Camp Grow & Glow 2014

Last year I asked my friends and family to donate to a leadership camp for young Tongan men and women. I was completely blown away by everyone’s generosity as we raised all of the money we needed within a week. I was humbled by peoples’ decision to donate to a cause that I was running and was so passionate about, and I vowed to honor their generosity by ensuring that Camp Grow and Glow provided a transformative experience for our campers. I truly believe that the camp accomplished that goal last year and I hope to do so again this year. I posted what follows below last year and I would like the repost it now:

There is a link on the Peace Corps website where you can donate funds to the project and read a description about the what Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and GROW (Guys Reshaping Our World) is all about, but before I copy the link and rather than paste the description of the camps onto my blog I will instead explain our goals (I am working with three other volunteers and numerous Tongans) in my own words.

Camp GLOW is an internationally recognized program focusing on women’s empowerment and is run by Peace Corps Volunteers in countries throughout the world. The girls’ camp in Vava’u will cover important issues facing women in Tonga such as sexual health, the rights of women and children, and sexual harassment and domestic abuse. Camp GLOW was brought to Tonga in the past decade, and was successfully run in Vava’u the last few years.  With the main island deciding to cancel Camp GLOW the last two years and with only one female volunteer in charge of CAMP GLOW Vava’u, myself and and another male volunteer offered to help run the female camp.

After corroborating on the curriculum development of the girls camp, the other volunteers and I quickly saw the potential importance of what we were doing and lamented the absence of a boy’s camp. We did a little research to see if Camp GLOW had ever been successfully paired with a boys’ camp, and with the exception of a few small efforts, we were disappointed to see there were no such existing camps for young men. Thus, Camp GROW was born.

This year we are running Camp Glow and Grow from September 22 to the 26^th. The 2014 edition will last 5 days instead of 4 and will have twice as many campers, as we hope to spread more information to a greater number of students. The campers all come from the local high schools of Vava’u and have been selected, with help from their teachers, on the merits of their leadership skills and strong academic performance.

Finally, before I post the link to donate, I want to say one thing first. The decision of whether or not to donate to charity or of what charity to choose is an extremely personal one. The last thing I want to do is stand up on a soapbox, preaching to my readers to donate to my charity. Only you can decide if you wish to donate money. There are many charities and organizations in much greater need of funds and with more important aims than my project. There are places where money can be sent to save lives and cure diseases. In all honesty, Camp GLOW and GROW will not do that.

However, if you want to contribute a little money to a project that I am working on and running, would like to donate to Tonga, or wish to give your money knowing that 100% percent of your contribution will go to the project rather than to salaries or lost in bureaucracy, then I can promise GLOW and GROW will accomplish that. While we will not save lives or cure disease, I do strongly believe the project will do some good and have a profound affect upon the lives of these children. We are asking for $4,000 from the US (with the plan of raising the other $1,500 within Tonga) and I will be forever grateful to whoever decides to donate to this cause. Donations are completely anonymous, but if you do wish to let me know that you gave money, please email me so I can keep you updated on the project and know of your generosity.

If you wish to donate, the link to give money is as follows:

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-421-001

Thank you all so much for your support. I cannot truly express into words how much it means to me and how much I appreciate any contribution you may make.

Please enjoy the photos below of last years Camp Glow and Grow taken by the Glow director, Mandy Pederson.

Traditional Medicine

I have mentioned several times throughout this blog that the Tongan government provides universal healthcare for free to its citizens. The conditions of the hospitals and the access to particular medicines may differ from what we expect in the US, but Tongans are given vaccines, check ups, and routine medical procedures for free. The doctors and nurses are incredibly bright and well trained, having usually attended university and medical school in Fiji, New Zealand, or Australia. It still takes me a second to remember that Tongans go to the hospital for all medical issues, including minor illnesses like the common cold, as I immediately return to my American fear/anxiety of hospitals when I hear that one my students is missing school to go the hospital, before I eventually realize my mistake.

Of course, no system is perfect. There is only one MRI machine in Tonga on the main island. Dialysis and chemotherapy, while theoretically possible, are extremely rare, and Tongans suffering from cancer who can’t afford to get treatment overseas are left with few options. These are serious issues that leave room for traditional medicine to reassert itself.

I’m sure it surprises no one that traditional medicine stills exists in Tonga. When I first arrived in Tonga, I expected to see some form of traditional medicine, but for most of my two years here I haven’t observed anything. Once in a while a kid would come to school with a weird green paste on a cut, but these incidents were few and far between.

