Friday, May 11, 2012

New Island, New Adventures

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but hopefully this one will make up for it. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I recently had to leave my island in Vava’u. I absolutely loved Vava’u, but moving was the right thing to do. I’m still not sure if this will be a temporary move or if I will permanently move until the end of my service in December.  But for now, I am living on the main island, Tongatapu.

Tongatapu has lots of great things to offer. For one, I started working at the Catering & Hospitality School at Queen Salote College. It is the exact program I taught in Vava’u, so it has been a fairly easy transition. Another benefit of living on Tongatapu is the food. There is a fabulous market and Saturday fair with quite the selection of food. There is good peanut butter, black beans, heaps of vegetables and even American cereal. Also, the restaurants are really yummy. There is an awesome pizza place and several good cafes. Lastly (although the list could go on), I recently joined the royal choir. They are the choir that performs at the King’s church and at royal events. They are a really talented group, and I am very lucky to have the opportunity to sing with them. Currently, we are rehearsing for the Wesleyan conference that will be held at the end of June.


I’ve also had the opportunity to attend some really cool events since I’ve moved. Last weekend, I went to an art show in town. A group called “On the Spot” organized the event which showcased local artists. There was some beautiful artwork! Another event last weekend was the children’s Sunday. I went to church with my friend Kaitlin in her village, Utulau. My favorite was listening to the preschool kids read the hymns and scripture, they are adorable!


Lastly, the most exciting news of all, Rachel will be here to visit next week!!! I can’t wait to see her, I’m sure we will have some fabulous adventures. More updates on that soon!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Camp GLOW Vava'u needs your help!

















Camp GLOW is a wonderful opportunity for the young girls of Vava'u to learn about leadership, career opportunities, and healthy lifestyles. Please support this project with a donation, even a small donation will help. Malo 'aupito...thank you very much!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Death of King George Tupou V

photo from mfat.govt.nz

Tonga's King George Tupou V died last Sunday at age 63 in a hospital in Hong Kong. So what does that mean for Tonga?

Well, for starters there is going to be a three month mourning period ending on June 19th. Several things will occur during this period:
  • everyone will be wearing black
  • no loud music
  • no bars
  • no sporting events
  • only church songs on the radio
  • no celebrations
The hardest part for me will be wearing black...thankfully I have several black shirts and skirts to get me through the three months, but it will require laundry at least a couple times a week. I am also disappointed about the cancellation of sports. The all-island track and field competition has already been cancelled and it looks like rugby and netball will be cancelled as well.

When the king's body comes back to Tonga on Monday, people living on the main island will line the road from the airport to pay their respects to the king. The funeral will be held on Tuesday and he will be buried at the royal burial grounds. The nobles and their respective villages are responsible for sending gifts of ngatu (tapa cloth), pigs, yams, and money. These are traditional gifts for any funeral, but will be even more extravagant for the king's funeral. Monday and Tuesday are both public holidays for the whole country, so there will be no school and businesses will be closed.

Here's to three months of mourning and a monochromatic wardrobe....looking forward to June 19th.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Matamaka GPS



Last year, one of my Peace Corps friends was working at a government primary school on one of the outer islands. His village, Matamaka, is about an hour boat ride from the main island of Vava'u where I live. My friend started a project to repair the school wall and build new benches. When he left last year, the project was ongoing so he passed it on to me. We recently received all the funding and just started purchasing supplies. Yesterday was the big shipment out to the island. We rented one of the biggest boats in Vava'u and loaded it up with bags of cement, concrete blocks, timber, metal rods and gravel. When we arrived at Matamaka, lots of people turned up to help us unload, even the school children! Construction should begin soon, which is very exciting. Look for future blog posts about the finished project!



Saturday, February 25, 2012

100 and counting...

I have read 100 books since coming to Peace Corps! Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order):

A Room with a View - E.M. Forster

The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

The Tuesday Night Club - Agatha Christie

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

And still plenty of time this year for more reading!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sun and Sports


This week was the inter-house sports competition at Mailefihi. The students and teachers are divided into 4 houses for competitions throughout the year, including this one; I am a part of #3 this school year. On Thursday and Friday of this week, the students competed in track and field events. My favorite events to watch were javelin and the 400m relay. Javelin is entertaining because Tongan boys are really, really good at it. They can throw so far! I like the relay because they are really, really bad at it. I didn't see a single good hand-off. There were some really talented athletes, and I'm sure the students will do great at the inter-school competition in March. Go blue!




Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Cyclone and a Sunburn


6:00 am - woken up by heavy rains and strong wind

6:30 am - power goes out

7:00 am - watched a banana tree blow over

7:30 am - rearranged living room so furniture wouldn't get soaked

9:00 am - storm is finished

9:30 am - swept out leaves and water from my house

10:00 am - started reading a book about a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, mood is lifted

11:30 am - neighbors bring me breadfruit from a tree that blew over

1:00 pm - walked around town with some friends

5:00 pm - returned home with a sunburn. oiaue.

7:30 pm - dinner by candlelight

8:00 pm - continued to read Mongolia book using headlamp

9:00 pm - bedtime

the end.