New Week, Same Problems

Brett, Kate, Sarah, and I came back to Pangai early yesterday morning from our Christmas getaway. Later that morning, Viliami flew back to Ha’apai and we had a big meeting with all the teachers, PTA members, and church officials who were in town over which house to put me in. Basically, it just sucked. The whole meeting was all in Tongan and I could only understand about ¼ of everything. Plus, who doesn’t love a room full of strangers sitting around talking about and pointing at you while you just sit there. In the end the eventual decision was that they would have to wait until all the teachers were back to vote again, but for now I could stay in the house. Wonderful. Viliami went back and forth on whether to have me unpack and begin to settle in or not, and still talked about moving my site to Vava’u. I don’t know…eventually we decided to have me move in for now. We’ll see how this all goes. Obviously, this wasn’t really the meeting I was hoping for, and I very clearly ended up in the middle of church/school politics that I know nothing about. I hope this gets easier and I can at least meet some people/ neighbors.

Christmas Time Is Here

With all the drama and frustration that’s going in Pangai I was all for the plan to get away for Christmas, and I’m so glad we did- I had a wonderful time. Grant, a current volunteer who has been here for a year, offered up his island and house to head out to for the holiday. Since Eric, Melanie, and Monica couldn’t get into Lifuka or Foa (the boat situation is more difficult than we realized) we decided just to head up to Ha’ano, Grant’s island, for about 5 days. So, Grant, Kate, Brett, and myself caught a ride up to Faleloa, the town Sarah lives on Foa, which is where the boats to Ha’ano come in and out, picked up Sarah, and crammed into a little boat to make the 45ish minute ride to the next island. We spent Christmas eve in his village and even got to see a mini Nativity play that the children in one of the churches put on (adorbs) and stayed through Christmas day since we were invited to a feast after church at the home of one of the teachers at Grant’s school.

Later, we walked almost a mile from the village out to a half-constructed “resort”. A man from New Zealand is in the process of building a few small houses around a main house area with a kitchen and porch that will eventually be used for tourists. But, in the meantime, it was the perfect place to get away and have some time to ourselves. We spent a few days there swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling, and generally hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather, beach, and coral reefs. It was the first time I have ever been snorkeling, and it’s so much fun! The fish and coral are absolutely beautiful- vibrant and colorful. Most of this trip I felt like I was in the middle of a post card. We also spent a lot of time talking about food (shocking) and managed to make some delicious meals ourselves with the food we were able to bring up and find/catch there, relying heavily on Grant's spear fishing skills! It was lovely to be able to spend time with everyone, and relax and really appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the ocean and where we are. And although it didn’t feel at all like Christmas, which probably made it easier, it was a great week. Of course, I was thinking of all of you a lot: I love and miss you and hope you had a wonderful winter holiday time.

Site Arrival...

After all the craziness of Swearing-In and my site swap, we flew to Ha’apai Friday morning and immediately had a PC run “partners workshop” which was supposed to be with our counterparts from our job sites. There was a woman from the Wesleyan school system there, who was very nice, but she doesn't actually work in the school I'm working in (they have a primary and high school, and I'm supposed to teach in the primary)- she is the principle of the collage (aka high school to us) but she is leaving in a few weeks because she got transferred to Tongatapu. Regardless, after the meeting she took me to a house, supposedly my house, dropped me off, and after a few minutes left. The house was just horrible- first, it didn't meet any of the PC safety requirements, it hadn't been lived in or cleaned in years, and it was in the driveway of a minister's house- he's dead but his wife still lives there. I was a bit confused because when they confirmed the site the other day they told PC about a house that Viliami said he knew, and it was a totally different house. And, when I asked the minister's wife she made me feel like shit and basically said that I was being a spoiled American, although not in so many words. She phrased it as, “I thought you wanted to live like a Ha’apai girl.” I didn’t know what to do, so I borrowed a broom from her and started to sweep. I swept up huge piles of dirt and ants, animal poop, and dead animals- mostly lizards and mice. After the third dead mouse I kind of lost it and had my first real breakdown in Tonga. Not knowing what else to do, I called the education program manager and he came right over, took one look at the house, and told me he was taking me away. We sat outside in the driveway for a while just thinking and me, doing my best not to cry. I just felt terrible- I realized no one knew I was coming or they just didn’t care. Either way, I felt like they didn’t even want me to be there, and it made me so sad. Viliami took me to the guest house where he was staying with the outer island Ha’apai volunteers, and I ended up staying there for a bit more than a week. I had no house, and even though Poli, one of the language teachers, came to stay with me, there was a lot of confusion about the housing situation.

