It's Sunday. How has your weekend been?

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Currently...

- there are roosters on my roof. Your guess is as good as mine as to why they are there.

- sipping a cup of coffee. Five minutes ago I ate a fly. I am not joking. It was gross. I did not know that it had perched on the lip of my mug and then I ate it. Swallowed him whole. 

- trying to find as many uses for baking soda as possible. I don't shampoo my hair anymore (I use baking soda instead). I have learned to clean my jewelry with the magic white powder. What other uses do you know about?

- re-learning how to use colored pencils. Shading is so much fun!

- thinking about how the United States has had heaps of snow since October/November and how all the posts I see online seem to be about people wishing for spring/warmer weather and I can't help but wish I could remember what it feels like to be cold. Really cold. 

- loving the rainy weather we've been getting. 

- getting a little bit nervous as the finish line to Peace Corps approaches. I know it's still over 6 months away but there is a lot of planning involved to successfully transition back and have your life in order. Lots of things to think about that I haven't had to worry about in the last two years (driving a car? rent? stores with more than one kind of product? the idea of no afternoon nap?).

- wondering what the world would be like without coffee.

- wondering why people use the phrase "waiting for the other shoe to drop". Where did it come from? 

What about you?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

March 9th is a special day in my world.
It's my dad's birthday.

So...
Happy Birthday, Dad.

Here’s a list of 10 things I have forgotten to tell you over the years:

1. Your ability to talk to anyone and everyone is one of my favorite things about you (even though as a kid I didn’t care for it much) and is probably why you were voted  Holiday Inn’s Shuttle Driver of the Year (they let me choose the award for that this year… no, they didn’t. But if they did, my pick would be you!).  

2. One of my favorite memories involving you is when we used to practice turkey calls in the basement. Mom would get so mad.

3. In high school, I used to steal your socks before I’d go to cross-country practice. This was a regular occurrence. Sorry ‘bout that. It’s just that mine were never clean and/or I could never find them.

4. I cherished our morning breakfast time together more than you know. Thanks for letting me read the local section of the newspaper first and for making me oatmeal in the Crockpot. We both know that mushy raisins are the best.

5. Now on to matters involving wardrobe choices: I hate to break it to you, but mustard is not your color. I have to agree with Mom – many times when you would leave for work you did resemble Dwight Schrute. Shoot. I wasn’t suppose to tell you that. But you really did have the brown-pants-brown-sport-coat thing down.

6. I don’t hate your obsession with Rod Stewart. I think it’s funny that you like his music so much, but I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.  And if someone asks, I’ll just say that his tunes keep you forever young (See what I did there?).

7. I appreciate your affinity for plaid couches and the cozy feel of anything labeled “Northwoods”. Bring on the kitschy moose, bear and deer pillows. We definitely need another wooden loon for the fireplace mantle. And while you’re at it I think you should invest in another Terry Redlin painting. It’ll match the other 18 prints you already have hanging in the house.

8. I loved Friday nights as a kid because you would, without fail, come home from the movie store with the world’s most obscure movie. They were usually super weird, Dad. Except when you brought home Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. That was a good choice.  Kevin Costner is a cutie-pa-tootie. But really, you obviously completely ignored the blockbuster section and instead chose the movie based on how old it was (1980’s movies were some of your favorite picks), what the movie jacket said and/or whether you thought the cover art was groovy. Remember that one time when you brought home the one with the subtitles and Molly and Erik couldn’t even read yet? Or the one about the otter who was going through the irrigation ditches? 

9. Speaking of movies, I like that sometimes you prefer to watch the Hallmark Channel over sports. Just like #6, I promise not to tell anyone. I know your hunting buddies (Hey, Stu!) would give you lots of crap for that. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.
10. You're the greatest dad. Ever.

bits + pieces.

while i was walking back to my little house today i couldn't help but feel like the ground was breathing. this is going to sound sort of silly, but the humidity was so dense that it actually felt like the ground was breathing hot air. the warmth was radiating from the grass and for once instead of being frustrated about my consistent back sweat (i bet you're glad i gave you that mental image), i was grateful. and then i got to thinking about other interesting and funny things i was grateful for this week. here is my list:

- we all know that i have an obsession with simply adore kalo (my 3-year-old next door neighbor). well, today she was swinging outside my classroom and while my students were diligently working on their assignments i heard her yelling outside. i peeked out to see her swinging from the mango tree in her yard and yelling "ta'e! ta'e! ta'e!" i bet you are wondering what that means, right? guys, she was yelling "sh*t! sh*t! sh*t!". i know i shouldn't have laughed (and i didn't let her see me) but wow that little girl has spunk.

- today i did a mini lesson on there, their and they're. 3 of my students wrote down "they're cooking their dog over there in their 'umu. they're going to eat it for dinner." and i told them they did a great job and then i realized that two years ago i would have been super alarmed by such a sentence, but not anymore. we eat dog here. and it tastes sort of like chicken.

- this afternoon i sat with my students in an abandoned building next to a rugby field. my students are practicing for sports day which will take place tomorrow in town against three other schools. last year we didn't practice or prepare much for the big day so this year we're taking things a bit more serious. i sat with the youngest kids and we sang songs and cheered the older ones on. instead of batons (to pass) we used sticks, instead of running shoes we were bare foot. 

- my village loves zumba and every day i am asked if we are going to "pe 'anai?" (do PE later?). my students especially love Abba so today we got down (see picture above) to a little mamma mia. good times :-)

what about you? what's new? what are you grateful for? 

wordless wednesday.

Postcard Project

Hello!

It's a bright and sunny Tuesday morning in the South Pacific. My students are busy singing songs, listening and telling stories and engaging in other fun activities that promote English learning!

I'm realizing how much they already know about this little island nation and how much more I want to teach them about other parts of the world. They love hearing stories about America and New Zealand. Pictures and postcards are especially awesome! It's so much fun to run over to the globe and find where the postcard journeyed from (even if our globe is as old as I am). So I'm asking for your help. Would you consider sending a postcard to the following address:

Mandy Pederson, PCV

PO Box 136

Neiafu

Vava'u 

Tonga

South Pacific

I know my students would love to hear from different people throughout the world. And if you include your return address we promise to send you a little Tongan love back!

Hope you're enjoying your day just as much as Touna is enjoying this piece of pani (sweet bread).