Written 21 October, 2007, Posted 13 November, 2007

Auckland

For the first week of our two week vacation before Term 4 started, we traveled to New Zealand. Unfortunately, we had to be back for the second week. Cliff, in reality, did not have a second week of vacation, because he had to tutor his high school students in preparation for the Cambridge Exams. The exams are early in Term 4. The good news is that Cliff starts his end-of-the-year vacation earlier than the primary school… if giving the exams doesn’t kill him first! we’ll tell that story later.

First, about New Zealand:

Our flight didn’t leave until Saturday evening, so we had a day to rest from the term’s events, as well as clean and pack. Several friends graciously stepped forward, offering to take us the airport. It is so nice to have so many dear, generous friends. So, off we went on a three-hour flight to the nearest “sorta continent.” Ana’s brother, Manase (man ah say), met us late that night and welcomed us to his home. He and his family were so gracious and kind. They really put themselves out to make us comfortable. We had such a good visit and cemented new friendships.

After a relaxed morning, we went on our way by public bus to explore Auckland. Manase told us how they had been having unusually sunny weather the past week. Sure enough, upon our arrival, the skies opened up. We spent a rainy Sunday in Auckland, puttering around on the main downtown streets investigating shops, books stores and other places that would get us out of the rain.

It was interesting. We spent the first few days in a bit of a stupor. It may have been partly because we had needed some rest after the busy weeks at school. It may have been because it was cold and raining. I do think that it mostly was a bit of “culture shock.” We were not shocked by being back in the developed world. It can be shocking coming back to the “civilized world” after being in a small, simplified culture, but that was not it. I think it was because New Zealand was not exactly what we expected. We thought we would be exploring yet another country. We spent May 2006 in Italy and the past 9 months in Tonga. Now, we were in New Zealand. What wonders would we experience here? The wonder was we felt like we were in Portland, Oregon! Cliff and Jennifer repeatedly kept referring to Auckland as Portland throughout the visit because it felt exactly like a progressive, relatively new, northwestern American city – Borders, Starbucks and rain included. Even the geography is similar with volcanic mountains and a large ocean/river dominating the city neighborhoods. The busses were Links in stead of Metro. The people had a slightly different accent, but the streets, the buildings, the tenor, everything felt exactly like our home. This was disconcerting because we were looking for another foreign adventure but, instead, we were dealing with the rat-race and materialism of metropolitan America transported 7000 miles away.

The idea of the world getting smaller is a wonderful concept if it doesn’t mean a Burger King and Blockbuster in the remotest parts of the world. This economic sterilization and the watering down of cultural diversity in world cultures disappointed us. We even noticed a bit of this during our 2006 trip to Italy. In between the beautiful old architecture, there was a thread of “American car culture.” But the Italians seemed to still be “Italians.” We may not have been in New Zealand as long, but what we did see seemed to be swept up by the money-making, yuppy mentality that has been so handily exported from America.

Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of amazing things about America. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be what gets exported. Strip malls, virtual lives on the Internet and TV, cell phones, and fast food have replaced neighborhoods, local markets and spirituality. Is Tonga better? Well, that is a matter of opinion. Tonga is far from perfect in this matter. It may have more of the latter neighborhoods, local markets and spirituality only by virtue of the fact that it is too small and far-way to easily import the American culture, but Jennifer has found Tonga a wonderful respite in that way. Cliff might say otherwise. Tonga has its own issues as any country does. We do both agree, it is not America and it is not New Zealand.

At any rate, we spent a long day in the city. Kira was thrilled to tour the book stores and was ready to spend her allowance on new-found literary gems. Jennifer and Cliff continued to mindlessly roam the city while trying to get their bearings while zooming around the somewhat complicated bus system. We all enjoyed the Indian dinner we had when we realized that we were still miring our way through the bus routes and weren’t make it home for Manase’s dinner. As it was, Manase picked us half-way out of the city because he wanted us to meet Siaki, Manase’s an Ana’s brother. So, we spent a nice evening chatting about Tonga, New Zealand and what fun we could have during our visit.