Finally, all of our stuff that we bought in Nuku’alofa came on the boat (we could only bring carry-on luggage with us for the first week and a half) and Poli insisted that I be moved into a house before she went back to Tongatapu for Christmas, and I was taken to a different house, which was quite dirty, as it hadn’t been lived in for 3-4 months, but wonderful and right near the school and other teachers. We broke the lock since no one had a key, and left my stuff inside although I still stayed in the guest house. The house had belonged to an Australian volunteer who had married a Tongan and was now pregnant and living in Pangai with him and his family, and she left maybe a hundred creepy and moldy little kangaroos and koala bears, complete with ‘I <3 Australia’ t-shirts and flags hanging from strings on the ceiling and curtains…it was just weird. I came back and cleaned like crazy, and was so lucky to have Grant’s help (a PCV who has been here for a year and lives on an island, Ha’ano, close by).

Today, Christmas Eve, the head of the Wesleyan church for all of Ha’apai essentially tracked me down in his SUV and began to yell at me for moving houses. This same man had publicly scolded me after church on Sunday and told me I was a bad Peace Corps because I didn’t like my house and accused me of running away and other fun things. At the time I didn’t know who he was and was shocked that Poli and the only other woman I knew would let someone talk to me like this without any sort of help or defense- thank god Tongans don’t get sarcasm. Once I learned he was a fifekau, it all made sense. Anyways, he decided to voice his opinions again while I was alone, and it was terrible. Every time I tried to tell him I was staying in the second house, he would switch from English to Tonga- my Tongan is by no means fluent, and I was so upset I couldn’t even begin to answer. On the verge of tears I just said “fine” and walked away. Cue Alicia calling Viliami crying part II. It's Christmas Eve, I have no real home, no community, and instead of inviting me to Christmas church or youth group or something the head of the community I was placed in yelled at me- I haven’t felt so badly or so angry in a long time.

I found out the real reason he and others didn’t want me in the second house was because they use it for Australian volunteers, most of whom are retired, who come for 3 months to volunteer and, upon leaving, usually donate money to the school. Since everyone in Tonga is looking for a free handout, whether it’s in the form of grants, aids projects, or actually handing over cash from friends, family, or complete strangers, it’s all beginning to fall into place. Tonga won’t even buy a new boat to replace the Olovaha, the main supply boat that carries goods from Tongatapu to Ha’apai and Vava’u, despite never being intended for use on open water, which is always broken and not running, because the Japanese are going to donate a boat at the end of 2010, and god forbid Tongans buy anything themselves.

Admittedly, that was not the most culturally sensitive rant, but from what I’ve seen so far, it is true. I just feel so poorly, and I know my “community” doesn’t care whether or not I’m there, just that I'm not going to be as profitable. I am upset with PC for putting me in this placement, despite a complete lack of site development or even advanced notice. Viliami is still contemplating moving me to Vava’u, so we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, he is coming back to Ha’apai on Monday and we’re going to have a meeting with the school. I hope things aren’t as bad when I get back from Christmas.