It was not until a few weeks ago that I was first exposed to the world of Tongan medicine. I was walking to town on a Friday when someone from my village offered to give me a ride as long as I first went with him and his wife to the nearby village of ‘Utui. In Tongan, he explained that his wife needed medical treatment in the village. I was confused, as I had never heard of someone traveling to another village to receive medical care, but I assumed that I must have misunderstood what he was saying and would see what happened.

In ‘Utui, the husband and I remained in the car, while the wife entered a house and stayed inside for thirty minutes. Once she returned, we drove into town and went our separate ways. My interest was peaked however. I had no idea what happened inside the house, but I was curious and wanted to learn more. After pestering a few people with my questions, I discovered that there was a whole world of “underground” traditional medicine throughout Tonga that I was completely unaware of. Almost every village has a healer that specializes in a particular kind of medicine. In fact, I learned that a woman I knew quite well from my village is considered very talented at treating stomach issues using traditional Tongan medicine.

I could only laugh. After two years of living in my village, and thinking that I was beginning to understand all of its mysteries, I realized that in many I ways still don’t have a clue. After all this time Tonga continues to surprise me.

Thank you for reading. Please enjoy some more photos of the King’s birthday celebration taken by another volunteer.

The flag of the King

His Majesty's seating area

Presents for the King

One of the Ministry of Education officials all dressed up for the festivities

Showing some birthday love for the King

Journey to the New World

First, I need to give credit where credit is due, and thank my grandpa, Papa, for the title and name of this post. My last few posts have focused on my American visitors, and as Papa confided to me on the phone, it seems only fair that I similarly recount some of my trip back to the United States. Second, this week’s post will be a bit on the shorter side, but I promise to make it up with an abundance of photos taken by other Peace Corps volunteers of the King’s birthday and the Wesleyan Conference.

I have spent the last three weeks in San Francisco, spending time with Katherine, Bennett, and my parents, plus a host of college friends who I didn’t even know lived in the Bay Area but that I happily ran into on my short travels. I walked around for miles throughout SF, a city I had never visited before, went to a Giants game with my dad, drank wine in Napa on two separate trips, walked through the beautiful Muir Woods, and for good measure spent the 4^th of July in Lake Tahoe. The trip was an absolute whirlwind, offering me my first taste of America in over 6 months, and helping me mentally prepare for the completion of my Peace Corps service and my final return to the US in a few short months. I can hardly believe it’s been almost 2 years since I left.

Back in Tonga, I am ready to make the most of my last few months. The past few days have been terrific, as I have made the rounds in the village, caught up on all the recent gossip, and passed out hordes of candy to all the kids... and a lot of the parents for that matter. Due to last minute changes in the school calendar, I have a full week to slowly work my way back into my Tongan life, as school does not start again until next Wednesday. Further, I am working with the Peace Corps office on the main island and in D.C. to get my funding for Camp Grow/Glow approved, and I will hopefully have more information concerning my project in a few weeks.

Last but not least, below is a short list of some of the things that I was asked and did bring back to Tonga:

•   Advil and Fish Oil for my host grandmother
• 7 pounds of candy and pencil sharpeners for my school
• Burgundy hair coloring for my host family's neighbor (I actually went above and beyond here as I brought two shades - dark and normal - of burgundy
• Tequila for my host brother
• 
  

As always thanks for reading, and please enjoy the incredible photos below taken by volunteers Mandy Pederson (the first three) and Abby Kloberdanz (the last three).

A baby all dressed up for the baby competition - contestants were judged on cuteness, weight, and health among other criteria 

The students of Vava'u High School dancing the traditional tau'olunga for the King's birthday

More dancing

A sign welcoming the King to Vava'u

The King's seating during his birthday celebration

Beautifully carved watermelons

The King's Birthday

What I’m Missing

This will be my last post for the next several weeks as I am traveling to San Francisco for a short vacation and beginning to plan for the next stage of my life for after I finish my Peace Corps service in October/November. While I am incredibly excited for the trip, I am also unfortunately missing two large events that will be taking place on my home island of Vava’u.

Many of you may have noticed that after incessantly blogging about feasts last year I haven’t written a single post about a feast this year. You may have assumed that this was because I have figured out that you all were a bit tired of the subject by now, but that would be assuming that I am a far better blogger than I actually am. Instead, the reason is that everyone in my three villages has been tightening their proverbial belts, both literally and figuratively, for the annual Wesleyan Conference taking place at the end of June in Vava’u for the first time since 2002.

