A Week in the Life

Well, it was another hot, hot week here in Vava’u.  Here are just some quick pictures.

We had an awesome week in the classroom with the kids.  We had fun rockin’ out to adjectives with our class 5/6 kids.

Le’o and I won best candid shots for the day.

Ry and I are currently running 3 small-group tutoring sessions on the weeknights at our house.  We both run a different elementary age group, and we thought it would be fun to converge the two groups of kids this week to play some uno.

Things got very heated after a couple of rounds and the kids got pretty intense. Here in Tonga, it is all about the win! Lucky tried his damndest to get their attention and get a belly scratch, but no such luck. All he got was a solid whap on the head from Kesa.

The most inappropriate dog in the world's strategy: start with a paw grab

Now on to the old standy: voracious licking

And finally, nothing less that a loud bellow for attention.

We are two weeks away from our trip to Australia and a new baby Regnier!  Big things on the horizon! Hang in there little sis!

Hey Nina! Check it out… year 2 and the bags are still going strong!

We’re Melting! We’re Melting!

Last year, as the heat came to the brink of being unbearable, the skies opened up and we were treated to a full week of delightful, cooling rain storms. This year, as the heat surpassed last year’s and came to the brink, it simply smashed through it and broke all records. Tonga is in the midst of record-breaking heat waves and despite Abby having lived in Phoenix and me spending summers in Honolulu and Houston, it simply is unlike anything we have ever experienced.

The heat in the 100s, the equatorial sun beating down on us and unbearable humidity is at record levels makes for quite the fun here in the Kingdom. By 7:45 a.m. each morning, my shirt is completely soaked through from sweat as a result of our five minute walk to school. Our teachers, who are thankfully in much better health, each bring 1 to 2 changes of clothes each day to accommodate for sweat-soaked apparel and none of us wander far away from our sweat rags. For the Niuas, the most northern and remote island chain in the Kingdom, the Crown’s Government has recently suspended Tongan law that makes it illegal to be in public without a shirt (for men). This was in part to the extreme heat experienced by teachers, who can now instruct sans the confines of starchy, sweat-soaked shirts.

For our part, Abby and I rely on our one standing fan to get us through the night. Though the old girl’s motor has slowed to a glacial place, we literally hover around it during sleepless nights. Days are spent finding any breeze that may exist and fighting heavy eyelids while visions of iced lattes and cherry limeades dance through our head.

For their part, the Tongans in our village are incredibly adept at dealing with heat without the blessings of electric fans or refrigerators. The days are spent weaving or in the bush, and no one leaves the house without an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun. The women who weave make beautiful hand fans to help keep people cool and incredible mats. The mats are then used at night, where most Tongans sleep outside because it’s much cooler. Walking through the village at night, after church and kava, looks like one big slumber party.

One of the more touching moments of our service was walking home two weeks ago, when one of our favorite mothers, Mele, had a brand new mat waiting for us. These things go for hundreds of dollars in Australia, NZ, Europe and the U.S., and for her to spend time making one for us is unbelievable. Here Abby enjoys it with her hand fan.  

With no rain in sight, Abby and I are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Australia on March 14. We get to spend a week celebrating my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary (which actually happens on August 9th of this year), see Cassie and meet our new bro-in-law Jeremy. We could not be more excited to be down under!

I dedicate this picture of our 5th grader Siteli to my sister, the rocket scientist, who wanted nothing more than to be a Care Bear when she was growing up. Read carefully, you won't be disappointed. 

Is the heat making us weird, or was there really a smile face in the onion I was cutting for lentil soup?

The concrete is too hot for his highness to sleep on, so he feels it permissible to grab all of our sandals with his mouth and use them to elevate himself for sleep. Typical.

Last week the Peace Corps, the Australian volunteers and the Japanese volunteers on the island rented a bungalow by the ocean to celebrate some birthdays and the end of service for one of the Aussies. In addition to enjoying the ocean breeze fro atop the bungalow, we got to feast on fresh caught lobster and watch giant manta rays swim along the shoreline. Pretty cushy, I know.