Some Last Minute Changes, Part II

New Site: Pangai, Ha’apai. My new assignment will be teaching English at a Free Wesleyan Side School (a primary school where English, rather than Tongan, is the primary language of instruction) in Pangai. While I’m really happy to still be in Ha’apai, I’m a bit disappointed to be in the “city” so to speak. I was really looking forward to being in a smaller community and to having Pangai to go to as needed. But, as a few people have pointed out, Pangai is hardly Nuku’alofa. There are only a few thousand people living there, 3 “big” stores, one restaurant… Also, I’ll be living on the school compound, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that small community feel at the school. Admittedly, I’m not wild about now being in a church school vs. a government school- I’m having enough problems with the prevalence and power of churches here (which I will most definitely post about soon) not to mention pretty much having to go to church every Sunday, but with any luck the school portion will be kept separate from the actual church and its leaders.

Some Last Minute Changes

Well, it’s the day before the Swearing-In ceremony, and three days before we’re supposed to go to our sites, and I just got some pretty frustrating/stressful/disturbing news. I’ve been pestering Toma, (the Safety and Security officer) who has done site visits to ensure that our homes are up to PC standards, for the past few weeks after hearing a rumor that my house was not finished, but he seemed confident it would be done in time. Because of everything that happened last year, PC mandated that the town could not use the house the other volunteer lived in, which is actually in the next town, Holopeka, on a family compound, and the school said they would build a new house right next to the school (and airport). However, the house is not finished, and Viliami just pulled the plug so to speak on Koulo. Apparently there has been fighting between the principle and the PTA over who would finish the house and how much they would spend, and as a result, it’s not ready. Also, Viliami told me the principle has not been getting back to him for a few weeks, and between their lack of communication, inability to finish the house, and the past history with this village he does not want another volunteer to ever be in that village. Awesome. Viliami told me he’s looking at some sites that were developed but not selected this time around, and hopes to have a new site for me tomorrow. I’m pretty stressed out and a little frustrated that there have been problems for so long that are just being dealt with now, but am trying to remain flexible and open. This week has been crazy enough, but it looks like it’s just going to get a bit more interesting.

Farwell Vava’u

We left Vava’u for a week of attachment with a current PCV today, and it was such a sad day- so much sadder than any of us had anticipated when we first got here. I can’t believe we’ve been here for 6 weeks already- it simultaneously feels so much longer and like we just got here.

Friday, all of the host families went to the beach for a “kai tunu” (picnic) to all be together and spend the day in the ocean and, of course, eating. My family had Lei’s rugby game, so sadly they weren’t able to be there the whole time, but they came right over afterwards with ice cream for everyone- so great! Helenā was feeling a bit sick because she’s pregnant again (!) which is very exciting. She was so happy telling me, and I can’t wait for them to have another child; her and Samu are such kind people. At the picnic Eric was presented with a 6 lb. can of corned beef (kapa pulu)- the ultimate status food and absolutely disgusting- as he is talking chief, and Sarah came with us and gave a great fakamalo (thank you speech).

Eric and Melanie were the first to leave on Saturday since they headed out to Ha’apai, and them leaving was quite sad. I think Helenā was as sad to see Melanie go as she was to see me- we spent a lot of time together at both our houses. Helenā and Samu ran into town when they found out it was their last day and bought Eric and Mel matching Tongan rugby t-shirts, the same one they bought for me- so sweet. Me, Lulu, and Scott went with Valeti and Simote to bring them to the airport and everyone was just so sad to see them go- the two of them are going to do so well when they get to site!

The next day all the remaining trainees were dolled up by our respective families, and read during the morning church service. After, Helenā completely outdid herself, and cooked an amazing lunch, huge even by Tongan standards, of all my favorite foods: ota ika, lobster, crab, vegetables, fried hopa, maioke- it was amazing. Later that day, after dinner, I gave them the small gift I had: a 2009 calendar of Boston to show them my home and so they could remember me throughout the year, and a photo of the whole family and me that I had taken during my birthday party and blow up into an 8x10 print at the local computer lab. They loved everything, and really enjoyed seeing photos of my home and having me explain all of the pictures. Samu then wrote the nicest note I’ve ever received in my journal along with the family’s contact information, and told me that when I’m back in Vava’u I should come back and visit.

