The Road Less Traveled : Real Life…sort of

I am, for the first time, writing this post from within the friendly confines of my new house in Vava’u. Since I lasted posted, I have undergone a whirlwind of activity, left the camp-like atmosphere of training in Tongatapu, and embarked on the day to day life that will encompass the next two years of my time in Vava’u.

I promise to only mention the more important points to keep this post to a manageable length for both the writer and the reader, but first I must backtrack and reveal what I have done before I can fully explain my thoughts and feelings.

At the uploading of this post, I will have been in Vava’u for almost two weeks, yet just arriving here was an adventure in itself. Since the plane that flies to Vava’u is small and could not accommodate all of our luggage and the supplies we bought for our homes, we traveled to Vava’u on a 22-hour ferry ride. With a cautious optimism, I was excited for the ferry and what was sure to be an interesting day.

Unfortunately, the ferry was smaller than I expected (see the photo below) for such a journey, and I found out the hard way that I do get seasick. Imagine taking a 22-hour flight but you could not read or watch anything due to the motion of plane, and that was how I spent most of the journey – huddled in a corner trying to stay warm or sleeping.

It was not all bad, however, as I was at least rewarded with an opportunity to see the island group of Ha’apai, where the boat docked for an hour on the way to Vava’u, and observed some spectacular views, including a hammerhead shark sighting, as the ferry circumvented the numerous islands of Vava’u to enter the harbor. Cruising past dozens of islands, small and large, with villages or uninhabited, and one that Survivor even tried to use as a venue for their show, was special and made the journey worth it in the end (unfortunately in this case photos cannot do the scene justice).

Upon arrival in Neiafu, I was met by my town officer and principle at the wharf, who came to transport me and all of my belongings to the village and my new home. Since then my life has consisted of meeting everyone in the three villages that make up my school district, going to school, playing soccer, and getting my house in order.

So as not to bother you with all of the details, here are some highlights concerning the most important or interesting aspects of my first two weeks:

1) My town officer told me to consider him my Tongan father and invited me over to his house for lunch on Sunday. The food was overwhelming (but delicious) – for four including Havea (the town officer), his wife, and son – there was lobster, roast pig (an entire pig that is), lu, potatoes, and pasta. It lent credence to a very popular Tongan joke and saying, “Kai lahi, kai sino, kai mate,” which means. “Eat a lot, eat until you are a fat, eat until you die.”

2) My Principal, Sione, my counterpart, Paea, and Fei’ofa’aki are incredible. Sione teaches class 5 and 6, Paea class 3 and 4, and Aki class 1 and 2. Since there are only three teachers, the classes are taught compositely, which means they are taught together. All three of the teachers speak English and since not much happens in school, as it is almost the summer break, I have been able to get to know them pretty well.

3) There was an empty classroom that was in disrepair and I asked Sione if I could make that classroom my own so that I could teach English to each class separately, which is what the curriculum I am supposed to follow requires. He said sure and then we did not talk about it for a week. I then asked him the following week how I should clean out the room, to which he replied with a few Tongan words, and in rapid succession Tongan kids were all over the classroom – sweeping, tearing, picking up, hanging from the windows and ceiling beams, and washing the windows – and within 30 minutes the room was clean. It was amazing. The room is still pretty much barren and I still have a lot of work to do, but it was a much-needed boost.

4) The generosity of everyone in the village continues to astound me. I have been given more food then I know what to do with. My fridge (which thankfully I bought so I can store all this food) has been stocked with chicken, beef, fish, mangos, pineapples, papayas, and bananas that members of my community have given to me. In another example, a Tongan man who was exhausted from working in the bush all day and does not speak any English, saw me trying to figure out where to attach my second clothes line after connecting the first line to the only two trees in my yard, walked over to me, chopped down a branch from the bush, dug a hole, placed the branch in it, and tied the other end of the line for me.

As you can see it has been an eventful two weeks, but I am excited to start my real life (as far as my normal routine) and I could not be happier with my village. My house is still not finished, I do not yet have electricity (I have one outlet that I receive from a wire from the hall next door), my Tongan is still poor, and I do not start teaching English (my real job) until the end of January, but I am happy, healthy, eager to face and overcome these challenges, and have some fun in the process.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos.