Peace Corps Volunteers in Vava'u, Tonga held a clean-up at the market in Neiafu, Vava'u to celebrate 50 years of volunteering through Peace Corps :) We donated two large trash cans after the clean-up and had a cermonial dinner to acknowledge the works of Peace Corps Volunteers in Tonga over the years. Above you'll see a group photo of all current Vava'u PCVs, our country director, staff manager and members of the community who all came together to help participate with the clean-up! I had the honor of saying the opening prayer at the ceremony- very exciting and a little nerve-wracking. I chickened out and said the prayer in English hahaha

Here are some pictures of our adventure out to Holonga Point. Myself and a few other close PCVs decided to ride our bikes out to the far Northern village, Holonga. Once there, we carried on riding through the bush to the far ledge of Holonga. It was a great ride! VERY, VERY muddy!!!! We had lots of laughs, and were very tired, but the view from the top of the cliff was just beautiful! We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch there and then hiked down to the beach below for a refreshing dip! :)

This past Friday I had the opportunity to help read international news reports on the Tongan radio station, 88.6 FM. My friend and fellow PCV, Sephora, started a radio program on 88.6 FM delievering international news to Vava'u every Friday evening from

5-6pm. She and her co-host (soon to be solo host), Ma'asi, welcomed myself, and fellow PCVs, Farfum and Carolyn, to be guest speakers on last Friday's show. It was a lot of fun!

Library Fun Day is an annual celebration of our island's public library. This year, Peace Corps Volunteer, Carolyn Winik, had once again gotten all the PCVs to pitch in in whatever way they could to help the event- baking goods for the bake sale table, giving away old clothes and gadgets for the 'free table,' setting-up the event and cleaning up, and, most importantly, helping out with the games! Peace Corps Volunteers, members of the Vava'u Public Library Committee, and local business endorsors, had a great time running face painting, the pinata, the miniture golf and lots of other great games. The event was held on a Saturday outside of the library, located in downtown Neiafu. Saturdays are 'market days' here on the main island and there were plenty of people wandering around who participated in our Library Fun Day celebration. Here are some pictures of the event and thanks again to all those who participated! We had a great time! I hope it will continue to be a fun and educational event for the families of Vava'u.

Malo 'aupito Ralph Talbot Elementary School and FTCC Scituate!!!

Thank you so much for your generous donation of books to the students of Mailefihi Siu'ilikutapu College in Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga. I cannot express to you how grateful the students and teaching staff are and how excited everyone is over the new reading material.

Last year, when I arrived to Mailefihi Siu'ilikutapu College as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I opened up a language lab to teach the students English through reading and language games. Unfortuantely, I was disheartened when I was shown the school's reading selection. The books available were so out-dated, dusty, and too sophisticated for my students. I knew that if my language lab was going to be successful, then I needed new books and this is where you came into the picture :)

Your hard work, generosity and dedication to collecting books for our school has made all the difference to my classroom and to the students' learning. They are so excited to read now! The students are constantly checking out books on Dora the Explorer, Hannah Montana, and oh, how they love looking through the pop-up books and sticker books you have sent!

Please know that your donation has made such an impact on my students' motivation to learn. They never had books to enjoy at school like this before and it is very rare to find a reading book, aside from the bible, in a Tongan home.

Your book donations have helped to make my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer successful at my school! Thank you for all your help and for your love to the Tongan students at Mailefihi Siu'ilikutapu College.

Below are some pictures of the students with the books :)

Hey everyone! I'm thankful to report that all is well in safe in Tonga! We were on tsunami alert after the devastating earthquake in Japan but aside from a visible rise and fall in the sea level, we were okay. Thanks to everyone for their concerns and prayers!