This morning, Helenā cooked an amazing and huge breakfast, and I finally achieved victory: the whole family not only ate with me, but we sat at the dining room table to eat together! I can’t explain how happy this made me. We stopped by Helenā’s mother’s house to say goodbye to her (and Hila’atu definitely made me cry) and pick up her uncle and his son to come to the airport with me. Everyone else from Leimatua was there with their host families and everywhere people were crying, taking photos, and laughing- at times it felt like a scene out of a movie.

I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky to have had such an amazing host family and to have been in such a wonderful village. This was the perfect way to be welcomed into the country, and the inevitable frustrations that occasionally arise living with a host family pale in comparison to how generous and loving my Tongan family has been. I will really miss them, and I am so thankful for their kindness.

Site Announcements and a Day Trip to Remember

Last week, after a lot of hype and rumors, each program (business and education) received a list of possible sites along with job descriptions. In addition, interviews were scheduled with our program managers to discuss these sites as well as personal preferences. After a lot of thought, I came to the decision that I really wanted to be in the Ha’apai island group, and preferenced three sites, all in Ha’apai, as my top choices. Ha’apai is the least developed of all the island groups; there is less there- fewer people, fewer imported goods, less infrastructure- and in general, life is more traditional and much much slower, especially on the outer islands. I really want a smaller village experience, and I want to live without some of the capitalism and globalization that has a grip in Nuku’alofa, although I will miss the market and vegetables there! Sadly, there’s only one education site on ‘Eua and it’s at a Kindy, so that’s not really a choice, but I would love to visit that island soon as well. Of course there are good aspects of development in Tonga, but, in a lot of ways, it appears that most of it is not horribly sustainable. Anyways, that’s a different rant for a different post.

I had my interview with Viliami, the education PM, who is absolutely wonderful, and I told him that I wanted to be in Ha’apai, most importantly away from Nuku’alofa. I got the feeling that he was initially thinking of placing me in the capital, but after the interview/discussion, I think he was leaning in a different direction…

Before the boat trip yesterday morning we all gathered in the Wesleyan church hall and our sites were announced! Each one of us went up to the front and pulled a name out of a box that had the name of a trainee and their site information and read it aloud to everyone. All of the trainees were there (obviously) as well as the staff and some of the current volunteers, and it was a lot of fun. The best part is that I got placed in Ha’apai! My site is in the village of Koulo where I will be teaching Engligh in the Government Primary School (GPS) for Koulo and Holopeka. My village is on the north of the main island of Lifuka in Ha’apai, and it’s only about 5km from the capital of Ha’apai, Pangai- perfect for getting to the market and to the PC office. Apparently the village is right where the airport is, and there is a land bridge which connects Lifuka to the next island, Foa. As an added bonus, the best beaches in all of Tonga are in Ha’apai, and most of them are on Foa! Also, I am so happy about the other people who are going to be in Ha’apai with me- it’s a wonderful group! Melanie and Eric will be on the outer island of Ha’afeva, Monica will be on the outer island of Toungua (they will be a few hours away from Lifuka), Sarah will be on Foa, and Kate and Brett will be on Lifuka with me, in Pangai! It’s such a great group, and I feel so lucky to be able to spend the next two years with everyone.

I am really excited about Koulo, but also a bit nervous. After we got back from the boat trip, Viliami asked to talk to me for a bit. He told me that there had been a volunteer placed in Koulo last year who ETed (Early Termination) a few weeks into her service because of something that happened. Without going into too much detail, from what I can gather, there was an incident where a drunk man tried to break into her house and PC handled the situation very poorly, and she ended up being medically evacuated and eventually ETed. Viliami was very upfront about PC’s role in this incident and told me that some of this was PC’s fault. I am definitely going to have to talk to other volunteers who were in Ha’apai and see what their take on everything is. But, I’m feeling pretty at ease- they take safety and security very seriously- and I still think it’ll end up being a positive experience.

