Holiday Break in Vava'u

Malo e lelei!

I know it's been ages since my last blog (per usual) but I wanted to update you on a few things in the kingdom and upload some pics before I head back to the states. I'll be home for Christmas this year and I am very excited to see you all! The weather is very hot and it will be so refreshing to have a bitter cold, white Christmas!

Below are some pics of Vava'u at the end of the school year!

An old pic of Nash and I outside my home

Snorkeling in Vava'u!

Warm greetings from the South Pacific!

It's Sunday, and I have already gone to morning church, ate lu moa (chicken and coconut milk wrapped in lu leaves) from our underground oven outside, and have made my way to the PC office. Right now everyone else is taking an afternoon nap but it's the perfect time for me to 'sneak' away and break the Sabbath! I'm on a mission today to upload photos, update my blog, book my ticket home for Christmas (pause here for your utter shock, your jumps up and down, and loud shouts of joy)____________, and do I dare say...get some work done. But first, what I am most anxious to begin, is telling you all a little story about two crazy Americans from the suburbs who took a wild, wild ride to a little island in the middle of nowhere called, Tonga...

As you may have already guessed these two crazy Americans could be none other than my parents, and I was so lucky to have them as my guests for two weeks! My parents and I had a wonderful time and even though they got to experience the luxury of living on a beautiful Pacific island, I made sure that they were exposed to the Tongan culture as much as possible and to the Tongan way of life (this includes fetching water from my water tank outside and killing a cockroach here or there...)!

First, my boyfriend and I drove out to get my parents at the airport. We had picked up a kahoa for each of them (a flowered necklace) to place around their necks when they first got off the plane. I was so anxious to see them that Pa would tell you I had been literally nervous all day! It had been so long since we had last seen each other! I even peeked through the closed off doors to see if I could spot them picking up their luggage and such before they exited the terminal!

Seeing my family for the first time in over ten months was the most amazing thing! We couldn't stop smiling and embracing one another. My parents met Pa for the first time, which had been making me just as anxious as reuniting with my parents. They were so excited! As we put the kahoa on my mother and father they in turn reached into their bags and pulled out an offering which could not have been more appropriate....Reeses. It had been too long! At that point, I think I was more excited to eat the Reeses than to see my parents! Just kidding, Mom and Dad!

The trip from that point on was amazing! We spent that night at our hotel in Nuku'alofa (the capital city) and had late night Tongan-style BBQ before we went back to the hotel. The next morning was Sunday and my parents got to experience their first Tongan church service, where they prayed with the king, and listened to beautiful church singing. After, they got to eat from their first 'umu,' which means underground oven but my father will forever mispronounce the word as 'uma,' which in Tongan means 'kiss.' We still laugh at this all the time!

At the kai umu, my parents had lu moa, lu sipi, manioke, puaka, and kumala (cooked chicken & coconut milk wrapped in lu leaves, cooked goat & coconut milk wrapped in lu leaves, root crops and pig). Yum! My dad even sat and roasted the pig for a while!

After we went on a drive to check out some beautiful sights in Tonga before we flew to Vava'u!

In Vava'u we stayed at our wonderful resort not too far from town, and I had the luxury of staying with them and taking hot showers! We enjoyed using the kayaks to visit other nearby islands, snorkel and lounge by the beach. There were plenty of other guests that we befriended including the owners and their young, rambunctious, blonde boys who always wanted to play cards with my father. It was quite funny watching my father play with these three boys, trying to teach them sophisticated card games like Wist or Hearts. It then became a screaming game of 'He cheated! He cheated,' where my mother and I would then have to step in to referee, only to find that the cheater was 9 times out of 10 my father!

As much as we enjoyed the luxury of the hotel (especially myself!), we made our way to my village almost every day to visit my home, visit my school, test-taste kava (which turned into my father singing with the Tongan band in front of everyone at a local restaurant!), take a boat around Vava'u to some great dive and snorkeling sites, visit an elementary school and its village on an outer-island, attend a Tongan singing concert, and much more!

It was so great to have my parents meet my friends and family here in Tonga. In fact, my Tongan friends and family put on a feast for them their first night in Vava'u, where we all gathered at my closest friends' house, Talaheu. While we ate my friend, 'Ana, and I put on a traditional Tongan dance called the tao'alunga. Although 'Ana and I went a little overboard in our Tongan costume and drew with bright, red lipstick tribal drawings all over our faces. It was hysterical! I think my parents might have been even a little scared!

Although the whole trip was unforgettable, one of the coolest memories was when my parents came to my school. My mother had been working for months with her school to fund-raise books to donate to my kids. Together, her and her school, Ralph Talbot Elementary in Weymouth, MA, made bookmarks to sell in addition to collecting over six large boxes full of children's books. The money they raised from selling bookmarks helped cover the shipping cost of the books. It was incredibly generous and so well-received by my students.

My school held an assembly where my parents put every book on display and presented the gift on behalf of my parents and my mother's school. I cannot tell you the look on my students' faces when they saw the books! The kids couldn't wait for the assembly to be over so they could run up and look at the books, which they did! After that, my parents team-taught two of my classes and read one of the stories that they had come with from America. It was so great to have them in my class and I was so grateful for their visit and their gift.

My parents' trip was incredible and although it went by all too fast, I can't believe I'll be home in almost two months to see them again! I have already uploaded a bunch of pictures from their trip but stay tuned for one more of my father roasting a pig! We call this 'tunu' in Tongan.

