With the news reports of the last few weeks, I was expecting to write a post about the passing of the king and the resulting funeral pomp and ceremony. It seems the news is greatly exaggerated, and short of regicide I have had to come up with other topics.
I haven’t written about work for a while. I wanted to keep the blog humorous and to give the impression that I was enjoying everything about Tonga.
I have certainly been enjoying Tonga, but it is only in the last week or so that I have really started to get something out of going to work at the planning department and to laugh at the if-you-don’t-laugh-it-will-make-you-cry humour of what that involves.
A couple of things happened around the time of my arrival that meant I was always going to have to wait for work to be good. The department had played the Australian volunteer lottery and won twice, with two volunteers for the one role. I arrived second, so was squeezed out of my intended role. Also, the government had agreed to a restructure of ministries – planning would become part of the finance ministry – and large scale voluntary redundancies – a quarter of public servants would be made redundant.
Understandably, working out what to do with me wasn’t a high priority. But they have tried. In June, the minister’s office requested I be moved there then. Planning agreed. In July, the company managing the AYAD program requested I be moved. Planning agreed. In August, AusAID requested I be moved to the minister’s office. Planning agreed. It is September next week. I wonder who will ask for me to be moved in that month.
Any day now, I will go somewhere.
In the meantime, and with the likelihood of me moving to a new role increasing, they are starting to invite me to meetings, ask me questions and, very occasionally, listen to me as if they want me to stay.
Tonga, its fun.
25 August 2006
18 August 2006
winter and whales
Winter is coming to an end here in Tonga and, in a move that will irk most people I know in Melbourne, I am regretting its passing.
When I arrived in Tonga, the weather that greeted me was hot and sticky to say the least. Winter brought some well-received respite. There are few ways to escape the heat during the week in Nuku’alofa. Unlike when I was studying in Bangkok, there isn’t a 7-eleven on every street corner whose air-conditioning and slushees do the trick well enough. I guess I can’t complain too much, the ocean is just there. Shame I have to go to work rather than swim every day.
The other reason to enjoy winter in Tonga, is that it is whale season. Normally, taking full advantage of this would require a trip to ‘Eua or Vava’u. This weekend just gone, we managed to get close to whales while on a snorkelling trip just off Tongatapu.
Grey skies dominated on Sunday morning, threatening to spoil a day out on the ocean. The clouds cleared even as I rode down to wharf and within half an hour the weather was good enough for us to rouse two extra paying customers out of bed to ensure that we got a nice long trip.
On the way out from Nuku’alofa to the first of our three dive/snorkelling sites we were happy to see a few whales splashing about in the distance. The focus of the day was still very much on the smaller creatures out there under the water, but the whales were an added bonus.
For our second lot of diving we anchored off a small deserted island. It was picture perfect and after swimming the hundred metres or so in to its shores and taking a stroll around the whole island we made plan to come back and camp there one weekend.
The only reason a picture of the island didn’t accompany this post, is that on the way back into Nuku’alofa we came across a much better photo opportunity. Three whales swimming across our path. The crew of the boat spotted them first and cut the engines. As we drifted the whales swam around the boat, coming as close as 50 metres at times (maybe closer). Spectacular.
Everybody was pretty happy with their day, to say the least. For 30 pa’anga (A$20) it was a cheap whale watching trip.
When I arrived in Tonga, the weather that greeted me was hot and sticky to say the least. Winter brought some well-received respite. There are few ways to escape the heat during the week in Nuku’alofa. Unlike when I was studying in Bangkok, there isn’t a 7-eleven on every street corner whose air-conditioning and slushees do the trick well enough. I guess I can’t complain too much, the ocean is just there. Shame I have to go to work rather than swim every day.
The other reason to enjoy winter in Tonga, is that it is whale season. Normally, taking full advantage of this would require a trip to ‘Eua or Vava’u. This weekend just gone, we managed to get close to whales while on a snorkelling trip just off Tongatapu.
Grey skies dominated on Sunday morning, threatening to spoil a day out on the ocean. The clouds cleared even as I rode down to wharf and within half an hour the weather was good enough for us to rouse two extra paying customers out of bed to ensure that we got a nice long trip.
On the way out from Nuku’alofa to the first of our three dive/snorkelling sites we were happy to see a few whales splashing about in the distance. The focus of the day was still very much on the smaller creatures out there under the water, but the whales were an added bonus.
