This week my school had a konserti, a fundraising “concert” of sorts to raise money for the school. This money will go towards paying for the power bills from last year, general maintenance and supplies for the classrooms, and, excitingly, hopefully paying the bills on my house from before I moved in (the power company has definitely come to shut off my power a few times already because of bills that have remained unpaid for almost a year…oh Tonga), installing a bathroom door in my house, and possibly even a tap inside so I don’t have to walk out to the water tank with a bucket every time I want to bathe or do dishes…these things may not happen, but we can hope! Anyways, because I may benefit from some of the money raised and because the village has a Peace Corps I was solicited to tau’olunga (traditional Tongan dance) in front of the whole village at the konserti.
Now, let’s take a little trip down memory lane at Alicia’s dancing career…Middle School/ St. Joe’s dances (throwback reference!): Alicia stands in the corner of the wall with friends and watches teenagers dance to such great hits as Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and Will Smith classics. She makes no attempt to embarrass herself by actually joining the dancing. High School: with her self-confidence slightly improved, Alicia allows herself to be dragged onto the “dance floor” (read, cafeteria) by friends on the condition the Miss Lindsay Foley, aka “security blanket” not leave her side and teach her how to move slightly in time to the music. College: it is only after a fair amount of illicit substances that Alicia dances at college, but when she does it is usually quite enthusiastically…”what’s that you say? Time to dance? Give me another beer and a hit of that joint…” you get the picture. Cohen Bar Mitzvah’s: Alicia needs no inducements to be persuaded to dance, but I think the general congenial Jewish vibe and open bar had something to do with that. Also, the inspiration Miss Cohen played a large role in my dancing over the last several years.
Still, to the point that the previous paragraph tried to illustrate: I do not dance. And when I do, it is by no means gracefully. So, as you can imagine, I was less than thrilled about performing for the whole village, but, I tried, gamely, to suck it up and have some fun. Lupe, my neighbor, worked with me all week to teach me the dance, and was a bit discouraged at how difficult teaching me proved to be. What was the most difficult was learning the basics of Tongan dance: standing with your legs bent and feet at a 45* angle, rotating your hands, but not your arms, while keeping your fingers together and pulsing your palms (I look nowhere near as graceful as Tongan women) and the quick head nod to the side know as a tiki.
But, after a week of dance practice every evening I finally got it…almost. My school is comprised of kids from the villages of Koulo and Holopeka, and consequently there were two konsertis- one in Koulo on Thursday night, and one in Holopeka on Friday evening. I had planned to dance only on Friday, mostly because I still did not know the 3rd verse to the song on Thursday, but as the time drew near the other teachers and parents insisted that I dance in Koulo as well as in Holopeka…oh dear. Lupe made me a costume by gluing sand in flower patterns onto a piece of cloth, and we carried that along with a giant jug of coconut oil into the concert that night.
About halfway through we went out back to get me ready with a half a dozen women, and behind the hall in the middle of a field I had to strip down to my underwear while women lathered me in oil and pinned the costume on. Sand, by the by, is very heavy! The oil serves several purposes: to make you look beautiful and attractive, to perfume you in such a way that the scent takes days to wear off, and in my case gives you quite a headache, and thirdly, to allow money to stick to you during the dance. Whenever someone performs in Tonga, people come up and stick money on them or down their clothes as a means of thanking them- hence dances are good fundraisers. With the tau’olunga it’s even more so. Also, the general consensus is that if the money does not stick to a woman dancing, it’s because she’s not a virgin, and therefore all unspeakable sorts of insulting things, so it’s important to really lather on that oil!
The dance in Koulo went well, despite my not knowing the 3rd verse at all, and in Holopeka it went fine (I managed to learn the whole song by then!). I was very nervous, and definitely messed up several times, mostly when I’d lose a step or two because people were sticking money on my, but all in all I think it was a good experience and an honor that I was asked to learn and participate in the Tongan culture. Although, as Robin noted, being lathered in oil and dancing a la “Golden Banana” (ok, only Becca and Marianne are going to get that reference…oh Rt. 1) wasn’t exactly what I had in mind in terms of cultural exchange. But, I’m glad I did it, and that when I need to dance again, I’ll already have a routine I know to fall back on!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Back To Koulo!
