I apologize for the quality of that last one. An undercurrent in the Tonga story has become finances. I have worked it all out now (at least to make it out of Tonga and back to the states), but it has stuck in my craw and stopped me from focussing on telling the story of what has been happening. This is the crux of the financial dilemma: A couple days ago I tried to withdraw $400 Tongan. For some reason the machine didn't work, "transaction declined," so I thought maybe I entered the pin wrong, and tried again. Same result. Went to the bank branch, tried again, no dice. Went inside, asked a lady, she suggested I do $200, and that worked. But the next time I tried to pull some money out, I noticed my balance was quite low. Today I checked my balance on line, and this first two attempts, though they didn't work on my end, worked on the other and my account was down $800 Tongan that I had never received!! I went back to the bank, and the lady said I have to contact my bank and have them contact them, then they can track down the mistake and reimburse me. That doesn't help me pay my hotel and other expenses right now. I spent a lot of time on the internet trying to suss out various options, and finally have solved the situation so that I have enough dough to get out of Compton. So I am now able to relax and continue with the story.
OK so I wanted to gather various things, cameras, batteries, toilet paper, waterproof bag, etc. before heading out for the night. Went to stores, gathered stuff at Sela's then headed to Davida's. Then HE had to gather some things, parts for his "fishing equipment," bread for the prisoners, mosquito coils, petrol. so we drove around doing that. And driving around is not a quick process. If you see a friend, you pull over and chat a bit. If someone needs a lift, you stop and converse, then they hop in the back of the truck. So after an hour we get back, load the boat, then race out of there, with a younger relation of his, Eba ( I didn't know he was coming along). Eba is my guess 18, very broad and quiet. The sun is starting to set, so Davida is driving slightly slower as it gets darker. Eba and I are sitting low in the front to keep the nose down, but not out on the bow. We get out to one of the islands, and at this point Davida and Eba trade places. The waters are shallow and Davida stands on the bow, feet 18 inches apart, directing Eba with very slight hand gestures. I have footage of him doing this the next day when we were looking for fish. A little finger flick for curve left or right. A hand upward gesture for speed up a little. I only mention this because it seemed like they had done this so many times that they only needed the slightest signal to communicate. So after 45 min or an hour we get to the prisoner's island, where they are waiting because the dogs have warned them, and they pull us in, we dry dock the boat up the beach and unload. At this point Lava'ke is having an animated discussion with Davida, pointing regularly to the far end of the island. I so wish I could get my recorder out but there is no way to until we get to the house. When we get there I do, and it is dark now so I pull out my little flashlight, too, sit down and try to set up the minidisc player. At one point I notice it has gone quiet, I look up and Davida is standing over me looking at what I am doing. A conversation ensues, and eventually I hear "walkman" and sounds of agreement. I tell them "yeah, it is kaput," because I can't hear anything out of it. They lose interest and start to put together a meal. I figure out I just had the volume down, so I set it up and leave it out in the middle of the yard to record the conversation. Of course then the conversation has drifted away.
We eventually eat bread, bananas, and some raw fish that they had been marinating from our catch the other day. It is my favorite. The meaty white fish that they boil is pretty bland, but gnawing on that raw fish is delicious, and this breed especially so. Buttery. The prisoners live a a very communal situation- actually the two prisoners and the warden. I found out that Paul is the warden, and he has to report in three times a day, but actually the solar panels are not charging the battery so they haven't been able to communicate via CB for about two weeks, but STILL they haven't sent out a ship to check in on them. Also I think it is interesting that the warden has to live the exact same life as the prisoners. They sleep in the same room, share the food and chores, etc. Just Paul is getting paid for it. They do get a supply ship every two weeks, but it is late.
So after dinner and more sweet tea we all head inside, so Davida can prepare his fishing equipment. I ask if I can video, and at first he says no, but I don't think it was clear, so I point to the camera, and he says,"yeah, yeah." So for the next hour we all sat around as Lava'ke holds the flashlight, Eba assists, I film, and Davida performs his magic. I was going to just film the first one, but noted the focus was screwy, figured it out, then went ahead and filmed the second. At the end Davida holds both up to the camera and says "Pom."
