Coral Project Take ONE

PHOTO: One of the clam circles with the students placing corals within and around the circle.

The Matamaka Coral Gardens have officially started! We have had several talks about this trial project for awhile now, but we have stopped talking about it and just did it. Matamaka GPS has been blessed with a location that is surrounded by water on three sides. The views are amazing and the sunsets are beautiful, but the truth is hidden underneath the water. The corals around Matamaka have mostly been damaged due to years of overfishing. As a result, we are attempting to regenerate and protect the corals surrounding the school.

We have placed giant clam shells in various shapes within the open gaps of the existing corals in our protected zone. The shells were generously donated from various families of Matamaka who wanted to help contribute to our project. As a result, the entire project cost ZERO dollars, but the benefits will be unimaginable. The students, staff, and members of Matamaka gathered the clam shells one afternoon and made a stock pile in our school. During high tide the next day, we pushed all the clams onto the water. Later that same afternoon, we placed all the clams in their “designated” areas. We started where the corals are the most abundant. Our plan is to strengthen the existing corals and expand towards the “dead” zones.

PHOTO: The students collecting the giant clam shells.

The kids were all very helpful with placing the clams carefully on the sea floor. My co-teacher Ma’asi and I coordinated the design of the clams. Next, we searched for little baby corals from the area and strategically placed them within and around the clam circles. We had to explain to the children to not just pull out any corals they find. At first they were so proud of collecting random corals and then I had to explain to them to NOT destroy the corals and to be very careful around them. Tongan children have all grown up living from the sea, so educating them all to not walk on the corals has been a headache.

PHOTO: Students and Ma’asi strategically placing the clams within the no-fish zone and children walking with the clams to the school.

At the time of writing, we have completed three areas of clam circles. In addition to the preservation of corals, we want to protect all living things within the protection zone. Since sea cucumber season has just started here in Tonga (which is a whole other environmental problem on its own) we tried to gather as much sea cucumbers from outside the protection zone and placed them with the protected area. The purpose is guarantee that they do not get collected from people who harvest them. Sea cucumbers are essential for healthy reefs as they keep reefs clean. Recently, Pacific Island nations have been overfishing sea cucumbers for exports to China who pay big bucks for them. One night of sea cucumber fishing can be worth up to $2000 pa’anga! As a result, we need to protect as many sea cucumbers to ensure the success of our coral gardens.

The Matamaka Coral gardens have been fully supported by important figures of Matamaka. We have held workshops to members of the community about the importance of coral reefs and the benefits of ECO-TOURISM. I am pushing for an initiative to make Matamaka one of the first eco-tourism projects on the outer-island villages of Vava’u. There are so many benefits if eco-tourism becomes successful in the outer-islands. The town officer has announced that the area surrounding the school and another reef just outside of Matamaka to become a no fish zone. This is a HUGE progress in our attempt to preserve and regenerate the damaged corals. My goal before my Peace Corps service ends is to register the protected area with the Ministry of Fisheries of Tonga and turn it into an official marine reserve.

PHOTO: Matamaka GPS Coral Garden. Pretty eh?

As tourist season kicks off here in Tonga, we hope to attract palangis and Tongans to help support our conservation movement so that other villages may consider starting similar projects. There is a dire need to preserve the fragile eco-systems of Tonga and throughout the South Pacific. The South Pacific is one of the last healthy oceans in the world. As a result of overfishing and limited environmental conservation, these islands of paradise may one day disappear. The time to act is now. I am proud Matamaka has taken some initiative. Only time will tell if our conservation efforts will regenerate the corals and the return of more fish.

Postcard Project Update and more SHOUT OUTS :D

PHOTO: Students checking out the new books from the States.

Hello Matamaka GPS blog readers. I just wanted to give a quick update on how our postcard project is doing. Well...it's going really GREAT! I have been getting a stack of postcards every week from the post office here in Neiafu. The ladies who work at the post office have been surprised at the amount of mail Matamaka GPS receives every week. In addition, we have been getting packages from awesome people from around the world who wants to help out with the school.

