Last couple days in Tonga...

So.. this week has been pretty rough! Our trip has come to a close and I can't believe my time here in Tonga is actually over.  We had to say goodbye to all our students, teachers, administrators, and friends that we have spent so much time with the past couple of months. I have never been good at saying goodbyes so it has been a rather emotional week. We have been spoiled rotten and had a lot of going away parties and way too many gifts given to us to say goodbye. I have so much respect for the people here in Tonga.  They are all so heartfelt and genuine. Some friends we have made here have truly become family, and it seems like an impossible task to say goodbye, knowing that we may never see them again. Truth be told... I don't want to come home.  I am really excited to see friends and family, but I am beyond content living here in Tonga.

Last night we were feeling a little spontaneous since it was our last night here.  We decided to go for a late night swim in the ocean.  It seriously could not have been more perfect.  It was raining the whole time and we just swam around in the darkness with a couple of glow sticks! I am certainly going to miss being so close to the ocean.

Everyone before the Swim! Already wet from rain :)

Tammy and Me! (after the swim...Tammy didn't get in)

Well I only have about half hour until I leave for the airport.  It seriously is mind blowing that time can go by so fast.  I am really looking forward to New Zealand and the adventures that are awaiting me there!   I guess I will be back in the states before ya know it!

Well thats it from Tonga! 'Ofa atu!

Makeleta (my teacher) and Me with swollen crying eyes...

Some of my awesome students! 

Blah Blah Blah (Couldn't think of a title)

Hello hello!
Soooooo I can't believe it but I only have five more days here in Tonga.  Time has flown by since I got home from Fiji.  I have been teaching my students a unit on "Planet Earth and Beyond."  We have been studying the greenhouse effect, global warming, attributes of the Earth's atmosphere and much more! It has been really fun to start this unit with them from the beginning and monitoring their progress from week to week.  I can feel myself growing more and more comfortable with my students.  I am so proud of the progress they are making and I am hoping they continue to move forward after I go home.

In the past couple weeks we have been trying to get in as many adventures as we can! A couple weeks ago we went to a dance that was being held in the gym on our compound.  There was rumor going around that the prince of Tonga would be there.  We got home fairly late from dinner and whatnot but we decided to drop in for the end of the dance.  I am happy to say that the prince indeed was in attendance!  We wandered around the dance floor and made our way over to him.  My friend Janell had to bow/curtsey in order to ask him for a dance.  It was slightly awkward because he didn't speak much at all, but we just carried on and all of us palangis danced circles around him while everyone else starred! We even got our photo with him...success! I will try and upload that picture later. Needless to say, there aren't many who can say they came to Tonga and danced with the prince!

We get the most beautiful sunsets in Tonga!

It was actually the prince's birthday this last Wednesday, therefore, nobody in all of Tonga had school.  A representative from the university and the university's videographer was here last week, so we took advantage of the time to show them around the island.  Tuesday night we all decided to spend the night on a beach.  We took some bedding and hiked down to one of our favorite hidden beaches.  We listened to the ukulele being played and sat around the fire for a good while....p.s. my uke skills are stepping up!  Not going to lie...the beach is extremely uncomfortable! I felt like I was sleeping on cement slab.  It was still really fun, I just would't say it's my back's preferred bedding! Wednesday morning we woke up to a rugby team hiking down for and early morning conditioning practice! I couldn't tell who was more surprised, us or them?? So we just sat in our blankets and watched a rugby team work out and then cool off in the ocean.  It was really good early morning entertainment!

Emily and me on Pa'ongo beach Wednesday morning!

My favorite palangi crew!

Oh! One quick little story! So we went to this restaurant the other day, which as the usual kentucky (chicken), fries, and manioke.  BUT they also have chinese food! We went up to the counter to order and the lady said,"Oh sorry our cook is sleeping so no one can cook right now." Mind you this was prime dinner hour.  We stood there for a second and then I asked how long she thought the cook would be sleeping.  She replied,"Hmmm maybe one hour." They offered us any of the food that was being warmed under the hot lamps but that was it.  It makes me laugh but this is a really good example of what it is like here in Tonga.  No one is stressed and if they want to nap then they take a nap! It wasn't a problem for them to turn away business.  And it wasn't that big a deal for us, we just walked down the street to another restaurant.