This is a big deal. I repeat. This is a BIG DEAL. The Conference is usually held on the main island of Tongatapu as it easier for people to travel too, has far more amenities, and is simply much larger than all the other islands combined. With the Conference this year, the 14,000 population of Vava’u is expected to swell to as many as 18,000 people. Tongans from all over the world – America, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the other Tongan islands – will be coming to Vava’u to attend the festivities.

The Conference is centered upon the two major events that dictate Tongan life, church and food. For the week, every village is responsible for supplying the feast food, with each family providing food for one or two tables. This is an expensive enterprise, and will result in a lot of money being spent and a lot of pigs being killed. Because of this Tongans in Vava’u are not spending much money now, and I have sadly not attended a feast this year, other than when I visited my Tongan sister on the island of ‘Eua back in January. I know, I am as heart broken for myself as I am sure you all are for me. Thank you for that.

The second event is the King’s birthday on July 4^th, which he has decided to also celebrate this year in Vava’u. For the past 5 weeks, every primary school, including mine, has met on a field in town in Friday to practice for the King’s birthday. The students and teachers have to wear all red – red shoes, long red socks, red shirts, red shorts, and red shower caps (yes you read that right) – and all of this red has to be the same solid color without any writing on it. On these Fridays, some thousand primary school students stand in the blistering sun for as many as 5 hours to practice aerobics, forming the Tongan flag (one school wears white to complete the picture), learn how to properly enter and leave the field, and learn the correct way to say and act, “Happy Birthday Your Majesty.” It is interesting to watch and the kids will put on an amazing display for the king on his birthday, but all of the practicing has been a bit tedious and expensive for the schools to have to transport their kids to town each week.

The High Schools have also been practicing traditional Tongan songs and dances, which they will perform for the king. Beyond this, the entire week of the King’s birthday will host fairs, parades, and contests, such as the fakaleiti (men who dress as ladies in Tonga) Miss Galaxy competition. The entire week will be an absolute spectacle.

I cannot wait to see everyone in the US for a short vacation, but I’ll also be excited to hear about all the events that I will miss back in Vava’u upon my return. For now, thanks for reading, enjoy the photos from our practices, and see you in a few weeks!

Practicing for the Kings Birthday (the school on the right is actually wearing Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirts thanks to the volunteer living in that village)

Aerobics being lead by two volunteers and several Tongan teachers

Pesi wearing her gorgeous pule taha (the matching dress and skirt) and kiekie ( the woven skirt type thing around her waist)

A beautiful sunrise over my village

Mr. Fink comes to Tonga

After going a full year between my first and second visitors, I only had to wait the interminable length of two weeks for my third. This particular visitor was one of my best friends from home, Michael Fink, who I have known since we were 12 in Boca and lived with for 3 of my 4 years in college.

While my last two visitors, Katherine and Aunt Ruth, got a taste of my Peace Corps life and Tongan culture, we mostly stuck to the tourist beat. Fink and I of course did the tourists things as well, but he had told before he booked his flights that he wanted to stay in my village and live the Tongan way – a request that I was happy to oblige.

For the first two days we stuck to a consistent schedule, school in the mornings and the beach in the afternoons. Fink made an instant impression on all of my school kids, as they were particularly awed by the size of his biceps and repeatedly asked me why mine were not as big. He watched me teach, played rugby with the older boys, observed the kids climbing up palm trees to give him his first taste of a Tongan coconut, helped me grade the kids practice exams, and even jumped into the fray by taking my place to teach a few games. I know after Fink leaves my kids will continually ask me, Where’s Maikolo (the Tongan name I that dubbed him)?

Those first two afternoons were no less enjoyable, as we headed out to the beautiful beaches of Keitahi and the even more stunning Secret Beach. One of the other volunteers, Joey, joined us on the second day, and it was an absolute joy to again watch my two worlds collide as one of my best friends met my close Peace Corps friend. Luckily, they liked each other.

