Life in Koulo

Hello all- I haven’t been able to post for quite some time in between being surprisingly busy at school and in Koulo and the internet being, well, let’s just say less than reliable, but I am doing really well and am loving my site and school!

I am living on the school compound next to the class 6 teacher, Le’o, and his family, which consists of his wife, Lupe, and his two children- Fotu, who is 4, and Tupou, who is 1. Both of them are beyond adorable, and I love them so much, especially Tupou, despite the fact that she often wanders into my house and destroys everything. She’s just learning to talk and can say “bye bye” now and wave. Even though she’s just 1 she’s really smart for her age and understands a lot of Tongan. She’s also a very advanced walker/runner, which always makes it a lot more fun! Lupe and Le’o are wonderful neighbors, and I love living next to them. I eat dinner with them most days, and Lupe lets me help her cook and teaches me how to make Tongan food! I, in turn, am teaching her how to bake and cook “American” food, and we’ve churned out a lot of banana bread in a very short time!

There are 4 teachers at my school: one for class 1 and 2, Manusiu, one for class 3 and 4, Lesile, one for class 5, Viliami, and one for class 6, Le’o. All of them speak at least a little English, and most of them speak very well, so that’s a really great plus and makes communication and forming relationships a lot easier! My school has about 80 or so kids, and they are wonderful- by far the best part about Tonga. I am working mostly with classes 3-6 teaching English grammar and working on reading and oral skills, which is definitely a challenge, but really fun and rewarding.

So that’s basically my day: I got to school, teach two classes in the morning, one before recess and one after, and teach one more after lunch, for about an hour and a half each. Le’o and I have also started work on constructing a community garden at the school! Each student brought in 50 cents and we’ve hired a plow to come and plow up the far section of the school field. After we’re going to build a fence and in April (the best time for planting) we’re going to use the seeds I brought with me and buy some seedling from the Ministry of Agriculture if we can raise enough money. But if anyone is so inclined to send a package, seeds of any sort would be greatly appreciated! Since there are no vegetables in Ha’apai for most of the year, this project is going to be awesome and a great way for the kids to learn about farming and, hopefully, health and nutrition! I am also hoping to organize all the donated books at this school into a library in an abandoned classroom on the school grounds, so we’ll see how that project progresses.

I’ve been pretty busy getting settled at work and in my house and getting to know the community, but I am loving it so far and am really happy. This situation is just so much better than my previous one, and I think I’m going to have a great 2 years here! Mui mui (my dog) who is here in Koulo with me says hello too! He is loving his new home as well, is getting super fat (along with me!) because my neighbors and the kids at school feed him all the time (again, true for me as well), and is now bff with Fotu’s dog, Jumbo, who lives next door.

I miss you all so much, and I will try and post again soon!