Getting Ahead of Myself

When I wrote yesterday, I may have been slightly preemptive in saying that I was starting "work". While it is true that yesterday was the beginning of planning week for my school, there was actually very little work involved. Our meetings were scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., but they really started around 10:30 a.m. The first hour and a half were just a church service with a couple hymns and a message from our minister. After that, it was time for lunch. We spent about a half hour eating butter and spaghetti sandwiches and then regrouped for the afternoon meeting. The deputy principal passed out lists of the teachers and their departments, welcomed the new teachers, and dismissed us to work in our respective departments. I met for a bit with my co-teacher at the catering school, and was back at my house by 1:30. Overall, not a bad first day. After returning to my house, I had the power company come out and fix my electricity. It was nice to have my fans back!

Anyway, I won't actually be teaching for at least a couple weeks because our school has a week of cleaning and orientation, and then I will just be doing observation for a while. Perhaps by March I will actually be teaching.

So a few other random things I thought of since yesterday...my school colors are yet again blue and white. It seems that royal blue is following me everywhere I go. RHS, CWRU, and now Pouono. Perhaps it will be an easy way to narrow down my choice of grad schools someday!

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful Christmas cards. I ended up receiving most of them in January, but it was so nice to hear from so many church friends and family members. I'm looking forward to receiving some birthday cards soon that are still in transit!

I was very fortunate to have another volunteer who was visiting America bring back a new laptop for me after mine died, so now I have a brand new little netbook. The most exciting part is now I can skype with family and friends. If you have a skype account, let me know...I would love to chat.

Fruit and vegetables are only available seasonally here in Tonga, and one of the newest additions to the market is avocado. I'm looking for a tasty guacamole recipe if anyone has one they would like to share.

Finally, here are a couple pics from the last few weeks. A banana bread that was attacked by a rogue cat, hanging out at Brandon's house in Tu'anuku, and a rainbow at my school.

Tau Kamata

Today is my very first day of work! It is strange to think I will actually have a regular schedule soon. I've been getting quite used to my days of reading, singing, and napping.

This first week is just a planning week, so all the staff at my school will be meeting to do introductions, figure out schedules, and work within their respective departments. I will be working with my co-teacher, Moala, to start planning at the catering and hospitality school. Next week will be orientation and cleaning with the students, and then classes will actually begin.

Last night was a first for me in Tonga...I spent the night without electricity. For some unknown reason, the power at my house cut out while all my neighbors still had their power. It was kind of enjoyable laying in bed reading by candlelight until I saw a giant spider on my wall. Hopefully it gets fixed today because one night of giant spiders in the dark was enough for me!

Like I said earlier, my past several weeks I have been doing a lot of reading, choir rehearsals, napping, and the like. I have also been to several feasts, a few picnics, read scripture in church (in Tongan!), and served kava. I am slowly learning how to use my gas oven. I have made a couple decent banana breads and a yummy chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.

I hope everyone is staying nice and warm at home...drink some hot chocolate and have a snowball fight for me!

Hello 2011

The last week has been full of lots of celebrations for me...a Peace Corps Christmas party, New Year's, and my birthday!

Since most of us needed to stay in our communities on Christmas day, we decided to postpone our palangi Christmas celebration until the 29th. The 8 of us who were in Vava'u at the time met up at the Peace Corps office and had a gift exchange and cooked dinner. We made some awesome bruschetta and pasta complete with real mozzarella cheese.

On New Year's Eve, a group of us met up to go to dinner and celebrate my birthday a bit early. My birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and it is nearly impossible to do anything on a Sunday in Tonga. Therefore, we decided a joint New Year's/birthday would work. The other PCVs got me a lovely chocolate cake, and my friend Stephanie got me a couple cans of Diet Dr. Pepper. After dinner, we went over to the Mermaid where we spent the rest of the night dancing and welcoming 2011.

New Year's Day was remarkably similar to New Year's in the U.S. I spend a large part of the day napping and reading, and then had a delicious dinner of pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. It was almost like being back in PA!

Now that the holidays are over, I am getting more involved in community activities. I have been attending VEPA (Vava'u Environmental Protection Agency) meetings, going to CrossFit classes in the mornings at a local restaurant, and attending a lot of church events. This week is "uike lotu" or "week of prayer", so there is church several times everyday. I have been attending the 5:30 pm service as opposed to the 5:00 am service.

2011 is off to a amazing start, and I am sure there are lots of wonderful things to come. Wishing everyone a joyful and blessed New Year!

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas from Tonga! Christmas in Tonga was a lot different than what I am used to in America. Christmas morning I woke up and opened a gift from my co-teacher, Moala. She gave me a chocolate bar...quite a treat in Tonga! Next I went to church, where I sang in the choir for the first time. We sang a medley of popular Christmas songs like "Joy to the World" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". I had no trouble with the notes, but it was a little tricky singing them in Tongan when I am so accustomed to the English. After church, my neighbor, Fou, took myself, her daughter (also named Fou), her mother-in-law, and Sean to the beach for a picnic. I spent the afternoon relaxing, eating, and doing crossword puzzles. For dinner, a couple other Peace Corps Volunteers came to my house and we celebrated with a very untraditional meal of chicken, salad, and fruit. It was delicious!

