Christmas in August

Tonga receives. As a country that is what they do. The vast majority of Tongan’s economy – I believe around 90% - comes from foreign aid and remittances. I could debate the pros and cons of Tonga surviving as a welfare state all day, but this post will be a little more focused than that and definitely less serious. In addition to these many gifts, Vava’u receives numerous generous contributions from the people traveling through the island on their yachts.

Last Friday one such contribution was made to my school. I had received warning that the employees of a yacht, the owner was still in the US, called The Patriot were coming to my school to donate much needed school materials. The kids were incredibly excited and we spent several days preparing a thank you program, filled with songs, dances, and vegetables for our guests. On the actual day they came, the kids’ energy was palpable. I had told them that the school would be receiving a trampoline and they reacted as if it was the greatest thing they had ever heard before. When several cars of the people arrived, the first carrying the poles and net for the trampoline, I could barely hear myself think over the deafening volume of my kids’ cheers.

After introducing myself to our guests, they began to set up the trampoline while the kids watched them completely mesmerized. Barely able to tear a few of the older boys away, I had them help me carry the supplies to one of the classrooms and prepare the pizza boxes for later. Once the trampoline was all set up, I, as I was asked too by my teachers, introduced the school and commenced the thank you program. The program was light and unspectacular – I must admit that my kids for all their strengths are not particularly strong singers and dancers as compared to the other schools’ students – but the visitors seemed to appreciate the effort. All of the classes sang, while the older boys demonstrated a war dance and the girls danced the traditional women’s dance, the tau’olunga. At the end of program, the students trotted out an impressive collection of carrots, coconuts, oranges, pineapples, cucumbers, lettuce, and papaya to offer up as presents.

Then came the pizza. In addition to bringing the trampoline, new soccer, volleyball, basketball, and rugby balls, and a ton of school materials like paper, pens, pencils, and finger paint, the guests also ordered pizza from a restaurant in town, Aquarium, for the whole school. Surprised by this development, as I did not warn them about the pizza, the kids were almost as eager to eat as they were to jump on the trampoline. Many of them had never eaten pizza before, and I could almost guarantee that this was the first time most of them had ever eaten food from any of the restaurants in town. After lining up the kids by class, they came up to collect their pizza with radiantly beaming smiles and devoured their slices in minutes. Every single student, loving the pizza, confidently expressed to me that it was delicious.

With lunch over, the real fun began. The kids started lining up to use the trampoline, while the rest of us played soccer and rugby. It was absolutely a free for all but the kids loved it, and I could tell how happy the people were to see the Tongan children enjoying their presents so much. A week later the kids are still completely enthralled by the trampoline, constantly asking me if they can use it – for some reason the other teachers have apparently designated me as the boss of the trampoline – and the school and I are incredibly appreciative of the generous donations given to us.

Now, on other note as I still seem to have your only somewhat divided attention, the next day I was invited to go fishing with two other Peace Corps Volunteers. Leaving from the wharf, we cruised to the backside of the island, which is stunningly beautiful as the entire North side of island is dominated by cliffs and the open ocean. On this day we were trolling, meaning the boat was constantly in motion and we kept our lines trailing behind us. Not the most successful of outings as we managed to catch only three fish, 1 rainbow runner and 2 skipper jacks, the runner did make for some exceptional eating later than night.

The fishing was incredibly fun and the weather was absolutely gorgeous on that day. We spent hours cruising around, talking, and waiting for fish that, alas, never seemed to bite. The day would have been terrific if only for the fishing, but I mention this occasion now not so much for what we caught but what we saw. The first sighting was a sailfish, which looks exactly like a marlin, but I am told by people more knowledgeable than I that it is in fact a different fish. Apparently a rare site to behold, the sailfish jumped twice out of the water only 30 yards away from us, gracefully flying through the air and splashing softly back into the water.

But wait, there’s more. When we first left land, our host assured us that we would probably see humpback whales. This is currently peak whale season in Vava’u, as the whales leave the now frozen Antarctic to mate and birth their calves in the tropical waters of Tonga. Unbelievably excited by this prospect, I constantly kept my gaze on the horizon for a site of these gentle behemoths. At first, we saw only teases. We could see sprays of water in the far distance, but that was it. No tails. No jumps. No backs. Just water and air, and all very far away.

