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:

Back in the Game

After several weeks out of the village for our Close of Service Conference and work for the Ministry of Education on the main island, Abby and I got back into the swing of things here in the village this past week. It’s been a whirlwind with a lot going on, but its truly been one of the best weeks we’ve had in Peace Corps. We have a ton going on in the village, at school and with our projects and are starting to see some great results. Let me explain.

But first, allow me to make you jealous. Its humpback whale season here in the Kingdom and as it turns out, its been an amazing year for humpbacks in Vava’u. Better yet, Abby and I sit in our library doing our work each and everyday, with a perfect view of the Port of Refuge Harbor. I assure you, work is much easier when you get to see humpback whales breach the surface nearly everyday. Abby and I have developed a sophisticated code in which we scream “WHALE” when one is spotted and all the kids come running to watch. It’s great.

Its not the same as swimming with these bad boys like we did last year.

School is going great and we are a month and a half from the Big Secondary Entrance Exam. This you might remember  is the test every 6^th grader takes in the Kingdom to see if they can go to high school. It is the most high stakes educational experience most Tongans have in their lifetime, so the buildup is huge. Not surprisingly, my wife’s lessons have been nearly flawless and the kids are learning a ton. Listening to them read and write in English surprises us all the time and is such a joy.

Here’s a result to be proud of: One of our sixth graders from last year was just named ‘Captain” (i.e. the best) English student in 7^th Grade for Vava’u High School, the one and only government high school on our island. Beating out hundreds of students from much bigger and more affluent villages is pretty damn impressive and she continues to work with Abby to improve. Full disclosure, she was pretty damn good before we taught her last year too, but she keeps getting better which is great to see.

We have also had a lot of fun in the community. Abby and I dropped a little pa’anga to make 25-page, full color picture albums for 10 families in our Church. The albums recapped all the hard work the families did in preparing for the June Conference and showed them cooking, laughing, eating, singing and presenting kutu mats (mats woven with a plant that can only be found in Tu‘anuku’s lake) to the Crown Prince. The families were very surprised and excited by the gift, which felt great. Needless to say, gifts of pig, chicken, eggs, and root crop have been coming in at volumes that no human could possibly eat. But it’s how Tongans show their gratitude and we love them for it.

The water tank and flushing toilets are almost built. The construction began on Tuesday and we should be done by next week. The construction at school has made Tu’anuku a hub for action, which is a big change for our sleepy little hamlet in the middle of the Pacific.  Here are some pictures of the construction so far:

The raw material.

The base.

One great thing is while the cement dries, the construction crew is building new teacher chairs and tables for the school. The 5 of us share three chairs and three tables and they are all very faka ofa (sad)!

Abby and I share the one on the left. Its always a balancing act!

One issue I have become very involved in on the island is water security. The drought down here continues, making unclean, undrinkable running water expensive and drinking-safe rainwater nearly depleted. Abby and I often do not have running water and we have to haul our drinking water from school each day.  The situation may be worse in Longomapu, a nearby village of 700+ people. I have been working with the Water Committee of Longomapu, in liaison with the Australian Government, to help meet their water needs and we are starting to make progress. It has been a great professional experience and a very stinky personal experience.

( I just read Ry’s blog post and I have to say I think his greatest contribution to water efforts has been peeing in the yard so we don’t have to flush the toilet as much. What a do-gooder!-Abby)

Finally, we got a package from the Coops this week, which just made our day. They are both doing well in Thailand. School is about to start for Mark and Alissa recently got a job working with the Jesuit Refugee Program in conjunction with the UNHCR—the United Nations Refugee program. We are proud of both of them and cannot wait to make it to Bangkok to see them. Abby made the ridiculous claim that I purposefully avoid putting pictures of myself on the blog. Here are some of the pictures they sent us and we wanted to share with you, I apologize in advance for all the ones of me.

The four of us last year.

Nearly two years ago in Pre-Service Training.

Our first night in Vava'u last October.

Don't judge me!

Yes, its true, I sometimes tell stories.

The Big Fanoa

That's fanoa as in forty, as in 40 years of marriage for The Klobs today on August 9th. We had an amazing time celebrating with them in Australia and wanted to congratulate them again on forty years of marriage. 

Here is a picture of them on a ferry in Sydney:

Close of Service

Ryan and I traveled to the main island last Tuesday to participate in our Close of Service Conference. This conference was to prepare us to finish out our two years  and two months of service here in Tonga. It was wonderful to have time to relax and celebrate this major accomplishment with our fellow volunteers. It made me so proud to see how far we have all come as a group and as individuals. It will be weird to return to a life without these people who have served as both family and friends these last two years.

Most exciting of all, Ry and I were able to book our plane tickets home to America! We will touch down in Des Moines on November 6 at 9:30 p.m. We are so excited! We will keep you all updated on our plans as the time gets closer.