Yesterday was a Sunday, so I went to church again. As I was looking for a seat, I was not sure if I should sit with the choir again. One of the ladies motioned me over, so I joined the alto section, assuming we would sing the same piece we sang on Christmas day. When it came time for the choir to sing, I stood up with everyone else. However, no one seemed to have any music, which was a bit strange. When the director cued us in, I was surprised to hear the familiar sounds of the "Hallelujah Chorus"! I did my best to sing along, but I was completely lost during the verses, which were all in Tongan. Definitely not my best choir performance.

Yesterday afternoon, I got to chat with my family at home. It was so nice to hear everyone's voices! Later, I took advantage of the fact that no one is allowed to work on Sundays and spent some quality time in my hammock reading and napping. There's not a whole lot on my agenda for this week, so I expect lots of the same. Loving the island life!

New Address

Check out the mail tab for my new Vava'u address!

I am a Peace Corps volunteer!!!

It's official...last week I was sworn-in as a Peace Corps volunteer. We had a great ceremony which included our group taking the Peace Corps oath, the singing of the American national anthem, the singing of the Tongan national anthem, traditional Tongan dances, and, as with any Tongan event, some good food. Here is a pciture of me after I accepted my language certificate and pin.

Going back a couple weeks (since I haven't posted any updates lately), there were some really awesome thing I got to do in Ha'apai before leaving for site. One awesome event was our Peace Corps culture day. Each village was responsible for learning a Tongan dance, cooking a Tongan dish and an American dish, and practicing another art form (song, skit, poem, etc.). Our village did the maulu'ulu (the sitting dance), read poetry, and cooked lots of good food like vai siane (cooked bananas), otai (mango punch), ota paka (crab salad), and pancakes. It was also really neat to see everything the other villages had prepared.

The following day, those of us in Fotua attended a putu (funeral). A putu is usually held at the home of the deceased (sometimes at a church). There are several days of preparation for cooking and cleaning before the acutual event. My host mother was gone for several days helping out. The day of, people start going early in the morning and usually stay until late afternoon. All day, there is singing outside of the house and a constant supply of food. People bring gifts of mats and cloth which they take inside the house to present to the family. Once you enter the house, you lay down your gift, kneel at the body, and then kiss the body. I only stayed for a few hours, but I was glad to experience this unique event.

That Saturday was supposed to be my last day in Ha'apai, but our flight was cancelled due to rain. We spent the weekend at a guesthouse, and flew to Vava'u on Monday for a week of attachement. I spent one day at my site, and then three days with a current volunteer. The current volunteers did a great job of introducing us to Vava'u. We spent one day at the beach, one day touring the island, explored town, and went to a couple restaurants. Here is a picture of the Vava'u crew (minus Farfum and Ashley).

After our short stay in Vava'u, we went back to Nuku'alofa to wrap-up training, swear-in, and do lots of shopping for our houses. Finally, after two and a half months of waiting, it was time to move to site! I am now happily moved in to my adorable house. I have to wait a couple days for the rest of my stuff to arrive on the boat, but I have been busy shopping, cleaning, and meeting new people. I start teaching at the end of January, so I have some time to practice my Tongan, get to know my community, plan for teaching, and relax. I am looking forward to a great couple of weeks! Here are some pictures of my new house to end with.

Tech Training

The last several weeks, we have switched focus from language to technical training. The other two business trainees and I have had the privilege of meeting many local business owners. We also conducted a training session last week for some guest house owners. We led a discussion of business needs in Tonga and presented the concept of a mission statement. Our participants told us it was the first interactive training they have attended. It was sometimes difficult to illicit their participation, but it was encouraging when they did show interest and develop their own ideas. It was also great practice for any training I might hold at my future site.

Some other things I have been doing lately include lots of dancing, sports practices, song practice, and of course, plenty of beach time. Every weekend for the past month there has been a Mormon dance in a nearby village. Mormon dances are much different than any dance I’ve been to in America. For one, if a boy wants to dance with you, they come up to where you are sitting and do a little bow. There is no conversation involved; you simply go out on the dance floor, stand at least 5 feet apart, and essentially dance by yourself. The exception is the slow songs during which couples waltz. Anyway, I think they are a blast.

Another common event is ako hiva, choir practice. Recently there was a big Mormon conference, so our island had a combined church choir that rehearsed almost every night leading up to the event. As a side note, I swear I am not becoming Mormon, I’ll only be going to Mormon events for one more week. Anyway, it was great being able to participate in a real choir…they used even used dynamics! It also helped me practice reading Tongan music. I now understand the number system (it just coordinates with the scale of the key signature starting at 3 and going up to 9), but I’m still working on rhythms. I am sure I will learn soon.

Finally, I have been playing some Tongan sports lately. I tried netball (although I wouldn't really call it netball since there were no nets) and touch rugby. I wasn't particularly good at either game, but it was lots of fun.

I only have a couple days left here in Ha'apai, and then I will be heading to Vava'u for a week checking out my site and shadowing a current volunteer. I can't wait to check it out!