For our second lot of diving we anchored off a small deserted island. It was picture perfect and after swimming the hundred metres or so in to its shores and taking a stroll around the whole island we made plan to come back and camp there one weekend.
The only reason a picture of the island didn’t accompany this post, is that on the way back into Nuku’alofa we came across a much better photo opportunity. Three whales swimming across our path. The crew of the boat spotted them first and cut the engines. As we drifted the whales swam around the boat, coming as close as 50 metres at times (maybe closer). Spectacular.
Everybody was pretty happy with their day, to say the least. For 30 pa’anga (A$20) it was a cheap whale watching trip.
11 August 2006
hingoa tonga
Your average baby names book would be useless to most Tongans. Very few of the hingoa (names) I have encountered here in Tonga would be included.
In Australia, unless you were calling somebody about repairing their toilet or car, are their grandmother or just have a penchant for the word you are unlikely to call somebody "Love". I am now of the above, but, in Tonga, I do this all the time. 'Ofa (Love) is a common name and, surprisingly, more common for guys it seems. So next time you feel the urge to call a guy over 180 cm tall and weighing in at more than a hundred kilograms "Love" without risk or serious injury, come to Tonga. You are sure to meet at least one 'Ofa who answers to that description and that name.
Another name that I recently encountered is Fale (House). Perhaps his parents wanted to raise a solid, dependable child and thought nominative determinism was the way to go. Either that or they were following the example of David and Victoria Beckham who named their first child, Brooklyn, after where he was conceived.
If you accept the nominative determinism explanation and his parents had been more pious, then they may have named him Lotu (church).
The parents of one of Jess’ colleagues obviously wanted her to be academically gifted and named her Sele Pesine (100 per cent). Either that, or they were ecstatic when they counted the full compliment of fingers and toes and discovered she was all there.
The most common names in Tonga are Tonganised versions of biblical names. "Tonganised?" I hear you ask. Those of you who have read the language lessons in earlier posts will know that all Tongan words end in a vowel. So my name, Sam, becomes Semi in Tongan (don't ask me why the "a" becomes an "e"). Also, the Tongan alphabet is only 17 letters long and excludes C, D, G, J, Q, W, X, Y and Z.
Displaying the same ingenuity that you can find on display in the birth notices of the Herald Sun/Daily Telegraph, Tongans have overcome this paucity of consonants and displayed real ingenuity to exhibit their faith.
For example, Isaac becomes Aisake – this is the name of the Secretary of Finance. Joshua becomes Siosiua – the name of the Minister for Finance. John is Sione, Peter is Pita, Moses is Mosese, Gabriel is Kelepi and so on.
In Australia, unless you were calling somebody about repairing their toilet or car, are their grandmother or just have a penchant for the word you are unlikely to call somebody "Love". I am now of the above, but, in Tonga, I do this all the time. 'Ofa (Love) is a common name and, surprisingly, more common for guys it seems. So next time you feel the urge to call a guy over 180 cm tall and weighing in at more than a hundred kilograms "Love" without risk or serious injury, come to Tonga. You are sure to meet at least one 'Ofa who answers to that description and that name.
Another name that I recently encountered is Fale (House). Perhaps his parents wanted to raise a solid, dependable child and thought nominative determinism was the way to go. Either that or they were following the example of David and Victoria Beckham who named their first child, Brooklyn, after where he was conceived.
If you accept the nominative determinism explanation and his parents had been more pious, then they may have named him Lotu (church).
The parents of one of Jess’ colleagues obviously wanted her to be academically gifted and named her Sele Pesine (100 per cent). Either that, or they were ecstatic when they counted the full compliment of fingers and toes and discovered she was all there.
The most common names in Tonga are Tonganised versions of biblical names. "Tonganised?" I hear you ask. Those of you who have read the language lessons in earlier posts will know that all Tongan words end in a vowel. So my name, Sam, becomes Semi in Tongan (don't ask me why the "a" becomes an "e"). Also, the Tongan alphabet is only 17 letters long and excludes C, D, G, J, Q, W, X, Y and Z.
Displaying the same ingenuity that you can find on display in the birth notices of the Herald Sun/Daily Telegraph, Tongans have overcome this paucity of consonants and displayed real ingenuity to exhibit their faith.
For example, Isaac becomes Aisake – this is the name of the Secretary of Finance. Joshua becomes Siosiua – the name of the Minister for Finance. John is Sione, Peter is Pita, Moses is Mosese, Gabriel is Kelepi and so on.
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