Peace Corps Journals / Tonga / blog updates

“Time is Money” or “Rants from the ...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:20:00 +0800

(Tonga / Mo'ui Nonga)
I’m no genius with these sorts of things but my guess based on what little basic economic theory I know is that if it cost people a mere 25 cents to knock on my door my constant stream of reques ...
7 reads

Note to Self

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:16:00 +0800

(Tonga / Will's Blog)
Deep Fried OreosMakes 30 cookies: * 2 quarts vegetable oil for frying * 1 large egg * 1 cup milk * 2 teaspoons vegetable oil * 1 cup pancake mix * 1 (18 ounce) package OreosYum.
7 reads

Feleti can actually conjure up a delicio ...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:55:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
(PHOTO: I actually roasted a pig. I could not get myself to kill the little guy though. Sorry pig). For all of those people who know me from back home you would know my very limited cooking skill ...
13 reads

High School

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:20:00 +0800

(Tonga / Carolyn in Tonga)
So hitting your students is legal here and very much encouraged. It's something that I am getting used to that I should not. It makes them listen. Otherwise they are a complete mess. Not that I agree with it......
14 reads

1 Cyclone and 1 Tsunami

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:04:00 +0800

(Tonga / Carolyn in Tonga)
2 weeks ago all the Peace Corps in Vava'u spent 3 nights in a Mormon Church in the center of town. There was a crazy cyclone here. The winds were rough the trees were shaking. Coconuts were flying. ...
34 reads

The False Alarm Tsunami

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:11:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
The thing was it never came! Peace Corps called at 2am on Saturday morning warning us of a possible tsunami coming our way from the disastrous Chile earthquake. I slept soundly for the rest of the n ...
7 reads

Weekend vacation and a tsunami

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:43:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tongabunga!)
This past weekend I traveled with John and Juleigh one island over to the island of Kauvai to visit Blair and enjoy some rest and relaxation on a sparsely inhabited island. Kauai is only a forty-mi ...
14 reads

Saving lives one breath at a time the T ...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:14:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
(PHOTO: Group photo of all the participants at the TONGA RED CROSS workshop in Matamaka.) CPR or puhi manava (in Tongan) and First Aid have been the main topics in Matamaka during this past week a ...
15 reads

Why Everyone Should Floss Their Teeth

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:41:00 +0800

(Tonga / Writing and Traveling)
Well now that I've been in JACKPOT LAS VEGAS for almost two months I think I'm fit to comment on my typical pre-school year routine. Expect an update for my during-school year routine. That's right ...
14 reads

Snapshot from my Village 2

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:32:29 +0800

(Tonga / Mo'ui Nonga)
“Splaaat!” goes the mango seed as I hurl it into the bushes. I’m surrounded by a treasure’s worth of these delicious little fruits. When Cyclone Rene hit Tonga last week it shook the trees si ...
25 reads

The Legend of ‘Eneio

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:32:28 +0800

(Tonga / Mo'ui Nonga)
Ene- tickleIo- yesOne day a man was walking along and met a witch. The witch’s mouth was clamped shut. “Open your mouth!” he demanded. But she refused. “Open!” he asked again. But she didn� ...
7 reads

There's no such place as Tonga

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:36:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
I was just chatting with a friend who described his recent encounter with the US postal service upon trying to send a letter to Tonga. It cracked me up for the rest of the day so I post our conversat ...
63 reads

Australia family in Tonga MST oh my!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:16:00 +0800

(Tonga / Adventures in Tonga!)
"It's Tonga" Moment of the last three months:I had just walked into my bathroom to have a shower when I saw two dark blobs on the floor. There is no light in my bathroom so I grabbed my flashlight a ...
4 reads

Juleighs cyclone post

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:36:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tongabunga!)
Last week we were hit by a huge cyclone here in Ha'apai. After a week of cleaning I've finally got my house back together. I've read a few of my friends blog accounts of the storm and think Juleigh ...
29 reads

It’s a boy!