I am currently uploading my first Tongan photo album on Facebook so be sure to check it out! Facebook seems to be uploading them faster than my blog site so you may just have to start finally accepting my friend requests and check 'em out ;)

Today's Sunday and after a nice church service, and a yummy feast at my friend's home, I am netting away at the PC office :)

Things have been going very well here in Tonga. I finally have gotten over the flu and thanks to some 'Women's One-A-Day' vitamins, and to my Crossfit Aerobics class, i've been feeling great! Getting in shape for bathing suit season which is every day here, of course! So, it doesn't help that i'm already pretty far behind :)

The weather is absolutely beautiful! It's not nearly as hot or humid as it was last year but it still gets up to high 90s every day and the air can be so hot as well. My friends and I like to lay out a Tongan woven mat under the breadfruit and mango trees to cool off. We'll use breadruit leaves or cardboard torn from boxes to use as fans. It's too hot to go swimming when the sun is out but on cloudy and rainy days, the wharf is full of people; children running, and doing insane flips off the wharf and into the water :) It's the hot spot to be!

We're already almost four months into school. We started in January with teacher planning week and staff meetings. School classes were to also start in January but we took our time and had classes officially starting around the second week in February...not that much of a delay, eh?

School, however, is great! I'm teaching Form 3 this year. My kids are about fifteen years old. I teach two classes at the Form 3 level and I teach Class I and Class II at the Sau Faupula Christian Bilingual Primary School. My kids are four-six years old. They are just starting to learn basic English so I am actually learning a lot more of my Tongan language just by working with them. I am all alone in the classroom so you can imagine it can be quite challenging. But, they are kids, and like kids all over the world, they love singing, dancing, and learning. We sing a lot of songs and rehearse our bible verses in both English and in Tongan. I have a puppet I brought back with me from the states that the students have named Jack. He comes with me to class everyday and they love to learn English with Jack!

In addition to my own classes, I am still running the English Language Lab which I started last year. It's open all day for students to read, play English games, etc. Some students are still to shy to come in but it gives me such joy to see the students take advantage of the lab. They love flipping through the picture books of Dr. Seuss and reading the Hannah Montana chapter books :)

I have also started teaching an afterschool English program for kids at the primary school level. I started in February so i'll keep you posted on how that goes....as of now, however, it's a huge success! I have kids knocking on my door an hour- and sometimes two hours before it starts, to make sure i'm ready and going!

I'm also busy with sports practice after school but, to be quite honest, myself and all the teachers just use it as time to relax and chit-chat under the mango tree. I used to be a lot more active and have the kids run sprints and do exersizes. I used to wear running clothes myself to work out with them but that's a little to intense...a little to 'palangi' of me to be so active....hhh

Our sports week is this week and our students will compete against all the other high schools in Vava'u. They will compete in the long jump, discus, hurdles, shotput, relay, and all other typical track and field events. It is one of the biggest social events of the year and everyone in Vava'u goes! Most places close down to see the sports and all the families come with their picnics and lay out on the grass to cheer on their children. Schools are very competitive and we've missed all our afternoon classes this week just to rehearse our cheers in the school hall! Our school colors are blue and white, so I painted my finger nails and toe nails dark blue with sparkles just for the event! A color I don't think i'd ever fashion back home....

I'll be sure to upload some photos of the sports soon! Remember to check out my Tongan photos on facebook :)

Thanks so much for reading!

'Ofa atu!

Ashley

As most of you know I was extremely lucky to spend Christmas back home in the states with my family and friends! For those who came to visit me, I thank you so much! I really appreciate your efforts to stay in contact with me and for your understanding in knowing that it is not always easy for me to do so in return. However I love writing to you all and I very much enjoy reading your comments! So, one of my resolutions for 2011, is to blog atleast once a month. I know it's nothing big but it will be an improvement :)

I had a wonderful holiday break which consisted of a lot of family Yahtzee games near the Christmas tree, fun 'sistes-only' outings to the Boston aquarium and the local YMCA (for mainly hot-tub and sauna uses...haha), long nights sitting with friends- catching up on all that has happened over the past year; and family parties at my grandparents, which always consisted of delicious holiday food and fun :)

I very much enjoyed going to resturants again and going to the movie theater. I had a blast going shopping with all the gift cards I got for Christmas :) Thank you again for those fantastic presents! I was able to get so many toys and books to bring back to Tonga with me for the use of my school library and to share with my community. My favorite times were when I was just chatting with my family and watching tv together in our warm home beside the Christmas tree. Brit and I even spent many nights sleeping on the sofas in the living room just admiring the lit Christmas tree :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I thank you for letting me be apart of it once more this season. It was so wonderful to spend time with each of you and I feel so blessed to have such AMAZING, and loving people in my life. God bless each of you as you move forward into the new year! Hope you enjoy some of these pics from my time at home :) 'Ofa atu!