On our return to the wharf at the end of our day, quite happy overall but certainly disappointed not to see whales, it happened. Only a football field or so away from the boat, a pod of whales emerged from the water. Majestically gliding through the ocean, I saw their backs as they came up for air and their larger than believable tails dart through the wind. I saw a whale playfully slap the water with its fins and one completely jump out of the water, though from a far greater distance. Though I couldn’t see their whole bodies and I failed to capture a worthwhile photo, the whales were absolutely one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Their awe- inspiring size, the effortlessness of which they glide through the water, and their stunning gentleness to the point of meekness was a wonder to behold. Already signed up, seeing these beautiful creatures only made me more excited for when I will have a chance to actually get in the water and swim with them in less than a month. Until then, I have this happy memory to sustain me.

As always, thank you for reading. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.

3 in a row

This past weekend marked a rare anniversary for me – 3 busy weekends in a row! This may not seem like much of an achievement, and in truth it really isn’t, but in the slow moving world of Tonga having something to do on the weekends makes a huge difference and allows me to get out of the house and the village. The first busy weekend was traveling to ‘Ofu. The second was seeing the King at the agricultural show last week. The third and most recent weekend involved a service project with the Baha’i youth of Vava’u.

As I mentioned several months ago, though I completely forgive any of you who have forgotten, I attend a Baha’i Study Circle every Sunday night in town. The sessions are lead by an American Baha’i couple who have lived in Tonga for over 30 years and are attended by local Baha’i youth, aged 13 to 30, and several other volunteers. The nights are less a prayer meeting and more an opportunity to talk with friends, meet new people, and form a tighter bond with a small minority group in the mostly homogeneous Vava’u community.

For the past few months we had discussed running a service project. Volunteering is a significant element of the Baha’i faith, so we spent several weeks trying to pinpoint a worthwhile project. After much deliberation, we decided on trash pickup in a suburb of Neiafu, the main town. While Vava’u may not be as dirty or litter-filled as other developing countries, on an island where there is no true recycling or trash disposal available, litter is fairly evident wherever you are. Further, the litter causes a painful juxtaposition with the indescribable beauty of this tropical island and we all wanted to do our part to help maintain this paradise a little longer.

Last week, during the study circle, we painted signs that read “Please, Don’t Litter,” and other such phrases in Tongan that we planned to post by the side of the road. Then on Saturday, two other Peace Corps volunteers, 20 or so Baha’i junior youth aged 10 to 18, and I met in Makave to start picking up trash. The road, which leads right to the only dump, was absolutely devastated by trash, even with the awareness campaigns run by the government imploring people to “Keep Vava’u Clean,” by properly disposing of their trash. Ironically, this phrase – one of the few English sentences every Tongan child can say – is often sarcastically mimicked as kids throw candy wrappers and soda bottles out of the windows of their schools buses while joyously announcing, “Keep Vava’u Clean.”

Equipped with dozens of sturdy bags, we went to work picking up trash as varied as candy wrappers, noodles, alcohol bottles, bras, shoes, ketchup bottles, and much more. Covering maybe a mile of the road, we had to make 5 trips to the dump, totaling approximately a hundred bags and hundreds of pounds of trash.

It was tiring work, but it felt good to do something and then immediately see the tangible benefits of what I just did. It may be seem odd for a “professional” volunteer, as I suppose I kind of am as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to want to do even more volunteering on his day off, but in truth it was very much needed. Teaching a foreign language, or teaching in general for that matter, while absolutely having its perks, does have one problem. It can often be difficult to see any results. Though I have certainly seen some improvement in my students’ English, the successes are subtle and are evident when remembering where they were when I first arrived rather than how they were last week or even their overall abilities at this time.  It was therefore encouraging to achieve our goal in a few hours, even if the road is likely to be filled with litter again in several weeks.