Part II: Boat Trip!
A few weeks ago the current volunteers in Vava’u had tried to organize a boat trip to some of the outer islands in Vava’u just to give us a day to relax, take a break from training, and spend some quality time out on the water and at a beach (where we can wear real swimsuits!). Sadly, the initial trip was rained out (and by that I mean it poured for about 2 days straight, yay rainy season) but we were able to try again after site announcements. We all headed down to Neiafu and from there departed on a little boat. Everyone had bathing suits and a fair amount of alcohol, and it was just a lovely break from the monotony of training and a chance to finally feel like ourselves and act like Americans in the South Pacific. We stopped a few times on the water and were able to swim into caves and hang out on the ocean- I can’t believe how long we’ve been in Tonga, and this was our first time out on the water. Vava’u is amazingly gorgeous, and I really understand why it’s such a big yachting destination. We stopped for several hours at a small island where there is a resort with a restaurant and a bar and we all hung out in the water snorkeling and swimming, on the beach tanning and throwing a disc around (of course I brought one), tanning, and drinking (to be fair, that happened everywhere), and at the bar. It was so much fun to relax and spend time with everyone, and I hope there will be a lot more days on the ocean in the next two years!

My first Tongan Birthday

On Saturday afternoon I was in my room malolo (resting/napping- one of my favorite Tongan words) after our night of kava and I got a telephone call from Mr. Gennaro, which was quite lovely. As I was hanging up the phone I got a bit sad- missing all of you and realizing this would be the first birthday I would spend away from family and friends- and teared up a bit, when my host mom burst into my room; the concept of privacy really does not translate into Tongan. She wanted to know what was wrong and if I was homesick, and I explained as well as I could (she speaks very little English, and I speak even less Tongan) that my boyfriend had just called for my birthday tomorrow and I was just a little sad to be away from home on my birthday. Immediately, Helena (my host mother) freaked out because she didn’t know it was my birthday and started yelling to Samu, her husband. I hadn’t mentioned it before, precisely because I didn’t want them to do anything big or expensive, which they really can’t afford. Regardless, plans were immediately put into action to plan a big birthday dinner with all of their family and the PC trainees in Leimatua. That night we drove into town and spent about 3 hours driving from shop to shop to get all the food and ingredients necessary to prepare what I quickly realized was becoming a feast. As the whole family (Helena, Samu, Lei- 11, Tevita- 3, and Lose- 2) drove around in the minivan began to hear one word repeatedly in bits of the conversation I understood: puoka (pig). I asked why they were talking about puoka and they told me it was for my birthday.
Once we got home and were talking about plans for the next day, I began to understand that they were intending to kill a whole little pig, for me, in my honor, and bake it the next day in the umu (underground oven- every Sunday and for special occasions, Tongans dig an umu to bake traditional foods in). I immediately began to protest, but to no avail, as often seems to be the case. Then Samu sat down and explained to me that in their culture a whole pig at a meal is a sign of high respect. So, even though Tongans really only celebrate 1st and 21st birthdays, the fact that this was my first birthday in Tonga made it very important. He then reminded me how every Sunday people in the village bring the minister and town chief puoka from their umu, because it is important to show respect to them. I was so touched- I am so lucky to have such an amazing host family. They have been so kind and welcoming, and even when they dress me up in sparkly blue dresses with 80’s shoulder pads for church, I know it’s because they are trying to make me feel like part of the family. Then, Helena dropped the big question- she asked if I would eat the puoka the next day, and proceeded to tell me how happy it would make her. My immediate thought and reaction was one of sarcasm, which really doesn’t translate, so I told her I would think about it and that maybe I would. This just made her even more excited. Great, so now I had a pig who would be killed tomorrow because of me and a host mother who would be disappointed if I didn’t eat him and who was preparing a huge birthday feast just for me.
Sunday morning, the family was up at sunrise to begin preparations. Coconuts were husked and scraped, kumala, manioke, and hopa (all root crops/ dense carbohydrates) were peeled, tarrow leaves were de-veined and stuffed to make lu, and the umu was dug. I showered around 9 and ate a mango I found outside and proceeded to get decked out for church. When I asked Helena if they were going to get ready she told me they would not go to church today because they had a lot of work to do. If anything, this really made me realize what a big deal this was. Tongans may skip work and sleep through meetings, but come Sunday, they go to church. I was shocked. After the lovely 2 hour church service I came home and found the house in full swing, with neighbors helping out as well. Frustratingly, every time I tried to do something or help a different person would grab whatever I was doing from me and tell me I was tired and to go sleep. Then they brought the poor pig back home and killed him in the yard with a machette. It was sad, but pretty quick- I’ll give Tongans credit for a fast butchering job, but I was still feeling very guilty- I’m still sorry pig! Luckily, I had a few amazing phone calls J and after than, still being thwarted in my attempts to do anything useful, I went over to Melanie and Eric’s house with Scott (the four of them are my closest friends out of all the PC trainees) and we spent a few hours playing Tongan card games and hanging out with Valeti, Melanie and Eric’s host mother and the minister’s wife. I came back that evening, and food had been piled up everywhere. There was even a pelangi cake that Helena’s uncle had baked for the occasion. I helped with the cooking for a few hours, showered, and got dressed in my best Tongan outfit (I’ll get photos up as soon as I can!) and we set up the buffet table.
Helena’s family, the PC trainees, a current PCV who lives in Leimatua, Sarah, and my language teacher all came over, and eventually we started the celebration. First, there was a long prayer from Helena’s cousin’s father, who is a village elder, and a speech from her cousin’s husband, who is the principle of Vava’u high school- I was in very respectable company. After, the candles were lit, happy birthday was sung, by some in very broken English, and everyone jumped to the food table. Word of advice: do not get between Tongans and their food! The food was amazing (there was also even ice cream!) but the atmosphere was even better. All these people came to celebrate my birthday, some who I’d only met once before, some who are my closest friends here in Tonga, and from all of them I just felt so much love. It was really quite sad being away from all of you, but that night was the best night I’ve had in Tonga so far. And yes, I ate a bite of the poor pig, who was placed in the spot of honor- in the center of the table, whole, in a coconut leaf woven basket. I’ve never seen my host mother so happy. And while I’m still feeling a bit conflicted, if there were to be anything here I’d eat, given the reasons I stopped eating meat, it would be the pigs who run around the village and do as they please for most of their lives. Regardless, I was incredibly happy and am so grateful to my amazing host family for really making me feel at home, particularly on my birthday.

