New endeavors

This'll be a quickie, just to let you know that I'm back in 'Otea (though not at this exact moment)and very glad to be so. Was just talking with one of the other PCVs about how when he gets on a plane to come back to Tonga now after a vacation he thinks of himself as coming home. I've definitely felt this way for awhile. As frustrating and challenging as it can be, 'Otea is my community.

This first week back was something of a disappointment. No teaching happened for an entire week. The students came to school everyday, so did the teachers and so did I, but the students just played while the teachers caught up on paperwork and records. And me, well, I tried not to get too frustrated. Some officials are coming from the Ministry of Education next week to assess our school, so the teachers are totally focused on that. Also, at the end of the week we handed out the report cards from the first term and had a PTA meeting, our second of the year. I wrote a little speech beforehand and had my counterpart (the principal) correct it (it was in Tongan) and then delivered it! I formally asked all the parents to allow their kids their to stay after school one day a week for an hour to attend the library program I wanted to start. Of course they agreed.

So this past week has been pretty busy and different as my routine has totally changed to accommodate the daily library program. So far so good! I spent most of the time this week teaching the kids the rules, making them wash their hands before they come in, practicing taking books off the shelves and turning the pages. We have so few book though they are of good quality and I want to make sure the kids know how to take care of them. Class 3 and 4 had library time together because school closed early Wednesday due to crazy stormy weather. Class 6 is supposed to be on Fridays, but there's no actual instruction on Fridays and many families go into town. It's just a pretty disorganized day so library time didn't happen today for them. The principal and decided Class 1 and 6 (so Kindergarten and 5th grade) would have library time together. This is a tricky move. I'm hoping the older students will set an example for the younger ones and that I'll be able to train the older students into reading to the younger ones but both of those things are a long way off. I hope we've made the right decision. I'm glad our school is so small. Eleven students (Class 1 and 6 combined) can only get so out of hand . . . right?

Also new and big this week - I'm teaching dance class! This is surely one of the best uses of my skills here. Cross-cultural connections to the max. I spent the whole month of March learning and performing religious "action songs" with 'Otea's Wesleyan church. And now this week my neighbor Fipe (see earlier post) asked me if I could teach a dance to the Mormon fine'ofa (read: women's group). They want something new to perform at the annual Mormon conference, which is being held in 'Otea this year. Originally I thought they wanted a religious worship-type dance, like what they'd taught me, so that's what I brought to the first "class" on Tuesday. The frowns I got after my long hours of choreographing and fretting about appropriateness sent me into tears I let out later while walking on the beach. It took lots of flurried Tongan from all sides for me to figure out that they really wanted something jazzier. They wanted a "disco" piece, the way palangis really dance they told me! Oh dear. This required an even more careful treading of the cross-cultural line. Nightclub dancing, I asked? No. So on Wednesday I ended up teaching them the Cupid Shuffle. Or at least the chorus of it. They don't know the song of course and there was lots of teasing poking fun, but they liked it! On Thursday Fipe's mother-in-law even came, who's in her 60's and joined it. Even better, she turned out to be the best one! She picked it up quicker than anyone else.

Whether or not we have a working CD player is iffy, they still only know the chorus but I'm holding dance class at the Mormon church Tuesday-Thursday! Yet another thing to add to the list of things I never thought I'd be doing in Tonga that are now part of my daily life. So far we've only learned two sets of steps. I wanted to see how well they did with the style and how easy it was for them to pick up before I choreographed more. But it's true, I'm successfully introducing the Cupid Shuffle to my little outer island in Tonga. Buy your plane tickets now and you too can see it in action - the conference is the middle of June.