March: Classroom Inspection, New Dog, and Toru

Well, March is already almost over! I’ve had a cough for most of the month that has just started to get better with the aid of a round of antibiotics, so that hasn’t been to fun, since I haven’t been able to sleep very well as a result. Most of my free time has been taken up planning for my classes and trying to figure out their IA (Internal Assessment), which consists of a research paper, speech, listening comprehension, and an exam, and how it all fits in with their grade. It is very complicated and confusing, so I have decided to stop trying to figure out the grading system and just teach them what they’re supposed to know! So far I have been focusing on the research paper, which is due in May, but I seem to keep finding out new or conflicting information regarding how it is supposed to be done. This has been rather frustrating, as I have to keep changing the due date and the requirements for the students. I’ll be happy when it’s over. I think teaching will be a lot easier next year just because I’ll have experience with this school system.

My new (ill-gotten?) puppy, who I named Molly, has been taking up a lot of time and energy too. She’s cute but really naughty, and has been wreaking havoc on my house. She must put a lot of thought into it to, because it seems as though she is constantly coming up with new and more creative ways to destroy. So far she has both urinated and defecated multiple times in the house, chewed up rolls of toilet paper into tiny bits, torn the lining out of my bike helmet and pooped on it, pulled my jeans off the clothesline and pooped on them, chewed up the screen, vomited on the couch, peed on two blankets (that had to be taken to the Laundromat) and much, much more. She also is constantly jumping on, scratching, and biting me. I can’t wait until she outgrows this phase. The police (randomly, one day) assured me they won’t kill her, but sometimes I think I wouldn’t mind if she “disappeared.”

We also had “classroom inspection” by the Principal and Chairman of the Board last week, so all of the teachers and some students were working hard to get our classrooms decorated for it, even working past midnight the night before. However, the actual inspection was pretty anticlimactic. I never even heard how our room measured up! I also lost a bunch of my precious colored sharpies to thieving students in the process, and no one has ‘fessed up. I guess that’ll teach me to share!

At the beginning of the month we had a lady from New Zealand who is in charge of the Anglican schools come for a visit. She looked at the hurricane damage, met with the teachers (but not me!), and gave us a training session. Before she left, the school took her out to dinner as a thank-you for all she had done, and I was lucky enough to be invited for some reason. We ate at this restaurant called Sea View, and it was delicious! I had a steak with mushrooms, and it was definitely the best meal I’ve had since leaving the States. I was seriously in a trance as I was eating it.

When we were leaving, we saw this palangi who was stranded, as his taxi had never shown up, and Naite offered to give him a ride to his guesthouse. His name was Stephan and he was from France, and he ended up coming to visit the school the next day for some reason. I think he wanted to see the “real” Tonga, which I guess the school is, though not “real exciting.” Of course the principal had him make a speech at the assembly even though he had absolutely nothing to do with the school. I’m sure the kids thought he was a new teacher. Anyway, we hung out with him on Friday night as well, or I should say I did, since Kulaea decided to flake out. So I rounded up Marie and Mele (one of the teachers at our school) to entertain him. We ended up going to the Billfish, which is probably the most popular club in Nuku’alofa, to eat and hang out. Though I think I’ve seen enough of the Billfish even in the short time I have been here, it was still fun. It’s always interesting to meet different people in Tonga, not only Tongans but other random foreigners too. Since Tonga is sort of an “out of the way” place to go in the South Pacific, I always wonder how exactly they ended up here.

This month I started helping Toru, one of the JICA (like Japanese Peace Corps) volunteers, with English once a week. He has a blog that he is writing in both Japanese and English, so I’ve been helping him edit the English part of it. If anyone wants to check it out the address is: http://ameblo.jp/torojirotriun01/ . His blog is about him being in Tonga and also about this cat character he made called “Yamaneko.” He gives little figurines to people and has them take pictures of it in different places they go and send them to him. I got one a couple weeks ago but I haven’t taken any pictures yet!

Yesterday, I went snorkeling right off the north coast of town. You have to walk in shallow water pretty far out, to the edge of the reef, but once you get there it is well worth it. The view is really awesome: tons of different types tropical fish and lots of beautiful coral. It’s good to know it’s so close too. I will definitely be taking any visitors I have over to check it out. Now I need to find an underwater camera!

