Living life...

So these past few weeks have been so exciting and super busy! 

Had my inter service training for Peace Corps, I can't believe it's already April! After that we had our project design and management workshop where we worked with a community counterpart to design a project to help our community.

School started last week, but this was my first week back from break teaching! It went very well, one of my teachers taught a lesson in English and rocked it all be herself! It was AWESOME! 

Sight word book project also took a step in the right direction! We met with the curriculum department unit in the Ministry of Education, and they really liked the books and want to print one for each student in Tonga! Which is sooooo exciting, however we have to get as many books ready to print as we can in the next 2 weeks! So it's crunch time!

And as a super fun surprise the wonderful Emily & Jason took the sight word project team out as a reward for everyone's hard work! 

Things got crazy! ;P

Work hard play hard!

It was a blast, we went to a local resort, ate a delicious Tongan feast, and watched their cave show after! It was a great night with great people!

What I love about Sundays in Tonga!

Today was Palm Sunday and I was lucky enough to spend it with my teacher Mo'ua and her family. Her cousin was visiting from New Zealand so we has lots of yummy food! We went to her house in Teeki'u, where we went to church and Kai umu!

Ane and Siaosi! Ane is my age and Siaosi is one of my class 6 students. ( the squares in the bowl are faikakai and is mashed up breadfruit with coconut milk and sugar on top! Very yummy and dense)

Vaine ( it's another yummy fruit, you eat the seeds from the inside kinda of like passion fruit but more tart)

 Ifo Lu, ota ika ( fresh fish dish), ripe bananas!

And showing how they mash the roasted breadfruit to make the faikakai ( they use a young unripe breadfruit  attached to sticks as the masher)

Mo'ua cleaning the dishes.

Pit they used to roast the breadfruit. 

Guava in the front yard.

In the bag is Kumala ( a purple sweet potato), next to it is pumpkin , and ripe breadfruit.

Lots of limes!

Suka the dog!

Overall it has been a relaxing Sunday, full of yummy food , good company, and a nice breeze! 

Tongan Olympics ... Aka Sports Day final

This past week was finally the big sports day! Where all the schools on Tongatapu ( 9 districts) got together and competed in a track and field day. Classes 4-6 participated, and the kids had a lot of fun!

We we're team Hihifo 1!

Practicing for the long jump.

Girls weaving the long grass to pass the time.

Hihifo ki ai!

Started sports day with a march of all the schools around the field , a prayers, and song to kick off the 2 day event at Teufaiva stadium in town.

Polinsia and Sefo my host brother and cousin came to watch!

Overall all our district won 4 or 5 medals ( silvers and bronzes) and two of the girls won bronze from my school! 

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! :)