Halloween, "The Night of 3 Dinners," Thanksgiving, and everything in-between...

12/11/2005

Much time has passed, so here is my Halloween-to-now summary:

Halloween isn’t really celebrated here, but I did help a fellow volunteer who teaches at an elem. school run a Halloween party. We had bobbing for Mangos (how pacific is that?), pin the wart on the witches nose, a dress-up contest and a Halloween movie. For never experiencing Halloween, some of the kids really got it. About half dressed up. we had cats, little brides, hula dancers, army men and some boys dressed as girls. That night a few of us went out for a few drinks to a bar that was having a Halloween special. Instead of carving pumpkins, they had papaya jack-o-lanterns. a good time.

In early Nov, me and another Vava’u (VV) volunteer were flown to the capital for an emergency coordinator meeting. In case of a hurricane, civil unrest, or any other kind of life threatening emergency, we’re to coordinate the volunteer consolidation into a designated safe spot on the island. in case of hurricane, we’re given about 36 hours notice. in that time, we’re to first prep emergency bags and get in touch with all volunteers to spread the word and make sure that they pack everything they need and meet immediately in our consolidation point, which is a local Mormon church. after that, it’s our duty to ward off inevitable attempts at conversion and evangelization.

It was nice there to meet up with our training coordinator, who I’ve become good buddies with, and a few people from my group that are working on the main island. The trip was timed nicely around the opening of the island’s first real movie theatre. It’s a real-western theatre, with air thick with the smell of freshly popped popcorn, and all! after our first emergency meeting, the group of us went and saw some awful awful Indian flick. the popularity of India is unreal here...from music to curry. the movie was unbelievably awful, but so bad, it was funny. for those who haven’t experienced a bolliwood flick, every 15 minutes, they break into song and dance like a music video. lord it was bad.

anyway....on the Sunday before we returned to VV, we went to a midnight show, which was pretty cool. everything except for church and bakeries shut ..........jesus H.....something just scared the crap out of me. it’s 8:30 on sunday night and i’m in the office by myself. i heard something on the porch so crept outside with my flashlight to see what was up and a freaking cow was standing there staring at me. no idea where it came from. usually goats, pigs and dogs roam around outside the office, but the cows are newbies. anyway......................down, by law. it’s illegal to open until Monday....so, the theatre is taking advantage of restless youth in the Kingdom by opening their doors at midnight on sunday. then, we saw four brothers, that movie with marky mark and andre 3000.

upon my return came the night of three dinners. I had a language class and afterward was offered a bowl of soup by my teacher. thinking that this would settle my stomach until later that night, when I would meet my friends in town for $1 tacos. So, i indulged. after, i rode through my village, just hanging out and bsing with people, as I do almost every day. I stopped at one of my fav. families houses and went for a mini-bike ride with their 4-year-old. after the 20 foot jaunt, thinking i must be exhausted, they offered me a meal. I said thank you, but declined, so....they brought me out a plate with pig, water melon, corned beef and sweet potato. didnt want to be rude, so I had some watermelon and sweet potato. after bsing with them for a while, i headed over to another neighbors (my PC trainer’s brother) who asked me to eat. I again declined, but Niu, the guy, said that he’d bought a bunch of food in the market, anticipating that I would come over to eat. so, i stayed and ate: banana bread, pineapple and otai (a drink of mashed watermelon, pineapple and coconut cream)...as an appetizer. next came beef ( a rare treat) and veggie soup and manioke (a root crop). taco night didn’t happen.

that week, we also began our family singing practice. a priest is being ordained in my village, so the extended fam. of the priest asked if i would participate in their song and “sitting dance” with them for the celebration coming up this week. it’s such an odd situation. huge, buff, farmer Tongan dudes getting so excited to get together sing and do happy hands dances. i’m completely horrible at the intricate hand movements, that the Tongans are really graceful at. I’m concentrating on getting one really cool part down, that has a lot of clapping and sharp movements...and singing.

A few weeks later on a Saturday, a hick Pennsylvanian, 50-year-old Californian from British Guyana, a round Texas, a tall Minnesotan , a little Maryland girl, and their dog sidekick who wears three collars made their way through the streets of Vava’u....to Tongans, we were a motley crue, indeed. we set off to my village with spear gun and fishing equipment in hand and headed out down the coastline to a cool little spot that i’d found in my first few weeks at site.

about an hour into the trek, we’d come across it. there is this huge cave that is filled with large boulders stacked randomly atop one another. a few of us grabbed a flashlight and climbed up through the mess all the way to the top of the cave, a hundred yards or so, up. it was so odd how the boulders were so perfectly stacked to allow us to climb up through them. so, we reached the top and climbed down, covered with bat shit, it was time for a swim. sue and i climbed a huge boulder, reaching the top to find................piles and piles of dirty disposable diapers. unbelievable. they should be outlawed here. so, we quickly went to the edge, looked down over the coral shelf that dropped off into deep ocean and made the leap down into the water!

