Planet Tonga

For those of you who have been emailing me on my Planet Tonga email address, I apologize for not responding sooner.  I had a hard time accessing my PT email in Tonga…but when I arrived in SLC yesterday I checked my email and found numerous emails from our PT readers wanting to know why I did not blog from Tonga.  Well the answer is simple—there was just no time!  Well I did have random hours to myself which was usually between 12midnight to 4AM…and instead of blogging I would walk into town…find a spot…and sit there…and do absolutely nothing…just watch crazy people driving back and forth bumping music (usually with no bass…all treble…gotta love it… you should really try listening to “laffy taffy” with no bass…hahaha), give coins to random drunks who would claim to be related to me (well I think they really are but I am not claiming any of them until I see the DNA tests…haha), watch Richard dancing on the side of the road (he almost caused a couple of accidents because people were wondering who was the crazy man doing the robot in downtown Nuku’alofa….hahaha), and listening to Tongans from overseas complain about everything from the food, the streets, the garbage, the cars, etc, etc, etc, etc. (do you like how I don’t consider myself as a Tongan from overseas…hahaha…Richard said that I cant get away from it…he thinks that everything about me screams…OVERSEAS…I disagree…LOL!)    

Speaking of my cuzzy and partner in crime Richie…I am so relieved that he came along with me…because I have no idea how we would have been able to keep all our PT readers updated while trying to complete some of the projects we were engaged in. 

1^st lesson learned for next year: Don’t try to do ten things at one time!

However, that’s what I told myself last year…yet, somehow I find myself in the same predicament every year… so I am being for real this time… only one project at a time…hahahaha! 

To satisfy all you die hard PT readers who feel that I have nothing better to do but write articles for the PT website all day (haha)…I figured I would spend the next couple of hours blogging…so you better read all of it since you asked for it…LOL!

–Arriving at the Fua’amotu Airport–

**posing for a pix before going through the immigration line**

Arriving at the Fua’amotu Airport is always an interesting experience because you walk off the plane and see a whole bunch of brown faces staring back at you and so you don’t know if you should look at them, look at the ground, pretend to tie your shoe, have a random conversation with the person next to you, wave and pretend you are one of the Miss Heilala contestants, or just keep walking like you don’t see anyone.  I chose to wave and pretend to be a Miss Heilala contestant…hahahaha…just kidding!  I was actually pretending to be a photographer taking pictures of the Tongan youth group that we went with.  My friend said that I looked really busy taking pictures…hahahaha…but for real though people…its not that serious… the camera was not even on…because the battery was dead…hahahaha!!! 

Going through immigration in Tonga is actually pretty quick… the long part is when you wait for your luggage.  Since my last two experiences with Air Pacific Airlines were quite negative…I had prepared myself mentally to not be shocked if my luggage did not arrive! I traveled on Air New Zealand this time because I refuse to fly with Air Pacific (unless someone gives me a free ticket then maybe I will reconsider it… hahaha)! 

Air New Zealand was excellent…all my luggage arrived, the service was great, and the people were friendly…so I would definitely recommend Air New Zealand to anyone traveling to the Islands. **There was one slight mix up with our seats on our way back because we were double booked…but the Air New Zealand Flight Attendants handled it really well so I will leave it at that**

After finding our luggage we proceeded to exit the baggage claim area and the man who checks the bags tells me in Tongan that he needs to look inside one of my suitcases.  I open it up and he mumbles some question to me in Tongan that I could not hear so I asked him in English to please repeat what he just said…and he looks at me and says “nafing, pie, fank you!”  This would be translated as “you are so fie palangi get out of my face already”… hahahahahahaha! 

2^nd lesson learned for next year:  If you want to get through the baggage claim quicker pretend to not understand nor know how to speak in Tongan…and always ask follow up questions in English…hahaha!

–Tongan Youth Group–

I traveled to Tonga with a small Tongan Youth group who are part of the “Back to the Roots” program sponsored by the Tongan Youth of America Organization (TYA).  The whole purpose of the program is to get Tongan youth back to Tonga to rediscover their Tongan roots, heritage and culture.  In the  past years they have participated in a football game, but this year there was no football game so the kids (they refuse to be called “kids”…but too bad…they will always be my kids to me…haha) got the opportunity to really engage in some real Tongan experience, not the usual Tongan tourist experience. (*you can read their blogs for more information about their experiences…however, they only got to blog twice from Tonga, so if you want to find out more you can email them directly)!

I am not sure which of the many experiences was most enjoyable for the kids we went with, but I just want to touch on two of the experiences that really stood out to me.  The first one was a discussion session that they had in Liahona with Liahona High School students who were their age.  They had the opportunity to talk to each other about the misperceptions and stereotypes of Tongan youth from America and local Tongan youth.  It was an excellent discussion because they were all so open and honest with one another.  As an educator, I live for moments like this…when students are in conversation with one another and nothing else matters but the actual process of talking and communicating.  The last part of the discussion ended with the question: what would you like your Tongan peers to know about you? 

