The Final Countdown (Begins)

Well, Ry and I have officially started our countdown. We have 10 weeks left of our Peace Corps service. In so many ways that is very hard to believe. Now that we are getting to the end, it seems that time went so fast and there is still so much to do. We are furiously trying to finish up the last of our projects and work hard to prepare our kiddos to take their high school entrance exam.

Not much was new this week. Due to the Polar Vortex temperatures are still holding steady in the mid-60’s, with highs in the 70’s. Due to our continuing water shortage, I have not been able to do our laundry in a few weeks. Due to this we don’t have as many layers of clothes suitable to wear. (Yes, that’s right, we wear layers. Ryan has taken to wearing two shirts to work to keep him warmer.) And where it all leads is to me getting sick as a dog. I got a chest and head cold that made me pretty miserable. It has also been harder to keep our person and hands clean without water. So, my brave husband faced our classes alone this week. He was amazing. I am so lucky to have such a strong and supportive partner. He did a great job and our staff was really happy he worked so hard to keep all our programs at school going even though I wasn’t there.

Our neighbor, Kaloni, had a righteous catch the other night fishing. He and his wife sent us over a portion of the giant yellow fin tuna as a get-well present for me. So sweet.  Although, the kids were a little scared of me when I came to the door to receive the gift. They told me maybe I should go sleep some more.

A get-well cake..Tongan style!

The construction team finished building the new water tank at our school. It is amazing. Running water from the pump is pulled up and stored in the tank and it also catches rainwater. This makes it possible to still flush the toilet and wash hands even when the running water is off and rain is nowhere in sight. It has made such a difference in the smell that emanates from the toilet. Kids are also so much more comfortable using the bathrooms now.  Here are some pictures of Tevita explaining to the students how to properly use the tank.

Siteli washing his hands...maybe a first :)

Remember those sad chairs? Sad no more!

That’s all from here. Hope everyone had a great August and has a better September.

Finally, we know the Hawks open up their 2014 schedule this week. Here is a special message from the Tu’anuku I-Club: