Since the letter "R" does not exist in the Tonga alphabet, there is no equivalent of Harrison in Tongan. As such, my Tongan name, and the name that everyone calls me in Tonga is Soni. I like it. It is short and too the point, and I feel like it truly represents my inner-self. All good things for a name.
A lot has happened since I last blogged. I spent several days in Nuku'alof, and have now been living in my homestay in the outer village of Ha'asini for a week. In an effort not to bore everyone, I have decided to only mention the highlights.
On Friday night (fyi-my Friday is Thursday in America), myself, a few of the other volunteers, and some pcvs who have lived in Tonga went out to the bars in Nuku'alofa. The bars themself were very American, and like in any other culture, young Tongans love to drink. What was intetresting about the bar, however, was that I met my first fakaleiti. Fakaleitis are men who dress like women, and fakaleiti literally translates to like a women. Before I came to Tonga, the Peace Corps told us that sometimes if a family has too many sons and no daughters, they will raise their daughter like a girl (i.e. dress like a girl, have long hair, and hang out with other girls, etc..) to help out around the house. According to Tongans here, however, that is not necessarily true as many fakaleiti just like to dress that way.
It is a really interesting cultural pehnomenon because homosexuality is illegal in Tonga, but being a fakaleiti is entirely acceptable. Some men even have relationships with the fakaleiti, but it is not considered homosexual because they look and dress like women. The one fakaleiti I spoke with was really nice, and actually invited all of us to her house the next day for lunch, which we were not unfortunately able to do.
Another cool thing about Tonga are Sundays. Sundays are ruled by the big 3 - chruch, eating, and sleeping. You are not allowed to do anything else on Sundays except for those three things.
Enjoying lu with my host family on my first Sunday in Tonga. Thats Sione in the back right, Fiana back-left, and her parents in the front.
A lot has happened since I last blogged. I spent several days in Nuku'alof, and have now been living in my homestay in the outer village of Ha'asini for a week. In an effort not to bore everyone, I have decided to only mention the highlights.
On Friday night (fyi-my Friday is Thursday in America), myself, a few of the other volunteers, and some pcvs who have lived in Tonga went out to the bars in Nuku'alofa. The bars themself were very American, and like in any other culture, young Tongans love to drink. What was intetresting about the bar, however, was that I met my first fakaleiti. Fakaleitis are men who dress like women, and fakaleiti literally translates to like a women. Before I came to Tonga, the Peace Corps told us that sometimes if a family has too many sons and no daughters, they will raise their daughter like a girl (i.e. dress like a girl, have long hair, and hang out with other girls, etc..) to help out around the house. According to Tongans here, however, that is not necessarily true as many fakaleiti just like to dress that way.
It is a really interesting cultural pehnomenon because homosexuality is illegal in Tonga, but being a fakaleiti is entirely acceptable. Some men even have relationships with the fakaleiti, but it is not considered homosexual because they look and dress like women. The one fakaleiti I spoke with was really nice, and actually invited all of us to her house the next day for lunch, which we were not unfortunately able to do.
Another cool thing about Tonga are Sundays. Sundays are ruled by the big 3 - chruch, eating, and sleeping. You are not allowed to do anything else on Sundays except for those three things.
To give you an
example of how one Tongan family celebrates sundays, my host mom woke up around
6 to begin cooking the lu (a tasty concoction of meat, leaves, and vegetables
stewed in coconut juice) in the umu, or underground oven. My mom - Faiana - then went to church (my family is
Wesleyan) for an hour, before coming back to the house to rest. I woke up
around 9 to attend the church service with her at 10.
While church was
not exactly my favorite activity, there was enough going on to keep me awake. Tongans
have beautiful voices and everyone dresses very nicely - all the men, including
myself, have to wear a black shirt, a tupenu, and a ta’ovala, a woven mat worn
around the waist. So while it was an interesting cultural experience, it will
be tough to go every Sunday. The service lasted for an hour and a half, and
then we walked over to Faiana’s parents house to eat.
And eat we did.
Without a doubt, Tongans know how to feast. On Sundays, everyone gets together
with their family, so I ate with Faiana, her parents, her son, her daughter,
and a cousin and we ate enough for 20 people. We ate lu, clams, octopus, all
kinds of potatos, and ice cream for desert. I have posted a photo of the food
below, but even that does not do the quantity and deliciousness justice.
For the rest of
the day everyone slept. Many of the men drank kava, and I joined them for a
little, but mostly people slept. There was another church service at 4, but
besides that service, the rest of the day everyone is either asleep on relaxing
at home.
Though it can be
a bit boring, Sundays in Tonga are a great way to unwind and plan for the week
ahead. It makes me feel kind of fakapikopiko (lazy), but I guess I will have
two years to get used to it.
Enjoying lu with my host family on my first Sunday in Tonga. Thats Sione in the back right, Fiana back-left, and her parents in the front.
Jeff and I at the beach in Ha'asini. That is the island of Eua in the background.
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