Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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.

Monday, November 10, 2008

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!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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.