A Unique Place

Living the slow island life leaves me with a lot of time to think, to grapple with the age old questions that have plagued man for thousands of years. Luckily for all of you, I won’t be talking about any such thing today, but will instead once again dust off my anthropology cap and give my two cents on an issue that I find interesting.

Tonga is unlike most developing countries. Developing countries are usually plagued by similar issues – poor infrastructure, water scarcity, lack of food security, little access to health care, sprawling cities of unequal economic distribution, villages lacking even the most basic utilities, and much more.

Admit it. When you hear the term developing country, you probably think of Africa. It is ok; I know that I often do. Developing countries face comparable issues that billions of dollars of foreign aid attempt to address, and it is easy to often think of them in similar terms. I have by no means traveled to every developing country, but I believe that in my experience both in travel and study, I can attest that Tonga, while also facing many of these challenges, is a unique – at least in my mind – developing country.

Thanks to their tropical location, Tongans rarely have to worry about their access to food and clean drinking water. The rainy season dumps liquid onto the islands, with rain stored in massive sima vai (water tanks) that are attached to pretty much every structure in Tonga in order to collect the water off their roofs. Tonga, while possessing little land, has some of the most fertile land on Earth, allowing for easy growth in its nutrient rich soil. Almost all Tongans grow a significant amount of the food they either eat or sell; justifying what my home stay mother once said to me, “Nobody starves in Tonga.”

There are also no cities in Tonga. Usually, though developing countries will have significant populations living in extremely rural villages, without running water or electricity, these countries also often possess cities with millions of people living in them. With a population of only 100,000, Tonga has no cities – with the possible exception of the capital Nuku’alofa, which is really more of a town or a collection of several villages – and even the villages which are considered “rural” are less than a 30 minute drive from the regional capitals. These rural villages almost all have running water and electricity, and even the villages on outer islands are beginning to gain electricity thanks to solar panels.

Further, while Tongan hospitals are not equipped with all the medical devices one would see in an American hospital, the Tongan people have free universal health care that is paid for by the government. When Tongans get sick, they are able to simply go to the hospital without worrying if they will be unable to pay their medical bills.

Of course Tonga shares many similar traits to developing countries – i.e. roads in need of improvement, a yet to bet to be fully formed economy, etc – however, I believe that Tonga is many ways a unique place due to its small size, fertile land, and seasonal rains. Tonga is a fascinating place to live and every day I live here I learn something new about Tonga, about foreign aid, about international development, and about a life different from what I knew back home.

Thanks for reading. Please enjoy the random samplings of my photos below.

Literacy Week at a nearby school

The High School Sports Day

Tongan kids have a tendency to "pass out" after a race - here the Red Cross is assisting some runners

Meet Mele

Enjoying a nice meal after sports practice

My Final Site Visit

Several weeks ago I had my third and final site visit from Peace Corps. A site visit is when my Program Manager and several other Peace Corps staff come to my school and home, watch me teach, and speak with my teachers to see how I am doing as volunteer both personally and professionally. The previous two visits were extremely constructive, as while I have always felt that I had a strong relationship with my three other teachers, hearing them express their feelings for me was a positively overwhelming experience. In Tonga these moments rarely result without a few tears, and there was not a dry eye in the classroom on either visit.

For my third site visit, and one that I unexpectedly learned once it was over was also the final one, a ministry of education official tagged along to watch me teach. Over the past two years, as the Peace Corps Tonga framework has shifted to focus on volunteers working as teachers in primary and middle schools, the Peace Corps has formed a much closer working relationship with the Ministry of Education, one that has become stronger and stronger in the year and a half I have been here.

As a quick aside, one of the amazing aspects of living in Tonga is that because it is such a small country population wise (100,000 overall and no more 14,000 on my island of Vava’u) and landmass wise (all 176 islands are roughly equivalent to the size of Dallas or Memphis) that I have incredible access to numerous high-ranking officials. Just a few weeks ago I needed to talk to someone concerning the United States Air Force visit – more on that in a few months – and within minutes I was able to see and speak to the highest ranking military figure on my island.

I have met the Minister of Education. The deputy Prime Minister of Tonga attended my Peace Corps swear in ceremony. Last year I drank kava with the Minister of Finance and the Chief of Police. My first visit to Vava’u included meeting the Governor of the island, and all the volunteers up here know every Education ministry official by their first name. I’ve even been within feet of the King, and was condescended with a nod. It is pretty ridiculous when I stop to think about it and I could go on likewise for many more paragraphs.

To end the digression, never the less I was a little nervous when I heard a ministry official was coming to watch me teach. Even in my second year of teaching, I still have so much to learn about education and teaching English in Tonga. I love my students, and I like to think that they are fond of me, but I know that I still have a lot to learn in my role as a teacher.

But time and tide wait for no man, so I did what I have done for so long now, and taught my class while 7 people from the Peace Corps and the Ministry observed. Of course my kids, unused to all this attention, were as nervous as I was - making their behavior far better than it is on average - but working together we were able to cobble up a decent performance that satisfied all my spectators.

