Methods Practice 2

After class our group spontaneously decided to go to the Tongan ward where Sione introduced us and then let us have at it! We really wanted to go because we wanted to meet Tongans and be able to use this as our methods practice two.

We arrived at what was a 15 year old boy's eagle scout project. He fundraised and got donations for clothes and books to be sent to Tonga. As we arrived, they were just finishing packing the enormous box, which almost took up an entire bed of a truck. As soon as we got there and they found out we were going to Tonga, they wanted to get us to take a picture with the crate to send to Tonga, even though we had nothing to do with it being assembled! Right away, they were extremely welcoming and smiling and happy.

We walked into the cultural hall to find some people playing basketball and a bunch of boys sitting and eating. They had chicken curry vegetable stuff with rice and then "keke" which are basically fried dough balls. Along with that was some hot chocolate.

I sat down with the kids and started talking to them and immediately they were opening up and talking to me. They ranged from 1-15. The first table I went to, most of the kids were 7 to 9 and a two year old kid. I had them introduce themselves, and they all went around the table saying that they were cousins. They all pretty much seemed related and got along great. One kid went and brought another boy over to me, and said "this is my brother!" and I said, "really?" and then he said, "no... he's my cousin."

We talked about sports they liked and they asked me why I was here. I told them about my trip to Tonga and their faces lit up! They kept thinking we were going to be missionaries but I explained that we were students just going to study. Then they asked me if I was Polynesian, to which I replied no and I told them what my background is. One kid kept screaming "take me with you!!" and so I proceeded to ask all of them if they have ever been or would like to go. They pointed out the kids that had been and they all agreed that they wanted to go SO BAD. I thought it would be an interesting topic to study perceptions of their culture and Tonga of the children of immigrant parents. So after I talked to those kids, I moved to the next table.

At the next table the kids were a little older, from 8-15, including the boy who was doing the eagle scout project. All the kids agreed that they would want to go, one said he would like to go later but not right now, and he said he would like to go to Texas where the rest of his family is. The eagle scout kid told me that he never wanted to go to Tonga. Seeing that his response was a little different than the rest of the kids, I asked him why he said that. He said he liked it here just fine and he liked his school and didn't have any desire to go there.

Even though he said that, I could help but analyze what his attitude was (what he said) versus his behavior (what actually does). He seemed to try to distance himself from Tonga in saying that he didn't want to go, but at the same time, he still wanted to help the schools there by sending them books and supplies. He identified enough with Tonga or being Tongan that he wanted to help those that were there and less fortunate than him, however he had no desire to go and live there. This was interesting because one of the main source of Tongan income are actually remittances. These donations and foreign aid and remittances are what keep Tongan's head above water.

At the second table, after explaining my trip, asked me "what kind are you?" and I was't sure what he meant even though I assumed he meant what kind of Polynesian I was. So I asked him, "what kind of what?" and he said "are you Tongan?" I found it interesting that the kids assumed I was Polynesian probably because of my dark complexion, but one of the Tongans in my Tongan class said I don't look Polynesian and I could maybe pull off half. I'm guessing that after a while, kids realize there are more physical features to being Tongan than dark skin and hair, like the guy in my class who stated Tongans had flatter and wider noses and due to that and my blue eyes I don't really look Polynesian but at least I can pretend to be half!

From observing the Tongans at the Tongan ward, I can clearly see that there is a huge familial bond. Everybody is pretty much related and they all seem to band together and have close bonds. They knew each other fairly well and had a pretty strong connection to being Tongan.