I can't believe my time here in Tonga is pretty much at its end... It is going to be really hard to say goodbye.  Although I am really excited to see friends and family at home, I am certainly not ready to leave Tonga. I have had an amazing experience on this island.  I am very excited, however, because I get to spend over a week in New Zealand on my way home! Lots more exploring to do! Ofa atu! (Love you)

(I may or may not have time to post more about Tonga and possibly New Zealand! We shall see! I'll see you all soon!)

Term Break in Fiji

So this last week was Liahona's end of term break! All the teachers were dying for a break, but my classmates and I were just looking forward to more adventures! Majority of my crew shipped off to a couple of other Tongan islands for the week.  One of my friends flew to Australia and I flew to Fiji to meet up with my parents! In Fiji, we stayed at a resort in Denarau, which is basically in Nadi.  The resort was breath taking! We were definitely living the high life for a week.

 We had a really nice week because we were able to relax a little as well as go out for some adventures! Wednesday we signed up to go out to a smaller island for the day.  When I say small I really mean it.  It took about seven minutes to walk all the way around.  It was pure paradise though.  We went snorkeling a few times, sat in the sun, ate traditional Fijian food, and walked around the island.  The best word I can use to describe the whole day would probably be dreamlike.

Beachcomber Island

Mums and Me after I had been snorkeling!

Thursday we took a bus to the other side of the main land, near Suva (the capital).  It was a very very very long drive.....but well worth it! We hopped on motorized canoes and we headed up the river.  The water was pretty shallow but somehow our driver managed to get us up rapids here and there without dragging the motor into the ground. At certain moments, it really didn't make sense....but whatever! It worked! The boats took us to a point, where we were dropped off and we hiked to Jewel Waterfall. I looooooove waterfalls.  Every time I swim beneath a waterfall it takes my breath away. It is just the most exhilarating feeling.  We swam around and climbed underneath it for a bit then we headed back to the boats.  We also went to a village on the river side where they had prepared lunch and we took part in a traditional Kava ceremony.  Kava is everywhere in Fiji just as it is in Tonga.  The ceremony was much different than the one I took part in in Tonga, though.  Lunch was traditional Fijian food and it was the best I had all trip! Delicious!

Jewel Waterfall

Village on the river where we ate lunch

Mums and Padre!

The trip was fantastic.  I was spoiled rotten by my parents all week.  I was grateful that we were able to spend some quality time together. I really don't miss home at all, just the people who are still there.  I won't lie though.... I was really excited to go home to Tonga.  When we landed back at the airport,  I could barely contain my excitement! I almost turned to everyone and said,"Ahhhh so nice to be home." But I had a feeling they would have looked at me like I was just another foolish palangi, so I held my tongue.

Since I have been home, I have been really busy in the classroom.  I have officially started teaching my unit on Atmosphere and other such nonsense! Every day is a new challenge to see how these students respond to different teaching strategies.  The funny thing is seeing how each class is completely different.  In one of my classes, my lesson seemed to kind of flop but in the next it worked out really well! You just have to always expect the unexpected and it will play out perfectly! Well thats its for now! Toodles!

Another week come and gone!

Well I am nearing the half way mark of my trip here in Tonga.  Sad to think about...I am definitely not ready to come home! This week is finals week for my students so it has been pretty relaxed for us teachers! The kids are all pretty excited for the week break and could care less about finals themselves! So...that should be interesting....

Well we went boating on Saturday! Woot! Patch (my professor) found a random guy at the docks to take us out on his boat.  I think there were about twelve or thirteen of us that went. As you pull away from the main island of Tongatapu its amazing how many random little islands pop up everywhere. We went to one little island so that everyone could change into their swimming gear and then we headed to open water where we snorkeled above coral.  It was BEAUTIFUL! It was a pretty cloudy and chilly day so all of us were chilled to the bone but it was definitely worth it.  After a good while in the water, we boated to another island where we camped out on the beach and ate lunch. Absolute Paradise.

