Another week passes me by...

The Fundraiser for the Vava’u Youth Congress went well at the local bar last Saturday. The center pulled in about $1000.oo pa’anga – pretty impressive. Last weekend I also went to a Mormon dance, which was a new experience. I went with a few of my youth to a brightly lit hall at the church. All the men were wearing their white shirts, while us women were allowed to sport our nicest outfits. The dance put me in a time warp to an era where chivalry still exists. Men would approach the wall flowers with a slight bow and then walk towards the dance floor. No touching was permitted except for the slow dances. Once the song would end there was quick exchange of "Thank You," and then back to the wall waiting for the next suitor. I have to admit that I actually had a good time despite my previous judgmental attitude.
I have a great deal to comment about the slow progress of my home, but due to the fact that no one has worked on it this past week – you probably know what I'm going to say. I will hold my tongue at this point in time.
I have been having dinner with a different family every night, partially due to my house not being done and more importantly to get to know my community better. This has been a great opportunity to work on my language, which by the way has been improving. I'm being fed like a Tongan Princess and the families are not satisfied until I am completely stuffed. I've been drinking fresh mango juice and eating ota ika (raw fish). I am slowly figuring out who lives in which home, not that it's to important with the community raising the children. I'm starting to recognize faces and learn everyone's name, which is my goal.
I'm still practicing soccer with the men in my village, but I play on a neighboring villages women's team on Saturdays. There are not enough women in my village that want to form a team so five of us have decided to play with Utui. Maybe next year we can have enough for our own team.
I leave in a few hours to go camping with some other volunteers. We are heading out to an island about an hour away with only two houses on it. One of the families is picking us up on their boat and will return us tomorrow afternoon. I need a little get away at this point. I hope to return with a fresh attitude and full of energy.

My pictures have been updated so take a look and let me know what you think!!!

Love you all,
Adrianne