Okay friends, hop on over to
www.tonganchronicles.blogspot.com
for my official new blog! I won't necessarily discontinue this one, but I want to start a new blog specifically for my Peace Corps experience!
Thanks for following! Toki sio! (See you later)
Jamie
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Just Add Coconut Milk
Greetings, American-lings. Sorry for my extended alienation from the communicative world, but I am alive and well, about 10 pounds lighter, much more freckly, a bit more blonde, and slightly more faka-Tonga (Tongan). I am back on the main island (Tongatapu) as of yesterday, when I flew in from Ha'apai as the ending of my PST, pre-service training. PST included 4 weeks of language training and 3 1/2 weeks of technical (education) training. It was a bit tiring and slightly overwhelming at times, but it was amazing! My host family was sooooo great!
Here are some brief hilights of my time on Ha'apai:
--My morning exercise (fakamalohisino) was accompanied by 3 great lady friends, a hilarious pack of dogs, pigs that the dogs loved to chase, and occasional chickens that squawked at our Palangi (white people) intrusion.
--I now speak a Tongan-English creole mix. Just wait until I talk to you on the phone. Then you'll understand. Or maybe you won't understand. Tehe.
--I sang in church with my host family, who I call the Von Trapps faka-Tonga. (Like from the Sound of Music.)
--My house was very Palangi...running water from the sima vai (water tank that Australians donated to all Tongan houses), a sink, a cold shower (which is great in such hot weather,) and 3 ovens! The ovens are because my former host mom is the bread baker for Foa, the island. She's pretty terrific.
--Baking was a huge event for my village group...pies, cakes, fried rice, potato casserole... my mom also loved it, because I taught her new recipes and gave her a journal of recipes for a going-away present!
--Tongans cook many dishes with coconut milk, and it is ifo aupito! (very delicious)
--I've probably swallowed a decent amount of small bones of fish and chicken and mutton because boneless meat does not exist here.
--Lava-lavas (sarongs) are ingenious. They are great for lounging AND going to the beach. Here, unless you're in the capital, you only wear pants/long shorts for fakamalohisino (exercise...remember?) :)
--For Thanksgiving, we Peace Corps Trainees and staff had a feast and it was great. My group made caramel pies, sweet potato pies (used with the delish purple sweet potatoes here...the pies were so pretty), a strawberry/yellow marble cake, and brownies. We were a hit.
--I've sang and played ukulele more here than I probably have my whole life, if you can beleive it. It's great though!
--For culture day, our last day in Ha'apai, I did the tau'olunga, basically a single ladies' dance. I wore tapa cloth, which pretty much turned into a strapless dress that they had to pin so my huhu (boobs) wouldn't fall out, and I was coated in oil so passers-by/supporters of the dance could stick money on me. Oh yeah, I rocked it. I'll post the video as soon as I can.
--My PC friends here are AMAZING!!! I have friends from all over now...so when I go back, I can tuh-ravvvellll, woot woot!
--Surprisingly, there are more midwesterners and southerners than far-Westies or North-easties. It's definitely not what I expected.
--There are 26 PC trainees (future volunteers...as of in a week and a day!) in our group, Group 76.
--I have a friend from Maine! Isn't that exciting?!!
--Coconut water is brilliantly awesome.
--I have a cell phone... please let me know if you want my number!
--Tongan choirs are great....a bit loud sometimes when they scream, but all around, it's awesome.
--I nicknamed my former host dad "mui mana", which translates to 'butt thunder." You can probably understand why.
--I'm constantly debating whether or not to cut my hair. Surprised?
--I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Holy moly. Hot weather and coconut trees do not communicate Christmas to me.
--Research "kava ceremonies" in the Pacific Islands... I will probably talk about it in the future. In a nutshell, I was a toua, which means server.
--I've read two great books, one is "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Leguin...my friend Whitney (whose wedding I was supposed to be in in Oct.) gave it to me, along with a million other books, and I loved it!
--So far, I've gotten two cards and one package. I've sadly not written as much as I thought I would during training, but I will have lots of free time in January, so hopefully i'll get more letters out!
--I have an awesome traditional Tongan outfit that my host family had made for me... it's a yellow with a top and tupenu (traditional skirt thing) with sea shells, turtles, and a kava bowl on it. Super cool.
--Google 'kiekie' or 'ta'ovala'. That's what we wear every day.
--It is now weird for me to see a guy in pants. I often do a double take.