Afterwards, when we met with my other teachers, I was again blown away by their kind words about the job I was doing and about their feelings for me as a person. One of the most satisfying aspects of my time here has been the relationships that I have built with the people I live and work with, and I cannot properly convey how much it meant to me to hear that they felt the same way. In my still not strong Tongan, I tried to express how important they all were to me and how I could not have achieved anything without their help and support. I have an experienced an incredible time with them and tried to make sure they knew that.

It was a very touching moment, one that could only end in the most endearing Tongan phrase…’Ofa Atu (Love You).

Thank you for reading – I know I got a bit sappy at the end there – and please enjoy the photos below. Happy Passover and Easter to everybody!

P.S.       Before leaving you to the photos, several days ago we were able to gaze upon the beautiful eclipse in the clear skies of Vava’u, watching first a shadow creep over the moon before eventually spawning a reddish hue. The kids loved it, and they came to school the next day with a million questions. Superstitions are hard to break, however, and all of the students were convinced that it meant something terrible had happened, like that the King had passed away. Luckily, nothing happened as far as I know, but convincing them of that is another matter entirely.

My second site visit. My Peace Corps boss Lavinia on the left, Paea in the middle, Aki on middle right, and Selu far right

Last year's Class 5 and therefore this year's Class 6. I don't know why were jumping....

The non-jumping version

Paea and I listening to our site visit conversation

A Journey to a Private Island

This week I have enjoyed a break from teaching, as all Tongan primary schools took a week off between the end of Term 1 and the beginning of Term 2. With no pressing responsibilities for the week, myself and the other volunteers had to figure out what we would do with our gifted free time. Luckily, I remembered that I live in a tropical paradise and decided to act accordingly.

From Monday through Wednesday, a group of us stayed on a private island owned and operated by an American couple from California. They had owned the island for some time, and started a gorgeous resort about a year ago. I had been out to the island several times, but never spent the night before, and we were graciously allowed to camp out on the beach for a couple of nights.

The two days were typical island leisure. We swam. We played Frisbee. No day was complete without out a game of corn hole and a bottle of beer. The days were absolutely stunning, with these incredible sunsets of orange and yellow jutting out over the horizon of lush island forestry and endless ocean.

The company was special too, as rarely do I get to spend so much time consecutively speaking English with a large group of people. But perhaps the best part – an outdoors shower, cold but not freezing with good pressure, that opened up in into the expanse of the islands and the sea in what can only be described as perfection. In moments like this, when you are struck with such pure beauty literally in front of your face, that you realize how petty the annoyances and vagaries of life truly are. In the face of such a sight, how could I ever complain?

Thanks for reading. I failed to take photos when I was out on the island, but below are few more images of me teaching.

 Sione using pencils with my name on them. These pencils have supplied my school for the past year. Thank you very much for the gift Mary Sue!

The All GPS Sports Day

By Tongan standards, I have been quite busy since my blog post on our regional Sports Day several weeks ago. Since then I have continued to teach my normal schedule in the morning, but after lunch Paea, the three Class 6 boys who will compete for our region in the finals, and I have been practicing with the Vahe Hakake 1 (East Region) team.

This means that we all pile into Paea’s van and practice at the school with the largest field or drive to town to prepare for the all GPS (Government Primary School) sports day on the field at Vava’u high school, where the real event will be held. Working with Paea, several other teachers, and the other volunteer in my region, we have spent weeks training the kids on the events they will run in the finals. With over 30 kids from 4 different schools, running events like the 800 meters, 400, 200, 100, hurdles, shot put, long jump, and the relay race, practice has absolutely consumed all of our time the past few weeks.

But last Wednesday, with Sports Day finally here, Team Vahe Hahake 1 (yes there is also a Vahe Hahake 2, hence the 1) was ready. The day was perfect for sports, slightly overcast with a consistent breeze, protecting us from the scorching sun. Paea and I arrived a few minutes late, having to first pick up a tent for our school district, where all of the students and the parents would sit.

The field was packed. 6 regions worth of kids, teachers, parents, and what is now 11 Peace Corps volunteers were in attendance. Official from the Ministry of Education sat under a tent placed in the center, befitting their position in Vava’u. The morning started as all major events due, with a march around the track, lead by one of the high school’s bands, and the kids dutifully yelling out, “Left...Right….Left…Right” (the march is practiced more than you would think).

The whole day was a battle. Having won the year before, our region was keen to continue the winning streak. Starting with hurdles, which we did not practice since our region had no hurdles, our kids were dropping like flies, putting us in a bit of a whole to start the day. No matter, our students surged ahead in the 100, 200, and 400 meter races, propelling us back into position to fight for first place.

Alas, we did not eventually win, but we came in a strong second and the kids performed extremely well, with the best performer for each female in the 3 age groups coming from our region. It was a really fun day, one that I tried to soak in as this is last time I will attend a sports day, and will be probably one of the last all island spectacles I will participate in as I will most likely be home before the next major attraction. It is certainly a bitter sweet feeling, but I, and our terrific regional kids, made the most of the day.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos from the sports.

The Class 5 girls relay race

With Sione, my first principal, and Paea, in my bright neon orange team colors

'Orleana, the best Class 6 girl, in front in orange

Competing in the long jump

The moms (and grandmoms) doing their normal dancing thing

Vahe Hahake 1 Ki Ai!