What do I do with the postcards? Every time I bring the new postcards to school, I usually have them all laid out by the blackboard in the library. All the students have an opportunity to view all of them. “Tika atu,” most of them would say which means “cool” in English. Some of the more interesting postcards, they would ask me, “Feleti, ko ia oku mo’oni?”--“Feleti, is this real?” Yep, it is real. Most of the children have only seen photos and some movies about cities and places around the world. As a result, when they see a postcard of the city of Seattle and Pittsburgh it seems surreal to see all the tall buildings.

After all the students walk through and see all the postcards, I then divide all the cards evenly to the students. Their next job is to walk over to the world map and US map in the library and identify where the postcard came from. To make it easier, I already marked all the location with sticky tabs. They just have to match their card to the “right” sticky tab. For the most part, they do a good job finding the place. It has been more of a race to see who can find their cards first. Tongan children are very competitive remember.

PHOTO: Where are all the cards come from? Our maps and postcards from around the world.

Once everyone finds their location, they all take turn presenting their postcards in front of all the students and pinpoint it on the map. Soon after, I place a little sticker on the sticky tabs that are current Peace Corps countries. I have been grateful that so many PCVs from around the world have participated with our little project. In the end, students can now identify which countries in the world map are places where Peace Corps volunteers work. In the future, as the 50^th anniversary of Peace Corps approaches, I will highlight different projects of PCVs on the map (especially those PCVs who have sent postcards). It will be a great way to present the wide array of projects volunteers pursues around the world to the students as well as the people of Matamaka and its visitors.

Lastly, the library at Matamaka GPS has been more beautiful than ever with all of the new books we have received from the States. I have been busy creating little arts and crafts for the children to decorate room. See for yourself how cool our library has become!

BEFOREAFTER

PHOTO: Earth Day and our library in January compared to May 2010.

SHOUT OUT TIME:

- A huge fakamalo to Brian and Jan Harvey of Iowa City, Iowa for donating a box of children’s books and goodies for the school.

- Mrs. DeCarlo’s second grade class of IKM-Manning Community School District, Iowa for donating over one hundred books and materials.

- Miraneta and the SPREP office out of Samoa for sending a box of environmental resources, posters, books, cards, and more for our library.

- Ann Blum of Harlan, Iowa for sending a variety of seeds for our school garden.

- To all of the others who have sent letters and cards of support as well as postcards from AROUND THE WORLD. Thank you for taking the time and helping us out here at Matamaka GPS. YOU have made an impact to the current success of my Peace Corps service as well as all as everyone in Matamaka and TONGA. THANK YOU and MALO ‘AUPITO.

Pen pals!

My class four to six students prepared postcards and pictures to their pen pals to Mrs. DeCarlo’s second grade class from the IKM-Manning Community Schools. We sent them our letters from Matamaka about a month ago and we just received their letters in return. The children were all very excited to see a photo of their pen pals and also to receive a letter from them. Although the school year is about to be over in the US, I just wanted to give an opportunity for the students of Mrs. DeCarlo to see my students in Tonga prepare their messages. We hope to stay in touch when the school year starts again in the Northern hemisphere. Ofa ‘atu :D

PHOTO: Matamaka students preparing their postcards and pictures about their life in Tonga and photos of our American pen pals in our library.

My attempt to teach kickball in Tonga

PHOTO: I love my job in Tonga and this is why…

Everyone loves a good game of kickball right? As part of my cultural exchange (and PE class) with the children at my school, I tried to teach them the classic sport. First, I attempted to explain the rules in Tongan at the library by drawing bases on the board and little stick figures running to each base before finally making it home. “Mahino kotoa?” “Everyone understand?” I said. “IO—Yes, Feleti,” all the children replied. I then divided the class 4-6 students into teams. I was lucky we had an even amount of students that day. As a result, the teams were divided up evenly. One team called themselves “Team Lion” and the other “Team Dragon.”