To return to Saturday, after we picked up the trash, we drove over to Baha’i Center – basically their version of a church – and the kids washed the chairs while some of the older youth and I built a fire and grilled hot dogs (chicken franks that is) for the group. 30 minutes of good cooking and fast washing later we devoured the food, rested, and were soon on our way back to our homes. The weekend may not have been quite as exciting as visiting an island or seeing a monarch, but it felt good to get out of the house and do something productive. I can now only hope for a new personal Tongan record of 4 busy weekends in a row this coming weekend.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the photos.

Some of the Sunday Night Crew

Throwing bags of trash into the back of the truck

It is a Tongan law that every picture must contain this pose

King George Tupou VI

This past Saturday Vava’u held an agricultural fair. The agricultural fair is basically what we would call a country fair in the States, with every village showing off their produce at their own “booth,” and prizes being given out for the largest tomato, brightest pepper, etc etc. The Agricultural Show had one thing county fairs back home do not have, however. Fairs in the US don’t have kings.

But first let me backtrack. Several days prior to Saturday, a few volunteers and I were asked to help out at the Vava’u tourism association’s stall during the show. Having no real plans, we were happy to say yes. On Saturday, I got a ride with my neighbors to Vava’u High School, the setting for this affair. Since I arrived a little early, I decided to walk around and explore.

The scene was almost overwhelming. There were three lines of tents, each with perhaps 50 stalls, running parallel to each other. There was another section of 50 or so booths running perpendicular to these three. Every village, every business, every ministry had a stall. The Ministry of Health had a booth. So did VEPA, the environmental NGO. So did the Chinese commission. Thousands of people were in attendance. In seemed as if at least half the population of Vava’u, some 12,000 people in total, were at the fair.

Each village was represented and many had several stalls. In one of the booths the village would show off their produce – the root crops, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and much more. In the other they would sell some goods they had made such as woven mats, stained glass, woodcarvings, or traditional formalwear for men and women. The island villages also boasted of their seafood, revealing clams, crabs, and many different kinds of fish to the masses. It was clearly evident that a lot of work had gone into every stall…and for good reason, as we will soon see why.

After touring, I headed over the tourism booth to start working. The idea was simply to provide the kids with a good time. We had crayons and coloring books set up for drawing, and the plan was for the volunteers, including myself, to face paint. So for the next hour and a half, I painted every kid’s face who came up to me. Not the most talented of artists, by my 100^th flower, star, heart, cat, or whale, I started to get the hang of it. Mothers would bring me their babies to paint a star on their faces. High school girls wanted flowers or hearts. Middle school boys wanted stars or whales. Elementary school kids wanted everything. It was particularly fun painting my students faces when they came up to my booth, and I have to admit I couldn’t resist the urge of writing my name on some of the kids’ cheeks.

Exhausted after the hour and a half of “working,” the real excitement started. King George Tupou VI had arrived! The King of Tonga was here! (Quick aside: Tonga is called the Kingdom of Tonga for a reason. There is a king. He does have near absolute power. Tonga is ruled by one of the few remaining monarchies in the world today)

Seeing the King approach, I scrambled near his seat for a good view. As he drove onto the grounds, accompanied by police and military personnel, the Catholic High School Band played the Tongan national anthem. Once he was seated, ministers, priests, and the Governor of Vava’u made speeches. The King himself gave a short, ridiculously so by Tongan standards, announcement.

Then the fun began. The King, trailed by all of the government ministers and a policeman carrying an umbrella to protect the King from the sun, walked through the grounds, stopping at every stall. During his route, the King walked within 3 feet of me and even acknowledged me with a faint bow of the head. My first time being acknowledged by a reigning sovereign! Not too shabby.

The King continued his stroll, and now that I had seen him so closely and had taken too many pictures, I began to really look at him. I was first struck by his easy going attitude and his smile. He seemed very relaxed and gregarious. He was dressed neatly in a white button shirt and a respectable, but by no means over the top, ta’ovala (woven mat worn around the waist). There was nothing on his person that told you that you were seeing the South Pacific’s only remaining ruling monarch. He was wearing no crown, no robe, and no sword – somewhat to my disappointment I must admit. At many of the stalls he condescended to make small talk with the “common” people, seeming very much at ease. Politics aside, it was an incredibly humanizing experience to see the king be so intimate with his “subjects,” and I could tell by the Tongans’ faces that this was a memory they would keep with them for the rest of their lives.

