Fale 'afa

A wave of change has happened in the matter of a week. The move across the bridge to the other side of the village was a success. My new house is what the locals call a fale 'afa (hurricane house). Identical houses were built across Tonga after the last huge hurricane to replace damaged homes. It is basic and sturdy and I couldn’t be happier. The catch, because there is always a catch, is that I have no electricity or water. I’m getting used to no electricity by just using a lantern and candles although the youth talk about hooking it up any day now. The water is a bigger deal to me because of the pain in hauling it back to my house. I have a pipe that runs to an outdoor tap, but I’ve had a bit of a challenge getting the ‘water committee’ to turn it on. In the meantime, the rain has been a saving grace by filling my buckets with fresh, clean gold.

Here is my new shower (right) and toilet (left).


My largest struggle while living in a small village has been the flow of gossip. I’m finally learning how to play the game. Feed some information to some kids, turn to others for support, shed some tears, crack a joke, and come out looking like a rose. I’m not sure what kind of marketable skill this will be back in the States, but its doing wonders for me here.

Love to you all,

Adrianne

PS - Check out the addition to my photo album with Mom's visit to Tonga

Polopolo

Mom's trip ended with some relaxation and some amazing meals that will last me until September. Reflecting over the 3 weeks I have only humerous and enjoyable memories. Mom's last weekend we spent a day in the bush for the polopolo (harvesting of crops). A piece of land on which the village share crops was filled with families for the day. While the men dug out the root crops, the women cooked food in an umu (earth oven). Mom and I had the luxury of resting under a mango tree and strolling around to check out various families' crops before eating a delicious umu meal. I think Mom got a real taste of Tongan life.

Now, although life in Tonga is slow, it is never boring. I came here to get away from drama, but I always find myself mixed in the middle of it. The latest is that I'm getting the boot from my current house. As I've stated before, my neighbor and I are not the best of friends. Well, he is getting married next month and wants to live in my house. Since it belongs to his family I have no real say in the situation. So I've put feelers out among the community and have found a new house. The family that lives there is out of town for a few months so I will take up residency there until the end of my service in September. I'm viewing this change as positive although it is causing a rift between the village. He said - she said - this church treats her like this - that one acts like that. I'm just happy to finally have amy own shower and toilet. The move will take place in the next week so I hope all goes smooth.

Mom - thanks for the adventure.

Love to all,
Adrianne

Finding a Fresh Perspective

I was looking for a fresh perspective on Tonga through Mom's visit and that is exactly what I got. Something as simple as cooking has become a creative adventure of scouring the market and stores for lost items. We spent a morning hunting for eggs only to turn up at a chicken farm that had sold/killed all their stock.
I was also awakened to Tonga's cash based society while witnessing Mom swear while unable to purchase a carton of cigarettes on credit card. A VISA / Mastercard sign in a window is exactly that...a sign. There should be no presumption that the piece of plastic holds any value here, but Western Union sure makes a killing.
The other day I had a small grin on my face when after spending an evening at my house Mom asked if I lived at Grand Central Station. It made me realize that all the social visits of small village life have become woven into my core that I no longer regard it as intrusive. It's actually comforting.
Mom's favorite adventure was a boat trip around the outer islands that was energy draining, but renewed my spirit. Visually it is all so breathtaking that I can't help but be amazed. Mom seemed to have gotten a few too many sun rays and circled the island three times before she was able to spot the boat. The only mishap was lack of sunscreen on Mom's winter white feet.




Mom and I have somehow managed to get along this whole time although I’m tired of hearing - 'This is just like Canada at Paul's cabin.' No Mom. You are on an island in the middle of the South Pacific. This is not Cummings Lake.
But really all is well here.

All our love, A & M