We arrived safely in Tonga with all our luggage! Yesterday we finished setting up our bank accounts and placed our valuables in the Peace Corps safety deposit box. During lunch, we walked around town when we happened upon three elder Tongans sitting down with beads laid across the floor. We stopped to take a look and before we knew it, one of the other volunteers and I had received “gifts in exchange for money”. That’s my way of saying we got ripped off and 'accidentally bought useless items with our lunch money' (Though as a later note, I was able to give them as gifts to our first host family in Ha’atafu) With our lunch money spent, the rest of the group pitched in to help the other volunteer and I get a meal.
As for the rest of the day, we left the capital city of Nuku’alofa by bus and arrived at the remote Ha’atafu village by evening. We received a warm reception and split up with our host families. Each host family holds 1-3 palangis (if you’re not a Tongan, you’re referenced as a ‘palangi’/outsider). I was placed with the largest group, which was three volunteers assigned to one family.
After the village reception, we went on a tour of the entire village, which was pretty much the equivalent of walking down the length of one city block. Within a few steps we discovered an amazing ocean side view. After just a mile of walking, there was the untouched Ha’atafu beach.
When we returned home, Lavinia Sunia (our host mother) cooked us a very delicious meal of soup, chicken, assorted vegetables, and sweet potatoes.
The place we stayed in was definitely not what I imagined when I thought of Peace Corps and a developing country. It was a strikingly odd mix between new and old. The building was a 16-room mansion with amenities like a large TV and DVD player (which is considered odd in a place with sporadic electricity and almost huts next door). In terms of bathing, it was still on par with the rest of the village, which meant taking cold bucket baths. If the stars aligned perfectly and fate decided to smile on us that particular day, we could take the occasional shower.
For the rest of the night we practiced a few of the important Tongan phrases, watched the movie “Sky High”, and called it a night. Today we’ll begin our language training.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
A bit weird...
Some of the comments that I make may seem to be way out there for 'normal' people. But whose really normal anyways? Once you get to know people, we're all crazy!
We have a list of things for people to do for our swearing in ceremony. Some of the jobs include reading the hymn, saying a thank you speech, and doing a dance. Some activities seemed neat and some seemed downright stressful. One of the volunteers was very impressed with some of the other volunteers' abilities and started nominating them for (what I thought to be) some of the more stressful activities.
Later, I made a comment about how that's the equivalent of kicking someone in the balls, then telling them that's the nicest pair of balls they've ever kicked.
I don't know, just a "you have to be there" type of moment I guess.
We have a list of things for people to do for our swearing in ceremony. Some of the jobs include reading the hymn, saying a thank you speech, and doing a dance. Some activities seemed neat and some seemed downright stressful. One of the volunteers was very impressed with some of the other volunteers' abilities and started nominating them for (what I thought to be) some of the more stressful activities.
Later, I made a comment about how that's the equivalent of kicking someone in the balls, then telling them that's the nicest pair of balls they've ever kicked.
I don't know, just a "you have to be there" type of moment I guess.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Night surprise
It's almost midnight and I couldn't sleep for the past two hours. I laid in bed occasionally tossing and turning, hoping that I could sleep simply by keeping my eyes shut. However, my mind wandered aimlessly from subject to subject.
That’s when I heard the first scratch on the window. Initially I thought maybe it was just a branch blown against the glass window. Then there was another scratch and I heard the distinct sound of a window being pried open. I pretended to be asleep and simply waited.
I knew my host family were all asleep. No sane person would try to enter the house through a small window so I immediately assumed it was a robber. Most of the village knew that I had a laptop. I reached under my pillow and grabbed my leatherman’s tool. For precaution, I slowly flipped out the 3 inch knife. As the blade locked into place with a sharp click, I hoped even more that I wouldn't have to use it. It would however, buy me time to yell for help. Dread filled me as the window continued to slowly open.
With half an eye open, I noticed a small figure against the window. It looked like it a silhouette of a hand. I decided I would make my move. I jumped out of bed, lifted the mosquito net, and hysterically waved the knife in the air. I saw the silhouette and that’s when I realized it was only a cat trying to slip into the house. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
That’s when I heard the first scratch on the window. Initially I thought maybe it was just a branch blown against the glass window. Then there was another scratch and I heard the distinct sound of a window being pried open. I pretended to be asleep and simply waited.
I knew my host family were all asleep. No sane person would try to enter the house through a small window so I immediately assumed it was a robber. Most of the village knew that I had a laptop. I reached under my pillow and grabbed my leatherman’s tool. For precaution, I slowly flipped out the 3 inch knife. As the blade locked into place with a sharp click, I hoped even more that I wouldn't have to use it. It would however, buy me time to yell for help. Dread filled me as the window continued to slowly open.
With half an eye open, I noticed a small figure against the window. It looked like it a silhouette of a hand. I decided I would make my move. I jumped out of bed, lifted the mosquito net, and hysterically waved the knife in the air. I saw the silhouette and that’s when I realized it was only a cat trying to slip into the house. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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