While Cliff slept in Monday morning, Kira and Jen took a little run around Manase’s neighborhood and chanced upon the Auckland Botanical Garden. Jen jogged in her new running shoes she purchased the day before and Kira jogged on and off as we enjoyed the gardens. Most mornings that week, Jen tried to go running in the garden, often with Kira doing her best to keep up.

Monday lat morning, we returned to Auckland to see other parts of the city, tour the War Memorial and rent a car. The War Memorial is a fantastic museum with a huge exhibit regarding Maori and South Pacific culture as well as natural history and Australia’s role in the World Wars. We were fully intrigued with the South Pacific exhibits, comparing the various islands with which we have gained a little familiarity, comparing the different weaving, fishing, house construction, etc. The biology and geology was fascinating. Kira was particularly “moved” (the floor shook during the presentation) when we “experienced” a potential volcanic eruption in downtown Auckland. She kept asking, “Could that really happen?”

After a big thunder storm and bus adventure, we rented a car in preparation for our trip around the Coromandel Peninsula. Even though we did not want to overstay our welcome at Manase’s house, the family seemed sad to see us go.

Coromandel

Tuesday, we drove out of the Auckland area to the east and began our three-day tour of the hilly country and coastline of the northern end of the North Island. Rain didn’t hamper us much, because we found two more book stores to capture our attention. Kira has read most of the books we brought from the US a few times over and went through several books leant and given by friends, so she was hungry for more. Well, is she ever not hungry for the written word?! In fact, Jennifer had to command Kira not to read in the car and told her to look out the window and enjoy the scenery that she may only see once in her life. At first, this met with resistance because the worlds between the paperback covers were beckoning Kira. But as we traveled, she learned to enjoy the sights and conversations and helping Jennifer capture photographic moments.

We spent our first night in a coastal town spelled Whitianga and pronounced “fit-y-eng-ah.” It was a quaint sea-side town but, overall, of minor appeal. It had a pretty bay and a few shops ranking close to Oregon coast towns but not a nice as New England towns.

Wednesday, we back-tracked a bit, skirting the harbor to reach the eastern coast to the Hot Beach. This is a place where geothermally heated fresh-water drains down into the ocean through a sandy beach. If you stand in the right place or dig into the sand a bit, you hit very hot water. It was a cold, damp day, but there was a mass of people sloshing around in a few hand-dug pools of water in the sandy beach. Often the bathers had to combine ocean water with the hot water because it was so hot. The sun finally came out, the waves rolled in onto the beach cooling our feet and the hot water steamed around the bathing bodies. It was a fun gathering with strangers. Although we did not strip down to bathing suits, we dipped our feet, chatted with the vacationers and enjoyed the warmth after two days of bundling in every piece of clothing we owned. (It is early spring in September in New Zealand).

We spent the rest of the morning traveling across the Peninsula to the town of Coromandel. The grassy hills, sheep and cattle seemed a little more like we had imagined New Zealand to be. The weather improved, the sun cheered us, and we slowly started pealing off the clothing layers.

We pulled into Coromandel just in time for the final train ride on the Driving Creek Railroad. This unusual site came about when an interesting potter was in search of good clay for his pots. He developed a small cog railroad on the mountain behind his studio as a way to transport the clay. The railroad took on a life of its own and eventually became a tourist attraction in its own right with its amazing engineering feats, spectacular views and surprising little statues hidden among the forest undergrowth. The pottery studio itself is comprised of a funky set of buildings.

The potter, Barry Brickel, is an interesting guy who was not present when we visited the studio. However, upon seeing his picture, we all stood in astonishment. It turns out that less than 24 hours earlier, we had stopped to take a little hike along the river where there were old mines and batteries. When we returned to the car, we met a funny little man in sandals who was eating his lunch and reading his newspaper in his van. We struck up a brief conversation with him, then, we drove away, thinking very little of it. It turns out that he was Barry Brickel! A world of coincidences.