Here are pictures taken by a few of our fellow volunteers. Thanks Steph, Mandy, and Michael for chronicling our week together with all these beautiful pictures!

Our rooms at the resort.

Working hard at the conference!

Time for cake? Speaking the Klob language!

Receiving our certificates of completion.

Group 77 and the staff of Peace Corps Tonga.

Group 77.

Group 77 showing our true colors.

Watching the sun go down. Such a cool picture!

The boys of G77.

My friend Mandy and I before our ceremony.

Team Vava'u.

Ry and I with Michael and Tynesha. This was our home-stay group when we first arrived.

Chiara and I excited about food!

Wine, stories, and laughter.

Arguing over who gets to play next. Aren't we super mature?

He did NOT make it...

Foki ki Amelika: The Playlist

This week Abby and I are on the mainland of Tonga for our Close of Service conference, which is three days dedicated to the logistics of our return to America.

It will have been 2 years, 2 months and 4 days (but who’s counting) since we last set foot in America when we step off the plane at Des Moines International. It’s a moment Abby and I have dreamed about for a long time and will undoubtedly be the most emotional moment of our lives.

Throughout this journey of ours music has played a vital role. The blog itself is named after the greatest and most important album of all time (in my humble opinion, of course) The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Some of my earliest and happiest memories are spinning this record on my dad’s record player and the two of us listening to it over and over, talking about his childhood, life in the 60s, civil rights and Vietnam. I carried that with me all my life.

In Tonga music has been our entertainment and our outlet. There is no TV, no Internet, no showers, no entertainment (besides Church) in the village and so much of the time has been spent with the two of us cooking dinner, preparing lesson plans (well, not so much me), looking out at the ocean, petting Lucky and talking about life, all while listening to music. The soundtracks of this experience have been shared by the Coopriders and calcified our memories of living life in this village of 250 and making it our home.

Accordingly, I went all John Cusack in Hi-Fidelity and constructed a playlist for the two of us that we have been listening to when we think about home. Though I usually consult with sages of the playlist like Flood, Kappy, Theo and Cross, this one is all me. It’s pretty much been on repeat the last month and will probably continue up to that moment we come home to America.

(I trust that you, dear reader, can infer the theme of the playlist…)

1.     Welcome Home (Touch The Sky EP Version)                            Radical Face     

·          A Cooprider original and the most poignant tune in capturing the emotions of this experience. This is the song that will be playing in my mind when we touch down in Des Moines.

2.     American Hearts                                                                           A.A. Bondy     

·         A second Cooprider original and a way Abby and I reflect on the presence of God in our service.

3.     Take Your Time (Coming Home)                                                 Fun.     

·         The best song in the world to crank up when life is good in the village and you begin to dream about life being good back in America.

4.     American Slang                                                                            The Gaslight Anthem     

·          Clearly my favorite band is going to make it on here. They’ve pretty much been on repeat during my time in Tonga.

5.     Coming To America                                                                      Neil Diamond

·      Because Nanners loves Neil Diamond. Aww, heck, because I love Neil Diamond.

6.     The Body of an American                                                            The Pogues     

·          Because The Wire is a masterpiece of modern television (all credit to Ted for putting us on to it) and because it reminds me of my two grandfathers, who also spent time out of the U.S.

7.     Homecoming                                                                                  Kanye West     

·            More reminiscent of my time in Phoenix, another very, very hot time in my life.

8.     Home                                                                                       Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

·           If Abby and I had a band I’d like to think we’d sound exactly like this.

9.     Homeward Bound [Live]                                                            Simon & Garfunkel     

·            I’ve been listening to Simon & Garfunkel’s Central park concert for as long as I could remember.

10. American Skin (41Shots) [Live]                                                   Bruce Springsteen

·          Springsteen singing about social issues is pretty much the reason I joined Peace Corps and what makes me who I am. RIP Amadou Diallo.

11. Come Back Home                                                                          Pete Yorn     

·          My sister and I only spent one year when we were both in college and Pete Yorn most certainly provided the soundtrack to that year.

12. Take Me Home Tonight                                                                  Eddie Money     

·          Because how often is it that your one and only karaoke song fits perfectly on your playlist. And also because if Abby and I had a band we’d probably sound more like this.

13. American Girls                                                                                 Counting Crows     

·           To know me is to know of my abnormal affinity for 90s alt-rock bands. This song carries the flag for that.

14. Welcome Home (Reprise)                                                                Radical Face     

·          One more time, just a whisper.

Special Bonus Track:

15. Will You Return                                                                                    The Avett Brothers     

·          The lyrics are me talking to Tonga, talking to Abby, talking to Abby, plus The Avett Bros represent the B-Team, who are waiting for me in Denver. A perfect way to end the thing.