January and February: School Starts and a Cyclone

Hi everyone! It’s now March and I’m just getting around to putting up a new post. There’s been so much that’s happened since January, so I’ll just go briefly over the main events:

Month of January: Pretty uneventful. I didn’t do much, just hung out at my house most of the time, waiting for the madness to begin. I did manage to get my hands on a sewing machine from the Home Ec. Department, which kept me occupied for a while.

School Begins: Wow, what a change! I went from doing nothing to being busy at all times, trying to figure out what on earth I’m supposed to be doing. I have three classes- two Form 1 and a Form 5. Like pretty much all of the volunteers, despite being led to believe that I would be team-teaching, I have the classes completely to myself and definitely no observation period. So that has been a learning experience, to say the least. The main issue has just been figuring out what it is that I’m actually supposed to teach. I’ve been slowly getting more and more information, but the process has been pretty frustrating. I’ve been learning a lot as I go and getting the hang of teaching everyday, but I still feel pretty lost at times, and I feel like I spend all of my free time either grading papers or lesson planning! I also said I would help out with the Girl Guides (which is like an international branch of Girl Scouts) since all of the teachers are supposed to help with at least one of the extracurricular activities. Somehow, the other teachers decided that I should be the “captain” of it, so now it seems I’m in charge. Yikes!

Dog Saga: So my dog Scooby disappeared at the beginning of February, the first to be exact, because it was the first day of school. I went to the computer lab to use the net, and when I came back out she was nowhere to be found. I was hoping she would return during the night, but she never did. The next day I told Naite and the principle about it, and they immediately suspected that she had been taken by the police trainees next door for their ‘umu. They made an announcement to the students about it, and a couple of kids told the principle they had seen them calling to the dog. The head tutor, Maake, was in charge of the “investigation” and went to ask the police about it, who said they never saw the dog. Apparently, they got in trouble for this very thing a couple years back, when they decided to indiscriminately shoot dogs (they are allowed to shoot strays, but not dogs with collars) and ended up killing and eating the king’s brothers dog, who complained and got some people fired. Anyway, Scooby never came back, and I was really sad and angry about it, not to mention confused. A few weeks ago, some kid came up and gave me a puppy, saying it was from the police, who evidently still claim they didn’t kill her, which has added a whole new level of strangeness to everything. I was under the impression that Maake was going to complain to the Police Commissioner, but a few days ago I asked him what happened with that and he never did. Apparently, to the Tongans, the new puppy was the solution to the problem. He said I could still go complain if I want to, and I’m debating if I want to go through the hassle.

Hurricane/Tsunami Warnings: In the middle of February, Cyclone Rene hit Tonga. We were all “consolidated” which means all of us on Tongatapu came to the Peace Corps office to wait it out. We ended up staying for a couple nights, as the storm took longer than expected to pass through. I have to admit I was kind of excited then to see what a hurricane is like, but now I think one was enough for me! Staying in the Peace Corps office for nearly three days got me a little stir-crazy, and the aftermath was even worse. 

Luckily, my house was undamaged, but there was quite a bit of water on the floor that had to be mopped up, including a large puddle under the “capeti” (vinyl mat), which had to be pulled up to dry and became very smelly. Also, the power was out a few days, which made everything in my fridge go bad. Even worse, the hurricane had blown off a section of the roof of our computer lab, and several computers and the air-conditioning unit were water-damaged. The Internet was down for a couple weeks and the lab had to be moved to the staff room. When the students came back to school on Wednesday, we spent an entire day cleaning the classrooms and picking up fallen branches. So basically, the excitement of the hurricane is far outweighed by the hassles of the aftermath!

Not two weeks later, we had our second consolidation for a tsunami warning! As everyone probably knows, the earthquake in Chile caused a tsunami warning for the entire pacific region. So I was woken up at 2:00 AM to let me know we would be consolidating at 7:00, and again at 5:00 to let me know it had been moved to 6:00. Our principal and his family came by as I was getting ready to go to the office and they were nice enough to give me a ride. Once at the Peace Corps office, we were loaded up and driven to the “high point” of the island, (which really isn’t very high- the whole island is flat!) where we waited for the tsunami to hit. After waiting about 5 hours, it became apparent that it wasn’t coming, and we were taken home.

