D R A M A

An enjoyable yet dramatic few days kept things interesting this past weekend. It began with a night of gossip and pure fun with about eight of my youth. We sat outside of town hall on some mats in the middle of the street from 8 until 1AM. I learned Tongan songs, learned Tongan dance, showed them a few of my own moves to hip hop on the radio, and laughed until I almost wet my pants. My youth then proceeded to perform a mini drama for my benefit. They pretended to be wind up toys and created an entire story line. They made me join in the performance and I was on the street almost in tears. I'm learning so much everyday and having a great time in the process. The night ended with my mother yelling from the house that my sisters and I needed to come home. It was already late so I thought nothing of it and went home. My sisters on the other hand thought this would upset me because they know I've been struggling with freedom and privacy. Once we got to the house an argument broke out. I proceeded to my room and listened as best I could. One of my sisters "got beat" for voicing her opinion (not uncommon at all in Tonga). I don't know how to react when that situation arises as I have encountered it several times. My sister then ran out of the house screaming around 1:30 and went and hid in the bush. The village went out looking for her. When I say the village I truly mean most of the village. Tongans don't seem to get solid sleep. They like to be woken up and notified of situations. The drama continued outside and I stayed in my room. My other sister came to my window and told me that she understood if I wanted to stay with another family. I felt horrible. I'm not the only one stressed out here because my family is feeling it as well.
I feel like a rebellious teenager. I find myself leaving the house earlier and staying at work longer. I sleep more and don't spend as much time with my family. I keep feeling like this will end when I get my house, but I don't know if that is the case. My father tried to tell me this morning that my home stay mother will come to my new house everyday to clean and check up on me. He said she would also sleep at my house when I get sick. I told him that was not necessary, but I don't feel I was heard.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Thank you. I needed to vent.

Okay – positive thoughts.
Work is going well. I helped out with the voting for Youth Parliament. This is a program in all of Tonga that lets the youth address a chosen issue facing the youth in Tonga. Youth run campaigns for the office of Prime Minister, Minister, Noble, and People's Representatives. I was parked in a village for several hours with ballots so that the youth could vote. Town officers practically dragged youth from their houses just to vote. This will take place all week and those elected will travel to Tongatapu for Youth Parliament during November.
A few new participants have joined my Alunga (disabilities) group. One of their mothers attended class and cried the entire first half because she was so happy. This was the first time her 10 year old son has attended "school." I need to take some pictures to send home because they are such a great group. I would love for you all to see them.
I'm working on strengthening my youth group in Okoa. We held our first executive meeting the other day. Although I spoke practically the entire time I was happy they all showed up. I told them that it order to have a strong youth group we needed strong leaders. I told them that the youth will look to them with questions and they need to be prepared. Youth here in Tonga are generally not encouraged to voice their opinions in school or to use critical thinking skills. This makes communication difficult, but we need to start somewhere.

Enough said for now.
Love,
Adrianne