we hung out for a while, snorkeling away and trying, unsuccessfully to catch fish, and then made our way back to the village. there, we all resolved to make a Tongan umu. a task that takes Tongans a few hours each sunday, we began work at 6 pm and didnt roost the food until midnight.....the raw food that is. only a few things were edible...and my village thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world. that was a month ago and i still get made fun of for it at least once/week! that’s a funny thing about life in tonga. we’re asked to come here to help—giving us the impression that we’re viewed as able individuals, but anytime we try to do anything physically exerting, or anything “Tongan,” they think it’s hilarious that we believe ourselves capable.

Thanksgiving: i was worried about this one. the annual thanksgiving eve celebration. grandma’s cooking and seeing the whole family. i thought it would be really hard being away. at first it was, but it turned into a great day.

everyone came to my house in the morning to start cooking. the 9 current VV volunteers were preparing a dinner for 30....ourselves, the training staff and the new trainees who just got here for their homestays with Tongan families. but, none of us had every prepped a thanksgiving dinner before, let alone for 30 peeps.



we started the fire early, peeled all the sweet potatoes and put them in the umu to cook and then turned our attention to the 6 turkeys. we thawed them and then poked big sticks through them and slow roasted them (tunu) over a fire. it took a few hours and was a pain in the ass to constantly rotate the stick...but it was the best turkey that I’ve ever eaten. at the dinner, we had all the thanksgiving fixins: salad, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and even pumpkin pie! the Tongan part: we ate with our hands...mashed potatoes and all. it was fantastic. we even watched football. dad has sent me a few PSU tapes (i won’t even go into this. just will say that had i known that they would perform as they have if i would leave the country, i would have set sail long ago!), so we rounded a tv and vcr and tuned in.

the next day, with a basket of breadfruit, bottled water, 2 packs of hot dogs some ramen, camping equipment and a machete, we boarded a rent-a-boat and headed out about 2 hours through the myriad of vava’uan islands. we reached Vaka ‘eitu and set up camp 15 feet from the ocean. we snorkeled until the evening. i’ve really never done anything so peaceful. just kind of floating on top of the water and moving up and down the colorful reef. fish of all colors and sizes (one, two, red, blue) are everywhere. then....a couple stood out. i saw three sharks. i jumped up and yelled to my friends (tall dan, garry and sue) and then went back under, driven by curiosity. then, i got freaked out and swam in as fast as possible (and as you all know, that’s not fast). after going in, sue and i went walking through the bush. we made our way through bush and shallow ocean water for about an hour, climbed a huge hill and then found ourselves on a resort that is being rebuilt. there were a few big benches (oversized to look like they were built for giants), which we sat on and looked out. the bush had been cleared out in front of us, down the whole slope to the ocean. we looked out and saw nothing but beautiful ocean. the sun was starting to set. it was the most incredible thing i’ve ever seen. after taking it in, we went exploring and came across one lone worker (an 18 year old kid) and his island dog. time to head back, we started back down the path and saw that the kid was following us. he and his dog ended up camping with us that night. we just hung out, had a few drinks on the beach and talked all night until it rained....and at that point a few of us just danced around and then went swimming.

the next morning, we woke up at 5:30 and garry and I immediately took to the water. within the first hour, we saw more sharks. less freaked out, i got a closer look and they were only reef sharks. at most 3 feet long. reef sharks aren’t the man eaters that we’ve come to fear. so, we hunted them down and garry killed one with our spear gun! how cool is that?

we stayed out all morning until around 12 when our buddy, big dan, whose service ends this week, arrived via the boat he dropped us off in. he was staying in a nearby island in a village with some of his students’ families...kind of a going away thing for him. so, he invited us to go there to eat. a few did, but i ended up staying, b/c i do the Tongan sunday thing all the time, and camping on an uninhabited island, not-so-much. i just relaxed on a hammock that we’d set up and listened to the waves.

more of the same that day. some swimming. some hiking. made a big fire. camping stuff. it was a near perfect weekend.

the next weekend, we had a peace corps language retreat thing. we took a boat and went island hopping. we met the US ambassador on this tiny island...and he was very cheesy old beaurocrat-like....wearing a Hawaiian shirt and rolled up khakis.

he talked about Tonga’s financial crisis coming from the recent strike and settlement. the gov’t gave into the workers, granting them more than 50% pay raises, which was justified, but impossible to follow through on from the penny crunched gov’t. he went on to explain how a recent study has shown that nearly the entire GDP of tonga comes from remittances sent from abroad. so, come june, when the gov’t is unable to cover costs, there will be huge layoffs and program cuts and the donor committee isn’t going to bail them out with gift dollars. but, they are acting in an advisor capacity, which is what Tongans need, rather than just a continuation of the hand-outs that they are so used to accepting.

