Build me a bridge!

PHOTO: One of the bridges.

Your Tongan word of the day: hala fakakavakava or bridge in English. I just finished a lesson on bridges with the older kids and they had such a great time that is worthy to have its own blog entry. It all started out when the head teacher had to go to town and I had to fill in time with a random science lesson. What did I come up with? Bridges!

Before constructing bridges, I first had to explain what a bridge is since almost all of the kids have never seen one before. They were so confused when I asked, "how does one get from one island to another island with a car?" I got anwers like, "take a boat" or "swim." Their assignment: make a bridge that is atleast one foot long with scotch tape and popsicle sticks. In addition, an empty can must be able to successfully "cross" over the bridge. Furthermore, whoever can build the strongest bridge wins a prize.

PHOTO: Another bridge.

I had set them loose and their creativity started to work. It was quite hilarious watching them trying to figure out how to build something that would allow a can to roll over it. One of the group eventually used the tape as a base support and placed the sticks on top. With enough tape it did work. It wasn't exactly the type of bridge I wanted them to make, but heck it was still a bridge.

PHOTO: Randomness from the activity.

All their bridges passed the "can" test, where we pretended a car was driving on top. For the ultimate test, we put weight on top of the bridges to see whose bridge is the strongest. We started using glue bottles as the weights, but we did not have enough since the bridges were so strong! We then resorted to blocks and anything we could find like screw drivers, nails, shells, and they still did not fall! WOW! In the end, we were having so much fun trying out how to "destroy" the bridges with whatever we could find. It definetly was a day not to forget.

Rolling out the "Red" carpet, island style

PHOTO: Our guests enjoying their meal at Matamaka GPS.

Matamaka recently welcomed some guests from the Peace Corps Safety and Security staff in Fiji and Tonga. What can I say? The community was super excited over the news that palangis (foreigners) were going all the way out to Matamaka for a visit. As a result, an emergency PTA meeting was called and preparations were underway to roll out the"red" carpet, Matamaka style.

It all started with a massive clean up of the school grounds. I have been here for awhile now and I had never seen so many Matamaka people mobilized to clean up the school. It was awesome. I took the liberty in weeding the school garden, while others mowed the lawn, washed the windows or trimmed the many trees surrounding the property. The school was exceptionally clean afterwards.

PHOTO: Dave and Helen talking with village chiefof Matamaka.

Upon the arrival of Dave and Helen, the villagers were up and about preparing food very early in the morning. The men had spent the previous evening fishing and collecting fresh lobsters. The 'umu (earth oven) was already started by the time I went to school. Futhermore, all the grass and bushes in the village were trimmed to perfection. I even found flags hung all across my front yard. Wow, what can I say? Matamakans are very proud of their village and it truly showed that day.

PHOTO: The children getting ready for their performance.

I was pleased that Dave, Helen, and the other guests had an excellent time in Matamaka. After a traditional kava drinking ceremony, food was presented to our guests. During their meal, the children performed a traditional sitting dance. The kids were all dressed up in traditional Tongan wear. it was shortly followed by the presentation of gifts from the children to the guests. I believe, Dave and Helen were overwhelmed with the generosity and hospitality of the Matamaka people. I myself, couldn't believe all the work they did to prepare for this day. I can only imagine what they will do when I leave here in November.

PHOTOS: The dance and gift presentation.

In the end, I personally thanked all the members of the PTA for all their hard work and really emphasized it wasn't really all that necessary. In response, I was told it was the "Matamaka way" and they wouldn't have done it any other way. Man, Matamakans, they are going to make it very hard for me to leave this place in November!

Nuapapu and Matamaka Gift Shop and more...

PHOTO: The view of Matamaka GPS from Nuapapu village.

What is it? It's more like where is it? Nuapapu is actually the only other village on my island. It's about a thirty minute hike from Matamaka. The hike is absolutely wonderful! There are still some primitive jungle that hasn't been cleared for agriculture, so the vegetation is quite amazing. The only thing missing are monkeys jumping on the trees!

The village itself is a little bigger than Matamaka, but the lifestyle is pretty much the same (no running water, electricity etc.). Regardless, the village has a very nice charm to it. There is an excellent view of Matamaka GPS from Nuapapu GPS. Furthermore, the principal and his wife have started a small business selling Tongan arts and crafts from the school to the tourists/yachties who venture in the village. It is such a great idea that my school will start making souvenirs to sell also. We are still looking at various options for things to make before the tourist season starts in late April/early May. All the proceeds from the souvenirs will be used to help pay for school supplies and petr

ol for the school generator. What a great idea, eh? I will let you know as we work up a more solid business plans.

