For more island adventures see Tonga Time Archive

February 20, 2007

Sorry no pictures yet. We seem to have lost our digital camera on the birthday venture. Can you believe it!? We never lose things like that, but I think we left it at one of the beaches.

We are listening to some good music, trying to catch a breeze as we sweat just sitting in our living room. No such thing as air conditioning here and a good downpour doesn’t take the moisture away either. That is OK. Sweat is not so bad. We really are not complaining. The sun is shining. There is a bit of a sea breeze, and we can see the ocean from where we are sitting on the couch.

Yesterday, the school (teachers, students and parents) went to the beach instead of to school. It was a chance to get to know the kids outside of the school confines. We had a nice time looking at sea grass and little blue fish and urchins. Then, a big black cloud came. We went home because our ride was leaving, so we had a nice long afternoon hanging around and reading.

Everyone is transitioning well. A little stress when our days are so long, then we have to rush to the store before it closes, or when the Internet is so slow that we can’t pay bills back home. But, all in all, it is a wonderful experience. Jen is learning to be creative in her cooking. Cliff is challenged to inspire students who don’t respond in class. Kira is reading like a fiend.

Today, Kira is at Nisyola’s house. She and Nisyola emailed each other when we were still packing in Oregon. She doesn’t see her much in school, because Nisyola is in the high school (like 6^th grade) and their schedule is slightly different, but they still enjoy each other’s company when they get together. Jennifer visited with her mother, Lyndsey, for a bit when she dropped Kira off. Lyndsey teaches the grade below Jen – a good friend and helpful when she is trying to figure out school and Tonga stuff.

Jen walks to school almost every day with Kira (25 minutes each way). But no time or energy to work out more at this point. Plus her pulled muscle still bothers her sometimes. There are a group of expatriates that walk together every Thursday afternoon. We will try to join up with them now that we are settled in more. Jen works late 2 days a week, tutoring Korean students English while Cliff is on study hall duty. Can’t fit in much more!

We are now able to find our way around town quite well. The stores, shops and businesses are not centrally located as they were before the riots, so it was a lot of hunting and pecking at first (and there are no superstores yet, thank goodness). We seem to have the lay of the land now, and we are starting to figure out who has the laundry soap and where the best veggies are and where to get good bread, etc. I guess that is the case when you move anywhere, eh?

Cliff has found the computer system at school to be less than ideal, far from optimal or even fixable, but he seems to be doing his usual miracles. The principals and board are very supportive of his efforts and requests. Since he is focusing on the theory at this point in the curriculum, it is not as much an issue. The main detriment is not being able to use the Internet with the kids for dynamic research. Oh well, a small point in the scheme of things.

School has been fun. Jen is still short 8 students who have not returned to school yet. The kids she has are like kids in any school with varying levels of motivation and talent. We are all learning new routines that work for this group. Jen is challenging them quite a bit. Kira is up to the task because she knows her issues, but is less tolerant of the other kids’ foibles. They are all learning to work in groups…. Aren’t we all learning to work with other people!

Laundry was a challenge because the clothes washer was intermittently broken. We initially were not sure if it was a problem with how we were using it, if it was the plumbing or the machine. We finally determined it was the machine. It is now fixed, and we are finally caught up with our loads. Again, it is really no big deal, just part of life in a new place.

We have found our house to be a nice place to relax and prep for the next day/week. The only dilemma is that the landlord is trying to make the place perfect, so he keeps sending workmen to do more finishing touches. We are in the process of trying to explain that we don't need anything else. We would prefer to have the workmen save their energy and let us relax in our home. He is our friend and benefactor (Sohrab is the man who hired us and answered all our many questions when we were still in Oregon), so I think he will be receptive to our request.

All in all, we are quite happy and enjoying our adventure. We are working hard, but all our needs are met. We are settling in and finding new patterns in our lives. Tomorrow we will have an “umu” with our Tongan friend Ma'a, who works for Sohrab and is a multi-talented fellow. Umu is a tradition way of slow cooking dinner. It is usually chicken or fish or some other meat wrapped in tarot leaves beside manioc (a bit like a sweet potato) or bread fruit or some other starchy food. Then, they wrap it all in foil and cook it buried in a pit. It is very good. We haven’t figured out to cook tarot leaves properly. They are a big leaf that is a bit like collard greens or swiss chard, but they have a lot of acid in them. So, if you do not prepare them properly, they make your mouth hurt. They taste good, though!

February 11, 2007 (Happy Birthday, Marc!!!)

It is sizzling hot here! It has been raining quite a bit (like Oregon!) but very hot and humid. We are basically wet and sweaty all the time. Today is the first day in quite awhile that has offered a cool breeze.