We all go outside to the schoolyard the kickball game commenced. I decided to be the pitcher to make the game fair, since I knew the children loves to cheat. At first, I thought they understood the game, but it turned out not. After the first person kicked the ball, everyone in the outfield ran to the ball leaving all the bases open. In addition, the person who just kicked the ball was running towards the ball also. OAIUE! Timeout! I tried to explain that they must touch each base and not get hit by the ball or else you are out. “IO, Feleti!” all the children told me.

PHOTO: A photo of me as a pitcher and students attempting to play kickball.

We started the game over and I thought they were getting the concept of the game, but it turned out the students have found out a perfect way to cheat. In order to successfully touch all the bases and make it home, each person purposely kicked the ball towards the ocean. As a result, utter chaos and panick struck the kids on outfield. “Kaka, Feleti—they are cheating Feleti!” yelled all the students on the field. This happened on both sides as the games progressed.

After awhile the classic game of kickball turned into soccer. LOL. Field goals showed up on both sides of the field and the students have abandoned the kickball game. Most of them were still pretty flustered about the other team cheating from kickball, so the soccer game was really intense with students fighting to win. Note to self, Tongan children are VERY competitive and REFUSE to lose. I decided to referee the game. Every time I try to play, I always end up kicking the ball to one of the class 1 students head. It was best that I just referee for the children's safety.

PHOTO: The soccer game and the little barbarians.

The soccer game turned out to be a blast. I had to tell the students that school was technically over and that they should go home, but none of them wanted to leave. We ended up playing for awhile and took some fun shots with everyone. Ma’asi took some “barbarian” photos of the boys who insisted on showing off their “muscles” to the camera. These kids are silly. A day like this is why I love working at my school and being a part of Peace Corps. Seriously, it was a priceless. In the end, I was pooped by the time I got home as the game wore me out. Then I realized I still have night school with the class 6 kids. It was just another busy and successful day at Matamaka GPS.

PHOTO: The photo of the girls.

Fake me—Children’s White Sunday and Alex’s HOMESTAY FAMILY EXPERIENCE at Matamaka

Photo: Faka me service at the Wesleyan Church of Matamaka.

The first weekend of May in Tonga is dedicated to a celebration called Faka me or Children’s White Sunday. I found out that this holiday is primarily celebrated by the Wesleyans and not so much by the other churches in Tonga. Basically, it is a day to celebrate being a child? In my opinion, the definition of “child” and “youth” is very vague here. It appears that you are considered a youth until you marry someone. As a result, you’re technically still a youth even if you are 35 year old man? In Tonga, it appears so.

My new friend Alex from Germany stayed at Matamaka for a week with a traditional Tongan homestay family. Alex is an intern for VEPA (Vava’u Environmental Protection Agency) working here in Vava’u for the last two and half months. He wanted to experience outer-island life before he returns to Germany. I asked my neighbors if they would like to have a palangi guest for a week. Tankina and Loui were more than happy to welcome Alex for a homestay experience at Matamaka.

Photo: Tongan feast for Faka me.

Alex and I went to the Wesleyan church to celebrate Faka me. It all started out with the 6 AM church service and lasted until about 3 PM (I left early). It was definitely a new cultural experience even for me, even after living here for seven months now. There were different types of religious “performances” which consisted of children making speeches and singing. It was really long, but I enjoyed watching all the different presentations. Furthermore, we were invited to the kai pola or Tongan feast. As the Peace Corps of the village with another palangi, we were obviously seated upfront with the village chief and important people of the village. We attempted to sit with children, which did not last very long because they made us move. All of the food was amazing of course and I felt that Alex had a good experience with the Tongan feast. In addition, we drank kava with the men. It was Alex’s first time and I was not quite sure if he really liked the taste of kava or not.