Peace Corps Volunteers work hard to complete three very important goals: share our American culture, values, and knowledge to our host community and country; learn from the host country's culture, values, and knowledge, and lastly, return home to America and share your experience with your fellow friends and family. This cycle helps promote peace and acceptance through the sharing of the experiences and lifestyles of Peace Corps Volunteers during their service. It helps to break down the ignorance and prejudice in our world while at the same time encouraging people to embrace those differences and be reminded of just how unique we all are.

Today I hope to expand on Goal #3 as I visit a local elementary school in Weymouth, MA to give a presentation on my Peace Corps experience thus far in the Kingdom of Tonga.

Almost one year ago, my mother, a second grade teacher at Ralph Talbot Elementary School, proposed an idea that would forever change the way this small Weymouth public school would communicate with the world.

She suggested that before I left for Tonga, I speak to the students on the mission of Peace Corps and describe my upcoming journey to the South Pacific country, Tonga. While I had but only Google images of the islands, and Wikipedia facts on Tonga's culture, housing, and fashion, I spoke to the students and left them with a Tongan dictionary in hopes that perhaps my mother's classroom could stay in touch by writing to myself and my Tongan community.

That short presentation was a wonderful opportunity to share why I wanted to become a PCV and where I was going and now, after almost a year and a half, I plan to visit Ralph Talbot again to share pictures and stories from the islands of Tonga!

I do hope to continue contact with the students for the remainder of my time out there. It has been a lot of fun sending pictures, letters and fun postcards to the kids and I know it really widens their perspecitve of the world and encourages them to learn about other peoples and walks of life.

Wish me luck! I hope I get through the school doors in my full Tongan dress!

'Ofa atu ka kimoutolu!

Ashley

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!

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

I finally decided I needed to just get away from my community and work for the night and spend some time relaxing! After all, I live on an island! Shouldn't it always be a day on the beach, lounging in your hammock with a corona in hand? It's funny that I live in absolute paradise out here but yet I still NEED a vacation from it! The Tongan islands are usually the place people dream to escape to! So, where do you escape if you already live in paradise?

Your getaway vacation and paradise is all in your mind. I had been trying to reach ths place just at home here by opening a book or learning to knit but the realities of all my committments to the world outside, were still knocking at my door- literally! I even turned the lights off, locked my door, sat on the ground and ate dinner beside a small candle. I pretended no one was home. I just needed alone time and wouldn't have gotten it otherwise if I didn't do that. It's silly, I know. I need to get back on track and I need to take more time for myself and to do 'palangi' things so, I decided to go camping with a couple of friends and it was more than rehabilitating! I am now uploading some pics from the adventure and then I'll follow up with the great story! Hope you stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day!!! I get to be the first to say it because in Tonga, today is already Mother's Day :) As in the states, it is a very big holiday and mother's are given gifts by their husbands and their children; everyone goes to church and a special performance is put on for the mother's. After church, families usually have a big feast and eat ice cream, which is such a luxury! People of all ages, especially the adults, will kill for ice cream and if ice cream is going to be eaten, it is always for a special event. You can measure someone's wealth if they are eating ice cream- no joke! "Te ke kaileilei," Tongans will say, which means, "You will eat well."

I have one close friend in a neighboring village who is originally from Seattle, WA but came to Tonga to work and has since married a Tongan and has a child. She's my age and this is her first Mother's Day. Her husband is going to kill a pig for her, which is an honor and a very big gift to give in the Tongan culture. Her husband is so sweet! Any of you dad's out there going to roast a pig in the backyard?

At church, my youth and I put on a dance for the mothers and it made them all cry! It brought tears to my eyes seeing everyone get emotional because I missed my mom and, grandmothers, and everyone....but I try to keep things very separate when it comes to my life here and my life back home- when it comes to holidays, that is. I just think that this is their holiday and I'm experiencing it with them but I try to not dwell on the fact that this is an important holiday and tradition for me too and it's going on back home, with all the people I love, without me. It's depressing thinking like that, so for that reason, I try to keep the holidays separate.