You might be looking at the attractive couple in the middle of your frame, but I am oogling that cloud cover, which is the last time we saw those beautiful, fluffy, sun-blocking clouds!

The Bungalow, in all its breezy glory.

One morning, with four other volunteers, Abby and I kayaked out to an uninhabited island that houses an abandoned military training post. Here there is a tall lookout tower one has to climb a rusted, rickety old ladder to get to the top. After this death-defying climb, the six of us just chilled, took in the breeze and admired the beautiful views of Vava’u. At one point a yacht sailed by and noticed us up in the tower. Though it was midday, they were treated to a rare glimpse of a double full moon, courtesy of me and my buddy Jeff.

                                                                 

Hope you are all staying cool in America!

Service Update #3

Ryan and my second year of service is officially under way. So, we thought we would take a little time to share with you what we are working on this second year.

This year, our focus shifts a bit from the students to the teachers. Last year, our main goal was to improve our students’ skills in English. This year, we are focusing on trying to help Tongan teachers develop their craft as teachers. We will help create resources and train teachers on how to use them based on skills and knowledge we gained from teaching Tongan students last year. We will work with our Tongan counterparts to help them understand how to adapt the current curriculum to better meet students needs. Already, a principal from the village next to ours has asked us lead some professional development workshops for her staff. Ryan is also working really hard to help the Ministry of Education develop an online dropbox for all teachers in Tonga to have a way to share resources teaching videos, etc.

We still plan to teach this year, as it is one of our favorite parts of service. Our little school got much smaller this year; it looks like we will be rolling with about 30 students total. Some of our favorite kids moved over the holiday, which was so hard as we didn’t even get to say good-bye. Ryan lost his good buddy Laea who we will dearly miss. But, we are excited to make the most of our precious time left here in Tonga.

We just finished our first 2 weeks of school. It felt wonderful to be back at work again. The kids look great and we realized just how much we missed them all. It was an interesting first week because only one teacher was at school with us. The other teachers have been hospitalized with pneumonia. Wednesday morning was a day I don’t think I will ever forget. It was about 9:00 a.m. and Ryan and I were still the only teachers at school.  We just looked at each other and said, “Yep, this is really happening.” So, we bravely told the kids to ring the bell and get in line for prayers. The kids were on cloud 9.  Some class 6 boys were pulling Ryan aside and explaining to him how to be the “pule” (boss) for the day. They explained what behaviors he needed to punish and promised to help him. My dear sweet class 6 girls were telling me, “Epi, don’t worry. We will help you. We will teach the little kids.” I just loved them all so much at that moment. People walking by stopped dead and watched the two Peace Corps try to wrangle the student body and remember the Tongan prayers to start off the day. A few parents who had come by to talk with teachers were helpful and supportive. They helped us get the kids in line and kept telling the kids they better obey. Luckily, five minutes into the start of prayers, Viola pulled up. I honestly have never felt more relieved. The audible sigh of “Awww…” from the kids was hilarious. The rest of the day went well as we did our best to try to teach the classes with no teacher. Ryan was a rock star. He confidently led the 5/6 kids in their math lesson in Tongan and kept them busy and working all day. On the walk home from school, all those kids kept telling me “Epi, I am so tired. Ryan made us do so much work.” They were gleeful about it and couldn’t stop telling me EVERYTHING about their day with him. All of the 3/4 kids (which I lead) told the 5/6 kids, “Epi let us color and play English games all day.” True story. My how the tables have turned.

Well, that is about it for our week. Clingy Lucky has decided he should come to school every day too. The kids love this, but I think if I heard one more kid call “Epi, sio ki Lucky!” (Epi, look at Lucky) I was going to pull my hair out. He is such a nuisance and distraction. Watching the kids ride him was pretty funny, but that too got old fast. Another problem for another day J

Hope you all are having some warmer weather! Please keep our principal Tevita in your prayers. He is so very sick, but desperately wants to try to keep his post this year. Right now, there is such a surplus of teachers. Many teachers coming out of the teacher’s college are left to wait and listen to the radio to see if a position opens up for them. There are so many teachers, in fact, that the teacher’s college is not allowing any new students to enter the program this year. If things get better, they will open it up next year. So Tevita is worried if he leaves his post this year, he may not get it back next year. His family relies on his employment; so not having his post would be pretty hard for them. We really hope he gets better soon.