That’s it, thanks for reading. Catch you on the flip side.

P.S~If you made it through this self-indulgent playlist of a blog and want to read more about music, my favorite music blog is www.brownbearwantshoney.blogspot.com and is worth a looksy.

No Water? Drink Whiskey!

Hello friends and family! Hope you are all enjoying your summer. It is just business as usual for Ryan and I here in the Kingdom. We are just enjoying our time with our friends, family, and students here in the village as much as we can as we move into our last 3 months of service.

Peace Corps staff came out and had a meeting with our PTA. We are happy they decided they would like to have another volunteer here in the village. The new group of volunteers come in September and will move to their work sites in early November. So, a new volunteer will move into our house only a week or so after we have left. It has been fun to be a part of the preparations for the new volunteer. People have already come over and asked us to write a list of things they want the new volunteer to know about them and the village. So cute and so funny. 

Our biggest struggle right now is water. It has been a very dry winter for us. Many of us in the village have had our water tanks go empty. Added to that, our village water system is not doing very well. Our village badly needs to re-vamp the running water system here in the village. They had an engineer come out and give them a quotation of what all needs to be done to fix it. Grand total for this project: $25,000 TOP (about $14,000 USD). Yikes. They are working on fundraising for this project as they know it has to be done eventually, but in the interim, we are all stuck with some pretty awful water. The village water is very dirty; full of grass, dirt and rust. We all use this water to wash dishes, clothes, ourselves, and flush toilets. Running water is only available a short 5 hours a day in order to conserve water and work the pump as little as possible. Everyone is using the rain water in tanks only for drinking as the running water is undrinkable. People have been great about sharing their water. Ryan takes two buckets up to school each day and walks home with them for droning water, but walking a kilometer with full buckets is not the most enjoyable thing in the world! People have been so kind to us when we come over to ask if we can fill up some buckets for drinking water. But, everyday it seems a new tank is dry. We need rain. We need heavy, flooding  rain soon. 

We are also experiencing record colds here. Well, at least record colds for our time in Tonga. Our previous low was 65 degrees and it was sad how cold that felt for us. But oh my, two nights ago the national radio announced it was 14 degrees celsius (that’s 58 degrees Fahrenheit!) My Lord it was incapacitating. Ry and I couldn’t move a muscle. Couldn’t bucket bathe. It felt like the Arctic! I don’t know what this polar vortex is or where it came from, but it is NOT welcome in Tonga. And yes, we are fully aware we might die of hypothermia once we get back stateside!

When Ry and I met up with his family in Australia, his sister had a surprise for us : a bottle of Stranahan’s whiskey! Ryan and I got engaged at the Stranahan’s distillery in Denver, and we celebrated that special moment with a shot of their whiskey. Recently, Cass was at Stranahan’s and told one of the managers there our story. This woman gave Cass a bottle to bring to us. Let’s just say this bottle has been a real treat. Stranahan’s is Ryan’s favorite drink and I love it too! As a thank you, we took some pictures with the bottle to send back to them. Our friend Mandy took these pictures when she came to stay with us. We just thought we would share them as we don’t have any other pictures to share right now. 

In other news, one of the church elders paid Lucky a very nice compliment. They said he was a good dog because he always comes to church with us. At least we have finally trained him to stay outside of the building! (Sorry Buster, your owners never quite got you there). Here is a recent picture of Lucky after he went fire-pit diving for food. Idiot.

Finally, a huge shoutout to my sister Holly who graduates with her Masters of Social Work this weekend. She will be working at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester starting in August. Holls, I am so very, very proud of you. Have a great party! Know Ry and I are thinking of you and celebrating with you in spirit. I love you so much. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Service Update

Hope everyone had a nice 4th. Not much going on around here except for one very exciting service update:

Back in February of 2013 Abby and I posted this, after our village's water pump broke:

And finally, 45 kids and teachers, 1 bathroom, no running water. You do the math.


Well, after nearly two years Abby and I have learned that the math of not having flushing toiles equals incredibly stinky and terribly unsanitary conditions. So we set about to change it. Putting that MPA to work I reached out to all the High Commissions (a.k.a. Embassies) operating in Tonga and after countless grant proposals, tons of meetings and lots of help from our PTA, we can finally announce that this month Tu'anuku GPS will finally have flushing toilets. This is all courtesy of the  people of New Zealand, whose High Commissioner (a.k.a. Ambassador) emailed me last week to tell us the good news.

Starting soon we will begin construction on a state-of-the-art water tank that will collect rain water and be connected to a hand pump to funnel it to the toilets and a sink for hand washing. We really hope this makes life at school and in the village better for everyone and are very excited about it.


That's it for now. Have a great weekend.