Kava Kalaupu

In Tonga, in every village across every island, there is a cultural tradition of drinking kava. For those of you who don’t want to wikipedia ‘kava’ it’s basically a root that is dried and then pounded into a fine powder. That powder is mixed and strained into gallon buckets of water creating kava- a muddy looking grayish liquid that, if consumed in large enough quantities, can induce a feeling kind of similar to being stoned as well as numb your mouth and tongue. However, you need to drink a lot of kava for it to have that full effect- mostly it just seems to make you sleepy. Weekend days, you can tell who has been up late at the kava circle since the men will all have what we pelangis have termed “kava hangovers”. These mostly consist of being fakapikopiko (lazy) and tired and disoriented all day. There is a lot of napping that happens in Tonga, but even more so after a good kava circle the night before. Men get together to drink kava in two settings (women are not allowed to drink kava): the fiekava and the kalapu. The fiekava happens most days, but particularly on Sunday and the circle consists of the fifiekou (minister), village chief, town officer, and town elders. Other people come from time to time, but basically in these settings kava is drank before church as part of the service, after church, or really any time of the day in some way pertaining to church and on church grounds. It’s an extremely respectable event full of serious talk and tradition. If the fiekava is equivalent to an upscale wine bar, then the Kalapu would be the blue collared pub. Men, mostly younger men and those who work in the bush during the day, come to hang out, drink kava, smoke, tell stories and jokes, and sing. Kalapus are also interesting because they are generally fundraisers, either for a community organization or a particular person. Because most Tongans don’t have bank accounts (ideas of savings and money and currency are very different here) a lot of men belong to different kalapus, and hold fundraisers for themselves throughout the year, with all the members taking turns. They money is then stored in the kalapu’s account and given out on certain dates to the men who have had their own kalapus, which are attended by all other members as well as some non-members.

