October 12, 2012
This week was an exciting week to say the least, we got to have our final placement interviews, we had our mock language test, and I ended up partying with the local guys in the bush right outside my house!
There is nothing like starting a week off thinking it is going to be pretty slow and then having it turn out pretty awesome. In case you were curious, this was also the week of love for Katy and Koni. Katy and Koni’s heated romance has become the only thing we talk about beside site placement so it is hard to imagine no one else caring that they have advanced their nightly strolls to the falekalpu (kava house) next to my house…
Beside the Katy & Koni love affair, we had our final placement interviews, which for me turned out interesting since Lavinia (the site placement supervisor) asked me almost exclusive outer island questions. It would appear that they are looking to place me in one of the outer outer islands of Va’vau. She kept asking me questions like, how would you deal with the loneliness, how would you cope with the separation from your friends, can you travel by boat, and she asked if I could manage without things like internet and running water. I am kind of excited that I might be going to such a remote area but I am second guessing myself about handling the challenge it would present; we have been so privilege during training, with running water, food being cooked for us and daily interaction with white people, I feel like I may not be able to adjust to life on an outer outer island. I am also a little confused because My preferences were outer villages on Va’vau and so many of our group want the outer outer islands, it seems strange that they would even consider me. I am pretty excited though, it will be awesome to have to face the challenge head on when if I open the placement package next week and find out I will be in the middle of the pacific somewhere….
We had our mock language placement test yesterday and it went well. I wasn’t too worries because there is such little stress, I mean if I didn’t do well what would they have done? Shipped me back to the US? I ended up celebrating my success however, with the local guys later in the evening. Here I was ready to fall asleep to some Tongan TV with my host mom, when Tonga comes to get me to taste the Hopi. I have been a little sick so in hindsight I am regretting my decision to go with him but it was a lot of fun. We ended up walking into the bush near my house and there was a group of guys (pretty much all shit faced) in a circle drinking. So I sat down and after a while I joined them. I had to pick a few bugs off of me and we were drinking out of an ice cream bucket, but it was almost like being back in the states… One guy, Koli, kept telling me that it was the island way and when you get drunk here it’s called happy happy (they are always happy though so to me it wasn’t much different, beside the people puking off to my side). Since they all smoke here I got to learn how to roll a cigarette as well (my island skills are increasing!). The drink itself was kind of gross- a little like thick beer- I liked it best when my friend Jeff told me to market it in the states as Sifa’s Island Drank… When I finally left the circle around 1 and excited the bush I realized it was the first time I could see the stars since being here. The sky was so clear and I saw the most stars I had ever seen in my life, it was simply incredible. The stars mixed with the baby puppies we walked over to get back to the house were the best end to a night I have had in a while.
This is the road we walk home from school in Ha'asini (the next village over from Nakolo)
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