Happy Mother's Day!!! I get to be the first to say it because in Tonga, today is already Mother's Day :) As in the states, it is a very big holiday and mother's are given gifts by their husbands and their children; everyone goes to church and a special performance is put on for the mother's. After church, families usually have a big feast and eat ice cream, which is such a luxury! People of all ages, especially the adults, will kill for ice cream and if ice cream is going to be eaten, it is always for a special event. You can measure someone's wealth if they are eating ice cream- no joke! "Te ke kaileilei," Tongans will say, which means, "You will eat well."

I have one close friend in a neighboring village who is originally from Seattle, WA but came to Tonga to work and has since married a Tongan and has a child. She's my age and this is her first Mother's Day. Her husband is going to kill a pig for her, which is an honor and a very big gift to give in the Tongan culture. Her husband is so sweet! Any of you dad's out there going to roast a pig in the backyard?

At church, my youth and I put on a dance for the mothers and it made them all cry! It brought tears to my eyes seeing everyone get emotional because I missed my mom and, grandmothers, and everyone....but I try to keep things very separate when it comes to my life here and my life back home- when it comes to holidays, that is. I just think that this is their holiday and I'm experiencing it with them but I try to not dwell on the fact that this is an important holiday and tradition for me too and it's going on back home, with all the people I love, without me. It's depressing thinking like that, so for that reason, I try to keep the holidays separate.

But what helped dry the tears was the smiles I got looking at everyone in their new mother's day clothes. The mom's were wearing new scarfs and shawls. They LOVE scrafs and shawls! A new craze too are those fake hair pieces you can just clip into your hair. It's so awesome but you will honestly see older women with their dark Tongan hair or their old gray and white hair, with these hair clips of youthful, blonde and dirtyblonde shiny hair. It is just so wrong but so perfect! It's quite the sight! But they love it and it's the style. They love the 'palangi' look it gives them by wearing their hair in a way that makes it look blonde or highlighted, making it look 'palangi.' Oiaue!

Anyway, that's my mother's day thus far! This afternoon, I'm going to church again to recieve communion and then I am going to present flowered necklaces to my 'Tongan Moms' with friends. It's another tradition that they do in church where all the mothers stand in front and get presented with gifts. It should be an interesting thing to watch.

I hope you all have a wonderful mother's day! I am just thinking about the wonderful mother's day my family will be having at my Aunt Janene's house! Yummy fruit salads, cinnamon rolls, lemon blueberry cake, tastey meat and veggie egg quiches! So tastey! I wish so much to be there!

Love you all so much and Happy Mother's Day to each of you!
'Ofa atu!
Ashley