Tonga Vs. Niger ~ Language, Culture, Gender & Technology

I now approach my third month living and working in Tonga. I work in the Ministry of Education, Women Affairs Department with three full-time staff and one often absent Deputy Director. The two Executive Officers are my counterparts and I assist the two contractors and secretary as needed.

The Tonga workplace is easier to jump into than in Niger because English is well spoken, the culture more closely mirrors my own from decades of strong New Zealand and Australian influences, I work with a team of women, and office technology and internet are at a functional level. My counterparts are perfectly able to ask their questions in English and I can return with leading questions concerning their practices and behavior in a proper manner. In Niger I was able to tread lightly in French (never in Zarma) but I believe my own inexperience in another culture and the gender difference caused my numerous failures in respect and subliminal communication. I was altogether too forward in my inquiries and had a short temper when ignored. After 18 months of causing offense, looking the fool, and losing my audience, I feel I have a better instinct for moderating my behavior and picking and choosing my battles. It also helps that my Tonga crew is all female with one male (the office driver), compared to all male with one female (secretary) in Niger. It is important to note that I was at least 10 years younger than any of the men in my Mayor’s Office. While I could tiptoe around being female, age seemed almost impossible to overcome in Nigerien culture as I saw it. I am not so young compared to my Tonga counterparts, and Tongans seem to value youth input much more as a society, the general definition of “youth” is 18-35 years old.

In Niger, lack of internet technology meant that research was difficult and communication between important players kept work from being done. In Tonga, our (relative) ease of access to the internet actively retards work in the office. “I’m working on it” means that emails, g-chatting and facebook stalking take precedence throughout the day. Come quitting time, I hear the dramatically discontented sighs which indicate everyone else will be “working late” and they are not happy about it. My impression is that they see “working late” as a romanticized indicator of dedication and accomplishment. It impresses the boss and increases importance. Never mind the fact that they work late because they take long and frequent breaks during normal business hours.

At the outset, my position in Tonga seems to be a physical improvement to Niger in many ways. I can only imagine what the transition would have been Tonga -> Niger instead of the other way around. It is widely acknowledged that Niger was one of the most dramatic “hardship” posts of all Peace Corps countries for many reasons, while Tonga is more developed, has a linguistic advantage, and is greatly influenced by “western” culture. However, at the end of this short comparison, I find it almost invalid when I remember the difference in location between my post in Niger and in Tonga. The bush of Niger is VERY different from the city setting, and I know that the rural and outer islands of Tonga have less English, more traditional values, relaxed workplace etiquette, less oversight and less technology. Can I really even compare the two?