As a mandatory Peace Corps cultural activity, each village had to hold it’s own kalapu and donate the money to a community organization. We had to buy and make the kava, advertise our event, and attend and run the logistics. Now, you may be thinking, hmmm, only men are allowed to drink kava- how could PC trainee females possibly participate? Which brings us to another aspect of the kava circle: to’a. Single (unmarried) women attend kava to to’a (pronounced do-ah) aka sit in a circle full of men in a particular way (with your legs to the side and tucked under you) and serve them kava for hours. Awesome. In return, you get to enjoy the esteemed company of these fine gentlemen, the privilege of pouring ladles of gray smelly water into halved coconut shells for hours on end, and listening to the fine conversation, which mostly consists of said gentlemen teasing and making fun of you and proposing marriage spontaneously. In Tongan culture, this is also one of the only ways to “date”: a boy can ask a girl he likes to to’a for him and he’ll come sit next to her in her circle and talk and flirt all while being harassed and taunted mercilessly by all of his friends, who have come along for support and to enjoy the fun. But, as I am decidedly not looking to date any Tongans, this angle wasn’t really pertinent, and I was left with my own kava circle: a 10 gallon bucket of kava, a plastic ladle, 5 coconut shell cups, and 20-30 Tongan men, none of whom spoke English. I know I’m being a bit sarcastic, and in reality it wasn’t horrible. But, speaking very little Tongan, and only understanding about 15% of what was said to me, never mind about me, and existing solely to serve the men, wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time. I did get a number of marriage proposals, a fair amount from already married men, and, if there’s one thing you need to understand about Tongan culture it’s that everything is a joke or fakakata pe (joking/teasing) - the most valuable skill we’ve needed so far is the ability to laugh at ourselves- so it really wasn’t bad. And the village apparently loved the pelangi to’a; there was a higher turnout at our kalapu than they’ve had in months and we raised over 500 pa‘anga (Tongan currency) for the village scholarship fund. Nevertheless, I can’t see myself to’a-ing again in the foreseeable future, and I’m sure the mental image of me sitting demurely and serving Tongan men will give you all a good laugh.

Homestay Part 1: Vava'u

Malo e lelei!

I'm officially at my homestay in Leimatu'a on the island of Vava'u. Everything is going really well so far- the people and my host family are so so nice! My host mom is Helena and my father is Samu. Theyhave 3 small boys- David, who's about 2ish, Losa- 1ish, and Leiwho is 11. Samu is a teacher at primary school, so he can speak English pretty well, and Helena knows a very little bit. But, they have been instructed specifically not to, so we just speak faka Tonga, and I'm pretty lost most of the time. But they just laugh at me (they laugh at everything and everyone) and I'm smiling, laughing, and trying to figure it out!

We got here yesterday morning, and the day was spent eva pe- which means wandering around but includes walking, driving, sitting, loitering-everything- just hanging out! My mom and two of her friends showed me town (Neiafu), the market, the ocean- while teasing me, buying me ice cream,and laughing and singing the whole time. It's really something-everyone is ridiculously friendly and the whole community is completely open. Everyone shares/takes everything and all the doors seem to be always open.

There was an elopement yesterday, so that was the big talk of the town, so to speak, in the weaving hut. In the evening, all the women walked over to the chief's house to watch his adopted daughter and her new husband come w. the minister to ask for forgiveness. He accepted with a lot of joking, and then the groom's family shot and butchered this huge pig as a gift, which was something. They cut it up, and then everyone who had come to watch got a hunk of pig to take back home.Try to picture a dozen or so women, and me!, walking through the roads carrying large pieces of pig carcass- it was awesome.

My host mom is making me a puletaha- traditional Tongan skirt and shirt outfit for church so I'll be sure to try and get photos up when I can! The only thing that is uncomfortable is how respectful they are to all us PCVs. They have cleared out a whole room in their house for each of us, they cook us amazing meals and won't let us help or clean up (although I'mg oing to find a way!) and they even have us eat alone- which is a sign of respect (faka'apa'apa) but it does make me feel a bit uncomfortable. But hopefully in a few weeks I will have settled in and be able to communicate and understand Tongan better!