i followed up, asking that given the US administration’s interest in spreading democracy, if the recent cries for it here made tonga a blip on the radar. he said that it made it up high in the state dept., but isn’t sure if it reached the white house....but then went on to say that if that movements grows, he’s confident we would support it. at that moment, dan from minnesota greeted him with an eye roll, which the ambassador noticed and then dan engaged him in convo on the US’s past failures in instilling democracy in foreign lands. the ambass. gave a very PC answer, noting that we would only support and advise, rather than acting as a driving force.

as we left the island, we were talking to a Tongan woman who came with the ambassador crew and we asked what she was doing here....and she replied that she brought “the bastard,” in hilariously flawed pronunciation of the ambassador.

later that night at the trainer’s house, we watched a movie called Tongan Ninja. i recommend it to all of you. Max---plastic utopia got nothing on this.

this week, another funeral hit makave. much the same as the last ones. i was up all night and worked the next morning. at around 11, i sat with the elders, noble and town officer and drank kava for 3 or 4 hours....nearly passing out every few minutes from exhaustion....nothing like drinking a depressant while sitting cross legged in a 100 degree room after being up for an entire night. it’s still a fun time...though I hate to say that funerals are fun. but the whole community gets together to work and bs. also, as my language skills improve, i understand more and can converse more, making me feel more a part of everything.

on the opposite end, there’s a marriage coming up in the village. my first witnesses of a mail order bride scenario. this dude—mid-30s-- from the states has been here for like two weeks. he met a girl from my village....who i’m friends with. the girl who’s father recently died......and this week, i found that they are engaged and will marry w/in the next few weeks. the girl is only twenty and they’ve known each other for a week. it’s lame on both of their parts. on his, b/c he freaking came here for the lone purpose of finding some young island girl (my friend had spotted him out buying drinks for any girl who would look at him). and on her part, taking this opportunity as a free visa to live in the states.

on the work front, things are pretty slow. with all of the funerals and half the guys in my youth group going on extended evas (aimless wanderings) to the main island, not much has happened. that’s actually alright, though, b/c we’re waiting to get some videos through the Main Line Life newspaper campaign (remember: if he have old VHS movies or DVDs, you can take them to Main Line Life in ardmore, who will ship ‘em to us) and waiting for the new year, when the season is right for planting our vegetable garden.

to fill my time, i’m planning a christmas party for my village, at which i’ll dress as a tropical santa claus. also planning a sports camp for my village to give the kids something to do while they’re on summer vaca. also planning a larger subsequent one here at the youth office.

speaking of sports, i’ve been playing rugby with the guys in the village and the last time i was out, was beaten down the sidelines by a 40-year-old man. simply embarrassing.

at the youth office, i’m still working with my Tongan counterpart, moving our greenhouse forward. should be built in feb. also, trying to move forward with our future farmers program. we reorganized the whole program and received the blessing of our main office. now we just have to iron out the details with a youth committee and the ministry of agriculture....but it’s taking forever to get it moving b/c everything is just so slow here.

we’re also working on getting a few grants to make the center more youth-focused. build a volleyball court and basketball court in our huge field to get some youth group competition going. among many other things in the works....from getting some colorful signage and running movie nights and yoga classes. the office manager, a volunteer from oz, is away on christmas, so right now, i’m kind of in a managerial role here. she leaves for good in april. ideally, i’d like to take over her position, as the job is something i’m very interested in. there’s just so much that can be done here to make it more efficient and we have a great space that isn’t being used to its potential.

well, it’s about time that i sign off, as i’ve rambled for a while. hope all is well w/ all of you. Jodi...i recently came across the news that Nick and Jessica have broken up (yes, that, of all things, is one of the few pieces of news that I’ve come across, out here in my little dot in the sea). Just know that if you need a shoulder to cry on, go to Melissa’s house and hug the Joey Doll. speaking of, the pictures i’ve seen are freaking hilarious. got word from ex-girlfriend colleen that her brother saw “me” hanging out a tailgate and had a few drinks w/ me.

is anyone going orange-bowlin’ to see PSU?

Kelly, happy belated birthday.

tim and me-sephine, thanks so much for the magazines. me and all the vol.s here are loving new readin gmaterials.

if you get a chance, check for articles in the courier express and main line life that i’ve written. also, i’ve shipped a photo CD home with a volunteer going state-side for christmas. mom is going to print some out and then said she would mail to Doug, who will, I hope, be kind enuf to post on snapfish.

in hair news, i haven’t cut it, but last week, a girl from my village braided me cornrows....a popular tongan hairstyle. my tribute to prison-bound ‘lil kim. big ups kim. (yes, unfort., that is another piece of useless news that has reached us).

As hot as you are cold,
JOEY