After making the rounds, he walked back to his ceremonial tent to provide the winners with certificates. I was proud to see my town officer, Havea, accept an award on behalf of my village and to also see one of the Peace Corps volunteers actually get a chance to shake the King’s hand when he accepted his village’s award.

As I may never see the King again during my time in Tonga, I took way to many pictures, some of which you can see below. It was a very special day, as I never imagined I would see the King, let alone stand only a few feet away from him and actually a make eye contact. I would have said hello, but I know there are some rules regarding addressing the king and I was way too nervous that I would mess something up. Still, it was absolutely a crazy experience.

Thank you for reading and please enjoy what I have to imagine is your first look at the King of Tonga.

Face painting my Class 4 student, Salome

The King

‘Ofu

This past weekend, Joey, another volunteer, and I traveled to the beautiful island of ‘Ofu to stay with Jeff, where he lives and works. After continuous weekend cancelations and looking at quite a bit of rain on Friday but with a good forecast for the rest of the weekend, we decided to take a chance and go out to the island. We met in town to buy supplies – bread, sausages, pasta, canned fish, vegetables, rice, and the like – and headed down to the old wharf. ‘Ofu, unlike the other islands I have visited and most of the islands in Vava’u, is located South of the main island of Vava’u rather than West of it. As such, we had to leave from the much less traveled old wharf.

We arrived at the wharf a little after 1, eager to begin our journey. However, unless you wish to pay for a boat, which we did not, you simply have to wait for someone heading out to ‘Ofu. There is no schedule, and other than the school boat that takes the high school kids into Neiafu, all the boats are all privately owned. The only thing to do is wait and hope to catch a ride sooner rather than later. Sheltered from the rain by a shack next to the wharf, Jeff, Joey, and I caught up and waited for two hours until the Minister of the ‘Ofu’s Wesleyan Church arrived. Knowing Jeff, and after speaking to us in Tongan and learning we were Peace Corps Volunteers, he generously offered us a ride with his wife and daughter. As I foolishly forgot to bring a rain jacket, I hopped into the boat, and spent the surprisingly short 20 minute boat ride to ‘Ofu periodically covering myself from the watery onslaught and looking up to admire the view.

Finally in ‘Ofu, we said our thanks and goodbyes, and walked over to Jeff’s house in the back of the school compound. As the rain was beginning to lighten up, after admiring Jeff’s house and vegetable garden, we explored the island. First, we looked into his school, which was absolutely beautiful. Paradoxically, the island schools, even though they are much smaller and far more remote, have much nicer looking schools and possess an amazing collection of books and materials that were donated from the yachts that travel through Tonga.

After the school we toured around the village of some 200 people and took a bush path through the “forest” to see the backside of the island and gaze at the absolutely unending expanse that we call the Pacific Ocean. Walking through the town, I was struck by its organization and the clear pride the village took in keeping their island beautiful. Houses were situated in two lines running parallel to each other. No house seemed out of place. By the beach, the villagers walked through the town under immaculately mowed grass, whose boarders were landscaped with flowers, sand, and shells. I had never seen a Tongan village so carefully planned and kept up. The word immaculate would not be an overstatement. The pride ‘Ofu derived with its appearance was clearly evident whenever I told one of the villagers how faka’ofo’ofa (beautiful) it looked and they returned my words with a big smile and a gleam in their eyes.

The rest of the night was spent cooking and drinking kava. Jeff and Joey, far more experienced and better cooks than I, made a terrific spaghetti and meat sauce which we consumed in minutes, before Jeff took us to the village hall to meet the men of ‘Ofu and drink kava. Kava is always an easy way to form a quick relationship with the people you drink with, and the three of us had a terrific time laughing with the Tongans at all the inappropriate jokes – a kava staple, as you may imagine occurs whenever a group of men stay together for long periods of time and consume such a substance, is crude jokes – which I won’t repeat here, and talking to them about how they needed to find Jeff a wife.