Selfie with an Island behind me

Stingray!

On the island that we were having lunch on, a couple of kids caught a stingray. They cut of its stinger so that it wouldn't hurt them....poor guy. haha the kids brought him over to show us.  Pretty creepy looking up close.

The boat we went out on for the day!

I bought a soccer ball earlier this week and I convinced my roomies to play with me last night! I'm having serious withdrawals! We got a couple of Tongan boys to join in and play too! It was a blast. Unfortunately we started pretty late so we didn't get to play much before it turned pitch black. So we are going to have to try again this week.

All my roomies and I are getting pretty excited for our week break coming up as well.  Most of my roommates are traveling out to some of the other Tongan islands like Vava'u and Ha'apai.  One of my roommates is going to Australia and I am meeting my parentals in Fiji! I can't wait! Everybody leaves before I do, so it looks like a will have a few days to explore the Island on my own.

OH MY LANTA! I almost forgot the craziest part of the week! Most of you probably already heard but last week one of my students stole my phone.  Yep....couldn't believe it! I looked everywhere I could think of before I went to the office and told them I was pretty sure one of my students took my phone.  Security rounded up all of my students from that class and they did body and bag checks on all of them. I felt horrible watching all of them go in one by one to get checked. Well after we got through everyone my phone was still nowhere to be found.  I was rather devastated...The office told me to come back in the morning and see if it had been turned in or if they had found any information.  In the morning I went to my homeroom and told my teacher what had happened. She was absent the day before so I had full control of my class (which obviously was a failure..haha).  She was telling me that she would have her husband go to all the places in town where they unlock phones and tell them that if they see my phone to hold onto it and I would pay them for it. Seriously the sweetest human in the world.  I was really hoping it didn't have to come to that point though.  During homeroom, two boys came in and asked if they could speak with me outside.  I followed them out into the hall and they asked if I was the one missing my phone and then one of the boys pulled my phone out of his bag. SO RELIEVED!! I was maybe a little too excited and I jumped on both boys and gave them a hug and told them thank you. They backed away like I was crazy or something...weird.. hehe.  Anyway, I asked them where they had found it and they told me that their friend was the one who took it.  They said that yesterday he had seen security coming to pull him out of class so he put the phone on top of a cabinet before they saw him.  Then he went and retrieved it later.  He must have felt bad because he gave it to his friends to return it.  I, also, think my brother, Tanner, may have had something to do with it.  When I got my phone back I looked at the locked screen and could clearly read quite a few guilt wrenching messages he had sent.  Haha so apparently Tanner is pretty good at guilt wrenching! ha Thanks for that T-bear!  I told the two boys to tell their friend thank you for having the heart to return it. They smiled and went on their merry way!  Friday, when I had that class again I decided to address the situation with my entire class.  I apologized that we all had to endure all the security checks and frustrations of Wednesday.  I explained that my phone had been returned and I was grateful for the honesty of the person that gave it back.  I told my class that I want to be able to trust them, just as much as I want them to be able to trust me.  I want to have a positive relationship with all my classes and students.  They all appeared to be really receptive to what I had to say and nodded with agreement.  Alright story is almost over! Sorry! This morning I was sitting at my desk as the kids piled in and began to study before their exam.  A boy came over and whispered to Make and she nodded to him.  He walked over to me and quietly explained that he was the one who had taken the phone and that he didn't return it because he is shy. He apologized multiple times.  I told him that it was okay and I was grateful to him for being honest and returning it to me. He had a look of relief on his face. I would have liked to talked more but most the class had turned their attention to us so I told him thanks again and left it at that! Phewf! Crazy eh?? What's funny is many teachers weren't all that surprised and told me that they should have warned me not to leave things out where the students can get them.  Mind = Blown.  It worries me when it isn't uncommon and is of no surprise to the teachers that the students just steal things on a regular basis.  Make once mentioned that she always locks the doors to her classroom otherwise the kids with come in and take everything.  Unbelievable. Anyway I am happy to say that this story had a happy ending!