That night was spent in a sweet little B&B suite owned by another potter. He and his Japanese exchange student hosted us. They were both lovely. We enjoyed a wonderful evening eating smoked oysters and ice cream and had a long chat with our hosts the next morning before we left. He gave us the name of a carpenter friend of his across town whom we visited briefly before meandering back to Auckland.

The drive was beautiful but doesn’t rival the scenes we have experienced close to home. The Oregon coast has wilder beauty and the eastern US coast is quainter. I think, as much as we enjoyed our tour of Coremandel and had a great time, we gained a new appreciation for our own awesome country.

Back to Auckland

Every day that we were away, Manase and Diana called us to check in and share in our adventures. When we returned to Manase’s house, he was deeply embroiled in the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Tonga were playing several matches and doing well that week so there was lots of excitement in the house and in all of New Zealand. The next day, when Cliff and I bungled the directions to a shopping area where we hoped to find some nice souvenirs and gifts, we encountered lots of cars and trucks emblazoned with Tongan flags, honking horns and shouting fanatics. The amusing story is that Tonga beat the US in rugby! The amazing thing was that Tonga was holding their own with some of the top contenders in the world. All was abuzz with people cheering the All Blacks (New Zealand) and Ikale Tahi (the Eagles from Tonga). Cliff and I watched a few games as Manase taught us the rules. We all stayed up too late watching live games played in France.

Friday, Manase and Diana took their daughter, their niece and Kira to the zoo while Cliff and I tried to finish our errands of making purchases for items that are hard to find in Tonga. Neither of us felt like shopping, of course we never feel like shopping, especially in a city with which we are not familiar. We spent a lot of time driving in circles in heavy traffic. Kira was afraid she might miss some fun if we went one way and she another. I am sure Kira had lots more fun. She got on splendidly with the whole family.

That evening, we returned the rental car just in time due to some navigational errors on route. After picking us up from the rental car place, Manase showed Jen and Cliff One Tree Hill and Mount Eden, old extinct volcanoes in the city of Auckland. It was a kick to see a grassy steep sloped covered with sheep in the middle of the city. There was also some evidence of old Maori ruins and dwelling sites. Kira didn’t come because she was having too much fun with Manase’s and Siaki’s daughters back at the house.

Rotorua

On Saturday, our three families all packed into 2 cars early in the morning and drove to Rotorua for a day trip. We toured the Buried Village where native Maoris and tourists from the 1800s got caught in a volcanic eruption. The scene was much like Pompeii. We took a beautiful hike around a little lake made brilliant by mineral deposits and checked out all the brewing, bubbling, steaming holes in the park in the center of the town of Rotorua. The whole area is similar to Yellowstone Park. It was a fun group outing. We enjoyed the people even more than the scenery. After a big dinner at a Mongolian grill, we all drove home and tumbled into bed.

Just a little aside. I think this is a funny story:

A Tongan friend was telling us of a relative who had moved to America. He and his family loved to eat out at the all-you-can-eat buffets because… well, you can eat all you want. The family went to one of the buffet restaurants, enjoyed a big meal, then returned at a later date, only to be told that they could not enter. The manager denied them entrance, because they ate too much! However, on this occasion we ate more than did our Tongan friends at the restaurant!

Back to Tonga

Sunday morning, Jen took her final run in the botanical gardens. We spent the day packing, running final errands, watching rugby and just enjoying our hosts. Our flight was very early the next morning.

Our trip to kiwi land was over, Cliff was back to school, Jen was back to class preparations, and Kira settled down to her newly acquired books (the ones she hadn’t read before departing for New Zealand). Despite all the work, we made a point to vacation a bit more, visiting some new beaches and some friends as many days as we could for the remainder of the week.

Moving Again

Ana, the friend I mentioned above, had to move … again. There are no laws protecting tenants in Tonga. In her first house (the first house we knew her to live in) the owners showed up one day and said they were moving in. With no warning, they took over her bedroom and ate her food, etc. They were preparing the house for some new tenants, so Ana was asked to leave by the end of the next week!