So anyway, that’s a general rundown of what I’ve been doing. I’m hoping March turns out to be less stressful than February was!

Holiday Time in Tonga

Happy New Year! As one of the first countries over the International Date Line, Tonga is one of the very first places in the world to greet the New Year. To celebrate, I joined some of the volunteers and some of the Aus-Aid people at a beach campout at Fua’amotu beach on the southern tip of the island. It was pretty fun, despite the fact that I’m not a big camper. 

I got to try out my new snorkel, which was awesome! Unlike the one I bought at the Chinese shop, it didn’t leak at all! (Thanks Mom!) The snorkeling wasn’t as good as Ha’apai, so I think I’m going to have to keep looking for good spots on Tongatapu. Later we made a bonfire and made sure to cheer at midnight (though there were some cell phone time discrepancies, so we celebrated twice) and even lit some fireworks. The night was a bit cold and the ground was hard, reminding me why I don’t really like camping, and by the next morning all I could think about was getting home and taking a shower. We hung out until around 1:00 waiting for our ride, during which time we watched this group of Tongan kids carry an entire litter of puppies to the beach, throw them into the water, let them swim to shore, and then bury them in the sand up to their necks. 

When I finally got back to town, I managed to get myself stranded at the Peace Corps office for a long couple of hours because I had sent my backpack containing my house keys ahead with some Aussies, which didn’t end up arriving until hours after me! To top it off, my cell phone died, so for awhile I was seriously wondering if I would be spending the night in the volunteer lounge! Happily, they eventually showed up and I could finally head home, where I promptly showered, ate, and fell asleep!

So, to backtrack, Christmas Eve, was nice, as I got to eat a feast of delicious Palangi food and visit with the other volunteers. Christmas day itself was a bit lackluster, I admit, due to boredom and the fact that my dog had somehow gotten hurt the night before. She showed up that morning with two deep gashes and a bad limp. I was actually pretty convinced that her leg was broken by the looks of it! I made some phone calls and found out that there is only one vet in Tonga (but in Nuku’alofa, luckily for me!) and he works for the Ministry of Agriculture, so (unluckily for me) he would be on holiday until January 4th like all the government employees. So there was pretty much nothing I could do about it. The next day I called our health officer, Jacinta, just to see if there was anything I could do, and she was nice enough to come look at Scooby for me, and concluded that the leg wasn’t broken. So that was a big relief! She’s still been limping since then though, so I think I will try to take her to the vet when they are back next week.

I also spent the rest of that weekend at home just hanging out. I didn’t go to church on Sunday, which was a nice relief, but I feel like I probably should since I’m supposed to be interacting with my community. I think it’s more difficult for us in Nuku’alofa to do, since our “community” is essentially the whole city, and for me, since I live on a school compound, I don’t really have neighbors to meet. I think most of my community integration will have to happen when school gets back in session and there are actually people here. All I have as of now is Naite (who has 10 kids and is incredibly busy), and the kids in the band who come around intermittently in between rounds of Christmas caroling/fundraising. They’ve been playing all around town for weeks! 

So, anyway, by the end of the weekend I was so happy for Monday to finally roll around so I could at least go out! I did some grocery shopping and was happy to discover that four packages had arrived for me when I got to the Peace Corps office, although then there was the dilemma of how I was going to get them back home on my bike! Luckily, Seini, one of our medical staff, gave me Sarah, and Louis a ride back to our houses! Of course I opened them shortly after arriving home. They contained all sorts of fun stuff and my parents sent me an awesome video camera for Christmas, which is exciting, although I’m still debating what I should videotape!

On Tuesday I hung out with Marie, another volunteer who lives in a village on the Eastern side of the island. We ate and did some shopping, and I discovered a really cool place that sells handicrafts. I guess it’s like a women’s collective where women who don’t have time to sit at the market can bring in their handmade goods to sell. I got some earrings and a flower hair thing made out of bark fibers. Then I assisted Marie in an attempted cat-napping! 