The responses from the Tongan Youth from America were:
“Just because we live in America does not mean we are rich, we are all struggling too!”
 

“I know that my skin may be lighter than the average Tongan but everything about me is Tongan”
 

“Just because I was raised in America does not mean that I don’t know anything about my Tongan culture… I was raised with the same Tongan values…just in a different environment”
 

  “I understand Tongan so please don’t say things about me in Tongan…oh yeah, and one more thing not everyone from America is a gangster”
 

 “I may live in America but I will always be Tongan…this will always be my home…this is my heritage and culture”
  

The responses from the local Tongan Youth were:
“Not everyone who lives in Tonga wants to go to America”
 

“Just because you are from America does not mean I want to hook up with you”
 

“Just because our English is not that good does not mean we are stupid”
 

“We need to always stick together…to be there for one another…it’s all about one love”
 

“We care about all of you and consider you our brothers and sisters and it doesn’t matter where we live…we are all Tongan”

I could go on and on but I will leave it at that for now… just know that the discussion was awesome! I want to thank my beautiful cousin Tina Moleni for coming through for me and making this whole discussion possible!  I love you girl, you have inspired me in so many ways!  You are an excellent example of what it means to have your heart rooted in community!

The other experience that my kids had that really stood out for me was the discussion they had with some of our Tongan young men who have now made Tonga their permanent residence, if you know what I mean…hahaha!  It was an excellent discussion and my kids connected with these young men in such an amazing way because they fully understood what the kids were going through; the daily struggles of living in America, but trying to represent for their Tongan culture, the struggle of being in Tonga and not being accepted as Tongan, the challenge of trying to survive in the crazy American environment where everything is so individualistic, and the everyday desire to rise above the barriers and keep on keepin’ on!  As one of my kids said to me after the discussion “when I came to Tonga I didn’t really know why I needed to come here, but after this discussion, I feel I know why I needed to be here so that I can listen to these guys and know what I should be grateful for and what I need to do with my life!”  In my opinion, if one of my kids was able to get that out of a two hour discussion then the trip was definitely worth it! 

I want to thank my cousins Keni Kaufusi, Sione Langi, and Tangi Nai for engaging in this discussion with my kids.  There is really not much else to say but that I love you guys so much!  Everything about your lives, where you have been and where you are at now is positively motivating and the fact that you would share it with these young kids is just inspirational!  I know it’s not always easy to talk about things that you would have preferred to just leave in the past, and so thank you so much for trusting me enough to take that leap and just speak from your hearts!  Okay I will leave it at that…because I can just hear Sione saying “ummm, that sounds kinda gay”…hahahaha!

–Hilarious moments in Tonga–
Being in Tonga is not only relaxing but it is always quite humorous.  Everywhere you turn you will see something that will just make you laugh!  For example, during the hip hop competition this group comes out all decked out in their matching shirts that says “DOG BOUND”…hahahaha!!!  I laughed for like 15 minutes straight…it was just hilarious but also so original and so Tongan! Hahahaha! 

I asked my cousin if he could get me a DOG BOUND shirt and so he had his cousin chase down one of the girls who had a shirt and asked her for her shirt…which she gave to him after he told her she was the most beautiful person he has ever seen in his life…oh yeah…DOG BOUND FOR LIFE!!! hahahaha! 

**This is the guy that got the DOG BOUND shirt for me…THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!**

Then one day my cousin Sione and I are walking in town and he starts laughing and points at some kids’ shirt… I look over and the shirt says “SCOOPY DOO”… hahahahaha!  So I follow the kid into the internet café and ask him if I could take a picture of him and his shirt…and he kindly obliged…so you know I am going to be sporting the DOG BOUND and SCOOPY DOO to the fullest here in Utah… hahaha!

The other thing that made me laugh is all the “English Only Please” signs at Liahona High School.  I mean…I know why they have it there and I know the importance of learning English, but come on now…does it have to be in every single corner…I was feeling claustrophobic with all the English only signs… hahahaha… but I won’t say anything else about Liahona cause they have the best computer lab and the fastest internet connection and they were all very kind to us!

One night we were standing in town watching Richie and Star do the robot and this drunk man walks by and I couldn’t stop laughing cause he could barely walk straight…well he gets about 10 feet away from us and he turns around and looks at us…and so my cousin was like “oh sorry… we weren’t laughing at you”… and he goes “ton’t abologize…ton’t look town at me”… and I just kept laughing.. I know that he so wanted to strangle me!

3^rd lesson learned for next year:  Don’t laugh at crazy looking drunk guys because they are still aware of what’s going on… hahahaha!

–Tribute to my crazy kids from this summer…–
This summer in Tonga was crazy, hectic but also meaningful.  I loved it that I shared the experience with our Tongan youth.  They had to put up with my yelling and putting them on blast to sing (hahahaha…thanks Tevita and Beni…you two are the best!), to introduce themselves, and to talk about their experiences, etc, etc, etc. 