But what helped dry the tears was the smiles I got looking at everyone in their new mother's day clothes. The mom's were wearing new scarfs and shawls. They LOVE scrafs and shawls! A new craze too are those fake hair pieces you can just clip into your hair. It's so awesome but you will honestly see older women with their dark Tongan hair or their old gray and white hair, with these hair clips of youthful, blonde and dirtyblonde shiny hair. It is just so wrong but so perfect! It's quite the sight! But they love it and it's the style. They love the 'palangi' look it gives them by wearing their hair in a way that makes it look blonde or highlighted, making it look 'palangi.' Oiaue!

Anyway, that's my mother's day thus far! This afternoon, I'm going to church again to recieve communion and then I am going to present flowered necklaces to my 'Tongan Moms' with friends. It's another tradition that they do in church where all the mothers stand in front and get presented with gifts. It should be an interesting thing to watch.

I hope you all have a wonderful mother's day! I am just thinking about the wonderful mother's day my family will be having at my Aunt Janene's house! Yummy fruit salads, cinnamon rolls, lemon blueberry cake, tastey meat and veggie egg quiches! So tastey! I wish so much to be there!

Love you all so much and Happy Mother's Day to each of you!

'Ofa atu!

Ashley

Today, I had the pleasant surprise of seeing two palangi children at school, a boy and a girl ages seven and five who had just recently moved to Tonga with their parents from the states. Their parents had gone quickly to the store and they were under the supervision of a Tongan co-worker of mine.

I introduced myself and showed them where my classroom was, asking them if they wanted to color or read any of the books that I have. They were excited to see another palangi. I made connections with them about home and let them know of who I was and what I was doing there so that they no longer thought of me as a stranger (you know how we teach kids back home about strangers... and rightfully so). I wanted them to feel comfortable, and I told them that if they ever felt scared they could always come to my classroom to draw.

A little while later, I observed from the staircase the little palangi girl, walking hand-in-hand with my co-worker to the playground where Tongan boys and girls were playing. The Tongan children instantly ran over to her and held her hands. They stroked her hair, and smiled at her and led her over to the bars that they were playing on. Tears once again filled up in my eyes at witnessing such acceptance, curiosity and love.

Kids are so generous; so kind, pure and innocent. They live to smile and laugh with each other and that's all. We should all let them remind us to do just that: smile, play and laugh. That would solve a lot of our problems today. We need to be more like them. We need to be more like them.

Okay. I'm going to start taking the time to write about some of the wonderful things that have been happening over the past few months- things I have been wanting to share for so long but up until now have not had the time to do so. I also know that in sharing these experiences, I will grow fond again of all things 'fakatonga.'

This past week I had two very touching moments happen to me at school and so moved was I that my eyes filled up with tears both times. The first, happened in my classroom. As a reminder, I teach English reading to forms 1, 2, and 3 (grades 5-8ish in US standards). My students suffer tremendously in reading, both in English and in Tongan and this is in large part to the fact that most students have no books at home nor access to them aside from the few, 'odd-end' books I have in my classroom.

I was having such a hard time with them in their reading that I decided that what they really needed was just to pick a book and explore it on their own- go through the pages at their own pace, pronounce the words when they felt comfortable to do so, and have the opportunity to look through the books' illustrations. So, I decided to bring D.E.A.R. to my school. Do you remember that?

D.E.A.R. stands for 'Drop Everything and Read' and it was a program that I remember doing in middle school. The kids come into my classroom and immediately walk to the shelf to find a book of their own, which they can read for ten minutes before I begin class. It's great because the class gets very calm and quiet, which provides a great transition for when they need to start learning and paying attention. It also allows me time to finish any notes or reorganize myself from my last class. The best part however, is when I get to walk around and observe them reading. This is the moment that I was talking about- the one that makes me want to cry with happiness.