Well, it’s been sort of a crazy week, but definitely a good one. As my previous posts indicate, things were not going so hot at good old Taufa’ahau. Viliami called me on Sunday and told me that he was not able to come down, but the Poli would be coming to Ha’apai that week (she was the LCTF who stayed with me last time while I was waiting for a house). She arrived on Tuesday, and that’s when the whirlwind began.
I went to school as usual to try and observe some English classes and after school went home. Brett called me to tell me I’d left something in the PC office, and mentioned that Phil was in Koulo and that Poli was there with him. Phil works for the Ministry of Education with all the schools in Ha’apai training teachers, so he knows most of the GPS school, which is an awesome resource. Anyways, I called Phil and asked if it was true that Poli was there and generally what was going on and he told me him and Poli were meeting with the teachers in Koulo and that Poli said to pack my things. I was in complete shock- we hadn’t even met or talked with my principal and it was already 4 in the afternoon. Within 10 minutes, Phil, Poli, Kate, and Brett were at my house in the bed of a huge bush truck along with 3 Tongans from Koulo.
Poli went next door to talk to my principal, and ended up putting him on the phone with Viliami. Meanwhile, everyone came inside and literally tore through my house, packing things in whatever boxes and bags we could find, and bringing them out to the truck. We were out of the house in under an hour- it was absolute craziness. Seluini, my old principal, was very understanding about the whole thing, and seemed to understand that the school and community had problems that weren’t going to be fixed.
We brought all my stuff to Kate and Brett’s house, and I crashed there until Thursday morning, which was a nice destresser (totally not a word). In the meantime, up in Koulo, the school and PTA frantically almost finished my house in essentially a day, and told Poli that they were so excited to be getting a Peace Corps.
I moved up to Koulo on Thursday morning, and everything went really well! The house is almost done, but all the big things are there, and it’s nice and clean. It’s right on the school campus and right next to the airport…literally, the runway is in my backyard, and I really love the location. There are only 1 or 2 planes a day, so the noise isn’t really a problem, and I like being on the school grounds. All the kids were obviously very curious, and kept coming around the house and peaking in through the windows as we moved everything in, but they are adorbs, obvi, and I’m so excited to start working with them.
We had a meeting that afternoon under an awesomely huge tree in the school yard with the teachers and the PTA and ironed out what my job there is, and all those fun details. It was wonderful though, and everyone seemed really happy that I was there. The one concern they had was about me acting like a pelangi, and what if I had a moa (boyfriend) and he was coming around the house and even sleeping there (gasp!). I’m definitely going to have to work on the whole ‘boys and girls can be friends and not have sex’ concept, because I’m definitely not going to turn away other volunteers if/when they come visit- I need all the friends I can get! But this definitely means I’ll have to find some creative solutions from when Thom and Eric (yes, I’m trying to peer pressure you through my blog to come visit me before you go back to the US) come. I’m not worried though, everything will work out. After the meeting, some of the parents brought food over to my house, and it was delicious. I told them that I don’t eat meat, and while this sent up the usual collective gasp, one of my neighbors told me they were happy, because fish is not expensive- they just go fishing! This gets them out of buying the obligatory guest foods like kapa pulu (canned corn beef) and sipi (mutton flaps) which are quite pricy.
The next day, I started to unpack and try to organize the house. The kids came to school again, but they told me they were vainga pē (just playing) today…oh Fridays in Tongan schools. My principal came over with a schedule for me (planning in advance!?!) and it looks great- I’ll be teaching 3 classes each day (classes 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 are taught together since there are only 4 teachers), 2 in the morning and 1 after lunch, and possibly picking up some night classes with class 6 as well as forms 5 and 6 at the high school to prepare for their exams at the end of the year. I also found out that most of the things in my house had been bough on credit (the carpeti, connecting the electricity, the toilet) and there are still more things that need to be installed (a bathroom door, an indoor water tap, a fence) so the PTA is have a fundraiser next Friday called a conserti. To my surprise, I was told that I would ta’olunga (a traditional Tongan dance) in front of the whole town at this fundraiser to raise money for my house (they lather you in oil and people come up while you are dancing and stick money on you)…I will literally be dancing for the money to finish my house…haha, only in Tonga.