After the beach, a Tongan man from Joey’s village invited us to come back to his house for dinner and then to kava. After a quick bite, we drove to the nearby village of Tu’anekivale because they had a toua (a women serving the kava) on that particularly night. So from 9 pm to 1 am Fink and I sat on opposite sides of the toua, two spots that inspire by far the lewdest jokes, and we drank kava bowl after kava bowl, as Fink learned some Tongan words and just how dirty the Tongan jokes can be in a kava circle. Always a good sport, the men were impressed by Fink, especially after the toua gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The rest of trip was equally amazing. Fink was able to meet all of my Tongan and Peace Corps friends, making a much better impression upon them than I normally do. We went out one night to the only two bars, and watched game 1 of the NBA Finals, which ended disappointingly in a Miami Heat loss, but were able to see our team come back strong and take game 2 the following Monday. On Saturday, we left the friendly confines of land with another volunteer, Ryan, to snorkel off of the islands surrounding Vava’u and even were able to climb through a few island caves that I didn’t know existed. We could not have had a better day weather wise, and the visibility in the water was perfectly clear. Fink even braved Mariner’s Cave, where he had to trust me enough to swim under water into a black hole with no end in site, but was rewarded by glimpsing the coolest cave I have even seen. To top it all off we had dinner at the Spanish tapas restaurant Paella on the island of Tapana  - easily one of the most fun, delicious, and random things to do in Tonga.

The week went by way too fast, as we caught up on the past 6 months and picked up just where we left off before I had left for Tonga.  It really meant a lot to me for Fink to come all the way to Tonga, and he is truly a special friend and person for doing so. I was so glad that I was able to share a little of my life with him from these past two years.

Thanks for reading and please enjoy the photos.

Fink with my teacher Paea's 3 year old son, Nico, a.k.a Spiderman.

Fink teaching numbers to Class 3 and 4

Fink giving the thumbs up sign on our snorkel. Special thanks to Sarah for letting us use her awesome underwater camera.

Fink and I snorkeling off of the island of Kapa.

Fink and I (from right to left) in Mariner's Cave. The cave makes for some pretty odd but beautiful lighting. 

Fink leaving Mariner's

May

May is holiday time in Tonga. While Tonga shares Mother's Day with the rest of the world on the second Sunday of the month, this special day is bracketed in Tonga by Children’s Day the Sunday before and Father’s Day the Sunday after. Each holiday has its own distinct flair and Tongan flavor attached to it, but all three days are inevitably associated with the church, and in the case of this post, the Wesleyan Church.

Every child, an ambiguous age bracket ranging from babies to men and women in their late 20’s and early 30’s who are still unmarried, wears all white to church on Children’s Day. The children are dressed in their cleanest white attire, adorn in clothing that it only worn on a few special days. The service works pretty much the same as any other, except every hymn is read by the children – amid much crying and many photos – and the youth are spotlighted more than normal in the church choir. Last year the village held a large feast in honor of the children, but this year everyone is trying to save their money for the Wesleyan Conference in June, so families simply retreated to their houses for a better than average Sunday meal. On a special note, one of the families I was closest with invited me to join in their family photos after church, which was incredibly moving for me.

Children’s Day is followed by Mother’s Day, perhaps the most important holiday of the month. While no white is worn on this day, the mom’s replace the children as the hymn readers and each mom is presented with flowers from their children and neighbors. Though this did not happen at my church, many villages hold a several hours long service to allow every mom the opportunity to make a thank you speech in front of the entire village with enough crying to put the children’s performance from the week before to shame. The market in town is also never busier than the Saturday before Mother’s Day, as literally the entire population of Vava’u comes in to buy food, flowers, and mother’s day cakes.

After church, I was invited to eat with my town officer, Havea, as I often am. This time however his entire family, children and grandchildren, ate with us. The food was sensational as we ate lamb lu (by far my favorite kind), pork lu (a rare treat), roasted pig, ota ika (raw fish), and much more. I had also eaten with Havea after Children’s day when we had a more simple meal of fish and root crops, and he joked that the children ate much better on mother’s day than they do for their own holiday. On a similar note, I asked my neighbor Fifita, a mother of 3, how her Mother’s Day meal was, and she responded, “Good. The food is always good, as I’m always the one doing the cooking,” and then let loose one of those great Tongan laughs. Incidentally, I have a feeling all the moms reading this post are grimly nodding their heads in agreement with Fifita.

Last and actually least comes Father’s day. For some unknown reason, Father’s Day is kind of a faka’ofa (sad/pathetic) holiday in Tonga. Maybe Tongans are simply tired after celebrating two holidays the weeks before, but Father’s Day simply isn’t a big deal here in Tonga. Church is the exact same as always, and the fathers’ don’t really have any special role in the service. The afternoon meal is not any larger than usual and the market the day before is busier than normal but nowhere close to the craziness that comes before Mother’s Day. Sorry to let all the fathers reading this post down.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekends. Please enjoy more photos taken from my aunt on her visit.

