So, What are Your Plans?

I've been getting this question a lot lately, as I'm sure all of us PCVs are as our service draws to a close. Truth is, I have a lot of plans, some of which are important and many of which are totally frivolous! Being out of the country for so long and the anticipation of being home again has made me think about what I really want to do and appreciate the things can do once I C.O.S.

My Countdown!

For those of you who are interested, here are some of my plans for when I get home:

              •Go to Starbucks with Juleigh in LAX, and later eat a deli sandwich, a really good one. I miss them so much!

            •Look for a job

            •Get an Iphone! Yes, I have been technologically deprived for far too long and I need to catch up with the rest of the world!

            •Conduct informational interviews to learn more about careers I might be interested in. I got this excellent idea from fellow volunteer and job advice guru Elena (check out her blog, it's awesome).

            •Make a Peace Corps Tonga scrapbook. Anyone want to have a scrapbooking party?

            •Look into grad school options. I'm currently debating between museum studies and psychology. Or maybe anthropology. Or fashion.That's why I'm just saying "look into"!

           

            •Go to the Smithsonian!

            •Get a haircut. I am so ready! I'm done with the one-length and really want some bangs :)

            •Get a tattoo. I already know what I want, I just have to figure out where to get it done and when.

            •Take some classes to improve on skills I'm lacking. I'm thinking computers, business/accounting, and also a sewing class to take my sewing to the next level.

            •Sew some new clothes.

            •Take my camera and ipod in to get fixed. Yes, Tonga seems to have done a number on both of them. Thanks for still working properly, computer!

            •Go thrift-store shopping. Oh, how I miss it!

            •Look for a volunteer job in the museum field. I've really been looking into museum studies of late and would like to give that a try.

            •Check out the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco.

            •Visit friends in Iowa (Farfum's wedding!), the East Coast, Georgia (Beth), and Japan.

            •Fix up my super-cool 50s-era bicycle (repaint, replace the seat, etc). Anyone know how?

            •Figure out what the heck you're supposed to do with Linkedin.

            •And last, but not least, hang out with my friends, family, and bf and try to make up for two years of lost time!

        -Melissa

Ten Things I've Loved About Tonga

             Oh my! It has recently come to my attention that I am down to my last month of service in Tonga. Actually I'm just kidding, for as my friends and fellow volunteers know,  I've been obsessively counting down the days and months since the beginning of this year. At long last, we have come to the final month, and though I have been extremely faka'ofa (pathetic) about blogging for a while, I felt this occasion deserved a post.

            Anyway, I felt that I should start with a picture of me when I first came to Tonga, more than two years ago (!):

And here's me now:

Wow, it's a bit mind-boggling to think of all that has happened these past two years, all the experiences I've had and how much I have learned since I first arrived here. Though there have certainly been challenges, I'll focus on the good here. So, with no further ado, here are...

Ten things I've loved about Tonga (in no particular order):

1. The beautiful (and I mean beautiful beaches). Though they have tended to lose their luster as the two years have dragged on, I was recently reminded of the awesomeness of the beaches just a few days ago, when, after a  long, hot, dusty bike ride, we jumped (fully clothed, of course) into the cool water. Ahhh...pure heaven.

Beach in Foa, Ha'apai

My favorite beach in Tongatapu- Keleti Beach

2. Collecting shells! I am sort of obsessed with shells. See the picture below:

Shells I collected from Ha'apai back in 2009!

 

3. My fellow volunteers (including Aussies, Kiwis, and JIKAs). It has been great serving with such inspiring, interesting, talented, and just plain cool people, getting to know them, and creating friendships I know will last a lifetime.

Group 75 at our C.O.S. conference

Marie, Ashley, Me, and Sarah at our C.O.S. conference in August

Simon and Rachel at Keleti Beach last year

Farfum, Toru, and Me at their going-away dinner last month

 

4. Learning about Tongan culture. Though I have certainly found it confusing, strange, infuriating, and frustrating, it has always been extremely fascinating to me all the same.

Giant tapa time!

Primary school students at Education Day

'Atele College students dancing the kailau (not sure what this lady's role is though)

 

5. Great Tongan friends. They're a little hard to find, but when you do, consider yourself lucky! Here are some of my great Tongan friends:

Mele, Me, and Silia last year

Me and Hina at our school's bazaar

 

6. Getting to know my students. Admittedly, it's been a sort of love-hate relationship here. Managing a classroom of students has been one of the most challenging and stressful jobs ever, but at the same time I love the times when I'm just hanging out and chatting with them. They have taught me a lot during my time with them (and they can be pretty cute too).

 

Left to Right: Elisapeti, Salome, Halamehi, Me, 'Ana, Ilaisaane, Meletonu, Latai, Lisia, and Ola

My buddy Siope

 

 Douglas, Moala, Salome, Me, and Lesieli

 

7. Gorgeous flowers. I especially love the colorful and intricate flower necklaces (kahoa) that Tongans make for special occasions. And how cute are these little spotted orchids? They're my favorite!

Yes, this is a real flower!