PHOTOS: The typical scenes of a hike to Nuapapu.

On a random side note, I will start helping out at Nuapapu GPS with the Class 6 Secondary Exam Entrance. I will first start on Saturdays and eventually go before school starting the second term. I was a bit hesistant at first, because I was told that I am the "Matamaka" Peace Corps and not the "Nuapapu" Peace Corps. "Your responsibility is Matamaka and why would you want to help the other village?"--someone from Matamaka told me. Why not? They are all children of Vava'u right? I am using my "free" time to help out the other kids, which does not altar or compromise my obligations at Matamaka. (Sigh). Let's hope it all goes smoothly and I don't terribly upset too many people with helping the "other" kids. Regardless, I get a good workout hiking to Nuapapu everytime I visit. Two birds with one stone (exercise and helping out more kids= AWESOME!)

PHOTOS: The Matamaka kids collecting shells to make gifts for sale in the future.

How to make a boat, literally

PHOTO: Tika 'atu vaka fo'ou. Cool, new boat.

The Wesleyan church members of Matamaka have been very busy constructing an official chruch boat for the past month. I am very impressed how quickly they have put the boat together. I literally saw a pile of wood turned into legit floating vessel. It is quite amazing how the local community got together to construct, what I would refer to as a piece of art. This is a great addition to Matamaka "naval" fleet, which is great for everyone because there are more options on which boat to take to town. It is not finish yet, but they almost done. Keep up the good work peeps!

PHOTOS: Workin' up a sweat building a boat.

First day of school 2011

PHOTO: Matamaka GPS students and staff 2011.

Wow, I couldn't believe it's that time of year again. Where did summer go? We officially opened for learning at Matamaka GPS on January 31. We have a ton of new faces this year, including a new principal! Her name is Pitisi and she joins our staff from Leimatu'a GPS. She is very excited to work in the outer-island for the first time. Ma'asi and I are very grateful to have her join our team.

Great news, Matamaka GPS was ranked in the TOP 3 Government Primary Schools in Vava'u in the 2010 academic year. We had a 100% passing rate with the Secondary Entry Exam last October. All my Class six students literally rocked their exams. A special shout-out to our former principal Soane for his hard work and dedication with the students. He has been transferred to the main land this year (He also added another beautiful baby girl during the holiday break--congrats!). We will miss him dearly, but we wish him best of luck at Pangaimotu GPS.

We have approximately twenty total students this year. We are still waiting on a couple students to return from Tongatapu. Regardless, I am super pumped for this year. There is a new syllabus and I definetly feel more comfortable with how things function at the school. Furthermore, the students all know me by now and are comfortble speaking some faka-palangi (English) with me.

PHOTOS: Lolo being launched at the Neiafu wharf.

Here are some photos of the official Ministry of Education boat getting ready to take my new principal and outer-island staff to our individual sites--thank you EU for the generous donation of the boat. Ma'asi will be teaching the Class 4-6 this year and he will do great. It is a big step from teaching Class 1-3 since it will be his responsibility to ensure each students do well with the exams in October. Lastly, I want to give a quick shout out to Kathy Beck, a RPCV, for her kind donations of school supplies from Tongatapu. The children love the new letter blocks and art supplies! Malo 'aupito!

PHOTO: The children trying to figure out the new letter blocks from Kathy.

"Stand up when I say the F word"

PHOTO: Japanese volunteer Toru with the donated Soroban to all Vava'u primary schools.

An activity during teacher planning week in Tonga, here was the instruction: "Stand up when I say the F word."

What is first thing that comes to your mind? Really, this is a primary school so get your head out of the gutter! lol. FAKA-ilifia, FAKA-tonga, Faka-lelei etc. The Tongan language is very unique. Believe it or not, this really happened in our workshop the other day and it just caught me off guard and thought "is this a trick a question?"

PHOTO: Teachers paying attention at one of the teacher workshops.

The Ministry of Tonga is coming out with a BRAND NEW syllabus for this academic year. It has been delayed for quite some time now, but I literally have a hard copy of the new English syllabus for the primary school. It focuses on student centered learning, which is a fairly new concept in Tonga. Teachers in the past are used to writing the equations on the board and expect students to just take it all in. It lacked attention in checking if students really understood the lesson. The head teacher gave an example with a cartoon. It went something like this:

Person 1: "I taught my dog how to whistle."