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:22:00 +0800

(Tonga / Mo'ui Nonga)
In Tonga the word “fakahingoa” means to give someone your name and people quite frequently honor friends and family in this way when a baby is born. Still I was very shocked and honored to hea ...
4 reads

FUTA HELU

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:13:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tonga Tangos)
Februay 20 2009 (This entry is an edited version of an article I wrote for the next Peace Corps Tonga newsletter. My Peace Corps assignment is to teach Economics and reorganize the library at ‘Ate ...
24 reads

Sat 20 Feb: The first day of school

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:48:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
In the week since the cyclone the grounds of the agricultural college have been swarming with staff and students cleaning up the fallen branches collecting the coconuts that flew everywhere and pu ...
8 reads

Tuesday 16 Feb: Cyclone Rene

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:20:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
I wrote the last post on my laptop at home about 3 hours before we got the call. There had been some talk of a cyclone coming through and the sky to the East was looking darker and darker. Ominous wi ...
28 reads

Sunday 14 Feb: Enough vacation what are ...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:11:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
After a month and a half of meeting our neighbors getting acclimatized to ‘Eua and enjoying blissful rest after a full summer and fall we finally have some idea of what we might be working on thi ...
35 reads

Photos from Cyclone Rene

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:47:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
Cyclone Rene
32 reads

Photos around Ha'ano

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:44:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
Around Ha'ano
12 reads

CYCLONE RENE = Sleepover at Mormon Churc ...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:47:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
(PHOTO: The kava/church hall of the Church of Tonga in Talau.)My first real tribulation in Peace Corps Tonga has been the infamous Cyclone Rene. Cyclone Rene a category-four cyclone first made its p ...
18 reads

SMILE GPS Matamaka!

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:00:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
PHOTO: GPS Matamaka students getting ready to brush their teeth!On behalf of GPS Matamaka and Peace Corps Tonga I would like to send a big thank you to Broadway Dental and Rich and Cheri Bockelmann o ...
12 reads

Injera Rocks

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:56:00 +0800

(Tonga / IslandTime - Carpe Mañana)
Wordless Wednesday with Chance Erin Liz and Elfe
10 reads

Steve's Adventure Ends Today (UPDATED)

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:00:00 +0800

(Tonga / Steve's Adventure with the Peace Corps)
UPDATE: TV Interview added It’s been more than three years since I first applied to join the Peace Corps and what an adventure it has been. I filled out my application on September 26 2006 ...
9 reads

Cyclone Rene: 2010

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:39:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
For a few days before it hit Tonga we heard warnings about cyclone Rene. On Saturday in preparation for the storm I helped pull the boats onto shore in my village. About 30 minutes later the PCV ...
29 reads

More Fun Fascinating Facts

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:37:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
As I was looking through the mounds of papers in the school I came across a student’s birth certificate. (Among piles of discarded papers – that’s exactly where I keep mine too.) There are m ...
11 reads

Tastes of Tonga

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:36:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
It’s 7:00pm the electricity just switched on for the evening and I pulled out my laptop to type up a blog post. I boiled some water with the electric kettle (really taking advantage of electricit ...
11 reads

Tongan Schools

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:31:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
Not surprisingly the Tongan school system is different than America’s. Almost all students attend a public elementary school and at the end of sixth grade they take a huge test on all their subj ...
13 reads

Any Given Sunday

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:22:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tales from Tonga)
Many Peace Corps Volunteers find that Sundays in Tonga take some getting used to. The standard line Tongans say is lotu kai mohe pe – just church eat sleep. Sure enough that is the schedule a ...
16 reads

Cyclone Rene

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:52:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tongabunga!)
I'm too exhausted to write much but I just want to update everyone quickly. On Saturday we were warned of a looming cyclone headed directly for the islands of Tonga. All of the volunteers in Ha'apai ...
4 reads

Cyclone rene update

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:21:00 +0800

(Tonga / Two Coconuts)
Just a quick update we've talked with friends from our island group of Ha'apai and it seems they were very lucky and there is minimal damage to trees and buildings and no injuries or deaths as of yet ...
20 reads

Our Date with Rene

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:09:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tonga Tangos)
Monday February 15 noonKathy and I are enjoying our lunch of crackers and cheese apples and brownies while we listen to and watch the torrential rain outside the windows of our second floor room a ...
4 reads

Cyclone Rene

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:35:00 +0800

(Tonga / Two Coconuts)
Cyclone Rene category 4 is headed to Tonga right now and will pass right over our island group of Ha'apai and our town of Pangai. We have been out of Tonga for exactly one month now so we are real ...
29 reads

Cyclone Rene - Part 2

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:05:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tonga Tangos)
It's 4 p.m. Sunday our time and Cyclone Rene is now a Category 3 cyclone (hurricane)moving along towards the northern Tongan islands at about 15 mph. The latest projected path brings Rene right to us ...
39 reads

