Pass the Fish

Two of the most common remarks that I would get from people in America was “wow, you look great,” and “I thought you were going to be really skinny.” They weren’t saying that I was fat; they were just shocked that I lacked the sunken cheeks and empty eyes of any normal emaciated individual, as they were expecting me to be after a year and a half in the Peace Corps. I’d like to say that I do agree with the first remark, I do look great, for doing the exact opposite of getting skinnier.

The fact is, like I may have mentioned before, Tonga is plentiful when it comes to at least two things: Food and imported religion. They have good healthy foods too…like fruits, fish right out of the deep blue yonder, and some unique leafy greens that you won’t see in many other parts of the world. Unfortunately, there are also a plethora of unhealthy alternatives and cooking styles; I’m assuming both were imported on the same boat as the religion. Add a big helping of sedentary lifestyle and you get a hefty population in the most literal sense that you can mean it.

On the flip side, when I came back to Tonga everyone was shocked that I didn’t gain weight, maybe even came back smaller. One person put it that they thought America had “lots of good food,” so of course why wouldn’t I be bigger from eating my weight in it while I could? Well it’s true, America has more options for my eating preferences, and there were many times that I did want to stock my stomach in preparation for the upcoming deprivation in proper Hot Wings and broccoli. But I’m a big girl now, and know better than to punish my tummy for my minds’ need to hoard. When it comes to food, some people think if something is good then it’s necessary to pack away as much as you can hold. This isn’t so bad if you’re a 900 lb grizzly bear preparing for the hard winter to come, but not a good way to go about maintaining a healthy human body.

Something that does bother me about my dining experiences with Tongans, well there are more than one, has been having to ignore the general adopted eating style; Basically the unabashed shoveling of food. The art of stuffing as much as you possibly can into your pie hole to the point of having to make a full facial and body effort to chew the mass of food, that I can clearly see from the gaping mouth trying the chew and talk to me at the same time. I’ve never been a stickler for impeccable table manners, but I’ve never had to bear witness to the consumption of food right up until the digestion stage either.

This is a place where kids walk around the street eating whole raw fish as naturally as I would an apple. When I saw this the other day, I didn’t think much of it until later when I remembered that in so many other places this would be odd at the very least. Worries of sanitation, manners, and other things that seem trivial to me at the moment didn’t cross my mind. Nope, the thought I had when I saw my student sink his teeth in this raw fish whose eyes were still frozen in that ‘surprised fish look’ was… “That looks good, I wish I had one.”

I can now understand why my friend Abi was concerned that I would have inappropriate manners at her wedding, or at any dinner table for that matter. Considering where I’ve been living it’s clear that she was lucky I used silverware, didn’t have a fish tail hanging from my jaws, and didn’t arm wrestle someone for the last chicken kabob. Self-control was a constant achievement on my part don’t you think?