Well thats all from Tonga! Alu'a (bye)!

Island Update!

Yikes! I just looked to see when I wrote on my blog last and it has been quite awhile!! Let me update as best as I can on all that has been happening here in Tonga!

I have been on many adventures after school and on the weekends...really whenever we get the chance to get off of our compound here at Liahona.  A couple weekends ago we went to these caves on the north part of the Island.  The caves are pitch black except for what you can see with your flash light. When you get to the bottom of the caves there is a pool of fresh clear water.  We got to jump off of  cliffs in the caves and go swimming around for a bit.  The water wasn't as cold as we were expecting so it was doable! It was a really cool experience.  Jumping off a cliff into what looks like a black abyss is an experience I shall never forget! (I've got some pictures of us swimming in the caves but they are on my camera so I will try and add those later).

My roomies and I were invited to go to a Kava Circle this last weekend.  This was a pretty cool experience as well! Men have Kava Circles every Friday and sometimes Thursdays. They raise money for different things in their community villages.  They don't typically have women there unless she is the Tou'a which is just the person that serves the Kava, or unless they are invited guests/visitors.  So luckily my gals and I were able to attend.  It just so happens that I was the chosen Tou'a  at this Kava Circle.  So what is Kava you ask?? Its just a root that they grow here.  They grind it down to a powder and combine it with water.  This root is supposed to help you feel calm and relaxed and it also numbs your mouth for all of about ten seconds.  All the men sit in a circle passing around cocoanut shell bowls full of Kava. There are also a few of men that play ukuleles and guitars and sing.  That was a really cool cultural experience.

Me Drinking Kava! (And Tongan Man)

         

The Big Kava Bowl!

 

This last Sunday my professor asked if we wanted to go for a Sunday drive and cruise around the North side of the Island. We saw Captain Cook's Landing as well as the "Tongan Stonehenge."  One of the earlier kings built this Stonehenge thing.  We saw some locals climbing on it so we decided to give it a try as well!

Paige, My professor (Patch) and Me! (Tongan Stonehenge)

Hmmmm what else to tell you about! As far as teaching goes I am finally getting opportunity to actually my students. Thank goodness!!! I was really over observing...and sitting....  My teacher won't be in the classroom tomorrow and on a whim I told her I would take over and help the kids review for their big end of term exam that is coming up next week.  I have been really studying and catching up on chemistry.  Wish I would have payed more attention in high school! Whoops! My brain hurts from trying to study this type of nonsense.... Anyway! This review should be an interesting experience since my teacher won't be there to correct me on any content mistakes.  I'm sure the students won't mind correcting me at all! We also started my capstone and classroom management class this week so I think I am going to be a little bit busier than I have been the last few weeks! Its all pretty exciting though because we are preparing our portfolios and whatnot to prepare for graduation!! Just another step closer!

Well all is well here in Tonga!  I love every minute of everyday! I am learning and experiencing so much!  I hope all is well back in Utah! I love you all so much! Hope you enjoy the pictures.  Here are just a few more of the beautiful scenes I get to see here.

Oh! And I got to drive the truck! The wheel is on the wrong side! Kinda sketchy!

First Week in the Classroom

Well if any of you were curious, I did eventually get my luggage last Saturday! Thank goodness! I was ready to wear my own clothes again!  A lot has happened this week, far too much to write down so I'll just give you some of the highlights and some general info about my teaching placement.

We started our attendance in the classroom on Monday. I have already learned and experienced so much this week.  I am adjusting to change of age in students.  I am used to the oldest being 12 years old.  The age group I will be teaching here is from 15-17 years old.  They title the grades by form.  I will be teaching form 4 and assisting in form 5 for high school science.  It has been a very long time since I have studied or recapped on my high school science.  I find that I will be doing a lot of studying while I am here, so that I am capable of efficiently teaching the content for this grade.  