For the rest of the week, Alex observed at the school and taught a short German language class to all of the children. Guten Tag! We also did a long hike around the island of Nuapapu to the “haunted” beach according to Ma’asi. The beach is located on the northern part of the island near an ancient cemetery. To be honest, the cemetery was a bit creepy and reminded me of a real life Disney haunted house ride. Regardless, the beach was beautiful and the corals were absolutely amazing.

Photo: Alex and I pretending to fall in the water at the hidden beach near Nuapapu.

The week ended with a Tongan feast that Alex’s family put together for him. I was honored to be invited to eat with them all at their Tongan fale. It was very nice and I could tell that everyone was really happy with the entire set-up of the homestay. I hope to look into possible future Tongan homestays at Matamaka for visitors in Vava’u. It will be a great way for families in Matamaka to have access to extra money and also be a great cultural exchange for everyone involved. We could look into volunteer project opportunities around the village or the school for the visitors? It is all on the table and we will look into it for a possible future endeavor for the village to pursue. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions about Tongan homestays or volunteering at the outer-island, I am more than happy to hear them all. MALO :D

Photo: Alex and the whole family after the Tongan feast.

Shout out to...

A BIG MALO 'AUPITO to SIOSIFA ISAMAU of East Palo Alto, California for his generous gifts to Matamaka GPS. We received pencils, pens, a pencil sharpener, scotch tapes, hi-liters, glue sticks, seeds, chocolates, beef jerky, and postcards. Every little item makes a difference to all of us at Matamaka GPS. THANK YOU!

My very own YAMANEKO from JAPAN :D

Photo: Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s a YAMANEKO!

O-hayo gozaimasu. Watashi wa Feleti desu. Watashi wa Iowa kara kimashita—Did I convince you with my Japanese skills? Lol. Well, the truth is I really do not speak Japanese, but I can sure try with a Japan Lonely Planet Guide. The JICA volunteers have been hard at work with development projects throughout the Kingdom. The JICA program is the most closely related aide organization to the US Peace Corps in Tonga. Japanese volunteers serve two years in countries around the world (in comparison with Australian volunteers who serve for a year). In Tonga, some JICA volunteers teach at secondary schools, work at medical centers, and train at teacher training colleges. Regardless, JICA volunteers work side by side with their Tongan counterparts to help train men and women of Tonga for a better and brighter future.

During the week I was in Nuku’alofa for IST, I had an opportunity to meet Toru Yamaguchi. My new friend is a JICA volunteer who works at a Tertiary Institute/Teacher Training College in the capitol city. His primary project entails training future and current teachers of Tonga the art of Solopani or Abacus. When he had first told me about Solopani, I had no clue what it was. Solopani or Abacus is rectangular device with multiple beads to help solve math problems. It is essentially a calculator without batteries; instead, you use your brain. The new Tongan syllabus for all of the government primary school will mandate the use of Solopani next year. As a result, Toru has been busy preparing teachers allover Tonga about Solopani. The Japanese government is donating hundreds of Solopani to the Ministry of Education of Tonga.

Photo: Toru and I with my YAMANEKO (which I have nicknamed—Nemo). Toru had visited Vava’u for a two day work shop at GPS Neiafu for training current teachers with Solopani. This photo was taken after some Peace Corps and JICA volunteers hiked up Mount Talau in Neiafu.

To return a favor to Toru for promoting the Matamaka GPS POSTCARD PROJECT with the people of Japan on his blog, I would like to help him out with his YAMANEKO PROJECT. What is it you may ask? It essentially is like the Travelocity Gnome travelling around the world with people taking pictures of it at famous sites. Instead of gnomes, Toru has personalized little cat clay figures called YAMANEKOs. He gives YAMANEKOs to people from around the world. People with YAMANEKOs place their little figurine in a public space where others may see it. When you spot another YAMANEKO, then you know that it was Toru who made it. As a result, you have made a connection with that new person through the YAMANEKO. Did I confuse you? The main purpose is for people to meet others through the YAMANEKO and for it to travel to as many places in the world.