--I have sexy tanlines on my arms. Really sexy ones.
--I wake up every morning to roosters, who, despite what you see in movies, do not only crow at 4-5 am. They also open their obnoxious beaks at 7 and 8 and 9 and 12 and 2 and 5 and 7 and 9... I friggin hate roosters now.
--I've been to one putu (funeral), and it was interesting. I have a video for it, too.
That's all I can think of now. In really important news, I will be sworn in (assuming all goes well...which means passing the oral Tongan exam and the policies test) on Dec. 15th, so my service starts Dec. 16th.
*Just a side note, I can't tell specific info. such as names (without permission) or my specific location. Oh, and my views and opinions are not the views and opinions of Peace Corps. I kind of had to do that.
Peace out, homedogs. I shall update soon, I hope!
Here are some brief hilights of my time on Ha'apai:
--My morning exercise (fakamalohisino) was accompanied by 3 great lady friends, a hilarious pack of dogs, pigs that the dogs loved to chase, and occasional chickens that squawked at our Palangi (white people) intrusion.
--I now speak a Tongan-English creole mix. Just wait until I talk to you on the phone. Then you'll understand. Or maybe you won't understand. Tehe.
--I sang in church with my host family, who I call the Von Trapps faka-Tonga. (Like from the Sound of Music.)
--My house was very Palangi...running water from the sima vai (water tank that Australians donated to all Tongan houses), a sink, a cold shower (which is great in such hot weather,) and 3 ovens! The ovens are because my former host mom is the bread baker for Foa, the island. She's pretty terrific.
--Baking was a huge event for my village group...pies, cakes, fried rice, potato casserole... my mom also loved it, because I taught her new recipes and gave her a journal of recipes for a going-away present!
--Tongans cook many dishes with coconut milk, and it is ifo aupito! (very delicious)
--I've probably swallowed a decent amount of small bones of fish and chicken and mutton because boneless meat does not exist here.
--Lava-lavas (sarongs) are ingenious. They are great for lounging AND going to the beach. Here, unless you're in the capital, you only wear pants/long shorts for fakamalohisino (exercise...remember?) :)
--For Thanksgiving, we Peace Corps Trainees and staff had a feast and it was great. My group made caramel pies, sweet potato pies (used with the delish purple sweet potatoes here...the pies were so pretty), a strawberry/yellow marble cake, and brownies. We were a hit.
--I've sang and played ukulele more here than I probably have my whole life, if you can beleive it. It's great though!
--For culture day, our last day in Ha'apai, I did the tau'olunga, basically a single ladies' dance. I wore tapa cloth, which pretty much turned into a strapless dress that they had to pin so my huhu (boobs) wouldn't fall out, and I was coated in oil so passers-by/supporters of the dance could stick money on me. Oh yeah, I rocked it. I'll post the video as soon as I can.
--My PC friends here are AMAZING!!! I have friends from all over now...so when I go back, I can tuh-ravvvellll, woot woot!
--Surprisingly, there are more midwesterners and southerners than far-Westies or North-easties. It's definitely not what I expected.
--There are 26 PC trainees (future volunteers...as of in a week and a day!) in our group, Group 76.
--I have a friend from Maine! Isn't that exciting?!!
--Coconut water is brilliantly awesome.
--I have a cell phone... please let me know if you want my number!
--Tongan choirs are great....a bit loud sometimes when they scream, but all around, it's awesome.
--I nicknamed my former host dad "mui mana", which translates to 'butt thunder." You can probably understand why.
--I'm constantly debating whether or not to cut my hair. Surprised?
--I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Holy moly. Hot weather and coconut trees do not communicate Christmas to me.
--Research "kava ceremonies" in the Pacific Islands... I will probably talk about it in the future. In a nutshell, I was a toua, which means server.
--I've read two great books, one is "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Leguin...my friend Whitney (whose wedding I was supposed to be in in Oct.) gave it to me, along with a million other books, and I loved it!
--So far, I've gotten two cards and one package. I've sadly not written as much as I thought I would during training, but I will have lots of free time in January, so hopefully i'll get more letters out!
--I have an awesome traditional Tongan outfit that my host family had made for me... it's a yellow with a top and tupenu (traditional skirt thing) with sea shells, turtles, and a kava bowl on it. Super cool.
--Google 'kiekie' or 'ta'ovala'. That's what we wear every day.
--It is now weird for me to see a guy in pants. I often do a double take.