The blessing was that she moved from that leaky house to a much nicer house. However, she moved in before the family could move out. They shared the house for a couple weeks while they were “moving” into their little shack located on a corner of the same property. That was not so bad, except that they didn’t have a kitchen. So for the rest of the month she ended up feeding this other family on her meager salary. They did not contribute to the food and walked off with large quantities of food that was gifted to Ana. Ana was not happy about it, but “that’s Tonga….”

It gets worse. She was in that house for less than one month when the owner (a relative of the folks eating her food) called to announce that his daughter was getting kicked out of Australia for breaking immigration laws and was moving in Ana’s rental house by the end of the week! In a mad scurry, Ana found yet another place to live. The house is in very bad shape but rent is inexpensive and the owner’s promise she can stay there for five years while she builds her own house.

(Addendum: As of the beginning of October, Ana has been asked to move yet again! She worked to clean up this messy house over a period of a few weeks. Then, the landlords said that they need the house for their daughter. Unbelievable. That is 3 moves in less than 2 months. She is hunting for a place to live again.)

We have been trying to help her as she struggles through health problems and crazy landlords, but our life is richer for knowing her and her children. We have learned a lot about Tonga, perseverance and humor from her.

Canoe-Building Contest

Lyndsey’s eldest son was participating in a canoe-building contest. (Her children are always involved in wonderful activities all over the island, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. We can hardly keep track of their talents and travels.) In Nuku’alofa, a group of men were divided into teams. Each team was building a different style outrigger canoe from logs. The teams represented the 4 island groups of Tonga. They used modern tools, but modeled their boats after ancient designs. Every time we went downtown, we checked out their progress. The final results were quite beautiful.

Just before the Term ended, one of the Year of Service students had a big, huge birthday party on the school grounds. At the end of the vacation, the other college girl celebrated a quiet, private birthday at a friend’s house. We were honored to attend each party, sharing lots of food, games and laughs with these great young spirits.

14 October, 2007

A month and a half has past. Thank you for your patience. It has been a event-packed six weeks. I will account for as much as I can for your reading pleasure.

School

The end of Term 3 was busy as always but not quite as crazy as the previous terms. We have all learned to pace ourselves to meet the demands of the school’s rhythms, so, although we were exhausted and ready for the term to end, we weren’t “vegetables” by school’s close.

The end of the term included the usual primary school exhibition. As you recall, the first term was a Science Fair and the second term was an Art Exhibition. This term’s finale was a dance concert. Each class in the primary school presented two dances to the parents and community under a big tent on the school lawn. The high school also presented dances from each class or group of classes. There was everything from hula and other islands’ dances to rap, hip-hop and square dancing.

My Class 5 performed the Virginia Reel. The boys did, finally, get over their shyness and swing the girls with gusto. The students learned the dance so well Jen did not have to call the steps. Our Mormon friend who gave Jen the music cassette and dance instructions attended the concert and enjoyed the performance very much.

Jen also taught a handful of students a pole dance from the Philippines called the tinikling. This dance requires two dancers to hop between two poles held parallel to the ground while a student at each end of the poles clicks them alternately on the ground and against each other to the rhythm of the music. The two dancers hop to the rhythm in complicated steps in and out of the poles, hoping not to get their ankles clapped! It was a very challenging dance. During the final rehearsals, the students we ready to give up. The partners were all arguing with each other – we had bickering in Tongan, Papau New Guinean, Korean and English – truly a culturally diverse cacophony! But they kept on practicing. In the end, they did a marvelous job. It was one of the shining pieces of the concert, partly because it was obviously difficult and partly because it was unusual. Jen was very proud of her charges.

