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!)