--I have sexy tanlines on my arms. Really sexy ones.
--I wake up every morning to roosters, who, despite what you see in movies, do not only crow at 4-5 am. They also open their obnoxious beaks at 7 and 8 and 9 and 12 and 2 and 5 and 7 and 9... I friggin hate roosters now.
--I've been to one putu (funeral), and it was interesting. I have a video for it, too.
That's all I can think of now. In really important news, I will be sworn in (assuming all goes well...which means passing the oral Tongan exam and the policies test) on Dec. 15th, so my service starts Dec. 16th.
*Just a side note, I can't tell specific info. such as names (without permission) or my specific location. Oh, and my views and opinions are not the views and opinions of Peace Corps. I kind of had to do that.
Peace out, homedogs. I shall update soon, I hope!
Monday, October 4, 2010
So long, Farewell, I'm Going to Tonga!
We're pretty much leaving as we speak, so I wanted to say thanks! Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting me, for encouraging me.
I haven't made the new blog yet--I want to get a clearance from the PC, but hopefully I'll have one up and running soon! Also, if you guys are interested in my mailing address, no worries, I"ll post it on here as soon as possible--and if you guys ever want to email me, please do! My email is jamie.ogles997@wku.edu. I would love to hear from you!
Anyway, thanks for everything!
Tau kamata! (Let's begin!...in Tongan) :D
I haven't made the new blog yet--I want to get a clearance from the PC, but hopefully I'll have one up and running soon! Also, if you guys are interested in my mailing address, no worries, I"ll post it on here as soon as possible--and if you guys ever want to email me, please do! My email is jamie.ogles997@wku.edu. I would love to hear from you!
Anyway, thanks for everything!
Tau kamata! (Let's begin!...in Tongan) :D
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Holy Last Day, Batman!
8am- wake up to my mysteriously-set watch alarm, snooze it about a million times
9-ish- official wake-up time
-shower
-eat breakfast and watch cartoons
-start curling hair
-put on church clothes that resemble Mr. Rodgers' wife...if he had one. (collared shirt, long baggy cardigan...yessss)
-play piano to keep Ella from screaming/crying more...I think it worked! woop!
-anxiously remember things I have to get done today, which may include my 5th trip to Bowling Green since Tuesday.
Things to come:
-celebration lunch
-last-minute shopping
-packing
-paperwork
-more packing to break up the paperwork
-friend time
-family time
---DQ Blizzards!
---movie (?)
-more packing
-bedtime
Monday morning shedule (I spelled it like this to get that British effect.)
-sometimes between 6-7...shower. Or I may skip it, depending on my hair.
-sometimes between 7-8 leave
-eat breakfast
-airport btw. 10-10:30
-fly out at 12:05
-get to LAX at 4-something
-Registration at some hotel at 6
Tuesday
-orientation begins 8am-all friggin day
-leave for Tonga at 11:15
-10 1/2 hours later, land in Samoa
-1 1/2 hour flight to Tonga
Begin....life. :)
9-ish- official wake-up time
-shower
-eat breakfast and watch cartoons
-start curling hair
-put on church clothes that resemble Mr. Rodgers' wife...if he had one. (collared shirt, long baggy cardigan...yessss)
-play piano to keep Ella from screaming/crying more...I think it worked! woop!
-anxiously remember things I have to get done today, which may include my 5th trip to Bowling Green since Tuesday.
Things to come:
-celebration lunch
-last-minute shopping
-packing
-paperwork
-more packing to break up the paperwork
-friend time
-family time
---DQ Blizzards!
---movie (?)
-more packing
-bedtime
Monday morning shedule (I spelled it like this to get that British effect.)
-sometimes between 6-7...shower. Or I may skip it, depending on my hair.
-sometimes between 7-8 leave
-eat breakfast
-airport btw. 10-10:30
-fly out at 12:05
-get to LAX at 4-something
-Registration at some hotel at 6
Tuesday
-orientation begins 8am-all friggin day
-leave for Tonga at 11:15
-10 1/2 hours later, land in Samoa
-1 1/2 hour flight to Tonga
Begin....life. :)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sentimentality-Cramming
I think I'm pushing myself to do things for 'the last time' before I leave, and isn't that funny?
"Oh, I wanna eat sushi one more time before Tonga!" "Let's walk the farm one last time!" "Let's get DQ blizzards ONE more time" (which I'm sure will be like...every night. Let's face it, I love a blizzard.)