One of the volunteers, Sandy, inherited a cat from a volunteer who lived in her house before her, but she isn’t really into cats, so Marie was going to adopt it. As cat-carriers are pretty hard to come by in Tonga, she brought a cardboard box to transport it in. Turns out, it’s very difficult to get a cat into a cardboard box, much less keep it in there! We tried about ten different times to get the cat into the box, to no avail. The funny thing was, the cat is so friendly that it would come back to us every time, even though we had just been trying to stuff it into a box! I guess it’s been pretty starved for attention since it’s owner left. So Marie finally gave up on the box idea, and went to catch her bus, but she had missed the last bus out by that time, so she stayed at my house and then went for another attempt on the cat the next day. This time, a backpack was used, which proved successful!

Anyway, other than New Years, this week has been another slow one. Yesterday I hung out at home, although Louis came over for a while and brought his puppy to play with Scooby. It was great: they immediately became friends and played together the whole time, until Louis had to go somewhere and I said he could leave the puppy to play. No sooner had I turned around, and the puppy was gone! I looked all over for him and finally realized he had somehow gotten through the fence to the police training center and was eating the scraps from their ‘umu. I called to him for about 15 minutes and tried to lure him over with dog treats, but he completely ignored me! Finally, one of the police officers came by and handed him to me over the fence, which was rather embarrassing. Following that incident I decided to tie him until Louis returned for him!

Today (Sunday the 3rd), I actually had every intention of going to church, since I was feeling guilty about blowing it off last week. I asked Naite yesterday if I could go with them and she said sure, that they would pick me up at eight. I got ready and waited. Eight rolled around, then 8:15, and finally I called Naite. She said they all decided to sleep in instead, which was fine with me! So no church after all. I might be getting my fair dose of church this week though, because this coming week is actually Uike Lotu, “Prayer Week,” where people go to church every day of the week, and I think they also have a number of feasts and whatnot. It’s always the first week of the year, but I haven’t been invited to anything so far. I think that is one of the advantages/disadvantages of living in the city and not really knowing anyone! The volunteers in smaller villages seem to already have a whole schedule of church activities and feasts planned out for them. I guess I should enjoy the time to myself while it lasts, because I’ll start teaching February 1st!

Well, Happy Holidays to everyone! Here’s hoping this year is a good one!

My First Week at my Site!