I just want to say “thank you” to all of you!  I love you guys!

**Tevita Moimoi** 

**Talikavili Talakai**

**Salote Livai**

**Mapili Talakai**

**Panuve Kongaika**

**Melelangi Tuiasoa**

**Fine Inukiha’angana**

**Beni Tupou**

**Sina Nauahi**

–Nothing but gratitude…–
The one consistent thing that I always experience when I visit Tonga is just extreme gratitude for everything!  I am grateful for my Tongan culture which has molded me in ways that I probably will never fully understand!  I am grateful for my Tongan people, who exemplify hard work, endurance, and crazy humor!  I am grateful for family members who keep me grounded in a very real way!  I am grateful for the history of my Tongan people which teaches me the lessons that I can never learn in a formal classroom and I am grateful for amazing parents and humble grandparents who raised me to love unconditionally and serve passionately!

More specifically I would like to thank the following people for making my time in Tonga the best ever! 

First and foremost, my parents, who are on an LDS Mission in Tonga, and who had to put up with our phone ringing off the hook, random friends coming through our house, late nights working on different projects, me and my cuzzy Elsie talking and laughing until 6AM in the morning, using our home as a meeting place when nothing else was available, and just for being the best parents a girl can ask for.  They have supported me through everything I have ever wanted to do, even when they did not agree, they still showed their love and support!  I owe them my life ten times over! 

Special thanks to Semisi Sika (in my opinion…he is going to become the Bill Gates of Tonga…whatchayall know about that??? LOL)!  Thank you Misi for always taking me around, making sure our PT crew was taken cared of, and for opening up Kaimai Burgers at 12midnight (Sunday night…early Monday morning) just because we wanted to eat some passion fruit ice cream!  You are the best and we will always be indebted to you!

**Misi Sika & Sina Nauahi (Miss Heilala 2006)**

Special thanks to Kik Velt and Tau’olunga Computers for letting us hang out at your computer lab for 10 hours straight/3 days a week!  You made it possible for us to update PT consistently from the Kingdom!  You are awesome!

Special thanks to Liahona High School for making my kids feel comfortable and loved at your school!  Thank you Tina for sharing my vision and for always keepin’ it real with me and the kids!

Special thanks to Elaine Howard and the National Tongan Youth Congress for creating such a memorable experience for my kids!  You are da bomb Elaine!  I love you girl and thank you for being the positive and optimistic person that you are!

Special thanks to Joey Mataele and the Miss Galaxy Pageant Committee for taking good care of our PT camera crew and making sure that we had front row seats to everything! We hope to always be the official photographers for the Galaxy Pageant!

Special thanks to the Miss Heilala Pageant Committee for making sure we were VIP in every single event!  We greatly appreciate it!

Special thanks to the newly recruited PT camera crew (Dion Mapukava, Tone Pule, Paula Kafalava, Sione Finau, Sese Tautua’a), for snapping those photos! I can’t thank you all enough for taking the time to do that!  I love and miss all of you!

**PT Camera Crew with the reigning Miss Heilala**

Special thanks to Salesi Eliesa and the Kahoua crew (Saia Eliesa, Katimoana Lakai, Funga Eliesa, Lona the faikava dude (haha), Fakalata ‘Eteaki, and Peni the gangsta(haha)) for taking us everywhere in Tonga and for making yourselves available at all times to help out!  You all totally rock!!! Hahahaha… just imagine me yelling that… hahahahaha!

**The Kahoua Crew**

Last but not least I want to thank my “support crew” that kept me from going insane in Tonga…because everybody thought I had everything under control, but only THEY knew of the chaos behind the scenes…LOL! 

First and foremost my cuzzy Elsie…thanks for coming with me…and for finding humor in everything even when I had no desire to laugh…you totally complete me… hahahaha! 

My cuzzy Theresa…thanks for always sleeping in Tofoa…and never hanging out with us… you punk! Hahaha! But we still love you!   

My cuzzy Richie…thanks for finding negativity in everything…hahaha…thanks for helping me process my experiences and for being real, raw, and abrupt…hahaha…I so needed that at times! 

My palangi brother Matt, there is no other person that I would have wanted to work on this documentary with…you are the best! 

My cuzzy Keni, I love you so much…thank you for the long talks and for always looking out for me!  You inspire me to be a better person! 

Last but not least, my crazy but amazing cousin Sione…I know you don’t want me to be blasting your name all over my blog, but too bad…if you don’t like it then go and write your own blog… hahaha!  I love you John!  Thank you for still treating me like I am 10 years old and for freaking out when Elsie and I walk across the street to the store by ourselves…hahahahaha! I love you and miss you tons!

Thank you PT readers for reading through this LONG blog…I’m out….!!!!   

**Sunset in Tonga–picture taken at the Blow Holes by Sione Langi**

Final lesson learned for next year:  Make time to blog from Tonga so that I don’t have to spend 3 hours blogging about my experiences in Tonga from Utah!

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 at 10:32 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.