Foghorn March 17 2016 Mtg - Emile Hons - Peace Corps Life in Tonga

Emile's presentation was a slide show that spanned the past 40 years and gave us a glimpse into both the Tongan culture and his experiences. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, if I were to attempt to describe all of the pictures that he showed us you would be reading a tome rather than an article. The first picture was of the wee little hut that he lived in during his Peace Corps time. It was the first little piggy's house as opposed to the concrete block houses that are much more pervasive today. He described it as being impervious to weather but home to all types of insects, rodents and other small creatures. Apparently when you sit on a 10 inch centipede it hurts. We saw pictures of people fishing and dancing, pictures of people in native attire and formal dress, pictures of his students, pictures of natural bridges and blowholes and even a shot of our own Kevin O'Brien in his just post-pubescent days back when he had a 32 inch waist.

 

Emile returned to Tonga on a number of occasions over the past 15 years. In cooperation with Rotary he helped equip the local police with breathing apparatus and they staffed a library with over 22,000 books. While Emile was in the Peace Corps the country celebrated the hundredth anniversary of its constitution. He was invited to join the dance performance put on by his village. He forged press credentials in order to gain access to the event and photograph it. In later years, he attended two coronations for the King of Tonga. In each instance there was a great deal of pomp surrounding the event. After a ceremony which lasted several hours and started on island time, there was at least five or six hours of dancing plus parades and fireworks. He showed us pictures depicting miles of ceremonial fires lit along the edges of the beach and used to communicate to other islands the celebration of the coronation.

 

    Tonga's principal industries are copra (dried coconut husks) and handmade goods. Their biggest import is cash in the form of millions of dollars sent back to the islands from the United States. Tongans value education and singing pervades their culture. We also learned the Tongan words are primarily made out of vowels with an occasional consonant sprinkled in. Emile is now retired after 31 years of managing the Tanforan Mall.