Happy New Years!

Happy New Year!!! 

Tonga is the first country in the world to ring in the New Year! 

So happy happy 2015!!!

News Years Eve in Tonga is spent feasting with your family in the day time and literally ringing in the new year at church with a service from 10-12 pm!

I spent the day feasting with my host family's extended family, where we had everything from puaka tunu ( roasted pig) to lobster and yummy ota ika ( raw fish in coconut milk). 

The feast all ready to go waiting to finish the prayer then Kai lahi, and many fakamalo's ( speeches)! 

My host grandpa's house, as we waited outside listening to the prayer and singing  hymns before the feast. 

Osi Kai poula! All finished with the feast, after the last fakamalo is given the Tongan mammas go to work piling boxes and plates with whatever they can find to take home or scraps to feed to the dogs. 

This is what my host mom sent me

home with... for one person...

My host mom after she collected all the goodies! ( p.s. She's pregnant and we are all super excited for the new addition to the family, we're supposed to did out this month if it's a boy or girl!!!) 

After a malolo ( rest) my host cousins and I took a trip to te warf in town and did some swimming! 

My host aunt and her son sofa, who were nice enough to take us swimming!

Jumping into the warf , it's pretty crazy people just run and jump and hope for te best no matter what is below ( people or rocks) and of course in their Tongan bathing suit ( the clothes they came in...)

The host cousins!

Action shots!

Happy 2015! Hoping this New Year is full of new adventures, zero funerals, and lots of health and happiness! 

Summer time shenanigans....

Summer school has been going great! This coming week is our last week and kids have showed up ready to learn every Tuesday and Wednesday except Christmas Eve ( as was expected). The numbers haves ranged from 30 to 3 but I'm really happy with what we've been able to cover and just getting to know a couple of my students for the next school year. 

On other notes , I have kept busy this summer break working with our sight word book project ( where a group of us volunteers are partnering with the local arts collective "On The Spot", to create Tongan centered books that aid teachers and students in the classroom to learn to read English. Basically we provide the format and Tongan approved text ,and the Tongan artists create the illustrations or photos for our books) Its pretty darn awesome and I'm super excited  to be apart of this project!

I've also been working with the MRE (monitoring, reporting, and evaluating) committee to help build an assessment tool for us as volunteers to collect and analyze data on our project objectives throughout the year. 

And of course on my free time going to the beach as much as I possibly can! 

Chillin with the girls and bingo the puppy on Vakaloa beach!

                 Kayla, Me, Keert!

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day was very relaxed! It was pretty tough waking up alone, definitely missed my family and loved ones  that morning! ( thank goodness for kitties...)

Later that morning I went to church at 10 am just like another Sunday.  ( this time the fan and hymn book were useful...) 

At church it was a pretty normal service except all the kids put on the nativity story through a choreographed song. It was really neat to see the nativity in a whole other language and culture and that it still held to a lot of the same things that it does to in my church in America. And Christmas songs are always fun, in Tongan and English! 

The manager scene.

The angels walking in to surround the manger.

The shepards bringing gifts to baby Jesus.

A new touch to the nativity, the flags of Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia were brought and placed in front of the manger. 

After church and lunch with my host family (who also gave me a bunch of goodies) I got to FaceTime with my whole family back in Missoula , MT which was pretty darn awesome!!!

My wonderful neighbors 2 doors downs brought me breakfast, and my other neighbors 3 doors down  gave me a Christmas gift of cornflakes and corn ( I did a little happy dance for both, by little I mean jumping for joy happy ;P)

                   Real cereal!!!! 

CORNFLAKES! Best breakfast I've had in a  long time :) 

Overall my first Christmas in Tonga was really special. The people around me from my host family , to neighbors, and fellow volunteers really showed their support and love, and I am so blessed to have such amazing people around me! I am really excited to move into this New Year and see what new adventures come about! :)

Christmas in Tonga

Christmas in Tonga is definitely different than any Christmas I've had up until now...

Christmas Eve started as a normal day, until that evening when I dressed all up thinking we were going to church...

Had my fan, my hymn book , and tao'vala tied ( all by myself, my first true feat in Tonga! )

Christmas cake in hand I walked over to my neighbors to head to church. Once I handed the cake over and exchanged Merry Christmas's I was led by a young girl named Elenoa to my principals wife's family house. Where I sat and chatted with I assume my principals wife's father for about half an hour. We then walked together to the hall across from the western Free Wesleyan church. Where all the kiddos were dressed up in red and waiting not for church but for the gift giving ceremony. Gifts were given through Sunday school classes ( all the gift were some kind of food like chips or candies). After the kids were given gifts, the teachers were next , and then they opened buckets full of bags filled with goodies and everyone in the hall received one! 

Before the gift giving the kiddos did a choreographed song all together! It was super cute! 

The faifekau ( church minister and my neighbor) doing the fai lotu ( prayer) to start the ceremony.

The first kiddo to receive there gift ( the Sunday school teacher and ministers wife, Lose guiding each kiddo through )

Each kid had a part of a bible verse to say.

All the goodies! Santa definitely came early :)

I got some fancy treats from cassava chips to burgers chips ( there were so many chips I didn't know what to do with them, good thing we have a training in January with hungry volunteers!) 

Yep... These are a thing... good news is though there is actually no burger or burger flavoring listed in the ingredients.