I see these children who- for some, have never held a book on their own, or attempted to read one on their own; sounding out the letters of words. They're asking me questions about how to pronounce things or what things mean in Tongan. They look at the illustrations and point to pictures that they have never seen before and ask me what they are. Sometimes they get so excited about looking at the illustrations that I see them raise the pages of a book in the air and scream out to a friend on the other side of the room to have them just look at what new cool picture they have found. Of course, this is a distraction, but it is such an amazing one. They are so excited to learn about the world and I had no idea how much it would mean to them to have this time to read to themselves and look through books.

The value books have is irreplaceable and although the internet is opening up the world to children with endless opportunities to access corners both far and wide in a more convenient, efficient, and timely way, the sight of seeing the excitement on my kids faces when they open a book and flip through its pages is so much more personal and moving for me. I will never underestimate the power that books have ever again. The moment I see my children explore their way through a book, all the hard work that I put into teaching instantly becomes justified. That moment makes everything worth it. It reminds me of why I am here and it reminds me that my kids want to be here. They want so much to learn.

Yep.

Those ten minutes of D.E.A.R., at the beginning of each class, tell me that I'm doing something right in teaching them and that feels good.

Hey friends and family!

As many of you know, I have been quite stressed from all my different commitments to my Tongan community and to Peace Corps. I have not had any time to myself nor any ‘palangi’ time for that matter. I have been 100% absorbed into my work, my Tongan friends, my secondary projects and my community activities. I have been living everything in the Tongan way of life… just doing as the Tongans do…..

In the end, it has driven me CRAZY! I just need a break as all of you guys already understand from my constant venting via email and late night phone calls. For all of that, I am SO sorry and I want to thank you all for being such good listeners and helping me out during this time of culture shock…more like time of loosing it! Thanks for all your great advice and I promise to take more time for myself and more time to do ‘palangi things’ with my palangi friends. I also really enjoy writing in this blog and I plan to do so more often now that I will make time for myself to do so! So, stay tuned for some cool updates and thanks again for all your endless love and support!

‘Ofa atu!

Ashley

Hey, hey!

I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures that I uploaded yesterday and today. My dog Nash is getting so big! The other dog in the picture is her best friend, Scobby, who is my principal's dog across the way. They're together all the time! Always chasing each other in and out of my house.

At the moment, I am locked inside my school. This is the second time that this has happened to me. It is now 7:52pm and I quite possibly may be sleeping here. Just kidding! But no more phone credit and people cannot hear me from outside. My only hope is that the students who will come to night school will see me and get help. haha. Oh, another day...

Things have been going great on the island. Yesterday, my friends and I had a picnic on the beach. We drove out to the far North side of the island and planted ourselves under some coconut trees. We stayed until ten o'clock just snorkeling, hiking the cliffs around us, walking the beach, playing our guitars and bbqing. We picked up some chicken and put them on garlic and herb seasoned skewers that I got from the 'Free Table' at the Peace Corps office, and threw them on top of a sheet of medal we found nestled between some rocks. Then, we started our fire, which was very difficult because of the heavy rain from the night before. What we ended up with was what you see in the picture below, which looks like things we're out of our control, but we had chicken to eat and I am happy to report I am still alive and did not die of food poisoning.

When night fell, my friend and I played our guitars. Well, a guitar and a ukulele...I must say we sound quite good playing together. Than we all watched the stars, which are indescribable here. You can always see the Milky Way and it's breathtaking. Listening to the guitar and hearing the water crash against the sand put me to sleep. Island life, man. Island life.

I wish I could be there but right now I have to go to my night class!

'Ofa atu!

Ashley

'Life has become easier, flexible, and more comfortable.' I read this from a student's paper of a Form 6 level. This is a Tongan student, in high school, writing in her second language, summarizing our modern world today in the most accurate and simple way one could ever describe it. She's right. Our inventions today are making things easier but where's the excitment in that? .... I was going to go on a long philosophical stream of conscious rant here but the crew's going out for pizza. I'll get back to you about this later. :)

Peace!

Hey, Hey!

