The Road Less Traveled : What I haven’t told you

This week marks my 1 year anniversary of living in Tonga. I left Los Angeles on September 2^nd, 2012 and arrived in Tonga on the 4^th. I know it is cliché, but wow. While I will not stretch the truth by saying this year has completely flown by, it absolutely has been a fascinating year and I cannot truly believe that I am already half way through with my service. I still remember getting onto the airplane incredibly nervous, questioning whether I was making the right decision and unsure if I could handle the rigors of living in the developing world. I remember being overwhelmed by the rapid fire Tongan that seem constantly aimed at me, and taking pictures of roasted pigs and thinking how this was such a “cultural experience.” Little did I know that hundreds of roasted pigs lay in my future.

Though I do not want to delve too personally at this time, I feel that I have grown as a person and into my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It hasn’t always been easy, and I certainly spend a lot of time alone and reading, but knowing everything I know now, I still believe that I would make the same decision to get on that plane as I did one year ago. I have accomplished some of what I want to achieve while I am here, and for the rest I have 13 months to put my stamp on Vava’u and attempt to make a lasting difference.

As for the title of this post, I feel like you, my readers, and I have come a long way. If after one year you are still reading this blog, it must mean that I am either doing something right or that you really, really like me (I’m hoping for both). I feel that we have grown together in this great South Pacific adventure. For the most part you have lived the experiences I have gone through, and have been interested enough to return. I must admit, however, that I have been holding a few things back. I truly believe that you are ready for them now and that after 1 year of reading this blog, these points come out as, “That is not much of a surprise,” rather than, “Oh! That is disgusting!” Well…here we go.

First, there are rats. Plenty of rats. In the developing world, where houses, including mine, contain numerous holes and entry points, unwanted rodents appearing in your house are inevitable. I still contend, however, that I have been lucky. I have not been plagued by the dozens of rats that infest the houses of some of the other volunteers. Some of that luck was self created as I have worked hard to cover any cracks and crevices that I think a rat could crawl in through, but regardless of such diligence, I do live in the bush and I have not been able to completely stem the tide.

In the roughly 9 months I have lived in my house, I have probably caught about 8 rats. Due to my covering work, these rats have mostly been babies. They are so small in fact that when I discovered my first rat in the house, back in January, I went to town to buy a sticky trap and poison and I mentioned to one of the volunteers who had serious rat problems at her house, that I had found a mouse under my sink. Not missing a beat she felt the need to tell me, “Harrison, there are no mice in Tonga. That was just a small rat.” Lovely, I thought. At the time, I felt like she really didn’t need to tell me the truth. I was quite happy with the lie.

My reaction to seeing rats in my house has similarly evolved. The first few rats absolutely terrified me. I would let loose high pitched yelps and frantically try to crush them with my broom, which would undoubtedly fail as they found cover in a spot I could not reach. After those initial three, I was used to it. If I saw a rat or evidence of one, i.e. droppings, I would calmly put out poison and a rat trap and dispose of the dead rat the next morning after I had calmly slept like a baby the night before. One of my proudest moments as a volunteer I am not proud to say was catching two rats on the same trap. That was a big day for me.

Secondly, Tongans eat lice. Well…ok, not really, but it certainly looks like they do. Many Tongans have lice in their hair. It is kind of unavoidable. I am a bit paranoid about the lice, so I am obsessively careful about not putting the back of my head against anything in any car, plane, couch, etc that I find myself in. That being said, no volunteer that I know of, has of yet succumbed to these insidious creatures.

To get back to my main point, to remove the lice Tongans groom each other by sifting through the hair and picking out the lice. It is extremely common to see a mother combing through her daughter or son’s hair to remove the lice. Mothers and daughters are the most common sight as boys keep their hair short in Tonga, but Fathers and sons, sisters, brothers, and friends can all be seen grooming each other. It is practically an epidemic, as evidenced by the grooming and the fact that the kids are constantly scratching their heads.

The eating part is the most shocking when you first see it. I know I was kind of stunned out of motion my first time observing the delicacy. Lice have apparently very strong outer shells and are difficult to kill. Fingers are simply not strong enough to dispose of the lice properly. As such, the Tongans put the live lice in their teeth, chomp down on the lice to kill it, and then spit it out. However, the spitting tends to be far subtler than the whole putting a bug into your mouth part of the process, and it thus looks like the Tongans are eating lice. It is quite a site.

I hope you are still with me. As far as I cam remember, these are the only two aspects of life in Tonga that I have been holding back on, though I think you were ready for them. For any of you who are planning on visiting me in Tonga, it’s ok. Take a deep breath. You will not get lice and probably won’t see a rat. Please, still come to Tonga. Malo (Thank you)!

To end on a somewhat more serious note, I do want to thank all of you for your incredible support and your unbelievable donations to Camp GLOW and GROW. I would not have been able to get through this first year without the amazing people back home who have been in my corner the entire time. I am truly blessed to have so many special people in my life and I cannot express adequately how much it means to me. Thank you.

Please enjoy the photos that weren’t able to load in last week’s post.