Toru personalizes each YAMANEKO he makes and catalogs each figure with a serial number. I believe my YAMANEKO was in the 2000s, but I cannot remember the exact number. It is currently in Matamaka and will go wherever life may take me after Tonga. At the time of writing, YAMANEKOs are present in over forty countries from around the world. Therefore, I am bound to run into another one someday! I wish Toru the best of luck with his endeavors in Tonga and with his YAMANEKO PROJECT. If anyone else has a YAMENEKO, please let me know :D

Photo: Toru and some PCVs at Nuku’alofa after we had dinner at a local restaurant (where there was a TV with CNN!).

By the way, my Japanese in the introduction in English is “Good morning. My name is Feleti. I am from Iowa.”—at least I hope so…

My top nine photos of my Peace Corps experience so far…

NUMBER ONE: “Eva pe-ing on a Sunday”

This photo was taken during PST at Ha’apai. My group in Fangale’oulunga was great. I miss them all very much since we all moved to site. We had so much fun exploring the island with the kids that Sunday!

NUMBER TWO: “War dance, my *ss”

We were told we were doing a very brute Tongan dance, which turned out to be anything nothing close to a war dance. In addition, our Tongan host families didn’t let us know we were wearing such skimpy outfits until the day before. Oh good times at culture day.

NUMBER THREE: “Carnival Tongan style”

During the holiday seasons, traditional Tongan dances are performed throughout the Kingdom. I was lucky enough to watch some awesome performance in Neiafu during the Tourism Week. Different groups throughout Vava’u competed for the best Tongan “dance crew.”

NUMBER FOUR: “T for Tonga”

You often get some spare time living in the outer islands. What do I do to keep myself busy? Besides reading, swimming, snorkeling, I sometimes build sand castles. No complaints over here.

NUMBER FIVE: “Fakasesele”

This photo represents the personality of the students and staff of Matamaka. Everyone is very chill and happy. Every now and then we just like to be silly and take random photos.

NUMBER SIX: “Two years in this place?”

I am so lucky to be in Vava’u out of all places in Peace Corps. I remember telling my recruiter that I just needed to be near water and sun to have a successful twenty-seven months service and I was placed here! It is breathtaking.

NUMBER SEVEN: “Community Involvement”

Often times we Peace Corps Volunteers worry that no one will show up to any of our events, but this Red Cross event was a huge success. Community members from four outer islands came to Matamaka to attend a four day workshop. Peace Corps Tonga reaching out to outer-island folks.

NUMBER EIGHT: “Who parked their boat here?”

Clearly someone accidentally parked their boat at the wrong place. What odd sight eh? This photo was taken at an outer-island outside of Nuko’alofa. We had some good-old fun in the sun one Sunday afternoon after PST. Good times.

NUMBER NINE: “GROUP 75”

Twenty-six strangers from across the US living in different parts of Tonga to work with primary and secondary students. All of our experiences will be unique, but we can be all proud to be part of the United States Peace Corps TONGA Group 75. Best of luck to everyone! WE ARE ALL STILL HERE AFTER IST.

Life after IST...

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I finally have time to catch up on everything and update my blog. Great news! I just came back from IST in the capitol city of Nuku’alofa and everyone from Group 75 is still here and going strong. “Ain’t no stopping us now…(good song).” It was a very nice break to get away from Vava’u and to experience the big city of Nuku’alofa (after living in Matamaka for almost four months now, Nuku’alofa can be described as a mega-city). I was surprised on how different Nuku’alofa looked liked just from three months ago. Buildings have been going up at a ridiculous rate (compliments to the rapid Chinese investments in Tonga). Nuku’alofa will someday regain its "metropolitan" status after most of the buildings burned down after the riots. Anyway, I really enjoyed catching up with the other volunteers throughout Tonga. Believe it or not, the PC meetings were not that bad either. I actually got to meet some very interesting people through the sessions.