My cooperating teacher's name is Makeleta Latu Katoa. Some people call her Maggie especially around us Palangi (white people) but she usually just goes by Make (Makay - Long A vowel sound). This is her first year as a teacher and I find her constantly asking me what she can do to improve her teaching.  I just keep telling her that I am still a student and can't exactly give her feedback on her teaching.  You can tell her heart is really in it, but the teaching here in Tonga is much different than in the states.  The teachers are all very laid back and as long as they have gotten the information out they have pretty much done their job.  You can see that all the teachers are really friendly with the students and are trying to build good connections with them, but the students seem to kind of take advantage of this and they just do what they want.  Its going to be an adjustment for both me and the students when I am actually in front of the class teaching.  Anyway! Make is such a sweet person.  Every day she gives me food or something to eat for breakfast.  She invited me to her kids' birthday party this week. She has three kids and two of them have the same birthday! Her youngest boy turned two yesterday and her daughter turned 4. 

I went to her house with her family after school yesterday and left all my other Palangi friends behind.  It was a different experience for sure.  I basically hung out with her daughter Namelda all evening. She knew little english but continually grabbed by hand and would say,"Come wif me."  Then she would point to different things and say, "It's cool?"  hahaha cutest girl in the world.  She would just laugh and giggle but wouldn't leave my side!  We had an Umu which means pig roast.  I went to an Umu the night before but at this one I actually watched them cut open the pig and pull all is insides out... Let's just say I have had enough experiences here that I have moments of wanting to be a vegetarian.  I am a picky meat eater... I like all my meat clean with nothing on it that shows it could have been a living animal at one point.  I am slowly adjusting.  I had to debone a chicken the other night for dinner too...that one was a little rough! Anyway the party was really fun and I ended up being there majority of the evening.  And of course Make packed me a ton of food to take home to my roomies.  My roommates have realized that I am a good source of food since Make sends me home with food everyday. 

I am having an absolute blast here in Tonga! I will try my hardest to keep this blog updated! So much happens in one week that I will try to update twice a week if I can! Hope everyone is well at home! 

Below are some pictures I took on my phone of the Island:

This is the view from my apartment. Those are other homes on the compound that some of the teachers live in. 

This is the view of the coast as we were walking to the beach.

This is Alexa (fellow classmate) and I sitting on top of a rock we climbed at a hidden beach. 

Lost Baggage! (7/31/14)

After a few flights we have finally arrived in Tonga!  Our flights seemed to fly by (ha pun!) because I was pretty much only awake for the meals. I had just enough time after waking up and before we landed to meet the kind people sitting next to me on each flight. Sooooo happy that I can sleep on planes! I was a lot more refreshed than some of my classmates who didn’t get much sleep at all.  The only unfortunate part is that both my bags didn’t make it to Tonga with me.  I certainly am not the only one.  It seemed like about half of our plane didn’t have their bags because the plane we took from Fiji to Tonga was too small.  Good thing I chose these comfy clothes..looks like I will be wearing them for a couple more days.  Cross your fingers that our bags arrive by Saturday...cause these clothes are not going to smell very good by tomorrow. 

Today was still a very eventful day! I got my phone set up so that I can use data while I’m here and communicate with my classmates and whatnot.  We also just drove around through town!  Different parts here remind me of Peru and other parts remind me a lot of Africa, but it is absolutely beautiful everywhere you look. The Liahona campus where most of us are staying is extremely nice! We will definitely be well taken care of while we are here.  My apartment has two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. The bedrooms have two sets of bunk beds that are of queen size! Schweet! 

We drove to the coast just after sunset and saw blow holes, which were absolutely amazing! These waves were incredibly powerful hitting up against the rocks.  After we drove to a small hidden beach and climbed down in the dark.  May or may not have been the safest route but it was a blast none the less! We climbed around using our phones as flashlights and waded in the water a bit.  It was a good first little adventure!