Introductory Post

Until I moved to Salt Lake two years ago, I had no personal experience with the Tongan culture or language.  It seemed that within a week of moving here from Utah Valley I had very few friends who were not Polynesian.  Being immersed into a culture when you were raised with no cultural roots yourself is a fascinating experience, and one that I hope I can explore more deeply along with the study of the Tongan language. 

Through two years of conversations, I was able to grasp for just a second what it might mean to be Tongan  Growing up I was taught to dislike my extended family, whereas Tongans consider their first cousins siblings, and love their aunties and uncles like parents. I had no idea where my ancestors came from compared to my newfound friends who new which village their family lived in before coming to the states. There is a connection between family members that runs deeper than the palangi family experience.  There are many aspects of the Tongan culture that I view as a much better way of operating. 

Two years ago, never would I have guessed that I would have been able to be in Vava’u for three weeks to experience a culture and country that I have grown to love from the outside, nor would have I guessed that a life goal would be to learn as much as I could about the Kingdom of Tonga and it’s people. 

Being in this class has been not only a learning experience about the Tongan culture, but I have learned a lot about myself, my beliefs, and how I view the culture I grew up in.