Last weekend we went camping at “secret beach.” This is one of the neatest beaches on Vava’u. It is close to one of the other volunteers’ villages. We call is secret beach because it is a pretty tough hike to and from the beach. So it is usually empty of people. It was a really wonderful night. We enjoyed sleeping under the stars, eating great food and swimming.  Here are some pics:

Ryan takes a picture of some of us. I SWEAR I am holding his drink and NOT double-fisting. Well...

Ryan and fellow PCV Harrison

Settling in pre-dinner. 

Tonga Pride!

Very cool...and a little weird...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-03/an-tonga-luge-bruno-banani/5233620

Back in the swing of things

Ryan and I are officially settled back into home. We have been back on our island for about 10 days now, and I am sad to say it has taken about that much time for us to recoup from our travels. But, after hours of cleaning and hours of naps, we feel ready to take on our last eight months of Peace Corps Service.

Our welcome back into the village has been wonderful. It has been nice having conversations and checking in with our friends, students, and families. Everyone seems genuinely happy that we are back. We brought some small gifts back from NZ to share with people in our village. People were so touched we thought of them. This has been a great way to grow just a little closer to these people we love and lean on here in the village.

In other updates:

 Lucky is doing fine. He is clingy as hell right now as he doesn’t want to let us out of his sight. This means he thinks coming all the way into the house any time he wants is justified. Ry is working on some re-training. (Matt and Ale, the Beggin Strips have been gold. As soon as he hears the sound of the package he runs outside and sits so nicely. Not sure what Ry will do when they are gone.)

We have heard that the people of Ha’apai are doing okay. Right now, the biggest concern for the people still living there is clean water and food. I am sure many of you might wonder why people don’t just leave the island until it is livable again. It is pride. The people here have such pride and love for their island that the thought of abandoning it never crosses their mind. Instead, they rely on family to bring them the things they need for basic needs and stay put to help rebuild their home. It is a Tongan thing.

The devastation in Ha'apai.

Ha'apai's market.

This week is officially the start of the new school year. Ryan was able to post this blog because he is missing the first day of school to watch the Super Bowl in Neiafu. I told him awhile back that he could ONLY miss the first day if the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl. Well played Klob, well played.

Our principal, Tevita, is very sick and is in the hospital. He has a bad case of pneumonia. Keep him in your prayers. We are so worried about him and hope he is okay. We will keep you updated. For the time being, I think Ryan and I will be doing what we can to help by covering Class 5/6 for a bit. The other teachers were relieved to hear we would be willing to do this so they can focus on getting their classrooms ready. It looks like we will be teaching with Taniella and Viola, the same from last year. We can’t wait to get started and have some structure back in our day.

While many of you are stuck in a relentless deep freeze, we have moved into the rainy season. Days are hot and sweaty. Weather will go from full sun and hot, hot, hot to pouring rain.  All of us in the village leave our houses the minute one bout of rain is over to run errands and do chores. Then, it is back inside to weather the next rainstorm. But, it is nice to not worry so much about having water as we have plenty right now.

I think that is about it for here. Thanks again to all of you for your Christmas cards, letters, and care packages. They were so wonderful to read when we got home. Hope your weather improves!  Enjoy the Super Bowl.

In classic Tongan style, the people of our village have welcomed us back with lots and lots of food, including these rainbow fish.

What's more disturbing then a house infested with rats? Its when molekaus (pictured above) are hiding in the rat poison  and bite the rat with its poisonous venom, causing the rat to freak out, dive out of the kitchen window and take a good amount of our plates and cups down in the process. Ryan executed this one with the machete afterwards. Ahh, just another day in paradise...