Pictures!

Lots of new pictures, finally.

Christmas in Tonga

So I have experienced my first Christmas away from home. Actually wasn't too bad. I will say that the Christmas season did bring on some homesick feelings that I thus far haven't experienced too strongly. I'm not sure what it is about Christmas songs that make them sound so lonely if you aren't home. Maybe lyrics like, "I'll be home for Christmas," or "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas." Anyway, I do kind of miss the chill in the air (or the knock-you-out cold) that accompanies Christmas in the States. The mood is certainly different, almost romantic. I miss all the traditions with the family as well. But, Christmas here was kind of great (maybe cuz it involved lots of beach, ice cream and pina coladas)!

Christmas eve I spent part of the afternoon at the beach with the son of the elderly couple that live right by me, his son and another Tongan. The son is from New Zealand where his wife lives and his son has grown up. They are just here for a visit. His son is named Pita Faiva and is an adorable 3 year old with shaggy hair. He loves water and sand castles and messy mangos and that all makes him great to go to the beach with! That evening, I was really happy to be able to go to a Christmas mass. Myself and one of the other volunteers have found a church where the services are in English. It's kind of far for us to walk so the priest picked us up that night and gave us a ride. The service was really nice with the Christmas songs I know and love. Outside the window during the service I could see fireworks being set off and hear people excited in the street. I was so happy to be able to have that familiar experience of celebrating Christmas Eve mass in such a beautiful setting. Afterwards, the priest brought us out for ice cream before bringing us home. Very nice! This guy likes to translate the Bible from English to Tongan as a hobby (when he's not golfing), so he's rather cool. I spent most of Christmas Day at the beach again with 6 kids this time (including Mr. Pita Faiva and another adorable 3-year-old) and a Tongan couple. The couple barbecued up on the beach and sort of left me with the kids, which was fine as most of them were mature enough to swim on their own and I didn't mind watching the 3-year-olds (which I've decided is my new favorite age group). The BBQ was rather delicious (made more so by the fact we were on a beach) and we stayed to see the sunset. Had to take a moment floating in the ocean, watching the palm trees in the sunset and overall acknowledging the creation of God on His Son's day.

On the day after Christmas, Boxing Day (jury's still out on what that day actually means) all of the Peace Corps volunteers got together and celebrated. The highlight of the day (aside from watching some of them try to climb the coconut tree) was the "pina coladas." I'm not the biggest fan of pinapple milk (it's ok...can be refreashing but not amazing) and don't like rum too much. However, together, it's a most wonderful delicious combination! You can hardly taste the rum and it somehow offsets any negative taste effects of the coconut milk. Dangerous! Had some traditional Tongan kava after the alcohol ran out. Anyway, it was a fun afternoon/evening/night with the other volunteers. Love this crew!!!

See, Christmas in Tonga can be pretty great.

This is Peace Corps?

Now that I'm settled in (more or less) at my site, I guess it's time to update. I've moved into my house and started my job. My house is a modest 2-bedroom with a living room and kitchen separated by a curtain and a bathroom and shower attached. It's actually kind of cute and more than large enough for my needs. It's not as nice as some of the PC houses but it's probably nicer and larger than others. I was supplied with money to purchase a little refrigerator/freezer, a dual burner, gas tank, and some kitchen supplies. A lot of my stuff is still laying around the floor in piles and bags and suitcases, but I have all next week off work so I'll worry about it then. The initial problem was cockroaches but a combination of spraying and roach traps sent from home seems to have limited them. I've heard something in the ceiling the last few nights (mice or rats?), so I guess that will be my next critter to try to get rid of. I have a little kitten but he's too small to be of use in that manner right now. His purpose seems to be to keep me company, sometimes to the point of annoyance. He's always underfoot and gets more than a few bare-footed kicks as a result. Don't worry, he's not abused and is a very happy cat who seems rather taken with me (perhaps because I feed him...).

I also started my job this week. When I got here on Monday I was told that there wasn't much to do since it's the week before Christmas. We have the next week and a half off. So, basically this week I've just been switching between reading up on reports and surveys dealing with employment in Tonga and doing my own stuff on-line. It looks like my main task here will be to create, conduct, and analyze a workforce study. I might be working with an Australian volunteer to get this done. The people here are very nice and enjoyable to talk to. The Christmas party is tonight and I'm thinking it should be pretty fun.

Right now I'm still trying to process my "situation." It really doesn't feel like what you would expect a "Peace Corps experience" to be. I have running water and electricity in my house (and a refrigerator!), inside bathroom facilities, a 9-5ish job, and I live in a city. I'm able to go to a bar, go dancing, go to a restaurant, have easy access to internet, and most people speak at least some English. I established a while ago that the real challenges here (aside from the critters), will likely be the cultural differences, but it's still difficult to adjust to what seems to me to be "city life #2." I should be living in a mud hut eating bugs and speaking no English!