Person 2: "I thought your dog could whistle."

Person 1: "I didn't say he learned how to whistle."

HALLELUJAH! The speaker pretty much summarized the "Tongan" methods of teaching in the past years. They are really pushing for education reforms across the entire spectrum. It is quite revolutionary. The teachers all practiced writing lessons plans and activities that really gets the students involved with the lessons. We will see how it turns out as the changes starts to reform the entire Tongan educational system.

On a completely different note, I had an opportunity to eva (go around/hangout) at Talihau beach the other day with some friends. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed a nice kai tunu (barbecue). Check it out if your in the area. It is accessible via causeway from Vava'u lahi. Approximately a 20 minute drive from Neiafu.

PHOTOS: Talihau beach in Vava'u. Faka'ofo'ofa!

"Cyclone" Wilma

PHOTO: The clouds rolling in before the main event....

Cyclone Wilma paid a short visit to Vava'u early Tuesday morning. It was a Category 1 cyclone when it "brushed" Vava'u. Wilma did not cause any major disruptions like Rene last year. As a matter of fact the PCVs in Vava'u didn't even have to be consolidated. Regardless, most residents of Vava'u prepared for the upcoming storm by stocking up on food and boarding up their windows. Planning week for the government schools were canceled for Tuesday, which gave everyone a nice day "off." School workshops will start up again Wednesday with Japanese volunteers working with outer-island teachers with the abacus/soloban program. Furthermore, the new syllabus will be introduced this year to all the primary school. It will be very exciting to finally get the see the new changes.

PHOTO: Covering the windows.

In the end, Wilma brought rain and some wind. Not a big deal here in Vava'u, but could prove differently as it progresses South towards Ha'apai and Tongatapu. Who knows when the next cyclone will be? The season technically doesn't end until April-ish. We still have awhile....However, there is one thing for sure I am certain, watching the clouds prior to these huge storms are absolutely breathtaking!

PHOTO: Wilma approaching towards Vava'u

Kaleti Beach and Apple Pie

PHOTO: A view of Kaleti beach from above.

Our group 75 MST just wrapped up in Nuku'alofa and now I am back in Neiafu for the last ten months of my Peace Corps service. I can literally count down how many months I have left on both of hands. Crazy?! Where has the time gone by? Anyway, I just wanted to share this awesome beach that we visited in Tongatapu called Kaleti Beach. It is located in the Southern part of the island and is by far the prettiest beach I have been to on the island of Tongatapu. It is best to take a taxi from Nuku'alofa ($15 TOP) or if you have your own mode of transportation. It is quite a walk from the main road, so I wouldn't recommend going on foot.

The beach is very quaint with huge corals/rocks that provides nice swimming holes for visitors. There are hidden white sand beaches around different coves throughout the area. It is a great place to get away and hide from the rest of Tonga. At the time of visit, it was very clean, but I was told that rubbish is often throughout the area. In addition, there is a resort on the premises that offers spectacular views and food options for the hungry day trippers. The resort has numerous private bungalows available near the water. The best part of Kaleti beach is the snorkeling. We saw some a variety of corals and a plethora of fish swimming around the reef.

PHOTO: Some beautiful corals at Kaleti beach.

Lastly, a fellow volunteer made a delicious APPLE PIE! It was so good. It was a nice surprise, even though I just came back from the states. Some of us got together at another PCV house to catch up on how everyone's break went. In the end, MST was a great opportunity to see everyone. A fellow volunteer went home so we are now down to 21 out of 26. I wish her the best of luck and safe travels. Anyway, planning week starts next week followed by the first day of school on the 21st of January. Getting pumped for round two!

PHOTO: Me with the freshly baked pie. 'Ifo 'aupito!

The Third Peace Corps Goal: To promote the...

PHOTO: Meet the pen pals!

The Third Peace Corps Goal: Helping promote better understanding of other peoples on part of Americans.

I had the privileged to meet with my US penpals from the IKM-Manning Elementary schools. The second and third graders were able to do a meet and greet with me before their winter break. It was a great opportunity to promote the third Peace Corps goal with the youngsters and staff of the school. The children were very eager to learn more about Tonga and see more photos about their Tongan penpals and Matamaka GPS.

PHOTOS: Talking to the kids.

