Breaking News: Fire obliterates Neiafu Guest House

PHOTO: A lot of smoke and not due to burning rubbish. View from Talau.

Around 5 AM local time on Saturday, September 18, 2010, La Alvina Lodge in central Neiafu burned down to ashes. Early speculations claim that the cause of the fire was from a lit cigarette or a match. No lives were lost from the incident. All the guests evacuated from the building. The Dancing Rooster bar and restaurant, the building next door, was spared and did not suffer from any major damages. Neighbors from around the area rushed to the scene to help control the fire. The Neiafu Fire Department also responded to the incident. However, rumors have spread that one of the fire trucks ran out of the water and some of the fire staff were "under the influence" from the night before. It was a Friday night in Tonga after all, wasn't? As a result, It wouldn't be a big surprise if all these rumors were true. Regardless of what the truth is, La Alvina Lodge is gone and nobody got seriously hurt. Here were some photos from the aftermath.

It’s that time again…SHOUT OUTS for AUG/SEPT

PHOTO: The kiddos with some of the new books from KENTUCKY!

The first SHOUT OUT goes to......INTERNATIONAL BOOK PROJECT of the USA for their generous donation of books to Matamaka GPS. We received thirty one books ranging from math and science textbooks to leveled reading materials for the children. The children were very excited to read the new books. A special MALO ‘AUPITO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the Virginia Clark Hagan Foundation of Lexington, Kentucky for sponsoring Matamaka GPS. They made the book donation possible! We are very grateful for their help.

Another SHOUT OUT to DETLEF PLASIER of Leipzig, GERMANY. He has been active participant of our Postcard Project by sending us tons of postcards. Detlef went above and beyond by sending a box full of school supplies. We received scissors, watercolors, pencils, a map of Leipzig, and more. His contributions have made successful projects with the children of Matamaka. As a result, Detlef receives a ROCKSTAR STATUS from all his new friends in Tonga.

Lastly, a personal SHOUT OUT to CANDI DECARLO for continuing to send me goodies from the States. She has been awesome with care packages, as well as boxes of supplies to the school. I cannot even count how many boxes she has sent to Tonga since I first arrived last October. For real, THANK YOU SO MUCH if you are reading this. It has been much appreciated.

Pizza Hut? Papa John’s? DiGiorno? No….it’s the Matamaka Pizza!

PHOTO: Can you say YUM?

The class six exams are coming up in a few weeks. To help my students out, I held a special cooking class at my house on how to make a pizza one Saturday afternoon. The catch, they all had to follow an English recipe and speak fakapalangi (English) the entire time. At first everyone was a bit hesitant on speaking at all. I gave everyone directions and they just giggled and said “okay Feleti.”

It was a lot of fun. They learned a ton of new vocabulary like “spatula” and “greased pan.” It was quite a treat for them to “hangout” at Feleti’s house for the afternoon. All the other village kids kept watching from outside my window. I told them they all have to wait until they are in class six. Come on, my house is tiny and can’t fit everyone.

The recipe is quite simple. Flour, milk (Anchor box milk, o yeah), Chesdale cheese, peppers, onions, garlic, pineapple are some of the ingredients we used. We even opened up one of my imported pepperoni from the States (SO GOOD). About an hour and half later, it was done. They never had pepperoni before, and I wasn’t sure if they liked it or not. I was told it was spicy. You know how hard it is to get pepperoni here? Lol. I later assigned them an essay on a “how to” paper after the cooking class. They weren’t going to get away that easy from homework. Good times, good times.

PHOTO: How to bake a pizza the Matamaka way.

Tongan Fundraiser aka KONSETI

PHOTO: Please don’t stop the music.

Fundraisers in Tonga come in different forms. One of them is called a kulapu, where men donate money to drink kava. Another common one is called a konseti. This type of fundraiser is commonly used by primary schools. The students get all dressed up in traditional Tongan attire and perform various Tongan dances. Performances range from sitting to warrior dances. Regardless, they all do an amazing job!

As the students perform, people from the crowd donate money by sticking it to their oil slicked skin or just placing it around their Tongan attire. They are fun events with good music. You may jump right in to dance if you want. Some konseti-s can make thousands of pa’anga. I was able to snap some photos from a konseti at GPS Liviela in Neiafu. Enjoy. Just another thing to look forward to if you visit Tonga.