So, despite a hurricane warning, we were able to swear in and become official volunteers last Wednesday! We did have a change of venue though, just in case there was bad weather- instead of the resort that we were supposed to have it at, we had it indoors at Queen Salote College (an all-girl high school). I think it ended up being significantly less fancy than is was supposed to have been, but I was just happy that it still happened. I was starting to feel pretty stir-crazy at Sela’s!
It was really cool, because on the morning of swearing-in, my school secretary, Naite, called me and asked if they could dress me up for the ceremony. Naite and her sister picked me up and drove me to my house, where they dressed me in a white puletaha (a long blouse and matching skirt) and taovala (a woven mat worn around the waist). They also gave me a flower thing to wear around my waist and a flower necklace made with tiny red flowers called heilala. Apparently this type of flower is hard to find and is worn for very special occasions, so it was really nice of them to make it for me. They have an interesting, kind of beer-like smell.
After I was dressed, they took me to the hall at Queen Salote. Our guests of honor (because every event in Tonga has to have a guest of honor) were the Minister of Education, the New Zealand High Commissioner, and the Japanese Ambassador. We all took the oath as a group and then they called us one by one to receive a certificate and a pin. I thought the certificate would say something about us being volunteers, but it was actually just a paper that said our language test score, which was sort of odd. The pin is kind of nice- I put it on my fridge as a magnet. We also had a really good slideshow of pictures from PST, (which my friend Farfum spent a long time making, but which ended up being impossible to see) and some of the new volunteers did a dance performance. All in all, it was nice, and I was really glad to finally be a volunteer and be done with training. We will be done with our service exactly two years from that date: December 16, 2011!
I was originally supposed to have moved into my house Wednesday afternoon, but again, as a result of the hurricane warning the Peace Corps office had everyone stay an extra night at Sela’s, even the people on Tongatapu. It actually ended up working out well, because we all went out to dinner on Wednesday night and it was really nice. We went to this place called Little Italy, which had awesome Italian food. Some people also went out to a club afterward, called the Billfish. It’s one of the few clubs in Nuku’alofa and it’s popular with the volunteers and other “palangis”. I decided to skip that one, as I had gone there last weekend. It’s pretty much like a typical club in the states- loud, smoky, expensive drinks and plenty of creepy guys. It was pretty fun, since it was the first time I had really gone out in months and a bunch of the trainees went, but I think I can wait until we’re all together again for our in-service training in April to go there again!
So on Thursday my school came and picked me up from Sela’s. I was surprised to see they brought the school truck and several of the students to help lift things. We took my suitcases from Sela’s and then stopped by the Peace Corps office for some things I had bought, and then got Scooby from Poli’s house. Then they dropped me off and I just put my stuff away. It was nice to be in my own place, but I was kind of bored by the end of the day! On Friday Naite took me shopping for some household stuff and groceries, and I got almost everything I needed. I had dinner at Rob and Kathy’s house that evening, which was awesome, and then on Saturday I went to the market with them and Louis. We saw a sign for “Old Tonga: an Ancient Cultural Village” and ended up going on a long bike ride to this swampy area west of town to try to get to it. Turns out, it is just this place you can rent out for events, and nobody was there! The road was really rocky, and by the time I headed back to town, my bike was making this weird clicking noise and the pedals felt like they were getting loose. I ended up going straight to the bike repair guy, who told me to come back for my bike at 5:00 (it was like 1:00!) so I killed time at the Peace Corps office for awhile on the internet, and decided to check on the bike at 3:00 and thankfully it was already fixed. I went home and gave Scooby a flea bath, which she did not appreciate, but she definitely needed! It’s been nice having a dog, but I really need to train her! She gets really jumpy and she likes to bite my hands and stuff. I found a book in the school library today though called “I Just Got a Puppy, Now What Do I Do?” which hopefully can help me out! Also I need to find out where the vet is so I can get her spayed asap!
I decided to go to the Anglican Church on Sunday in the interest of making a good impression, since St. Andrews is an Anglican school. I went with Naite’s daughter Kulaea, who is also a teacher at the school. Everything was going fine until the priest guy introduced me and then suggested that I could help with the English Sunday School, which I will definitely not be doing! I also took communion for the first time in my life- I felt weird about that, since I think you have to be baptized or something to partake in all that, but Kulaea told me to so I just did it. After the service, I was told to get on this bus, which took us to somebody’s wedding brunch. This seems to be a recurring theme for me in Tonga so far: crashing strangers’ parties and weddings. I feel extra awkward because I’m a palangi and I don’t blend in, and I know everyone is really wondering who the hell I am!
Monday and Tuesday Naite invited me to go around with the school band. They are doing a lot of performances for feasts and parties and stuff, and they also do Christmas caroling at people’s houses around town. So they all drive around like a big convoy with the school truck and some other cars, get off and play some songs, and then load it all up again and drive on. I think this is sort of a fundraiser, because people usually give them a little donation every time they play. Their band is only a couple years old but it has a reputation as being really good. I think Tongans in general are really into brass bands, because they have them perform for a lot of occasions, and even the police have a band. So that was kind of fun, and I think it was a good way to meet people, and I got to eat some delicious food at the New Zealand High Commission’s party, which was definitely the highlight of the day. They had seared ahi and quiche, and this delicious banana cake. I’m making myself hungry just remembering it.
Anyway, today (Thursday) is Christmas Eve. A bunch of us volunteers in Tongatapu are getting together tonight with some Aussie volunteers and having a dinner. It should be fun. I’m making chocolate chip cookies (mostly just because I want to eat them). Anyway, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Back in Tongatapu!

So I haven’t been able to put up a blog in a while. Its been a busy few weeks. We’re back on Tongatapu -we flew back on Friday. Now we’re staying at the same guesthouse in Nuku’alofa that we stayed in at the beginning of training. We’ll be there until we swear in next Wednesday and move to our sites.

Anyway, to backtrack, the last couple weeks in Ha’apai were good, but we were all getting really tired of home stay by that point and were ready to move on. We had a great going-away party that our families got together to put on. They had a sound system and everything. My host mom, Petelina, loves to dance and she was very excited about that aspect of the party. We were also asked to do a bible reading at the Free Wesleyan church, which is interesting because none of us went there. Petelina, insisted upon dressing me up in one of her “church outfits,” which wasn’t the most flattering thing I’ve worn. It went pretty well, even though it was in Tongan and I had no idea what I was saying. The local Catholic church also threw a little party for us, because Feleti and our health officer Jacinta went to church there regularly. It ended up being pretty sweet for them because they were presented with gifts of a large tapa cloth and a mat, both of which are very valuable.