I'm eating lunch with a friend in 15 minutes, tonight is my last day of church at Hillvue, tomorrow is my last haircut and my last party with my Bowling Green friends/best friends in the world, Friday will be my last day with my brother in law, Friday night will be my last time of seeing Beauty and the Beast (live! woohoo!) AND my last night on campus, Saturday will be my last get-together with the family, and Sunday will be full of packing, stressing, preparing, clothes-scrambling, dancing (it relieves stress for me), and playing the piano for the last time.
UGH. Sentimentality gets on my nerves. I think it strikes a nerve in me where my anatomical alarm system says, "Abort! Abort! Detach! Get away!", yet my human self wants to sit in the middle of my ginormous suitcase in a pile of zip-lop bags and long hippie skirts while singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" between sobs.
"Oh, I wanna eat sushi one more time before Tonga!" "Let's walk the farm one last time!" "Let's get DQ blizzards ONE more time" (which I'm sure will be like...every night. Let's face it, I love a blizzard.)
I'm eating lunch with a friend in 15 minutes, tonight is my last day of church at Hillvue, tomorrow is my last haircut and my last party with my Bowling Green friends/best friends in the world, Friday will be my last day with my brother in law, Friday night will be my last time of seeing Beauty and the Beast (live! woohoo!) AND my last night on campus, Saturday will be my last get-together with the family, and Sunday will be full of packing, stressing, preparing, clothes-scrambling, dancing (it relieves stress for me), and playing the piano for the last time.
UGH. Sentimentality gets on my nerves. I think it strikes a nerve in me where my anatomical alarm system says, "Abort! Abort! Detach! Get away!", yet my human self wants to sit in the middle of my ginormous suitcase in a pile of zip-lop bags and long hippie skirts while singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" between sobs.
Monday, September 27, 2010
6 Days Left! Update
I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Louisville and, let me tell you, I've hit the ground running. I tutor tonight, have Bible study tomorrow, church on Wed. (as well as my sis and her family come in), haircut and party on Thursday, Beauty and the Beast the Musical on Friday at WKU (yay!), party on Saturday, church and extreme-packing on Sunday, and I leave from Nashville at 12-something to fly to Dallas and then LA for staging. Holy crazy brain, batman!
A lot of you have asked about postage info and all that jazz. Let me just TELLLLL you the small plan that I know :)
I arrive in Nuku'alofa (the main Tongan island) and stay in a guest house for a few days. Then, we take a 35 minute plane ride (8-10 hours by boat...holy cow!) to Ha'apai, where I will live with a host family until early December. I will receive my PC training in Ha'apai and, if and when I get sworn in on Dec. 15, I will find out where my service actually is...AKA "Name That Island!"
In Nuku'alofa...or maybe it's Ha'apai, we will receive cell phones and I'll buy phone cards to call America. Also, there are internet cafes on both islands, so I'll have email access, etc. However, I won't get a lot of opportunities to do the whole email thing during training because the program is pretty darn intensive, and they encourage us to use most of our down time to hang out with our host family and socialize with others to improve our Tongan speech and relationships with others. That was a huge run-on sentence and I'm too tired to fix it, so sorry.
Also: several of you have said you wanted to send care packages. That is AWESOME and greatly appreciated! I'm sure in a few months I"ll know what i DEFINITELY need, but a lot of it also depends on which island I'm on once I start teaching. I know that feminine products there are either crappy or nonexistent, so any box of tampons/ pads/pantiliners will be welcomed with open arms. Other things like shampoo/condit., razors, soap, American candy, and letters are definitely and warmly accepted.
I should warn that the mail takes 4-6 weeks...the mail service in Tonga seems a big lax, and they also warn not to send anything valuable. If at all possible, send stuff in a padded envelope...boxes tend to be opened and swiped, so...yeah! (Silly Tongans.)
Another word about communication: I hope to start a brand new blog that is only for my PC service. I know it has to be approved once I'm there, and I can't reveal certain information, but I'm hoping that will work. If you have any ideas as to a title, please let me know. Right now, I'm still feeling "LOST: the Tonga Chronicles." It may be a little melo-dramatic, but I'm totally up for suggestions. :)
A lot of you have asked about postage info and all that jazz. Let me just TELLLLL you the small plan that I know :)
I arrive in Nuku'alofa (the main Tongan island) and stay in a guest house for a few days. Then, we take a 35 minute plane ride (8-10 hours by boat...holy cow!) to Ha'apai, where I will live with a host family until early December. I will receive my PC training in Ha'apai and, if and when I get sworn in on Dec. 15, I will find out where my service actually is...AKA "Name That Island!"
