A Visit from the American Air Force

I already had a huge amount of respect for the service men and women of the United States of America, but it has multiplied by a lot the last few days.

I think a lot of the time I automatically connect our service men and women with guns and protecting our country. And while that is an extremely important and selfless act, the last few days I've been able to see a completely different side. 

Over the last year and a half a few Air Force soldiers visited my school a handful of times. They took tours and began looking at ways to improve the already existing structures so that they would be a safer and make it a happier place to learn.

For the last 48 hours a group of Air Force men and women have come to our school to help make it a better place. It's definitely in need of some updates and these men and women came prepared.

Pouring new cement steps.

Cutting new door frames.

They've replaced many windows and doors, painted the exterior and fixed some electrical problems that made teaching on rainy/cloudy days really tough (it's hard to teach in a dark classroom). Their generosity to the people of this community has been really amazing to see and it's been fun to share with other Americans my little corner of Tonga.

Salesi (the Class 3/4 teacher) helping out!

When I returned home from the market this morning (Saturday) a huge portion of the village met these men and women and thanked them with the nicest feast I've seen yet in Tonga. It was a great time to translate between the soldiers and community members. I was reminded multiple times throughout the day of the sacrifices these men and women make (much longer than my two year Peace Corps term) and the special set of skills it seems most every American service woman and man possess (perseverance, kindness, being brave - except they weren't quite brave enough to eat pig brain... ;-) sai pe! [it's okay!]).

They even let me help out! I love painting!

Showing the Air Force how a Tongan feast is done.

'Ofa liked potato salad too!

On behalf of the GPS (Government Primary School) I work at and the people of my village, thank you American Air Force!

Today I learned that Kalo likes potato salad a lot more than I do and I really like it!

Local puppy wanted in on the fun!

 Enjoy the little things in life

 because one day you'll look back,

 and realize they were the big things.

Life According to... 'Atu [Vol. 6]

The last five installments of the Life According to... series have concentrated on the little ones in my life that bring me joy every day.

I'm going to change it up this time.

Why? Because even though I spend the majority of my day with little ones, there are some pretty powerful and pretty amazing adults that I've come across in Tonga. They've shared stories with me that I will take wherever I go and have really made me think about the way in which I have chosen to live my life up to this point.

Take 'Atu for example.

'Atu stands at just over 5 feet tall. What she lacks in height she makes up for in creativity, kindness and grace. 

She is one of the sweetest, most wonderful people I know in Tonga.

 Her everyday commute is over 40 minutes long (that's way long in Tonga!) as she drives into town with her husband from their village on the other side of the island. She says she comes back year after year to my school because she loves working with the Peace Corps volunteers. But I think I'm the lucky one in this situation.

She's also the principal at our school. Her leadership style is unique - she's very humble about her strengths (almost too humble sometimes!), has a passion for learning from others and enjoys incorporating art into her teaching (we're kindred spirits this way!). 

She has three children (ages 15-24), cares tremendously for her family and adores her husband. God comes first in her life and you can tell. When she isn't at school, she's very involved in church (her husband conducts the choir at their church and at the high school where he teaches math and Tongan language).

I love learning from 'Atu and she appreciates learning from me and the things I have learned during my time as an American elementary school teacher.  

School Break.

After our birthday celebration for the King the students and teachers of my island began a two week break. This malolo (rest) reminds me of winter break back in America and marks the half way (!!) point of the school year. It's just another reminder of how quickly time is flying and that in 3 months I will be returning to America. 

So over the last week I've worked a lot on side projects and had the chance to do a little more exploring than normal.

But my favorite part has definitely been spending time with the people in my village.

Here is a picture walk through the last couple days:

Hanging with two little cuties and talking about the new church hall that was built across the road.

eva (wandering) around.

chatting with Silia under the mango tree 

watching the sun set behind the coconut trees

Happy (almost) weekend to you!

postcard project // a thank you.

A few months ago I asked readers of this here corner of the interwebs to help me out with a special postcard project that involved teaching my students about other places in the world. 

The project also gave my students an opportunity to practice their English skills.

I want to thank you for your response.

A small assortment of post cards received!

You all are unbelievable and I cannot tell you how amazing it was to sit with the globe (dated some time when the USSR was still around - we make it work!) and try and find each and every place where these notes started their journeys.

We are in the process of learning about letter writing and my oldest students have started scribing responses to you all. They should be in the mail soon! We have our work cut out for us (I wasn't imagining what an amazing response we'd get!) but it's worth it and every Monday is like a fun scavenger hunt!

Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for being awesome!
THANK YOU!
And if you are interested in sending a postcard you can still send them!
Mandy Pederson, PCV
PO Box 136
Neiafu
Vava'u
Kingdom of Tonga
South Pacific

Birthday Celebration for the King: Ta Fuka

After about two months of practice, our weekly gatherings at the school field in town came down to yesterday. Part of the King's Birthday Celebration was a celebration put on by the Ministry of Education. Every primary and high school on Vava'u Lahi came together to wish his Majesty a happy 55th birthday.

'Atu (my principal) and I waiting for the show to begin. 

At around 8:30am we all arrived by bus, truck, or foot to prepare for King Tupou VI's arrival. My neighbor sewed my a brand new puletaha (dress) for the occasion and my principal brought a taovala (grass mat) for me to wear.

I've spoken about taimi fakatonga (Tongan time) before and how it's been one of the hardest things for me to adjust to here. If a meeting is set to start at 7pm, many times things won't begin until 8:30-9:00pm, but I guess when it comes to royalty that's different! At exactly 10:00am the king arrived flanked by soldiers and the royal family. As he was driven onto the field all 1,000+ children waved to him.

He took his place under a special tent that was decorated with tapa and woven mats. In front of the tent was a pile of me'a 'ofa (gifts) presented by all of the schools. Mats, carved boats and tofu'a'a (whales), tapa, and pictures (I drew one on behalf of my school!) were piled high to show our appreciation to the king!

Gifts for the King. My drawing is directly to the right of the two Tongan flags.

The King (he's the gentleman wearing the sunglasses sitting beneath the tent).

The welcome prayer and speech were said and then we all sang "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Long Life" to him. We bowed to him and as we bowed the kids created the Tongan flag out of their bodies (which is where ta fuka - draw the flag - comes from). 

After the singing and bowing finished, we got to my favorite part... the dancing!

After our 6 minute song finished we marched off the field and each high school had an opportunity to share their birthday greetings with the king through...

...taolunga (traditional female Tongan dancing),

...kailau (Tongan war dance)

and hula! (Hula is not native to Tonga, but it was still very neat to see!)

More taolunga! These girls were lovely!

Birthday Celebration for the King: Kids' Festival

Saturday morning many of the children on Vava'u Lahi (this island) gathered by the warf to take part in the Kid's Carnival in honor of the King.

There were so many fun activities and ways for people on the island to get involved! Games, food, dancing, relay races, ball toss activities!

Kids lined up wide-eyed and excited for a chance to explore one of four bouncy castles. I'm sure many of them had never seen one of these before (they were shipped up on the ferry from the capital city).

They sat patiently and waited to get their faces painted by some good looking Peace Corps volunteers.

There was even a special guest - the crowned prince! This little guy is third in line for the crown. His grandpa is currently the king.

Can't wait to share more events soon!