I was also, after a great deal of hassle, able to get my dog, “Scooby” (I realize that is a boy name - she was already named) to Nuku’alofa with me. She belonged to Poli’s neighbor and all of us would always pet her and play with her when we went to class. She is exceptionally friendly for a Tongan dog and will always greet people by running up to them and then rolling over in hopes of getting her belly scratched. Lani, Poli’s neighbor, told me that I could have her, so I thought I would give it a try, being that she is such a good dog. To make a long story short, turns out bringing a dog on plane is a huge hassle, involving apathetic airport staff, endless phone calls to a variety of government agencies, wrong email addresses, people not sending emails until the last minute, fruitless searches for nails, and washing an unhappy dog. But in then end I was able to get her here! She is currently living at Poli’s house, where she will stay until I move into my place.

Once we arrived back in Tongatapu, me and another trainee, Ashley, stayed with a volunteer, Carole, at her house in Pea, a village about 20 minutes from Nuku’alofa. She made is spagetti, which I was very excited about after my diet during homestay. They fed me very well, but Tongan food is in general, pretty bland and most of it is either fried or boiled, which gets old fast! On Saturday morning she took us to the flea market and the regular market, which was fun. They have lots of really cool Tongan handicrafts that I think I might blow my budget on! I just bought a couple pairs of earrings though. 

Later that day, I was really happy because I was able to see my school and my house! The school secretary, Naite, and her two daughters, one of which is a teacher at the school, picked me up from the Peace Corps office, and drove me to the campus. It’s actually really nice- they have an awesome library and computer lab, which has wireless internet (yay!). They also have a Home Ec. Department, so I’m really hoping I can use one of the sewing machines to make some clothes. The house itself is nice too, it’s pretty small, but not too small. It has a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, with a lot of furniture and appliances already in it! I was so excited to discover that it already has a (large) refrigerator and stove, as well as a bunch of kitchen utensils. There is a big table and chairs in the living room as well as a small couch, which I was really hoping to have but didn’t think I could afford! The bedroom has two beds, which will be great for having guests over, and they already have mattresses on them! Another great perk is that there are screens on all the windows and a screen door, which should be a big help in cutting down the bug problem. The one drawback is the bathroom, because the shower is really small and doesn’t have any space to put toiletries, and there isn’t a bathroom sink, so I’ll have to use the kitchen sink to wash my face and hands, but that’s ok. There is also a storage room that I can keep my bike in, which I’m glad about, because bike theft can be a problem here. Naite said she would take me shopping for more household stuff next Friday too!

On Saturday (the 5th) night, Carole took us to a concert called “Carols by the Sea.” It was outdoors on the palace grounds right by the ocean and they had a bunch of different Christmas carols performed by different people. The King and his sisters came too and sat in a special tent, and nobody could sit between the King’s tent and the stage. I was excited because I got to see St. Andrew’s band perform. They had a cute thing where this boy played the trombone with his foot.

Sunday was really nice too…no church! Instead we went to a beach resort on an island close to Nuku’alofa- about a 10 minute boat ride away, called Pangaimotu. It had a bar and restaurant and shaded tables, and a sunken boat nearby that people could snorkel around. It had some really cool fish near it, but the water was kind of murky so I was getting nervous! Anyway, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday, and I was glad to know about, especially for when I have visitors!

We checked into Sela’s Guesthouse again on Tuesday, and the rest of the week has been more training sessions. Today (Friday) we had our OPI (final Tongan language test). I’m relieved that it’s finally over, and I scored as “intermediate,” which was my goal! Now I can just relax for the next few days before swear-in!