Cyclone Rene Part 1

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:32:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tonga Tangos)
It's Saturday morning here in the Friendly Islands and we are in "Stand Fast" mode which means we are staying close to home monitoring the progress of Cyclone Rene and doing some stocking up (keros ...
17 reads

Welcome CeCe

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:14:51 +0800

(Tonga / IslandTime - Carpe Mañana)
Yesterday Chance went from being the only grandchild on Mark's side of the family to being the oldest. At 10 am yesterday morning CeCe Koenig entered the world much to the delight of her parents Jen & Casey (and a...
11 reads

Cameras and Cats

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:44:00 +0800

(Tonga / MK Squared)
There are those moments in life when you really wish that you were carrying a camera at all times. Here's my present reason for wishing:Tonight I got home from work at 7:00 in the evening and after ...
15 reads

Oiaue!

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0800

(Tonga / Walking Barefoot in Tonga)
For some bizarre reason up until last week I had thought I had experienced enough life to know not to be too surprised when things don’t turn out how you expect. However when these past two week ...
15 reads

Removed yet Connected

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:59:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tonga Tangos)
An email from a good friend back home has caused me to do some thinking about where we are four months into this Peace Corps adventure. We’ve been caught up in the busy-ness of getting settled of ...
19 reads

I Was Home for Christmas

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:11:54 +0800

(Tonga / Alicia's Peace Corps Tonga Blog)
As you can probably tell from my cheesy attempting to be cute by channeling Bing Crosby title for this post I returned to the United States of America for two weeks to enjoy Christmas and New Years ...
7 reads

New Pictures!!

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:49:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tongabunga!)
It was finally cool enough to take a bunch of pictures around town so I snapped a bunch of pics and wrote a lot of captions to give a little tour of Pangai. Enjoy!http://picasaweb.google.co m/Todd828/FirstDayOfSchoolAndSom eShotsAroundPangai?pli=1#
2 reads

Learning how to teach

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:44:00 +0800

(Tonga / Tongabunga!)
I just finished my third week of teaching and I cannot describe how relieved I am to be done. Teaching is tough! Before the semester begun I discussed with my counterpart Tok’a how I would lik ...
2 reads

Stealing is Okay??

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:34:41 +0800

(Tonga / ...for such a time as this)
Ok I had to post what happened at the governor’s office yesterday…. I was in the back room helping a co-worker with some antivirus stuff. I hear my phone beep telling me that I have a text message. I didn’t think much of it I would check it when I was done. I finish what I [...]
13 reads

For real what are you? Piliphine? Pisiko ...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:00:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
Photo: My host brother from Ha'apai and I before culture day at Faleloa If I could only get a pa’anga for every time someone would ask me if I am really an American I would be a very rich person he ...
4 reads

Good-bye 2009

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:02:36 +0800

(Tonga / Alicia's Peace Corps Tonga Blog)
Dear Readers who are still checking my blog even though I have not posted in two months Before I jump ahead to the future I feel as though I should revisit and wrap up the past few months of 2009. ...
18 reads

Cuckoo for Cocoa

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:34:02 +0800

(Tonga / IslandTime - Carpe Mañana)
Last Friday the temperature in our backyard got to a balmy 5 degrees. It was so sunny that Erin and Chance couldn’t resist a quick outing. After quickly donning boot liners snowsuit boots scarf hat mittens (for Chance) and scarf ...
5 reads

I have cats. Plural.

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:23:00 +0800

(Tonga / Carolyn in Tonga)
Check out my cats. The orange one is named Taika which means tiger in Tongan. I haven't named the grey one yet. Don't worry they aren't stray cats. I am new at this pet thing and I might be getting a ...
22 reads

Tailulu College

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:48:00 +0800

(Tonga / Carolyn in Tonga)
The name of my High School is Tailulu College. There are approximately 150 students. I am teaching Form 1 and Form 2. I am hoping to do something with the gym class because that barely exists but th ...
11 reads

Foki ki ako! Back to School at GPS MATAMAKA!

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:21:00 +0800

(Tonga / Where in the world is Farfum? THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)
(Photo: GPS Matamaka students class 1 to 3 we are making goblin faces)DING DING DING! The sound of the empty propane tank (aka the school bell) echoed throughout the village on Monday January 25 as ...
18 reads