I know it has been way too long since my last blog entry! I have just recently renovated my blog page so, for all of you who are reading this entry via your email account, please go to my actual blog page to finish reading! I just added new pics and such and I am really happy with how the page looks now :) I also added a list of all the projects that I have started at my site and a description of each of them so you have the 411 if you'd like to be involved in any way!

A belated Happy Easter to each of you! I was thinking of everyone as I was celebrating my Easter in the village of Leimatu'a with a friend and her family. I missed going to church, finding my Easter basket in the morning, having eggs' benedict, eating Cadbury eggs and taking part in the family Easter egg hunt! I missed all of it and each of you very, very much. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

As of now, I'm on the main island of Tongatapu. I just finished In-Service Training (IST), which is the 1/4 service mark of my commitment here in Tonga. It's pretty insane how fast time has flown! So much has happened since my last entry to you and it's a bit overwhelming thinking of where to start but perhaps to give you just a snapshot...

-I was the girl's track coach for the sports season which just ended and some of my girls made it to nationals. Very cool.

-My dog, Nash, has successfully learned to sit, stay, and go. (I have to write this. I'm a proud Mom.)

-I sing in my church choir a few nights a week and sometimes sing in village-wide night concerts.

-I started my dance studio, and I love making new dance routines for my girls.

-Overall, I feel totally successful in my community integration and that's a really, really good feeling.

Two other successes for the day...

1. I planted the seed to Mom and Dad about Nash coming home with me after my service and

2. I have a plan for what I am going to do when I return home to the states after PC. Alyssa and I are hiking the Appalachian trail northbound, then biking from Maine to Washington, to then hike south down the Pacific Coast Trail only to then hitchhike to the Mississippi River so we can there build a canoe to row back to New Hampshire. Anyone in?

To New Adventures!

Cheers!

Remember when I joked that school probably wouldn’t start until February as opposed to January? Well, as I suspected, it’s no longer a joke. It’s February and school is just beginning. My school is taking its time getting back into the swing of the school year and all the duties and responsibilities that come along with it.

The first week of school consisted of cleaning-up. Well, the students cleaned up, and most teachers hung out and rested. It was very comical to observe and take it all in. These children, ages eight to eighteen were sweeping, and landscaping with sharp machete blades which they used to cut each piece of grass on the school grounds. I'd see boys up in the trees cutting large branches with these machetes. There's something about seeing adults hand these sharp blades to small children that is incredible...our American kids just could not cut it.

During the first week I also attended faculty meetings- now these have been very interesting and have introduced me to a whole other degree of 'taimi fakatonga' (Tongan time/island time). I'll give you an example of what to expect if your principal announced a 12 noon meeting…First, you'd show up on time and no one would be there. Some people would slowly come in and then walk right back out. Others may come and sit but if they were men, they would not talk to you. You'd then go to the office and ask if there was a meeting and if it was in fact supposed to begin at noon. “Maybe it will start at 1pm?” The people in the office would say. At this point, you're hungry so you go home to eat, knowing that you will make it back to school before the meeting starts. You watch a movie and eat lunch then return to school. At this point it's almost 3pm. More people are sitting and waiting in the room so you decide to stay with some assurance that it must be starting soon. To your relief, the principal comes in and without an apology as to being late, things get under way. Five minutes later, the principal leaves and girls walk in with soda and loaves of bread- one for each teacher. A tasty snack you think. Why not? You begin breaking off pieces of bread while others eat out the insides and then pour their soda into the bread, letting it soak up the sugary liquid, before they bring it to their mouths. After fifteen minutes you turn to one of your co-workers and ask, 'Is he coming back? Will the meeting continue?' They respond, 'He's in another meeting.' We wait.

That is an example of what meetings can be like here in Tonga and it is rather comical. To survive it, you must practice patience- a lot of it. Have reading material or perhaps ‘Sudoku’ on you ALWAYS and most importantly, have a good sense of humor. You must remember to just enjoy yourself because it is not bothering any of the Tongans so, don’t let it bother you. This is their culture. They are so relaxed and they don't let time or responsibility rule their life, not even in the work place. You must admire them for this even if their lackadaisical work ethic seems too extreme. I am always learning from the Tongan people and situations like this remind me take a moment (or hours haha) and RELAX even if it is while at work. :)