We then went to the school room, and while the kids played outside the teachers and the PC staff and I had ourselves a Tonga welcome feast- ifo ‘aupito! My neighbors made all the food, and the teachers made Tongan welcome and thank you speeches, and it was just such a warm welcome. While on this subject, my neighbors are amazing! The couple that lives next door to me are so kind- the husband is a teacher at the school and they have two small kids- a boy who is 4 and a little girl who is 1- they are both adorable. The other family lives kind of behind them and seem super nice as well. Not sure how many kids/ relatives live in the house, but everyone has been so nice and welcoming.
My neighbors showed me around the runway and airport last night, and we saw a bunch of plants that they pulled up from the bush and are going to plant around my house to make a yard. They are also redesigning the airport grounds, as some of those flower bushes are coming to my house as well! We then just sat outside for a few hours, talking and drinking coffee and playing with the kids and the dogs. It’s such a different feel in Koulo vs. Panagi, even though the distance isn’t that great. There’s just much more of a small community feel, and I’m loving it so far!
I feel so lucky- the community has been wonderful so far: really open and welcoming, and I think excited that I’m there. It’s such a 180 from how I was feeling a week ago today, and I really do think everything is going to be great in Koulo. This was the site I was initially supposed to be at, but then was pulled last minute because the house was not finished and there were some problems with the PTA and principal and power politics. But, there is a new principal now, and it seems like the PTA and school really came together and figured out a way to work with one another to get things done.
Thank you so much to all of you who sent messages and emails and comments of support. It’s so wonderful to know that I’m not alone, ever, and I appreciate it more than I can tell you. I am so happy with the changes that have been made, and I’m excited to start school on Monday.
Also, exciting news: I have a permanent address, so send out those letters you’ve been holding onto!:
Alicia Green, PCV
General Post Office
Pangai
Ha’apai
Kingdom of Tonga
South Pacific
The old address to the PC office in Nuku’alofa will still work as well, and might be a better address for packages to be sent to (hint hint…)
Alicia Green, PCV
Peace Corps
PO Box 147
Nuku’alofa
Kingdom of Tonga
South Pacific
I love you all so much, and I’m so happy with how everything is working out. I will be sure to let you know how my public embarrassment (ie dancing in front of the community) goes, and how everything turns out!
Monday, February 2, 2009
More Problems with my Site
When I got back from Tongatapu, things at site had been looking up. My principal, Seluini, had returned to Pangai and is living next door to me, and seems to be a wonderful person. Additionally, school started on the 26th, and I felt sure that with work to do, and someone at my school here and looking out for me, and the issues with the community would be done with. I wish that was true. A few days before school started we had “planning days” with all the teachers from all the schools at Taufa’ahau: the kindergarten, the primary school, and the high school. They were boring and useless 8 hour days, along with a good 2 hours of eating thrown in (oh Tonga), but I did get to meet the teachers from all the school who live on the compound with me. The principle and assistant principle of the high school came up to me at one point and asked if I would be willing to help out with the high school English at all: their test scores from the previous year were the lowest they’d been in 30 years. We talked about night classes, and I told them that I needed to settle in at the primary school, but I would be happy to help out after school.
The first week of school in Tonga is a joke: teachers sit around and do minimal work, while the kids are made to clean the yards and the classrooms. A few “lessons” sort of took place, but the syllabus had not yet arrived from the Ministry of Education, so no planning or work was being done. But, the kids, as always, are awesome, and as there was nothing for me to observe and teachers kept leaving when I came into classrooms, I ran a few mini lessons with some of the classes and tried to just get an understanding of where the classes were English-wise. I tried to explain to my teachers and the principle that PC and other volunteers had told us to observe for the first few weeks so we could figure out how the school ran and what page everyone was on. I should stress that the emphasis of the PC Education program in Tonga is on co-teaching: working and planning and teaching with local teachers in an effort to promote sustainability, rather than just doing work for them. This really isn’t understood at my site.
Last Wednesday we had a cyclone day and school was canceled. The storm wasn’t too bad (we’ve had much worse in January) but it was nice to have a day off. My principal stopped by and asked if I was willing to help out in the high school and to find out if PC would let me. I explained that I was here to work in the primary school: that this was my primary assignment, but that we were allowed to have secondary projects as long as they didn’t interfere with the primary jobs. He said the high school had been talking to him and made it sound as if, instead of night classes, they wanted me to come up once or twice a week during school. I told him that would be alright, and that I was happy to help, as long as it didn’t interfere with my work at the primary school.