Playing games with Class 5

Dorothy happily posing for Aunt Ruth

Reading with Class 3 and 4

Last weekend, a few of us went out to Ryan and Abby's village for a night to hang out and swim in the only fresh water lake in Vava'u. It was an amazing weekend. Here the male volunteers of Vava'u are posing in the manliest manner we could think of. (From Left: Jeff, Joey, and Ryan). Thanks to Mandy Pederson for this photo and the following one.

In Tu'anuku with Jeff and Mandy

My Aunty from America

I had a very special visitor this past week – my Aunt Ruth. I was incredibly excited for Aunt Ruth to visit, as I wanted to share my experience of serving as a volunteer with someone from my family. I have not had a visitor since Katherine came to Vava’u almost a year ago, so I have spent the last few months planning what I hoped would be a great trip for my aunt with a mix of leisure, adventure, natural beauty, and cultural immersion.

Rather than write a play by play of our week, I have decided to touch upon some of our highlights. On Thursday, Aunt Ruth came to my school and met all my teachers and students. Everyone at school was excited to get a glimpse of my Aunt, as I had warned them that she was coming with candy and other presents. It was hard to tell who was more excited by the prospect of the sweets, the teachers or the kids.

When my aunt finally pulled into school around 10:30 am, the kids swarmed her, carefully eyeing everything that was in her two plastic bags. I first introduced her to my teachers, and then carefully laid out all of the presents on my principal’s desk for her to examine. The kids were hovering around to see what goodies awaited them, but I made them line up and patiently wait their turn as I passed out the candy – a grueling display of patience that for them seemed akin to torture.

After eating their sweets, the students excitedly posed for pictures, continually gesturing to Aunt Ruth to snap a quick shot of them. This went on during class, as the students would continue to watch what our special visitor was doing rather than the lesson at hand. Regardless, it was amazing to be able to show my aunt my school and teach a class in front of her, with the special bonus of finally capturing quality pictures of me teaching (returned volunteers often say that one of their regrets is not having photos of themselves working when they get back to the states).

The rest of the day was spent walking around my villages and meeting with my neighbors and town officer, or my “Tongan Father,” as he likes to call himself. Every person we passed eyed us curiously until I explained that I was with my “aunty from America,” and in response they all greeted her with the traditional Tongan sniff on the side of the face. It was a surreal moment observing these interactions, as it was like watching two completely different worlds of my life coincide for the first time. I kept imagining epic music playing in the background and the words, “Clash of Civilizations,” zooming in fast like in an episode of a cheesy old tv show. More seriously, however, it meant a lot to me for my aunt to see how I live, what I do, and to meet the people who have taken such good care of me these last two years.

There were too many highlights to keep this post short, but I will do my best. We went on an incredible day sail with three other volunteers to the uninhabited island of ‘Euakafa, of which I have gone diving off of but had never before stepped onto the land itself. It was a beautiful South Pacific Day as we sailed through the stunning turquoise blue water. After snorkeling with another volunteer and meeting up with the rest of the group on the beach, my world traveler aunt confided in me that it was one of the best beaches she had ever been to and that she had never seen water that was this color before. I must admit that I felt a sense of pride hearing such a statement about “my” island.

I introduced her to everyone I could think of. She met all of the volunteers – American, Australian, English, and Japanese – and every Tongan that I know. She forever ingratiated herself with some of the volunteers by buying them a meal (for all volunteers, including myself, the true way to our hearts is inevitably via free food). One day Aunt Ruth gave an impressive lecture at the hospital to the doctors and nurses, making me look good by association which is always a plus.

And of course it was the little things that I’ll remember. I have never eaten so well in Tonga in my life (steak, snapper, pesto pasta, and lobster – twice!). We hung out with all the volunteers, as my aunt had the opportunity to meet the people who have been so present and important to me in my time living in Vava’u. I got to share the beauty of Vava’u with her by hiking up Mt. Talau, swimming through the picturesque Swallows Cave, walking the jungle trail on the island of Mala, and kayaking through the turquoise waters of the South Pacific.

It was a perfect weekend with incredible time spent together. Moments are more meaningful when they can be shared, and I tried to share two years of my life with Auth Ruth in a one-week visit. I may not have been able to show her everything, but I believe that I passed on a little of my love of this country to her, and revealed the true beauty of the place – its people – to a family member who had never heard of Tonga before the Peace Corps told me that I would be living here not so long ago. What more could either of us have asked for?

Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos of our time together taken by my aunty from America.

Posing with Sione, Simi, Henry, and Samiu

Teaching phonics to Class 5

The Run to the Board Game (I really need a better name for this) with Class 3 and 4

Aunt Ruth and I on are sail with 'Euakafa in the background