Before the presentation, I prepared a quick slide show highlighting various facts about Peace Corps and Tonga. The kids were really eager to ask questions. Some of the questions were very funny like "Does Santa come to Tonga?" or "Do the kids play a lot of video games?" I think they realized how their lives are so much different than other children from the other side of the world. Furthermore, I had brought some cool things from Tonga to show the kids like tapa cloth, kiekias, ta'ovala, drums, fans, etc. In addition, I gave them all handmade bookmarks from my island and Peace Corps stickers (compliments of Meredith from the University of Iowa recruitment office).

PHOTO: Some of the artifacts of Tonga.

In the end, it was a lot of fun talking to all of the kids. The third graders sponsored a book drive last year for our school and Matamaka GPS received over 100 books from the kids. The second graders this year will hopefully be doing a similar service project this year. Furthermore, we will continue on writing letters back and forth to one another this year. Before I left, I surprised the kids with brand new letters their pen pals which they had written before I left for America. I want to give a special thank you to Mrs. DeCarlo for setting up the event. Malo 'aupito.

Time away from site. Off to AMERICA!

PHOTO: Home for the holidays!

Hello everyone, it has been awhile since my last blog post. I was busy catching up with all of my close friends and family in the US. It was great to get away from Tonga. I literally had not left Tonga for almost fifteen months and I was having some serious island fever. Here are some highlights from my month long vacation. After being away from home for so long, I can conclude one thing: AMERICA IS TRULY AWESOME! I appreciate everything little thing so much more now than I ever did before. Anyway here are my top five highlights.

1) FOOD

PHOTOS: Eating out with friends and family in various eateries.

I definetly took advantage of all the delicious food available in America. My first meal as soon as I stepped out of the airport was a buffet at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas. One word could only describe how I felt...AWESOME. I had made a list of all the food I had to eat before heading back to Tonga which included: Mexican, Hummus, Mongolian Grill, Ruby Tuesday Burgers etc. This didn't even include all the home cooked meals. I would say I checked off 80% of the list. It was absolutely amazing!

2) SNOW DAY

PHOTO: The famous Igloo of Cedar Rapids

Snow, snow, snow. I love snow! Another reason why I love living in the Midwest. I have to admit, shoveling snow does not bother me. I truly enjoy it. In addition, I got to spend some good quality time with cousin Kendee with constructing a huge igloo infront of my house. However, I didn't get a chance to hit the slopes in Galena, better luck next year.

3) CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS

PHOTO: Family photo with all of the dogs.

Must I say more? I was able to celebrate with my family two of my most favorite holidays of the year. There was so much contrast between celebrating the holidays in Tonga than in the US. For example, I didn't have to spend my New Years Eve celebrating in a church past midnight. My family prepared delicious meals for both holidays. Furthermore, I got to spend my first Christmas with Ashley's family in Harlan, Iowa. I was SO happy to spend it with everyone I care and love. Furthermore, I love how almost all my Christmas presents were for Tonga. For example: an air mattress, batteries, portable speakers etc. My family also had our traditional gingerbread house competition which Ash and I came in first place....woot woot.

4) FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND LINK

PHOTO: Link and me!

My month long visit had given me the opportunity to spend some quality time with all the important people in my life. I never thought I would miss everyone so much. My time in Tonga has made me realize how much I miss everyone. Furthermore, my best buddy Link remembered me! My dog that is. I was afraid he would've forgotten me for being away for so long. In addition, I got to see most of my friends. I didn't get to see everyone as I would've like, but I truly tried to see as many.

5) SHE SAID YES!

PHOTO: Ashley and me at New Years

Ashley and I got engaged! I popped the big question when I was home and she said YES! We are both pretty ecstatic and are planning for the big day after my Peace Corps service. I'm sure Peace Corps will raise a red flag about this, but you know what I don't care. We love each other and it is only a matter of when and where we will actually get hitched. Currently, Ash is planning all the details with the help of our parentals. We are looking at March 2012. It's still awhile, so we should have plenty of time to plan everything out. As for now, I am just concentrating on finishing my time here in Tonga.

In the end, America is truly the land of the free. Places are open on Sundays and you can pretty much do whatever you want to do as long as your not breaking a law. No intense cultural stuff that Tonga is always so damn uptight about. Am I excited to back to Tonga? eh... Let's hope this year goes by fast. New Years Resolution: Do more things to make ME happy. Less on the cultural activities and avoid as many Peace Corps bureaucratic crap.

Peace and Love from Tonga.