As always, thanks for reading and please come out and visit me! I promise it will be an adventure you'll never forget!

'Ofa atu!

Ashley

Oiaue!
It has been a long time and I have much to report! In brief, here is the good and the bad...
-School is almost over! I have about 5 more weeks of planning and teaching to do and then I have about a month or so off before I fly out to Australia and the US! Life is so good!
-My dog died. It's been a long time now since it happened but just to keep you all updated. I'm not planning on adopting another one- too difficult. (Sorry to be depressing!)
-I am slowly implementing a new approach to reading that is used in school systems across New Zealand and Australia. I have been busy holding meetings and workshops to teach it to teachers in Vava'u. I hope to have the new reading approach used in all the English curriculums for the next school year!
-I have long hair! I'm growing it out 'flower child' style!
-The garden is going well and we've got tomatos, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, and some squash on its way!
- Running the school magazine has been keeping me busy lately! Myself and a few others on the committee have been busy taking class and faculty photos and coming up with fund-raising ideas. Having the magazine will be a very big deal to these students so we're trying to do everything we can to make sure we have the funds to send it to Tonga for printing, etc.
- CAMP GLOW is going great! We have our counselors in place, our campers, our venue, our caterers, our guest speakers, our games and camp songs! Almost everything is ready to go! We've been extremely busy with fundraising lately and I hosted a kalapu (a night where men come to drink kava), and we raised over 750 TOP! It was very successful! We also held a meeting for the parents and community so that they could get a better understanding as to what the camp was and its goals, as well as have the opportunity to ask questions, etc. We had the Minister of Youth from Tonga come to help us lead the meeting as well as a few other well-respected Tongans from the Vava'u community. It was another great success!
- I have joined a bible study in an outer village with some Tongan friends of mine. The study is run in English by an American family who recently just moved to Vava'u. The young couple is extremely nice and they have four beautiful little kids. It's a lot of fun to go over there on Sunday evenings and pray, eat yummy food and sing. We bring guitars and just have fun singing hymns both Tongan and English.
-Dance class is still rocking and rolling an I'm putting together a routine for the end of the school year! I 'll upload it onto youtube for you all to see!
-My friends and I put together a world-wide PC project called a 'World Map.' The project has been adopted by volunteers around the world and my close PC friend, Carolyn, was determined to execute the project here in Vava'u. In little ways, myself and other PCVs, have helped map out the world, paint the countries, and label them so that the map can be displayed downtown outside of the public library as a mural. It's a wonderful project and I'll be sure to upload a picture of that as well!
-My parents came to Tonga! (I realize this is totally lame to put as a 'dash' comment but there will be a whole blog update with attached photos on their trip to Vava'u soon to come!)
-It's my birthday!

:)

I know I'm missing some other cool, significant experiences and events but I plan to write again this week. Not to mention, I do really enjoy just posting a bunch of pictures and let the picture share a thousand words ;)

'Ofa lahi atu ka kimoutolu!
Ashley

So, like I said earlier, I went to Fetoko island the other day. You can see in the single island shot how small this island is. The only people who live there are my friend Jason and his sister and her husband, who live on their boat offshore. This island is indescrible. It is so magical and the energy that beats from the place is amazing! It was a perfect place for me to get away and help me to relax for a bit!

My friend Saskia and I went and camped right on the top of the island. We jammed with the guitar and the ukileli as the sunset on the beach. My guitar was so out of tune and I'm not great at tuning the thing so after a few attempts, it turned into Sas playing and me singing along, happily looking across to the sun setting below the island, 'Ofu, straight ahead, and feeling the coral in between my feet.

We later sat up at Jason's kitchen area and talked until my eyes became too heavy to stay awake. Jason lived in a tent for a few months while he was building his current home which is a traditinal Tongan fale (home) made from palm leaves and wood. I also posted a picture of that too! He has a long drop for a toilet that sits right on the cliff of the island with no cieling or walls but some palm branches he wove together to protect you on one side so no one can see you while you're doing your business. But otherwise, you're just going to the bathroom in the open, looking out to the sea. Cool, huh? haha

The shower too is the same way. It's a beauitful shower post and head that stands right on the side of the island looking out across the way to two other islands, both uninhabitated as well. It's very open and free! The whole island is like that, just so relaxed! There are hammocks to lounge in that just have the best views! I woke up one morning from my tent, only to grab my sleeping bag, move to the hammock to watch the sunrise, and then dose off to sleep again :) Such a great morning!

Then the rest of the day was filled with just sitting around playing scrabble, listening to Manu Chao, getting skunked in playing cornhole and lying on the ground talking about religion, science, philosophy....it was so great! Just what I needed! No talk of anything school related and no talking in Tongan. Just to be on a deserted island.

I ate fruit and delicious bread that I picked up from the bakery beside the wharf before we left and Jason made yummy curry the first night. He has built a small kitchen area with doors that you flip up to open so that you can see the whole island around you. The whole thing is solar powered and they have a sink, a huge store freezer, oven, and outside, a large grill that used to sit in the kitchen of a restuarant he used to own in town, Aquarium's Cafe. Great situated place that we'll definitely be going to, Mom and Dad!

Anyway, I was in my glory and found it the perfect getaway, around some of the chillest people I've met on this island! He's island is just so unique and his lifestyle so sustainable. Him, his sister and her husband are real dreamers and love to see their ideas through. They're great engineers! It's cool to be around such inspiring people and to not only see their dreams come to life on this island, but to also feel the dream yourself while you're out there.

Can't wait to go back!