We go outside to stretch, have a little more tea, then out of the blue Manu starts talking to me in English. Manu is the other prisoner who has basically stayed out of the picture til now. He didn't participate in the fishing, and when we were around the house last time he basically stayed inside. We converse for a long time. Turns out he grew up in LA for 17 years. His natural parents died and he was adopted. Got caught messengering cocaine, and since his adoptive parents never legally changed his name to their's, he was deported. He hadn't lived in Tonga since he was a toddler. A number of years later he got into trouble again, "drugs," and he has five years to spend on this island. He is not as muscular as the average Tongan, and he talks with a half shy, half unsure of his English quality. He asks if Danny White is still with the Cowboys. I said I don't think so. Are the Raiders still in LA? I believe so. Who won the last Super Bowl? I think Kansas City(?), I don't really remember. We talk about when he recognized I was form America when I said thank you to him during the first trip. He tells me about his adoptive parents. His life in Tonga when he got back. About the farming they do on the island. He is actually quite proud of the farm, you can tell in his voice. Sometimes yachts stop by and since he knows English best he gives them tours. He is a little bothered, because there used to be two other guys here, but they are on Tonga'tapu because they have to go to court, and the guys on the island are getting behind with the work in the fields. He really wanted to show me the fields if I had time the next day. I told him I was going to LA so if there was anything he wanted me to bring to his folks I could do it for him. He couldn't think of anything off hand, but if he thought of it he would give it to me before I go. This conversation is happening in the brightness of a full moon outside. The other guys are gathered together to our side, having their own conversation, probably glad they don't have to deal with the Palengi for a little bit.
Soon after we went to bed. Not sleep, mind you, bed. I was given one of the top bunks. Even though we had the mosquito coils burning, the mosquitos were viscious. You could either cover youself with your sheet and burn up, or leave your self exposed and get eaten up. I tried both methods, I tried ignoring the bites, but nothing. After about two hours, I got up and slathered myself with suntan lotion, which happened to also have insect repellent. But I still couldn't sleep. I feel like I slept for two descent blocks that night, but most of the time I just laid there, listening to Davida snoring, looking out the window at the moonlit landscape.
I was woken up at 6am by Eba, and we wandered up and down the coast looking for fish. I couldn't tell what the hell they were looking for. I couldn't see amy ripples, discoloration or movement that would indicate fish. But then all of a sudden Davida is running forward, lighting his "tool," then KABOOM!! And I just got the camera out of the bag. So I missed it!! It was the biggest catch yet, and I filmed the gathering, but no boom. After the fish were corralled, we walked around the whole island, then they decided we should go to the last island in the chain and fish there. Lava'ke came with us, and we did the 10 minute boat ride over to the last island. It was the smallest yet, a 60 ft diameter of trees surrounded by a 15 foot ring of sand. Again we circumnavigated, and I spent the whole time futzing with the camera, because it wouldn't let me record, and I was afraid I was going to miss my last chance. Well the chance never came, as they saw no fish. So we piled back in and went back to the original island. We packed up rather quickly, and headed out, so I didn't get my tour. I did get his parent's address, so I will be contacting them and maybe meeting them when the Builders are in LA.
Since we still had a fishing tool, we went back island to island with Davida and Eba spying for fish. Since we were going slower, and I figured out how to get the camera working again, I took some footage from the boat, which was great. No fish, so we bunker down for the trip across the deep ocean and back into the harbor. Back at the dock, they pull out all the fish and splash them with buckets of seawater to clean them off. Davida's father suggests I go home to change and come back for lunch. So I head on my bike back to home.
I showered and cleaned up, then the rest of the day is boring as I spent alot of time chasing down dollars. I did arrange with Lyndsey to talk to her class tomorrow, and to interview Gary in the evening. I went back for lunch, which was the bland fish and very dry Taro roots. They served me the fishhead and I didn't know what to do with it. I was out of sorts until I figured out the money issue, then I was able to relax. Gary came over, and of course, the minidisc won't record. So we just talked, and it was mostly useless. I kept trying for him to give me details, he kept talking in generalities. He did write down some info for good CD's with Tongan music, etc, but it turned out he is writing a book and the main reason he wanted to talk to me was to see if I could help him get his book made into a movie. His comments about Tongan life were too generic- It was better back then, it is corrupted now.
So that's where I am at now. I am going to try to sleep long tonight, then have a low key day tomorrow. Talk to the class, have a meal at Davida's, and hopefully go see some of the Tongan dancing. Then out at 8am on Thursday. So the excitement of the trip may be over. I will post one more time tomorrow, then off to Auckland for a day, and then 20 hours of flights back to NY. I hope that you guys have warmed up the city for me. I don't want to come back to snow or anything.
Cheers,
Joe
PS I apologize for changing tense all the time. I just noticed that I keep switching from past to present tense all over the place.
No comments:
Post a Comment