I pretty much could not stop eating everything the entire time I was down there. You can only imagine the number of food options available compared to Vava’u. To be fair, Vava’u does have its fair share of restaurants, but the prices cannot be compared to Nuku’alofa. $12 pa’anga can get you a huge plate of beef curry with rice and a drink at Azaria’s, when you cannot even buy a simple burger for that same price in Neiafu. As a result, I definitely splurged A LOT (maybe too much), but it was SO worth it. A new Indian curry restaurant opened up near St. Andrew’s in Nuku’alofa with take away! Definitely try out the samosas if you ever get a chance to stop by (the best part is, it cost only a pa’anga for each).

The Postcard Project seems to be going very well. I have been getting emails from people around the world for their support. The project has been endorsed by local business Neiafu and a Vava'u/Tongan network website: http://loloahalaevalu.ning.com/. As a result, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU for everyone’s support. My fellow PCVs from ‘Eua, Ha’apai, and Tongatapu have been kind enough to help me out by placing my advertisement for the project at popular tourist spots on their island group. In addition, I have been trying to contact prominent figures from the US from: Obama, Oprah, to Anderson Cooper. It would be sweet to get a postcard from any of them. Mail is painstaking slow here in Vava’u, so we are still waiting for the initial set of postcards to arrive. Seriously, I know there is a global recession and all, but a postcard is not going to be set you back too much. So, get involved and participate with our little project.

What a bummer! I love taking photos and I just realized I did not take any while I was in Nuku’alofa. As a result, I will post random pictures of Neiafu and Matamaka. Enjoy! I will make sure to take some photos the next time I head down to the capitol. Fakamolemole.

PHOTO: One of my students jumping off a boat by the wharf during sunset. We all had a good time taking turns with our jump shots. Good times at Matamaka.

PHOTO: "Jesus" walking with the cross in Talau. This photo captured Catholics of Vava’u with their festivities during the Easter holiday weekend. The group started from the Catholic Church in Talau to the church in the center of town.

PHOTO: Lela. This is my “adopted” mother of Talau. She is my co-teacher’s mother and she enjoys watching Filipino soap operas. She is a very kind woman.

Old Rooster and Little Rooster

PHOTO: “Cock-a-doodle DOO!” That was the big problem in our first school play at Matamaka GPS, when Little Rooster forgot how to crow the proper way.

It has been such a joy working with the children on our school play called “Old Rooster and Little Rooster.” The play came from one of the School Journal books donated from New Zealand. We have been practicing and practicing for over five weeks before the big performance in front of the entire school and PTA members at the end of Term 1. To my surprise, the students memorized their lines very quickly and really got into the play. It was the perfect play, because there were exactly ten characters including the narrator. Remember, there are only ten students in my Class 4-6.

I was going to have auditions for the play, but it turned out unnecessary. I had the students read out the play first together and their characters just fit in with each of their personality. We did not have costumes for the play, but I prepared a picture of each animal character for students to put around their neck. The various animals included: old rooster, little rooster, dog, owl, pigeon 1 and 2, cow 1 and 2, mouse, and narrator. In addition, I taught them the song “You are my sunshine” for our second act of the performance. I tried to choreograph with simple steps and the students really got into it. It reminded me of the good old days when I was in elementary school.

PHOTO: The students singing “You are my sunshine.”

With the Class 1-3 students, it was a bit more challenging to do a play in English. Technically, the English language is not introduced until Class 3 here in Tonga. As a result, we did a medley of five songs with a short dance routine. Our song list included “Row row row your boat,” “The Hokey Pokey,” “Head shoulders knees in toes—in Tongan and English,” “Pepe,” and a traditional Tongan children’s hymn. We rehearsed so many times, but some of the students still did not know where their “head shoulders knees or toes” were. It was priceless.

In the end, I was impressed with the number of parents and family members who showed up for the event. Our library was jammed pack with people excited to see the children perform. Most of the children received beautiful flower necklaces and candy for the event (as did I). Now I have to start brain storming ideas for Term 2. Any ideas?

PHOTO: Some of the students and parents after the performances. Most of the people had left already…faka ‘ofa.