Water Safety, Lotu, and Preperation for Homestay

I'm in the Volunteer lounge on our last night in Nuku'alofa before we head out to Vava'u and our homestays for the next 6 weeks. Since the scary boat is missing an engine and not running this week we're flyingout tomorrow morning (yay!) around 7am and starting our homestays a bit early.

I am definitely a bit nervous for homestay given mycomplete lack of Tongan language skills. But I'm excited to learn and,with any luck, I'll be conversational at the end of 6 weeks. I'm also really excited to learn about how basic household tasks are carried out in a Tongan village- everything from washing clothes, to bucket showers, to making coconut cream, and I really hope my host family will be able to teach me all of this. Plus, a little basket weaving orcoconut husking would come in handy too.

Saturday we had water safety training, directly after learning about the pages and pages of deadly and dangerous water creatures thatpopulate the south Pacific- everything from sharks to stonefish...awesome. Regardless, it was really fun- we went down to the naval base and a few Tongan navy personel conducted the training, which was honestly a glorified swim class. We had to jump of a ship, swim around a lot, tow people (they neveractually taught us how to do this properly...), tread water, and boarda boat from the water. The ocean was beautiful- warm and turquoise-but very very salty. Some people definitely could not swim, including Carole, a 66 year old volunteer, but she got her lifevest and was a great sport! Lots of bonding and team support between all of us trainees, so that was a definite plus as well.

Yesterday (Sunday) was probably one of the best days. We had to meetup and go to church in the morning, and I wasn't too excited about that, obvi. I went with 3 other volunteers to the Catholic church, partially so Robin would be happy (kidding!), but mostly because I wanted to see if it was any different from a Catholic mass back home. Itwasn't at all- only difference was that they spoke in Tongan. Also, the choir was amazingly beautiful. Singing is a huge part of Tongan culture, and this local church sounded incredible- I can't even describe it. Then it was time for the other two staples of Sunday-food and naps! (Seriously, that's all people do on Sunday: go to church, eat a huge feast, and nap- it's wonderful) We went over to the Country Director's house located right on the ocean and had a very boring hour of training and then pig roast feast! Seriously, roasted pig backed in an underground oven that's dug into a hill. Didn't have any of the pig, but there were at least 5 different fish dishes, all of which we delicious (ifo), and tons of fresh mango, papaya, banana, watermelon, and coconut. The CD, Jeffery, opened up his house and his photo albums for us, and a handful of us spent a few hours on his porch overlooking tropical paradise.

The next time I write, I'll be in Vava'u: reputedly the friendliest of the "friendly islands" and the hottest!

Malo e lelei!

I'm officially in Tonga on the main island of Tongatapu, in the capital city of Nuku'alofa. We landed at 8:00am this morning, Thursday, after a 2 hour layover in Samoa. When we landed at theTongan airport all of the Peace Corps staff and some of the volunteers were there to greet us with flower and leaf necklaces, which was really sweet, and everyone made us feel so welcome. We had mini orientation, lunch at the hostel-like place where we are all staying(there are 24 of us in our training group), rested for an hour, and then went to a welcome kava ceremony (google it, seriously) and BBQ atthe house of the Country Director. We then walked back along the ocean to the main drag of downtown, and now I'm at the Peace Corps office writing this.

I am officially here, safe and sound, albeit a bitjet-lagged and confused at the loss of Wednesday. Tonga is absolutelybeautiful and looks exactly like a tropical island should- clear bluewater, palm trees, and everyone seems so nice and friendly! Eventhough all I can say right now is "malo e lelei" (hello) people are really welcoming us to the island. Even airport security was so happy to see the 24 of us, despite us backingup customs and their whole airport (which is the smallest international airport I've ever seen). We're in Nuku'alofa for 4 moredays until we take our 30 hour ferry ride out to our homestays inVava'u for 6 weeks, so I will update soon.