Then, on Friday, Seluini took me up to the high school to meet with the deputy principal. He handed me a schedule and told me I would be teaching an English class every day and two on Thursday for Form 6, the last year before college. When I asked who the English teacher was he said that it was me. I told him that I would not teach the class by myself and tried to explain that I was here to co-teach. I also told him that I have absolutely no experience teaching high school and even less idea how a Tongan high school runs, what level of English each class should have, and what the current teaching methods and styles are. I said that I would be more than happy to help out and tried to explain that I would not and could not do this alone and that my primary job was supposed to be in the primary school. He said I should go ask this other woman about teaching with me, and I told him that the school needed to have an English teacher and that I would help them. Then, my principle and the other teachers at the primary school wanted me to teach at the high school and then teach classes 3, 4, 5, and 6 every day. I told them that it was too much, especially with the high school class, and that I wouldn’t be able to make up 5 lesson plans and run 5 classes everyday. They all seemed upset and disappointed with me and kept telling me that I should be a strong American. According to PC, we’re not supposed to work full time, because the work is only 1/3 of the reason why we’re technically there, and we’re encouraged to develop secondary projects and get involved in the community. Also, 5 classes every day is too much for any teacher: Tongan teachers don’t do this, there is no reason why I should. I feel like they just want me to do everything for them, and that’s not why I’m here. I’m excited to work with the teachers, but, I can’t do it for them; it’s just not at all sustainable.
Sites are supposed to be screened and developed to ensure that communities not only want a PCV, but also that they want to do the work to change: to try new techniques and develop lesson plans with native English speakers. In short, the Tongans need to want change, not just for someone to come in and do it for them, or throw money at them. A good example of this is the books in the schools: tons of books are donated to Tonga through a variety of different organizations. Since books are not printed in Tonga, one would think that these books, especially in schools, would be prized. In my school, as in many many others, the books are thrown all over the floor or in large book shelves, bent and unorganized, left in disarray, and often covered with dirt, mud, termite nests. Teachers use them as fans, and kids use them as building blocks and to hit one another with. Yet, each year, countless schools apply for grants to get more books, because that’s what they want- someone to give them money or goods and do things for them.
In addition, after the meeting at the high school, my principal brought me back to the first shack house they put me in and told me I had to look at it. The outside had been painted, but the door was locked so we didn’t have to go inside. I had thought that all of this was resolved…I was wrong. Essentially he told me he was on my side, but that the fifekau has the final say, and there would be another meeting this month or next month to decide whether or not I could stay in my house. I was shocked, and I just felt so betrayed and upset: I thought this was over, and I’ve put a lot of time and money into the house I’m in now over the past month to make it a home.
The combination of everything just made me so sad and upset, and after talking to Phil for a while, who was a huge help, I called Viliami, by PM, and told him everything that was going on. He told me he would come down this week, and we would figure out what to do, but that he was nervous that Seluini, my principal, wouldn’t have enough power, and that even if we resolved everything, the high school and fifekau would probably still be mad at me, and the community part of all this just will not get any better. He said that there are 3 sites that he is now thinking of switching me to, including Koulo, that site I was initially supposed to be at.
I told him that it was fine that he wanted to move me- I’ve been so unhappy here, and I did not come here to play politics and power games with a church. As I told Thom last night, if I had wanted to do that, I could have easily stayed in America. I came here to learn a new culture and to work, and thus far, I’ve been able to do neither at my site. If the community doesn’t want me to be here, then I really do not want to be here. I know some people might think I should stick it out, that PC is supposed to be hard. I agree, but it’s not supposed to be hard in this way. It’s not supposed to be about me fighting with the community for months and months to let me do the job I came here to do and getting stuck in the middle of local politics. And as much of a pain as moving and trying to break into a new community will be, I think the chance to have it be better will be well worth it. And I know PC is definitely partially to blame for failing to develop a site, and just sticking me here when my first site fell through. But being angry with them isn’t really going to get me anywhere right now. We need to find a solution, and then I will make sure I work with them and get angry to make sure this does not happen to anyone else next year.
Hopefully, this will all be resolved in the upcoming weeks, and I will be sure to post again as soon as I know where I’ll be. And, to all of you who have asked for a more permanent address, I apologize for not responding: I just wanted to make sure I was settled before I gave that out, and as of now, I’m not. Wish me luck, and I promise I’ll throw in more happy posts along with these not-happy ones, because in between all of this crap, I’ve been having a great time with the Japanese volunteers, a Swedish woman who owns the bar/restaurant in town, and a couple from Ireland and Germany who are opening up a dive shop, and mostly, the other PCVs.