Last week of training

It's finishing up! I took my interview today to see how well I can speak the Tongan language. I have a bet going with another trainee that I will do better, so I was a little nervous. I think I'm becoming more comfortable speaking the language but also maybe too lenient. If I think the person I'm talking to understands what I'm saying, I don't pay too much attention to grammar. That could be bad for me on the test... I've done a lot of trash talking with the guy I'm betting against, so I really need to pull through...

We get officially swore in tomorrow! I will then be a volunteer (right now just a lowly trainee). Exciting!

More soon...

Internships and Interviews...oh my!

This week those of us in the business program here have been sent to different organizations and businesses to observe and help with some of their programs. My group was sent to Vava'u High School to prepare students for an internship program. The first 2 days we had to prepare them for the interviews with the businesses and the 2nd 2 days is training to help them when they are at their sites. Sounds easy enough....but not here. Most of these kids have no work or interview experience. They won't speak up in class. Ask them why they want to have an internship and they may or may not answer and it may or may not be a one-word answer. Maybe all high school kids are like that. There is a high premium on being humble and modest here. That's great, except when trying to sell yourself in an interview.

Luckily, after 2 days of working with the students I did notice a marked improvement in a few of the students, particularly one of the boys that 2 of the organizations want to hire. So, it has been frustrating, but I guess we are encouraging some improvement. Perhaps it was worth it?

Late night Niafu

I went out to some of the bars/clubs in the main town here with my host sister and one of her friends last night (and I brought another PC friend for good measure). It's the first time I've been out at night with members of my host family. It was pretty fun but different than being out with palangis (word for white people here). First, splitting the bill is not really a Tongan practice. Usually someone just picks it up and pays it, so I had to keep that in mind when ordering drinks. Also, women in Tonga don't typically drink alcohol and might be looked down on when they do. Seeing how I was around numerous Tongan women from my village at one point in the night, I realized my decision to purchase a beer might not have been the best one. I just made sure that was the only one I had in their presence.

Luckily, western style dance is basically accepted here. The songs might be very dated at re-made pacific-island style and the dancing has to be somewhat subdued (not such a bad thing), but I do have a lot of fun dancing to it. We started at a rather deserted bar that employs a bartender who just so happens to be the most attractive man I've met in Tonga. Then we moved to a few other bars that had a nice mix of palangis and Tongans dancing, so that was fun. I get tired of the locations that are over-run with palangis (there are a lot of those in this town). The last place we went was the most sketch. When we got there, it was basically deserted. Finally, it was 2am and the place was still deserted so my friend and myself started pressuring my host sister to get a taxi to go home. At some point in this process, a bunch of men and boys from my village started piling in and many were clearly drunk and kind of pushy. It was at that point that my friend and myself became very uncomfortable and demanded we leave. I felt bad being demanding but I also think trusting instincts (and a tired body) can be important. Anyway, interesting experience...but fun.

Thanksgiving!!!

Even though I'm in Tonga, in the middle of the South Pacific, I had an amazing Thanksgiving! Turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, delicious stuff altogether (and enough alcohol...). Add a live band and dancing with an ocean view and who needs a US Thanksgiving? Though, I do miss spending time with my family and board games....

Site Placement!

So, I learned my job placement for the next 2 years and I'm excited!!!I'll basically be living in or very near to the capitol and workingfor the Ministry of Training, Employment, Youth and Sports. I'll beworking with the Employment division with maybe some work with theYouth and Training sections too. This ministry just started last yearand I'm their first volunteer so it sounds like I'll be doing a lot ofgroundwork to figure out what the employment needs are in Tonga. I'mgoing to be designing and conducting surveys, running workforcepreparedness and skills training/workshops, and participating incommunity employment consultations. Most of the work will be withyouth (defined here as age 15-35). Part of what I might be doinginvolves setting up a system for registering under-employed andunemployed youth to track them for training, internships, andemployment. I'll be getting to do a decent amount of outreachtraveling to villages throughout my island, so I'm really excitedabout that too! They were looking for someone with strong reportwriting and public relations skills and survey experience. I think Ihave most of those, so I feel pretty confident! I've always enjoyeddoing career development activities for myself and for my friends so Ithink this is a really good fit! Since I've been in Tonga, I've beenreally interested in what seems like a lack of employmentopportunities for youth and the number that feel they need to look forwork abroad. It seems that this job will allow me to not only learnthe true extent of the issue but also figure out how to address itwork towards that. I think it will be awesome working for a newministry as well. Anyway, I'm really satisfied and excited about thisplacement! Also, I'll be living in a "family compound." I'll have myown small private home but it will be owned by a family who will liveright by me, which is also perfect since I wanted some privacy but really didn't want to live alone. All in all, I'm very happy with this!

Studying abroad...?