On Saturday, our only full day on the island, we decided to do everything we could. Our first stop was snorkeling at a reef swimming distance from the island. Jumping into the water, I followed Jeff out into the ocean, swimming much father than I expected, as the water continued to get deeper and deeper. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the water depth disappeared, 30 feet of water turning into 5, and in some places none in the blink of an eye. We had finally arrived. We cruised around the reef, gazing at the colorful schools of fish, some of the largest starfish I have ever seen, and the reef itself. An hour later, content and tired, we headed back to the shore.

After a quick break to recharge our batteries, we walked over to the Tongan owned backpackers on the island and were generously allowed to borrow their kayaks. One of the many incredible things about ‘Ofu is that the islands surrounding it are close and are easy to kayak too. In addition, the Tongan Trench, the second deepest trench in the world with a depth similar to the height of Mount Everest, is only a few miles away and serves to protect the islands. This means that even though we were kayaking in seemingly open ocean, the water is relatively clam.

Launching East, we heading towards the end of ‘Ofu, before turning slightly North around Mafana. The kayaking was absolutely stunning. The weather was perfect, the wind calm, the water cool, and several islands in sight and easily within our grasp. Before we left, we had decided to kayak around Mafana and then head to the small island of Feitoko where an American couple we know are building a resort. After seeing the beauty of where we were, however, and wanting to spend as much time as possible on the islands we decided to kayak to the inhabited island of Olo’ua nearby.

As none of us had ever been to the island, and in fact, neither Joey nor I had known the island was inhabited before entering the kayak, we decided to be adventurous. We quickly realized that kayaking around the entire island to where the village was supposedly located would take forever, so we instead headed for the beach on the backside of the island, hoping to find a bush trail to take us to the village. Once on the island and after a few minutes of searching, we finally found what we were looking for and embarked on a somewhat marked trail that took us through what could easily have posed for a jungle setting in a movie. Slowed by our sandals and the quicksandish conditions of the mud that had formed from the recent rain, we still managed to burst into the village only 20 minutes later.

Amazingly, the villagers acted as if they were not at all surprised to see us. It was as if seeing 3 Americans who spoke Tongan walking out of the bush at midday happened all the time. As a quick aside, even though very few non-Tongans here speak Tongan, I am always astounded how Tongans are never surprised to hear you speak the language. They are either incredible actors or they completely expect you to speak Tongan. It still baffles me. That being said, we very much enjoyed walking around the village, speaking with the Tongans, and admiring the small school of only 15 students. As we walked to the wharf, we were greeted by the kids of the village, who offered us oranges to eat and posed with us for pictures.

To shorten what is quickly becoming a novel, we then walked back to our kayaks and took a quick tour of Mafana, before finishing our day in Feitoko. The resort, though it is yet to be finished, is beautifully situated and the American couple was hard at work putting the finishing touches on the resort. As they were busy, we tried to keep out of their way, though we did stay for a rather competitive game of corn hole before shipping out to ‘Ofu.

The rest of night was spent making dinner and sitting around with some Tongans who came by the house for a chat. The next day we attended Church and were invited to an incredible after Church meal with one of Jeff’s neighbors, where we gorged on clams, root crop, breadfruit, lu chicken, bbq chicken, and some leftover pig. It was absolutely delicious and the family who invited us was incredibly friendly. A few hours later, Joey and I said our goodbyes and took a boat back the main island and to our villages.

It was an absolutely incredible weekend. As I have often mentioned, I tend to forget the stunning beauty of Vava’u and its islands in my day-to-day life of teaching. The times I am able to explore these island paradises and get out onto the water are truly special. When I was out on the water kayaking, I laughed to myself that over a year ago I never even heard of Tonga, and here I was thinking it was the most gorgeous place I had ever seen. I didn’t come to Tonga nor join the Peace Corps for a vacation, but at the same time, it is absolutely nice job perk to be able to live in such a physically stunning locale and experience some once in a life time moments when I am free on the weekends.