The first week of school in Tonga is a joke: teachers sit around and do minimal work, while the kids are made to clean the yards and the classrooms. A few “lessons” sort of took place, but the syllabus had not yet arrived from the Ministry of Education, so no planning or work was being done. But, the kids, as always, are awesome, and as there was nothing for me to observe and teachers kept leaving when I came into classrooms, I ran a few mini lessons with some of the classes and tried to just get an understanding of where the classes were English-wise. I tried to explain to my teachers and the principle that PC and other volunteers had told us to observe for the first few weeks so we could figure out how the school ran and what page everyone was on. I should stress that the emphasis of the PC Education program in Tonga is on co-teaching: working and planning and teaching with local teachers in an effort to promote sustainability, rather than just doing work for them. This really isn’t understood at my site.
Last Wednesday we had a cyclone day and school was canceled. The storm wasn’t too bad (we’ve had much worse in January) but it was nice to have a day off. My principal stopped by and asked if I was willing to help out in the high school and to find out if PC would let me. I explained that I was here to work in the primary school: that this was my primary assignment, but that we were allowed to have secondary projects as long as they didn’t interfere with the primary jobs. He said the high school had been talking to him and made it sound as if, instead of night classes, they wanted me to come up once or twice a week during school. I told him that would be alright, and that I was happy to help, as long as it didn’t interfere with my work at the primary school.
Then, on Friday, Seluini took me up to the high school to meet with the deputy principal. He handed me a schedule and told me I would be teaching an English class every day and two on Thursday for Form 6, the last year before college. When I asked who the English teacher was he said that it was me. I told him that I would not teach the class by myself and tried to explain that I was here to co-teach. I also told him that I have absolutely no experience teaching high school and even less idea how a Tongan high school runs, what level of English each class should have, and what the current teaching methods and styles are. I said that I would be more than happy to help out and tried to explain that I would not and could not do this alone and that my primary job was supposed to be in the primary school. He said I should go ask this other woman about teaching with me, and I told him that the school needed to have an English teacher and that I would help them. Then, my principle and the other teachers at the primary school wanted me to teach at the high school and then teach classes 3, 4, 5, and 6 every day. I told them that it was too much, especially with the high school class, and that I wouldn’t be able to make up 5 lesson plans and run 5 classes everyday. They all seemed upset and disappointed with me and kept telling me that I should be a strong American. According to PC, we’re not supposed to work full time, because the work is only 1/3 of the reason why we’re technically there, and we’re encouraged to develop secondary projects and get involved in the community. Also, 5 classes every day is too much for any teacher: Tongan teachers don’t do this, there is no reason why I should. I feel like they just want me to do everything for them, and that’s not why I’m here. I’m excited to work with the teachers, but, I can’t do it for them; it’s just not at all sustainable.
Sites are supposed to be screened and developed to ensure that communities not only want a PCV, but also that they want to do the work to change: to try new techniques and develop lesson plans with native English speakers. In short, the Tongans need to want change, not just for someone to come in and do it for them, or throw money at them. A good example of this is the books in the schools: tons of books are donated to Tonga through a variety of different organizations. Since books are not printed in Tonga, one would think that these books, especially in schools, would be prized. In my school, as in many many others, the books are thrown all over the floor or in large book shelves, bent and unorganized, left in disarray, and often covered with dirt, mud, termite nests. Teachers use them as fans, and kids use them as building blocks and to hit one another with. Yet, each year, countless schools apply for grants to get more books, because that’s what they want- someone to give them money or goods and do things for them.
In addition, after the meeting at the high school, my principal brought me back to the first shack house they put me in and told me I had to look at it. The outside had been painted, but the door was locked so we didn’t have to go inside. I had thought that all of this was resolved…I was wrong. Essentially he told me he was on my side, but that the fifekau has the final say, and there would be another meeting this month or next month to decide whether or not I could stay in my house. I was shocked, and I just felt so betrayed and upset: I thought this was over, and I’ve put a lot of time and money into the house I’m in now over the past month to make it a home.