PHOTOS: Some pics from the konseti event.

ROTI for SALE. 'Ifo 'aupito

PHOTO: How to make fresh roti.

I was very impressed when I found out that my counter-part’s sister started a small business. Lesieli is a mother of two and wanted to help contribute to the family income. What did she do? Lesieli started a roti business. Roti is very similar to rolled up quessidia, but with curry instead. She uses unripe lesi (papaya), tin fish, curry, and fresh roti made from flour and water. I am not a big fan of tin fish, but the way she prepares her roti is amazing. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know I was eating tin fish.

PHOTO: Preparing the roti.

I admire Lesieli’s hard work and dedication. She literally stays up all night preparing all of the roti to be sold the next day. It is a daily routine, except for Saturday evening which is her day “off” since everything is closed on Sundays. Several falekoloas buy her roti. In return, she makes a net profit of $300-$500 TOP a week. It’s quite impressive, if I say so myself. Lesieli is an inspiration to women in Tonga. She has taken initiative and successfully launched a thriving business. I look forward to see if she plans on expanding her business in the future. As for now, she is quite content with everything and appreciates her family’s support. If you’re ever around Neiafu, try one out for yourself. They’re only a pa’anga each. Good food, great value.

Money vs. Environment. The Sea Cucumber Dilemma

PHOTO: What they look like. Here is what sea cucumbers look like.

What are they? Well, there are over one thousand different types of sea cucumbers around the world. They are related to star fishes and sea urchins and are essential to healthy reefs. Sea cucumbers act like swimming pool vacuum cleaners, but on a much larger scale in the ocean. Sea cucumbers feed on microscopic organisms, which they sense and sweep up from the seabed with frondlike tentacles that branch out from the mouth. Many sea cucumbers also ingest mud and sand and, in a manner similar to that of earthworms, absorb the organic matter, egest the waste from the cloaca, and leave castings (Encarta 2004). Long story short, sea cucumbers filter and clean the water. Without it, water becomes cloudy and coral life dies.

The issue in Tonga: OVERHARVESTING due to the commercialization of sea cucumbers. There is a very high demand of sea cucumbers from the Asian markets. As a result, Asian countries, like China, pay big bucks for these animal creatures exported from Tonga. Therefore, fishermen collect sea cucumbers for a quick source of income. However, the environmental impacts are tremendous. During the sea cucumber season in Tonga, boat loads of sea cucumber come into processing plants before being shipped out. Fishermen can easily make $1000 to $3000 TOP per boat load. It is a very lucrative industry, but not sustainable or best for the future. The harvesting of sea cucumbers was actually banned in Tonga for ten years (97-07), because numbers of several sea cucumber species were reduced dramatically.

PHOTOS: One of the sea cucumber processing sites. Hundreds of sea cucumbers collected from one night. The Chinese buying the sea cucumbers. Lovely…

I was able to visit one of the sea cucumber processing facilities in Vava’u. I can only describe it as a form of ethnic cleansing towards sea cucumbers. I was sickened at the amount of sea cucumbers being unloaded from each boat. The Chinese suppliers, inspected and paid money to the Tongan fishermen. Just imagine people killing whales, sharks, dolphins, and turtles and turning in the carcass at a collection depot, that was how I felt watching the entire event. Yes, all those atrocities also occur all over the world. Who is to blame though? Each country has the right to do whatever they want within their territories. Should we look into more international environmental protection? Where is GREEN PEACE when you need them? Give more money towards key Ministries such as Fisheries or Environment to protect certain species? Corruption? blah blah blah. Just another frustration working in a country like Tonga. In the end, who knows what will happen. If a certain threshold is passed with overharvesting, then the extinction of numerous sea cucumbers is forthcoming and the consequences will have devastating effects. I have an idea…STOP eating them and that goes towards shark fin soup and also other “delicacies.”

PC TONGA GROUP 76. I NEED YOUR HELP.

Hello future PCVs of G76 to TONGA. My school is doing a postcard project. Basically, we are trying to collect as many postcards from around the world and at least one postcard from every US STATE. BEFORE LEAVING FOR PST, PLEASE SEND A POSTCARD FROM YOUR HOMESTATE TO TONGA. It would be much appreciated.

