Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair

(In June 2003, journalists Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair uprooted themselves from Los Angeles and moved to the South Pacific. Their first stop is Rarotonga. They brought their two young daughters with them.) Five days ago, I dropped Sarina off at school and drove to the café for a cup......

After a week on antibiotics, Jane’s bronchitis is worse than ever. Her eyes have a dull glint, she’s breathing rapidly, and her coughing now has a weird gurgling sound. “I’m so nervous,” says Carla, as she squeezes a bulb of medicine into Jane’s mouth. I’m nervous, too. I envision her......

Finding a house here hasn’t been as easy as we thought it would be. Before we arrived in Rarotonga, we’d envisioned a thatch-roof Polynesian bungalow with shady porches, hammocks, and an interior made of polished island hardwoods. Instead, the places we’ve been shown look like they either came out of......