As always, thank you for reading and enjoy the photos.

Jeff and I in Ola'ua

Technology meets Remote Island - The kids attempting to take our picture with Joey's iPhone

Joey and I posing with the kids after they brought us oranges

One of the kids in 'Ofu climbing a tree to bring us coconuts

After church 

Leaving the island

Kids and Animals

Living in a rural village in Tonga is not much different from living on a farm. Not an hour, let alone a day, goes by that I don’t see a pig or a chicken just a few feet away from me. I average a cow a day and a horse a week. Dogs, by far the least domesticated of the group, come to my house almost non-stop, begging for scraps or scavenging through my trash. At night, I am serenaded by the lovely sounds of pigs scratching themselves against my house, roosters cackling, and dogs barking. It is a far cry from the sounds I was use to in the first 23 years of my life.

All these animals and the symbiotic farm/village relationship, meanwhile, mean that the Tongan kids grow up very comfortable with these animals. They have no fear of them, and hardly seem to even notice the animals. I have seen 4-year-old kids chase away pigs that were at least 3 times their size and 5 times their weight with only a shout. From a young age, the children are accustomed to these “domestic” animals.

This lack of fear can lead to some interesting moments at school. The first incident occurred a few months ago and actually does not involve a farm animal. Tonga, as an island created from coral growth, has very few interesting land animals. The only animal that might peak anyone’s interests is the flying fox, a very large bat that is always evident at night. One day at school, my students were playing around and found a baby bat sleeping in a tree on the school grounds. Rather than turn away, they broke off the stick it was sleeping on and started carrying it everywhere they went. They took the bat to the classroom. It went to the bathroom. It was part of the recess break. They even walked with the bat during lunch when they returned to their homes. The entire time they were doing all of this, they would pet the bat and pretend to kiss it, playfully asking if I wanted to give it a kiss as well. I respectfully declined.

A few weeks later, a cow accidentally wandered onto the school grounds. This happens every few weeks as the students often forget to close the school fence and the cows are not fenced in. The cows don’t cause any harm, but the problem is as there is only one opening in the fence, the cows are rarely able to find their own way out. When the kids see the cows, their eyes gleam with delight. As one, my class 6 shouts in a mixture of Tongan and the little English they know, if they can go and take care of it. While I know it may not be the greatest experience for the cow, I shout yes and in a flash the kids are running at the cow, shepherding it off the school grounds. Showing far less organization than a group of sheep dogs, the kids blindly chase the cow until they are lucky enough to force it out. Though I have experienced this momentary excitement several times so far, I have yet to get tired of it. It is truly a sight to behold.

My last animal anecdote occurred just last week. On Monday, the kids brought a live chicken to school as a gift to the teachers. The idea was for the teachers to kill it and eat it for lunch. I asked my counterpart Paea how you kill a chicken, assuming some quick and humane answer like slitting its throat or breaking its neck. Instead, Paea told me you grab something heavy, close your eyes, and then proceeded to mime the action of bludgeoning a chicken to death for me. I do not think he was joking.

Alas, the chicken remained alive, as we had no pot to cook it in. The plan was to eat it the next day. I walked into school on Tuesday expecting to see the same chicken, but there was a new one in its place. I asked the kids what happened, and they explained to me as if it was the simplest thing in the world that the chicken was gone and this was a new one. A few minutes later my teachers arrived at school, saw the chicken, and realized they forgot to bring the pot again. Thus, the chicken was momentarily spared, the children were able to play with it all day, and I never saw that particular bird again.

In other news, Tonga has recently made the news - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23469223. I thought some of you might be interested in reading the article. The article discusses Tonga’s growing relationship with China, a subject I touched upon several posts ago. It also shows that no matter where you are in the world, even in a remote island in the South Pacific, you can never truly leave world politics behind.

As always, thanks again for reading. Tomorrow, I am leaving to spend the weekend with a few volunteers on the nearby island of ‘Ofu, which should make for some interesting reading material next week and some beautiful pictures.

Volunteer Picture of when we went snorkeling last month

The end of the day with the whole snorkeling group - volunteers, friends, and families