The address:

Matamaka GPS

Farfum Ladroma, PCV

P.O. BOX 137

NEIAFU, VAVA'U

KINGDOM OF TONGA

SOUTH PACIFIC

***We especially need postcards from the Southern States ex: MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, ALABAMA, etc. Please represent!***

Ain’t any party like a Mormon dance party

PHOTO: Tonight’s going to be a good night.

They call it hulohula here in Tonga. In English/Feleti’s definition equals dance party. Every so often through the year the Mormon Church throughout Tonga hosts these events at their church. You do not have to be Mormon to attend these hulohula, as everyone is welcome. I was told it was to help young Mormons find their “eternal family.” I don’t know if that is true or not, but these dances are actually a lot of fun (with the right attitude).

The Matamaka Mormons hosted a hulohula last weekend. The village of Nuapapu and some people from the main island made the voyage to Matamaka. The dance was right next to the beach. The church had done a superb job decorating for the event. They had use a small orange tree with ripe oranges as the center piece for the dance floor with ribbons running all around.

PHOTO: Par-tay!

These Mormon hulohulas can be best described as junior high in the US all over again. There is at least three feet gap between you and your dance partner. Don’t even think about getting closeror it will be pretty scandalous. However, pants are allowed for the men so you don’t have to wear tupenus. It does have to be khankis or black pants. No jeans. I found this out the hard way when I wore jeans to my first Mormon dance in Ha’apai and I was told, “You’re wearing devil pants.” LOL. I didn’t know Gap jeans were made in h@ll. In addition, people come up to you and bow to ask for a dance. You can’t really say no. I just wanted to watch, but ended up dancing more than I intentionally planned. In the end, it was a blast and it offered an alternative activity for the villagers on a Friday night. Until the next hulohula…

A tragic sea accident…

PHOTO: The boat that sank near Matamaka.

It was like any other normal day in Matamaka. I woke up, went to school, had my lunch, went back to school, came home, made my dinner, and prepared to go back for night school. However, Wednesday, August 11, 2010 will always be the most disturbing day in my Peace Corps Tonga experience.

Around 5:40 PM, I was washing some dishes at my house when I noticed several men running to the wharf. My initial thought was, “damn they must be late to go fishing.” It wasn’t until one of my students ran to my house and screamed, “Feleti…ha’u ha’u ko vaka ngoto!” I wasn’t familiar with the word ngoto. All I understood was “come come, something boat.” I had quickly told Taina (the student) that I will go see it later. I thought it was some fancy yacht thath had anchored in front of the Matamaka. Big deal, I thought. It was about 5:45 PM when I decided to just get to night school a little bit early and bring my camera because Taina insisted so. He had refused to leave my house without it. So, we walked to the first beach by house. I was confused. There was no fancy yacht. “Feleti, fakavavevave!” (Feleti, hurry!) Taina shouted at me as he led me to the other beach of Matamaka.

By the time I walked to the top of the hill, I noticed two Matamaka boats out in the middle of sea. The sea was very rough that day and thought it was an odd time for the boats to be gallivanting around. It wasn’t until I ran into my principal’s wife when she told me that there has been an accident. A ship from Ovaka had sunk. Ovaka is the next island from Matamaka. She told me that the boat was full of people who went to a putu or funeral at Ovaka.

PHOTO: Matamaka boats helping the survivors from the sunken ship. MATAMAKA 507.

I quickly ran to the beach and captured some photos of people who were getting plucked out of the water. It was then that I noticed that one of them was close a friend of mine. By the time the first Matamaka boat returned to the beach with the first set of survivors was when I saw the top of the sunken ship bobbing around the water. Regardless, the Matamaka residents already prepared blankets and a little triage area for the victims. Ironically, the Tonga Red Cross was in Matamaka for disaster preparedness that week.

PHOTO: The scene from the top of the hill where I first saw the events unfold and the first rescue boat to make it back to shore with survivors.

As more and more survivors were brought to shore was when I realized how spread out people were in the sea. We later found out that more survivors were at a third beach outside of Matamaka. Boats were quickly sent there to help them. By this time other boats from neighboring villages have arrived to help with the rescue efforts. They too were scoping the waters between Matamaka, Sisia, and Ovaka islands.

One boat came back with an unconscious girl. Kato (the Red Cross lady) and a Matamaka woman quickly started CPR. Minutes had passed before a fast boat from the nearby village of Falevai came to take the girl and her family to the hospital. Kato had requested that I help her with CPR all the way to the hospital.