I'm for the most part enjoying my time in Tonga, but I guess I'm finding it kind of difficult to process the experience. Right now I'm a trainee. That means I'm not yet considered a full-fledged PC volunteer. There are 33 trainees in our class. I attend classes on the Tongan language, culture, health, safety, and business and organizational development (my field of service). Throughout that time, we live with host families. This feels very much like the study abroad experiences that I've had so far. I'm sure that all will change in December when I begin at my post and there aren't so many PC people around, but for now it's an odd feeling. Not at all what one imagines when they think about "Peace Corps." Of course, those preconceived notions can be harmful. The "I want to save the world" notion is particularly so. In Tonga, the motivations of the people are so different from western motivations. Last night I was talking to a young man who is putting off representing Tonga to play tennis abroad so that he can stay home with his sick father, even though the father is telling him to go. Family trumps work, money and personal success here in many senses. I'm acknowledging that promoting business development here might butt heads with a lot of cultural norms and I'm finding myself having to ask what the real needs are here. Tongans might not want to advance in business if it is going to have any sort of detrimental effect on their family and I certainly don't want to be promoting practices that discount that. Balancing these cultural views and what might be some necessary steps for development will be the challenge. Attempting this balance is much more doable than "saving the world."

Another challenge for me is accepting a role of less independence here. Because youth (defined loosely as one age 16-maybe 35 or until they are married) here often live with their parents until they are married, it is natural for my host father to be protective of me. I, however, am not used to having to tell someone where I'm going and explain what I will be doing there. Additionally, as a women, there are even further constraints. I must be careful how I behave around Tongan men and my host dad has placed rules on some interactions. I think my own personal rules would be strict enough but his are a bit more so. However, it is clear to me that the host family cares for me and I know that my host father has my well-being in mind with his rules. It's a trade-off I am willing to make. Adapting to a culture becomes much easier when you've developed a respect for that culture and a connection with the members of it. In a few months I may very well be living alone and then I think I might wish I had someone under the same roof looking out for me.

In Vava'u

I survived the ferry ride! Anti-sea sick medicine (which also puts one to sleep) helped a lot! It wasn't a pleasant experience with multiple people trying to sleep in a very small space, but I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been (read: getting sick over the side of the ship).

Vava'u is beautiful as anticipated but it is also so hot! Sweat (and cockroaches) are a common occurrence here. The new host family is good, but I do really miss my host family in Fua'amotu! I am becoming friends with a host daughter who's my age, so that is promising. Probably the most enjoyable experience has been serving kava (which is like alcohol but not). The men sit around and drink it while sometimes a woman serves. I've convinced to serve by a teacher and a fellow PC volunteer twice. It's basically a number of men finding unique ways to hit on you (usually in a polite fashion) and the other men laughing. I've gotten pretty good with the comebacks I think and I'm learning more Tongan (though maybe not the best Tongan to be learning...)! And the men often sing while they sit around and drink. Unlike men singing in bars in the US, this singing is really good! They do voice-parts and octaves and everything. I've figured out some good ways to get them to sing too! More soon...

22-hour ferry ride

In a few hours I get begin a 22 hour trip to get to an outer island in Tonga. Most of it will be on a ferry which is apparently lacking in comfort. I'm already feeling sick...so I hope this goes well. When I get to the island of Va'vau, I get a new host family. They better be great because the hosrt family I'm leaving is wonderful!

Tonga!

As many of you know, I arrived in Tonga a few weeks ago. For the past 17 days I've been living with a host family in the town Fua'amotu, which is about a 20 minute drive to the capital. During that time I've been attending training classes. There are 32 other volunteers that I've been sharing this experience with and they really seem to be a great group of people from various backgrounds, age groups, and include 5 married couples.

My host family in Fua'amotu has been amazing. I share them with another volunteer, Janice, who is in her upper 50's and a former teacher from Myrtle Beach. In one house we have a grandpa and grandma (both 2 of the kindest people I have ever met and both of whom have cried at the fact we are leaving), their daughter and her husband, and that couple's 4 adorable children. The children range in age from 2 months to 7 years and are all (except maybe the baby) obsessed with American cartoons. Apparently these help them to learn English. I've gotten along very well with the 7-year old girl who was my shadow for my first weekend here.

Overall, the people of Tonga seem very kind. It is a small country and therefore Peace Corps volunteers are well-known and respected. While many tourists and visitors from other countries tend to ignore the culture by dressing in clothing that is considered immodest here, we are careful to address appropriately and work hard to learn the language. Tongan's are very family and community-centered and the church (methodist, catholic, 7th day adventist, mormon, etc.) plays a big role here. I'm learning that working in business development (my role here) might be difficult as many Tongans are more concerned with providing for their community than accumulating profit. The challenge will be to get them to invest more in their businesses while allowing them to maintain their culture and community ties.

The country is beautiful! Fua'amotu is on a beach that I visit about every day either on a morning run or to go swimming. Even the main island is rather small. I think I have already seen most of it through Sunday trips with the host family. Other than being rather sick twice now, the lifestyle so far here has been much easier than one would expect for a Peace Corps volunteer!

Pictures!

If this works, I finally have a few pictures from Tonga (and a few from before--whatever was on my camera).