Staff Party

The staff usually have a party at the end of each term. This time, we went to a beach resort, ate a traditional Tongan feast (suckling pig and all!) and were treated to a performance of traditional island dancing by professional dancers. It was a beautiful setting and everyone was in the spirit to hoot and holler. Tongans love to plaster dollar bills on the dancers’ skin, or tuck it into the dancers’ clothes. It is not considered gauche. In fact, all the parents were so busy putting money on the little dancers at our school concert, that we could hardly see the dance! Some of us teachers got up on the dance floor at the end and made sufficient fools of ourselves.

Tongans love to get crazy, act silly and laugh. It is a great stress reliever… although Cliff would argue the Tongans don’t seem to live a lifestyle that would promote stress… Jen argues we Americans could learn something about laughter and work load from these people. They seem to have figured out something meaningful over the past few thousand years.

Ana

After much eating and frolicking, we drove home, dropping our friend and colleague, Ana, at her new house. She had been living in a house that leaked so badly, she could shower in her living room. In fact, without spending any time at sea, she was accustomed to bailing, a hard habit to break. When she and her teen-aged son and daughter experienced their first rain storm in the new rental house, her son jumped up from a dead sleep shouting, “Quick, where are the buckets and mop!” Lo and behold, they stayed dry throughout the rain shower.

Ana is a good friend and great character. Here are two of our favorite stories about Ana:

One day, Ana asked if Jen if she could drive her to the electric company office so she could pay her bill. There had been some confusion and her power had been turned off, because they said the bill was past due. Jen drove into Nuku‘alofa and parked outside the office, while Ana ran inside. She then realized that Ana may need some help or, at least some company, so Jen went inside and waited at the counter with Ana while the staff person looked up her account.

Ana was particularly concerned because without power, her refrigerator was not running. She had just filled the freezer with left-over food from a big party and was afraid it would all thaw and spoil. Tongan administrative offices don’t always move very quickly as suggested above. It could be days or a week before they got around to restoring her power. While she chatted with the staff person in Tongan, I reminded her to ask if they might try to restore the power today.

All went well; they fixed the problem and said they would send someone later that day. In fact, 20 minutes later, her son called to say that the power company was there turning it on! Now that is what I call service!

Here is the kicker, though. It turns out, the staff person at the counter thought that the house was mine and Ana was my maid. She thought that Ana came to translate for me! When they showed up at Ana’s house they asked “Is this the palangi’s house (the ‘white person’s’ house)?” There is a bit of reverse discrimination, giving Westerners an edge when it comes to courtesy and service.

Now, this is not always so. Sometimes, it seems we are quoted “palangi” prices for goods and services. There is an assumption we are all rich (probably so in relativistic terms). We joke with Ana we should help her when she needs something in which palangi’s receive preferential treatment, and she should assist us when Tongans receive better treatment!

The second story is so dear:

Ana had a birthday last month so we invited her for dinner with her family. We enjoyed her favorite meal of spaghetti. Kira made crepes filled with bananas, ice cream and chocolate sauce. After dinner and a few games of cards, we sent Kira to bed. As always we did our “thank yous.” This is our little family tradition we started when Kira first learned to talk. Every night, we each say a few things we are thankful for that happened during the day. (Some days this it is easier to do than others….)

Anyway, Kira wanted to do thank yous with Ana’s family. So we each said our thank yous, then asked them to say theirs. Ana was very moved when she thanked us for our friendship. She really liked the idea of thank yous - so much that she taught her Class 1 (kindergarten class).

The next week, Ana was the leader of the primary school’s morning assembly. Each week, a teacher leads the students in learning and practicing a different virtue. Ana was teaching about “thankfulness.” She stood before the whole school and told of a family that has a tradition called Thank Yous. She explained the process and told of how it helps us to remember, no matter bad a day we have, there is always something for which we can be thankful. She encouraged every student to go home and tell their parents how to do it. She asked them to all practice Thank Yous every night.

Kira was glowing as she recognized who the story was about. It was pretty special that Ana was so taken by our little tradition, that now all of Tonga knows! Maybe we have just contributed to world peace!

High School Talent Show