PHOTOS: The triage area setup by the Matamaka people. Babies and other young children were also onboard when the boat sank. They all were rescued by Matamaka boats.

The boat was fairly fast, but just not fast enough. The high school girl, whose grandmother and brother helplessly watched as we kept continued with the CPR, was announced dead upon arrival at the hospital. It was the first time in my entire life for someone to die right in front of me. I later found out her name. I cannot believe how quickly life can end. She was just going to a funeral that day. She was going back to school the next day, but her life was cut short. All her hopes and dreams just disappeared within minutes and I felt powerless to help her live. I tried my best.

After leaving the hospital, I realized that my phone fell in the water while trying to board the boat. In addition, my wallet fell somewhere (someone thankfully found it and returned to me) and I was left with a flashlight and sweater. Normally, I would be upset, but after the entire ordeal I realized they were all just THINGS. Material objects that are all replaceable. I was alive and well. That alone was something to be grateful.

PHOTO: CPR on the beach.

It was a crazy day. It was one of those things that you think would never happen to you. Was I traumatized? I would say I am more aware that how life can end at a blink of an eye. On the contrary, I was proud that the CPR lessons that the Red Cross and I prepared in February paid off. The people knew right away what to do and wasted no time. They learned something and it reassured me that my work in Tonga has not been a complete waste of time.

The sun was about to set when the incident happened. More people might have died if it occurred an hour later as most people were not familiar with the area. They would have drifted out to sea without knowing where Matamaka was located. The village does not have a lot of light that can be seen from far away. Furthermore, all the Matamaka boats were at the wharf (it is located on the other beach of Matamaka) because of the rough water. A night rescue would have severely limited the effectiveness of the search due to the number of flashlights available over such a large area. Even if all the other boats from the other villages came to help, by the time they would’ve arrive there would have been survivors floating in every direction.

In the end, it’s important to expect the unexpected. It’s better to take preventive actions in any situation than a potential deadly price. I always thought it was silly for Peace Corps to mandate a life vest anytime you ride a boat. Although, I can swim and most likely survive a ship sinking, I know that I can give my life vest to someone else who does not know how to swim. In Tonga, an island nation, you would assume everyone knows how to swim, but in reality they don’t. By the way, my friend was okay. He lost his things, but he is alive and healthy. The sun comes up and a bright new day waits. Don’t take it for granted. For real…LIVE YOUR LIFE.

PHOTO: Notice the sunken boat in the far right in this photo; it had continued to drift after finally hitting a reef.

Matamaka is GaGa for GAGA

PHOTO: The Class 1-3 with their Lady Gaga inspired face painting.

Arts and Crafts week was a blast due to all of the school supplies that have been donated to Matamaka GPS this year. The entire school made butterflies and caterpillars from watercolors and old egg crates. They are very simple to make and I encourage others to try one out! To make the caterpillars, simply cut long strips of old egg crates. Have students paint or color them with markers, water colors, or liquid paint. Next, cut little wedges in the bottom of the egg crates for the Popsicle sticks which are the "legs." Then, use yarn, glitter, beads or pretty much anything you can get your hands on to decorate the caterpillar.

For the butterflies, simply fold a piece of white paper and trace out a butterfly. Cut the butterfly out and have the students decorate them all. This is a great way to work on symmetrical shapes with the kids. To showcase all of the caterpillars and butterflies, we decorated a long piece of brown paper with pictures of various flowers and plants. Viola, the project is finish!

Furthermore, I introduce piñatas with the Class 4-6. Soane was even impressed that he had to make one for himself. We used balloons that were donated by Candi DeCarlo (Harlan, IOWA) and we wrapped them with recycled newspaper and paper scraps. Afterwards, we used watercolors to decorate. I separated the students into three groups, because it would take way too long to finish one. We will break all the piñatas at the end of the school year at our cultural day celebration. As of now, all of the art works are in our library for parents and visitors to enjoy.

In the end, Arts and Crafts week was a huge success. The entire school had face painting on the last day to celebrate. We were inspired by the Lady Gaga GLEE Episode. The children and staff were all little “theatrical,” with our Gaga looks. To all our Matamaka GPS followers, with your support we can continue doing projects such as these. THANK YOU!

PHOTOS: Highlights from Arts and Craft Week.