My kahoa from Parliament Day

Orchids in the school garden

8. Quiet Sundays. It was a little difficult at first to get used to the complete shut-down of Tonga on Sundays, especially when you forgot to buy something on Saturday. But I have slowly grown to love the peace and quiet of that day- it forces you to just relax and re-charge.

Curling up in the sunshine with a good book

Doing some laundry

Or just relaxing

9. Tongan handicrafts. Like shells, I am also sort of obsessed with Tongan handicrafts. Here are some of my favorite acquisitions over the last two years.

Tapa flowers for your hair

I love this pink tapa painting!

Shell fan

My new custom-made octopus necklace

10. Whales! During whale season, these things are absolutely everywhere. You can even see them from the shore, rolling, jumping, and playing. Unfortunately, I never got to swim with them, but it's definitely possible!

Splash!

This one kept slapping the water with it's tail

A mom and baby whale waving to us!

Check out some of my friend's blogs for some whale swimming posts!

Toru, John

  Well, that's all for now, see you in a month!  love, Mel

September: My Parents Came to Tonga

 The month of September got off to a sad start, because my dog Moli disappeared the first week of the month. I went to visit friends on Friday and left her tied up, and when I came back later that night she was gone. She had slipped out of her collar and it was still attached to the rope. I have no idea what happened to her. I searched some in the next couple of days, but there was no sign of her, and I’ve decided I’m officially done with having pets in Tonga, though several people have offered me replacement dogs. I’m really sad she’s gone, but on the bright side I think that maybe now I’ll travel after C.O.S. since I won’t have a dog to take home anymore.

Goodbye Moli- you were a good dog

I helped a little at Camp GLOW, which was held on Tongatapu. It seemed to go really well. I was disappointed because none of the girls from my school ended up attending. I’ve decided that I’m going to get more involved with it next year and try to get some St. Andrew’s girls over there. Anyway, the rest of the month was pretty busy getting final exams written and trying to cram in the rest of the material before the year ended, and as a result I’ve resolved to plan better for next year.

By far the most exciting part of the month was when my parents came to visit on the 27^th. Mo’unga was nice enough to drive me to the airport to pick them up, and then we came back to my house, where surprisingly enough, they wanted to stay. I tried to clean it well before they came and sprayed liberal amounts of Mortein. I taught my classes and they came and introduced themselves to the Form Ones. Mom brought gifts of candy and pencils, which were a big hit. Then went into town by bus and walked around a bit, and unfortunately Mom twisted her ankle at the market so we went back.

On Friday we had a “work-a-thon” at the school and singing practice. I had Mom and Dad come to the morning assembly, where they were recruited to hand out certificates to the form one boys who did the “rubbish patrol.”

That night we went to a feast and culture show at Oholei Beach, on the east side of the island.

At Captain Cook's Landing Place on the way to the show.

Fire dance!

On Saturday we did an island tour with Tai, which was fun. It took all day and went around the entire island. We saw:

The Ancient Tombs at Lapaha...

Captain Cook's Landing Place (picture c/o Tai, haha)...

The "Fishing Pigs"...

The Ha'amonga...

'Anahulu Cave...

Keleti Beach...

The Natural Landbridge..

The Blowholes...

 
  Liahona, the two-headed coconut tree, and Abel Tasman’s landing place (no pictures, sorry!). Sunday we went to Pangaimotu Island, where we had lunch and lounged around on the beach.

August: Preparing for Finals and School Bazaar

This month was a bit hectic. We finished up the last of the Internal Assessments in my Form 5 class. This turned out to be stressful because just as I was trying to teach my students how to do a persuasive speech, the principal decided to send the students who hadn’t paid their school fees home (which of course was more than half my class). So right when I was trying to teach uncooperative, uninterested fifth formers how to write speeches, (not to mention forcing them to write and perform them) in the span of about two weeks so I could send their marks in, they kept being sent home!

That was really frustrating, and a big part of why I’m asking not to teach Form five next year- it’s just so much pressure! And of course I’m still figuring out each new thing as I go. Also, I realized that the third term is my last chance to teach everything left in the year, because the fourth term is purely finals. I should have known this, but I was thinking for some reason that I had two terms of teaching left, and I was rather shocked when I made that realization.

Near the end of the month, we had two big events. Firstly, Kulaea, who is one of the teachers and Naite’s daughter, left to go to school in China. She got a scholarship from the Chinese government to study computers. She’s super smart and hardworking, so I know she’ll do really well, but it was sad to see her go.

At the same time, we got two new volunteers from New Zealand, Rachel and Simon. They are a retired couple and they both taught music in their careers. They will be here for the next three months, staying in the apartment above the staff room.

The same evening we also had a birthday party for Marie. We held it at Josh’s house and had a Mexican food potluck, which was delicious!

The next weekend, we had our school bazaar, which is a big fundraiser for the school. They sell vegetables, plants, coconuts and firewood from the school ‘uta, furniture made by the Industrial Arts department, artwork by the Fine Arts department, handicrafts made or donated by the students, and of course, food! I donated some chicken legs and banana muffins, which made a few pa’anga for my class. I also bought a fan to decorate my house. There were a lot of people who came, but there were a lot of things left over at the end. I noticed the teachers buying most of it up, which was nice of them.