Culture Day and Technical Training

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks since I was able to post last (You have no idea how difficult using the internet can be here!). We had our “culture day” performances on the 7^th, and that was a lot of fun. Our dance actually went pretty well and I was relieved that I didn’t screw it up. The dance we taught to the kids was a big hit and the crowd seemed to really love it. Our host familes dressed us all up in Tongan outfits and also made our dance costumes. Mine consisted of a mat which was wrapped around me and then tied. I also wore pieces of fabric with shells glued to them on my wrists and ankles and an elaborate flower thing around my waist. Pele had a similar outfit, though her dress was fabric and decorated with these things made from cassette tape. The guys in our village group wore these things made from leaves- basically just a leaf skirt and that was all. Their dance was also a big hit- a neighbor actually mentioned that people are still talking about it even though it happened about 2 weeks ago! I will try to get some pictures of all that up soon.

Last week we did our technical training, which consisted of teaching strategies, classroom management, lesson planning, etc. It was pretty helpful, (some parts more than others), though it was pretty tedious sitting in the hall from 8:30 to 4:30, especially since the benches are really hard and uncomfortable. By the end of the week, I made sure to run in and snag one of the few plastic chairs so my back wouldn’t be aching by the end of the day. 

This week we’ll be doing our practice teaching. We had our first day today and I felt like it went pretty well. I was assigned to teach at St. Josephs, which is the local Catholic secondary school, since apparently the Catholic and Anglican school systems are pretty similar. In Tonga, the school system is different from the US. Almost all of the primary schools are government-run, where they teach grades 1-6 (they are called classes). Students then take a government-issued test in class 6, and their grade on this determines where they can go to secondary school. In general, most of the students who score high on the class 6 exam go to the government-run high schools, which are better funded and generally offer a better education. Students who did not score as well will usually go to the mission schools,though some attend them because of their familie’s church affiliation (like Catholic, Wesleyan, Church of Tonga, etc.). Often these schools will not have any pre-requisite in terms of passing the class 6 exam, and are church-run and often have difficulty with funding, as their school board and PTA have to come up with a large portion of their budget. I was told that at the school I’ll be teaching at, there may be drastically different levels of English skills within the same class, so I will have to try to provide “extension activities” appropriate to these different levels. Classes in Tonga are graded almost entirely on the final test, taken at the end of the year, so the curriculum is very much a “teach the test” approach, which many of the Peace Corps volunteers dislike.

Anyway, since me and Juleigh, one of the other trainees, were both teaching English at the same school, we decided to combine our classes and team-teach our lessons. We had about 25 students once we combined the Form 1 and 2 classes (the American equivalent of 7^th and 8^th graders). I was happy to see that I knew one of the students, who is Sione’s host brother. We just did an introductory activity and had the students introduce each other. The class was actually pretty well-behaved, but it could get pretty noisy. There was someone hammering outside the entire time and for some reason it would echo and get very noisy. The next day was better in terms of noise level. It was funny because the boys and girls automatically sit on opposite sides of the room. It seems like, on average, the girls know more than the boys, so we are going to try to mix them up tomorrow and see how that works out. Despite how nervous I was to start, I’m finding the practice teaching really helpful in getting to see how the Tongan students act, what level they are at in English, and how to plan the lessons.

Other than the teaching, we’ve been back at language classes. Our language teacher is a Tongan lady named Poli and she is really cool. All of the other trainees are kind of scared of her, because she likes to act like she is really strict, but all of us in her group really like her. She taught me how to do some weaving stuff and how to make flowers out of the weaving grass that people use, and I am trying to make my own kie-kie (which is a sort of belt-thing that Tongan women wear around their waists). I think I am going to have her help me shop at the market in Nuku’alofa too- I have no idea how to buy fresh fish. 

Today I bought a cheap chinese-shop snorkel today, and I am hoping to go snorkeling this weekend. I also learned that the school I will be teaching at, St. Andrews, will be having their graduation on the same weekend that I will be back in Tongatapu for my attachment (when we stay with another volunteer). So I’m hoping I will be able to attend that and meet the staff, and even possibly see my house (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that one)! I’m really excited to finally get to my site and start to getting situated. Only three more weeks of homestay!

Site Placement!

This was an exciting week, because on Saturday we were told what our site placements will be! I’m going to be working at a secondary school (like junior high and high school combined) called St. Andrews. It’s an Anglican school on the outskirts of the capital, Nuku’alofa, on the main island, Tongatapu. We were given an informational packet when we were told our placement, and mine says I’ll be teaching English to forms 1 and 5, which would be the American equivalent of 7th graders and high school juniors. I was able to find out that I’ll be living in a house on the school grounds, near the principle’s house (so hopefully he’s cool). According to the packet I was given, the school grounds tend to flood during heavy rains, so I hope that doesn’t become an issue!