Our days have been long but fruitful. Cliff, with help from friends, got the school back online after a 2 week hiatus. The connection is still quite slow, but at least we have one!

Jen had a nice birthday. Everyone sang for her at morning circle at school. We worked late but went to a restaurant and had a nice dinner. Saturday was a beautiful day. We drove around the island, exploring all day. We met a very interesting Tongan whose grandparents were the first to meet the Christian missionaries. He was very proud. This is a very Christian country. The prominent religious faiths are Wesleyan Protestant, Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Catholic and Baha’i (no Temples yet). It creates interesting dynamics. Thank goodness the Baha’is pride themselves on being apolitical and tolerant, acknowledging and appreciative, of all religions. Ocean of Light is a Baha’i school. The teachers and students are a balanced mixture, and the atmosphere is very warm and welcoming as a result.

Anyway – back on track – visited some beautiful beaches (minus the garbage, oh sigh…). The water is aqua and the beaches are white. We swam at a few of them. There are some amazing coral and volcanic formations that create blowholes where the surf squirts many feet into the air as it is compressed in the holes. We drove the circumference of the island. It is very flat and quite lush. They farm around the palm trees.

This time of year, the market offers manioc, tarot leaves and roots, tomatoes, bananas, passion fruit, papayas, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, onions, pineapples. I think most, if not all, is farmed on this island. The grocery stores carry packaged food imported from Australia, New Zealand and even Japan. We are well-fed now, but the produce will soon end because the growing season is almost over. Cliff and Kira didn’t have any problem finding some cake and ice cream for dessert after the day’s outing!

By the way, if you can find a cheap calling card to call Tonga (try Pingo online for $.25 per minute), we can receive incoming calls at no charge, I think. The country code is 676 and our cell number is 14911. So, you dial 011-676-14911. It is very expensive for us to call from here, but we would love to hear from you! PLEASE note that we are at +13:00 GMT. That means we are one day ahead of you but 6 hours behind the east coast and 3 hours behind the west coast. After Daylight Savings Time Change in March, it will be 7 hours behind east coast and 4 hours behind west coast. We are quite busy on school days but try to relax on weekends.

February 5, 2007

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are well and warm! It is hot and sticky here, with the humidity rising above the temperature. Actually it has been raining all day. It feels like an Oregon day except that I am sweating in my short sleeve shirt (that is Jen; Cliff glistens).

On Sundays, just about everything is closed, and we haven’t had a chance to shop. Then, we return from Devotions and find a plate of hot chicken and manioc waiting for us! The Tongans are wonderful and generous. Sometimes, finding patience and compassion for other westerners has offered more tests! Delaine, you wise one.

The School has some great leadership and most teachers are great. All in all, there is a wonderful spirit as we all work to infuse spiritual virtues into the academic regimen and promote life-long learning. Cliff is trying to figure out how to maintain that spirit as he works to teach the students the Cambridge curriculum – a very technically advanced academic program that the school has chosen to follow. Meanwhile, the hot, dusty climate with erratic electricity make unreasonable demands on the computers. Ah, these are the joys of teaching information technology in a developing country.

We have singing every morning in the primary school, and Jen is supposed to lead the singing once every couple weeks. If anyone has any songs that are recorded and written, so she can hear the melody and learn the words, she would be grateful. Singing is NOT my strong suit, she says, so she would appreciate all the help she can get. If you care to assist, send your findings to:

Ocean of Light School

PO Box 2878

Nuku‘alofa

Kingdom of Tonga

SOUTH PACIFIC

We are enjoying new fruits and vegetables and taking full advantage, because we are told that there will be none in a few months (only seasonal fruits and vegetables in these parts). There are an interesting assortment of packaged foods, and lots of thing are hard to get – partly because we are on an island and everything has to be shipped in, and partly because there is a shortage of everything since the riots. I guess there are fewer shops now. Also, the prices have nearly doubled. Our budget is tighter than we originally expected, but everyone in Tonga is feeling the pinch (especially the natives who have no other recourse). It is a good thing we packed 1300 pounds of stuff!

We are happily listening to lots of taped music and (much to Jen’s complete joy) have packed away the (brand new) TV. That was one of Jenny’s wishes. She will likely not get her other wish to avoid buying a car. Again, because of the riots, everything is not concentrated in the downtown, but is all spread out. A car is pretty necessary. Luckily, her sister’s friend, a Tongan, lent us her car for a month. This allows us to delay a purchase until we get a better idea what to buy from where.

Our apartment is quite beautiful. It is nicer than our house in the States in some ways! It is more than we need and fancier than most Tongans’, but we did not have many choices. It is close enough to school to walk and is on the second floor, so we have a delightful breeze and a peek at the ocean.

Anyway, I am procrastinating. I need to prepare for my class (even though we are not supposed to work on Sunday, shh).