In Nuku'alofa...or maybe it's Ha'apai, we will receive cell phones and I'll buy phone cards to call America. Also, there are internet cafes on both islands, so I'll have email access, etc. However, I won't get a lot of opportunities to do the whole email thing during training because the program is pretty darn intensive, and they encourage us to use most of our down time to hang out with our host family and socialize with others to improve our Tongan speech and relationships with others. That was a huge run-on sentence and I'm too tired to fix it, so sorry.
Also: several of you have said you wanted to send care packages. That is AWESOME and greatly appreciated! I'm sure in a few months I"ll know what i DEFINITELY need, but a lot of it also depends on which island I'm on once I start teaching. I know that feminine products there are either crappy or nonexistent, so any box of tampons/ pads/pantiliners will be welcomed with open arms. Other things like shampoo/condit., razors, soap, American candy, and letters are definitely and warmly accepted.
I should warn that the mail takes 4-6 weeks...the mail service in Tonga seems a big lax, and they also warn not to send anything valuable. If at all possible, send stuff in a padded envelope...boxes tend to be opened and swiped, so...yeah! (Silly Tongans.)
Another word about communication: I hope to start a brand new blog that is only for my PC service. I know it has to be approved once I'm there, and I can't reveal certain information, but I'm hoping that will work. If you have any ideas as to a title, please let me know. Right now, I'm still feeling "LOST: the Tonga Chronicles." It may be a little melo-dramatic, but I'm totally up for suggestions. :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I Am Jamie, Dragon-Fighter of the High School World
Last night I had my third dream of fighting a dragon. The dragon is the same one from Sleeping Beauty, so I guess I was the female Prince Phillip. The other two times, I had this awesome sword--a really long one, one only a super strong heroine could handle--so upon my entry in my high school's gym, AKA Dragon Lair, I immediately poked out both its eyes and as it thrashed around, I cut off its head. Bam. Done. Heroine, woot woot!
Not this time. This time I kept running through the hallway where all my math and science classes were, watching the brave souls go in and out of the gym. As far as I know, no one was hurt/killed, but I do remember dressing up in this weird costume and watching two random people from high school dress as Hansel and Gretl in the wing bathroom.
Then someone gave me a dagger. He said, "Here's your dagger, Jamie. You must poke out both its eyes" (which I remembered,) "and then cut off its head."
Woah, turbo: problem here. First of all, I weighed the dagger according to my human calculations as the blade broke off its plastic handle. I snapped it back together thinking, "Okay, not my uber-awesome sword, hmmmm."
Basically, I spent the rest of the time in the bathroom, watching Hansel and Gretl discuss their distraction plan, then I would go in the double doors of the gym and just wait in the lobby, watching the dragon throw a security card across the gym and out the window. Oh yeah, there was one fatality, I assume.
Then, before I knew it, the principal came in, called for lunch break, and the dragon was tamed while all the students went into the gym/cameleon cafeteria to eat hoagies and such. I kept snapping my dagger on and off its handle, thinking there was no way to poke out the dragon's eyes with something the length of my forearm. And plastic.
Not this time. This time I kept running through the hallway where all my math and science classes were, watching the brave souls go in and out of the gym. As far as I know, no one was hurt/killed, but I do remember dressing up in this weird costume and watching two random people from high school dress as Hansel and Gretl in the wing bathroom.
Then someone gave me a dagger. He said, "Here's your dagger, Jamie. You must poke out both its eyes" (which I remembered,) "and then cut off its head."
Woah, turbo: problem here. First of all, I weighed the dagger according to my human calculations as the blade broke off its plastic handle. I snapped it back together thinking, "Okay, not my uber-awesome sword, hmmmm."
Basically, I spent the rest of the time in the bathroom, watching Hansel and Gretl discuss their distraction plan, then I would go in the double doors of the gym and just wait in the lobby, watching the dragon throw a security card across the gym and out the window. Oh yeah, there was one fatality, I assume.
Then, before I knew it, the principal came in, called for lunch break, and the dragon was tamed while all the students went into the gym/cameleon cafeteria to eat hoagies and such. I kept snapping my dagger on and off its handle, thinking there was no way to poke out the dragon's eyes with something the length of my forearm. And plastic.
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