to be mainly global pop. If we hear that damn "Wave Your Flag" or Shakira's "Waka Waka" Africa song one more time we're going to launch net guns at them. Argh.

Let's head out to Oceania today and visit Micronesia (the Federated States of)!

First, let's get oriented. This is where we're going today (or is it tomorrow?). Yap Island is way the fuck out there, huh?

Although it looks like paradise, Micronesia holds some haunting nuclear secrets. The US conducted dozens of nuclear tests there with little regard to the inhabitants. Former Secretary of the State Henry Kissinger even said, “There are only 90,000 people out there. Who gives a damn?” Yikes.

And, here he is macin' on Sarah Palin. 'Nuff said.

Imagine little kids playing in three inches of falling radioactive dust thinking that it's miracle snow. Yeah, that happened. Picture entire islands vaporized. Yup, that happened. Look up "jellyfish babies." They are writhing masses of shapeless tissue that come out of the womb, breathe for a minute or two, and are quickly buried in shame. That happened, too. While we've detonated far more nuclear test bombs within the confines of our own domestic interior, we've got a pretty big expanse of land that just ain't available to these folks. They do, in fact, live on islands (ya know, those small bits of confined land thrust up in the middle thousands of miles of water?).

Annnnnnnyway. A handful of Warren Wilson kids went to Micronesia through the WorldWide program a couple of years ago. We're not sure what islands they were on though and they can tell their stories far better than we can. The only thing we know for sure is that it's damn pretty!

Is this real life? Daaaaang.

OK, let's forget about the crimes of our forefathers for a few moments here and tune in and see what Micronesia sounds like today. There's some pretty great tribal chanting interspersed through the playlist.

Yap: Radio

Aw crap. They went off the air at midnight. Well this is just the pits. Ummm... Well. there're some archived shows you can listen to as well. Just click the links right below the listen live button thing. Sorry, folks!

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