The combination of everything just made me so sad and upset, and after talking to Phil for a while, who was a huge help, I called Viliami, by PM, and told him everything that was going on. He told me he would come down this week, and we would figure out what to do, but that he was nervous that Seluini, my principal, wouldn’t have enough power, and that even if we resolved everything, the high school and fifekau would probably still be mad at me, and the community part of all this just will not get any better. He said that there are 3 sites that he is now thinking of switching me to, including Koulo, that site I was initially supposed to be at.
I told him that it was fine that he wanted to move me- I’ve been so unhappy here, and I did not come here to play politics and power games with a church. As I told Thom last night, if I had wanted to do that, I could have easily stayed in America. I came here to learn a new culture and to work, and thus far, I’ve been able to do neither at my site. If the community doesn’t want me to be here, then I really do not want to be here. I know some people might think I should stick it out, that PC is supposed to be hard. I agree, but it’s not supposed to be hard in this way. It’s not supposed to be about me fighting with the community for months and months to let me do the job I came here to do and getting stuck in the middle of local politics. And as much of a pain as moving and trying to break into a new community will be, I think the chance to have it be better will be well worth it. And I know PC is definitely partially to blame for failing to develop a site, and just sticking me here when my first site fell through. But being angry with them isn’t really going to get me anywhere right now. We need to find a solution, and then I will make sure I work with them and get angry to make sure this does not happen to anyone else next year.
Hopefully, this will all be resolved in the upcoming weeks, and I will be sure to post again as soon as I know where I’ll be. And, to all of you who have asked for a more permanent address, I apologize for not responding: I just wanted to make sure I was settled before I gave that out, and as of now, I’m not. Wish me luck, and I promise I’ll throw in more happy posts along with these not-happy ones, because in between all of this crap, I’ve been having a great time with the Japanese volunteers, a Swedish woman who owns the bar/restaurant in town, and a couple from Ireland and Germany who are opening up a dive shop, and mostly, the other PCVs.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Alicia gets a new friend!
Despite the previous puppy setbacks, I brought home a puppy friend last week, and, after that tumultuous week, think we’re finally going to be alright! I chose a little brown puppy with a white patch of fur around his neck and white front legs to come home with me- he’s very sweet, loves playing with people, and follows people everywhere. For this reason, I named him “Muimui” which means “to follow” in Tongan. We had a lovely first few days together, but then, Muimui disappeared. I walked around the compound calling for him, until one of my neighbors told me he had seen a boy from a nearby house take the puppy that morning. I walked over, told the boy to give me back my puppy, and we were good to go. However, the next day, he went missing again. This time, some boys at the high school dormitory across the rugby field from my house found him and returned him to me, mostly in hopes of making a good impression on the pelangi. Still, I was so happy to have my dog back. Two days later, he went missing again, from inside my closed fence, meaning someone had taken him. He was gone for two days, and I was very sad and thought he was gone for good, and that I should give up on the idea of even having a puppy.
However, when Brett went to school that morning, which is just down the road from my school, he saw him in the school yard: a little boy had taken him and brought him to school with him. As soon as Muimui saw Brett, he came running up, so excited to see him again. Kate brought him back to their house, fed him (he was starving), and I took him back home on Friday. Since then, we’ve been having a wonderful time. He came out with us when we hung out at the one restaurant/bar in town with all the other expats; he ran following me on my bike when I went to the market; and he’s generally just an adorable little puppy, liking to sleep a lot and play and explore. Currently, I’m working on house-training him, as he’s developed a fondness for peeing on my rugs, and making him bit and scratch a little less hard. But, he’s a fun little puppy, and it’s so nice to have a friend at home when it gets lonely here.
However, when Brett went to school that morning, which is just down the road from my school, he saw him in the school yard: a little boy had taken him and brought him to school with him. As soon as Muimui saw Brett, he came running up, so excited to see him again. Kate brought him back to their house, fed him (he was starving), and I took him back home on Friday. Since then, we’ve been having a wonderful time. He came out with us when we hung out at the one restaurant/bar in town with all the other expats; he ran following me on my bike when I went to the market; and he’s generally just an adorable little puppy, liking to sleep a lot and play and explore. Currently, I’m working on house-training him, as he’s developed a fondness for peeing on my rugs, and making him bit and scratch a little less hard. But, he’s a fun little puppy, and it’s so nice to have a friend at home when it gets lonely here.
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