Anxiously waiting for the site announcements

Me picking the next person whose site to announce

One good thing about being near the capital is that I should have electricity and running water, and I heard that the house I’ll be living in already has a stove and refrigerator. If that turns out to be true then I am definitely buying a washing machine with the money I’ll save- I had enough hand washing in Ghana and to know it’ll be worth it! About eight other trainees have been assigned to places on Tongatapu as well, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I also learned that the other side of the island has some prehistoric monuments, which I hope to be able to check out, and some good reefs for snorkeling. I wish I had brought a snorkel, but hopefully I’ll be able to find one in Nuku’alofa. I’m kind of sad to know I won’t be seeing a lot of the other trainees who have been assigned to the other island groups, but I plan on visiting at least a couple of times in the next two years and seeing all the island groups.

The Tongatapu crew

Vava'u

Ha'apai

'Eua

Other than that I have just been doing the usual- language class, training, and church on Sunday. I was entertained/scared by the kids in church again- these two boys were playing with huge pieces of broken glass and pretending to stab each other during the last service. We started teaching the neighborhood kids our American dance last night. It’s going to be a medley of American songs with simple dances to go with them. So far it looks like it will be good-the kids are really cute and they seem to have fun with the dances.

Our dance practice for the Tongan dance that Pele and I have to perform has been going alright. We learned the entire part that we need to know, and now we just have to work on doing it gracefully. It’s mostly hand movements, with just a couple of stepping parts. When people perform that type of dance they put coconut oil on their skin and if the crowd likes it, they will stick money to their arms and legs. Our group decided we need to do a good job so we can earn some internet money!

On Saturday we had a lot of things going on. We did a breast cancer walk through Pangai (the main town on Ha’apai). Apparently, there is very little awareness about breast cancer in Tonga and it often doesn’t get diagnosed, much less treated. Also there is a stigma around having it, as it is sometimes seen as a punishment from God for doing something wrong, and also discussing breasts at all is viewed as inappropriate. So the Peace Corps in Tonga decided to do this walk to raise awareness. It was just the Peace Corps trainees and staff walking down the main road, and I don’t think we got much exposure, as I think we passed about 5 people total. But oh well.

Fanagale'ounga crew after the walk

After the walk we got on a boat and travelled to Ha’ano, an island a little north of us. 

The boat ride was sort of cool at first, but after a while it got pretty old, especially if you were sitting in the sun. When we got there we split into teams and did a scavenger hunt. We had to ask random people questions and take photos. It went pretty well, although there was quite a bit of awkwardness and blank stares when we tried to explain what we were doing and ask people questions! My team wasn’t too competitive, and we came in 5th place (out of 8), but it didn’t really matter, because everyone got the same prize anyway (some school supplies) except the first place people. After that we ate snacks and learned how to open coconuts with a machete (I’m going to need a lot more practice on that one!). It was cool for Pele, because she got to see her house and the school she’ll be working at (she’s taking over from another volunteer who’s leaving).

On the boat to Ha'ano

Me posing at one of our "hunt" items- a weaving house

After we got back, we went home and tried to figure out something to do, since it was Halloween. We ended up just getting together with the group from the next village over and watching “The Office.”

Sunday was pretty much the same as usual- lots of relaxing and eating. There was some kind of performance put on by a Pentecostal group from ‘Eua, so we watched that for awhile, along with the rest of the village, even though we didn’t really understand what they were saying.

Yesterday (Monday) we had a cooking session where we learned how to make Tongan food, although the Tongan-ness of a few of the dishes was questionable (like the salad and the vegetarian stir-fry). After we cooked we had a little feast and it was great! It made me excited to get to my site and cook for myself- no more boiled root crops and corned beef! I also got a letter yesterday from Cheryl (one of the clients, for those who don’t know). It was so cute, it made me cry! 

Anyway, that’s what’s been happening. I’ll try to post some more pictures soon! Hope everyone is doing alright. Feel free to write or call any time!

          -Melissa