On Saturday we attended the first day of The General Fono. It was a very special day on Fakofo, because the Faipule, the Chief of Tokelau, is this year from Fakaofo. Everyone has been working like mad to prepare enough food for all of the visitors from Atufu and Nukunonu; not to mention all of the dancing and singing practices!
I will write a full description of the events and add photos during the weekend, but for now I have to get home to see if the roof is still up, and not on the floor of our living room!
Tonight there will be lots of singing and dancing competitions between the three atolls, so all going well the rain holds off so we can get over to Fale in the boat and stay dry!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Enough of the school stuff...
Our home is getting homelier and homelier every day and Matt has done and amazing job cleaning and organising our belongings. It’s the finishing touches that now make it not just a house, but a home!
On Friday night we had the new Fijian teacher, Kelemeni, around for dinner. It was a special dinner because it was fish from the inati last Sunday and homemade coconut cream.
The inati is held each Saturday over on Fale (say Hwa-lay), sharing out the fish among the nuku (village) from the men’s fishing trips. This week we got three medium sized fish and last night was the night to test one out.
After thawing it all night and all day in the fridge to keep the flies away from it, I was finally ready to fillet it. I have to admit I felt pretty sorry for the fish, with the undignified way I approached the filleting. I really should have paid more attention to ‘Gone Fishing’. Anyway, eventually I had a nice bowl of cubed fish bits. It went back into the fridge while I attacked a coconut with an enormous meat clever.
After much laughter from Kelemeni, he demonstrated how to sharpen a strong stick and stand it up in the ground to husk the coconut… at least that’s what he hoped to achieve. He couldn’t ram the stick into the hard coral ground and the stick ended up breaking instead of the coconut, which just goes to show how hard the coconut husk is. After a while we asked some kids walking by to husk it and they arrived back after just a few minutes.
Next I had to drain the coconut into a bowl and crack-open the nut. On our verandah, attached to a log that doubles as an ants’ nest, we have a metal coconut scraper. By scraping the coconut flesh into the bowl, rubbing it between your fingers and then squeezing it (the palangi way- through a chux-cloth) you end up with fresh coconut cream. Yum!
We have just had Andrew, another VSA based in Atafu arrive to stay with us at ‘Hotel VSA’. We proved that you can lose each other on Fenua Fala (Say Hwen-noola-Hwa-la); just as Andrew got dropped off on the beach next to our house, we walked down the stairs and off to meet him at the wharf. After 20 minutes waiting, a man nearby told us the palangi had been dropped off at our house. Upon returning Andrew was no-where to be seen.
Not being one to sit around for long, Andrew had headed off on a walk and got chatting to our friend Tapu who runs the diesel generator. Eventually he turned up home. Andrew is a technology teacher, and has been very busy helping to organise the workshops on each of the three islands. At the moment he is in an important meeting with the Taupelenga, the elders of the island.
In other news, we went snorkelling on Valentine’s Day, being brave and venturing out to the deep blue of the lagoon. We stood on the edge of the medium blue and looking down, were shocked to see how steep it descended and how far it went. We couldn’t see the bottom, but could see off in the distance some towering mountains of coral and some pretty big fish… no sharks at this stage thankfully, but we did see what we thought was a small moray eel! We didn’t stick around long to ask its name!
This Friday is the first General Fono of the year. Members of the other two islands come to Fakaofo for meetings and competitions such as dancing and singing. It is a particularly important one this time, because it is the year that Fakaofo is the lead island and it will be Foua’s inauguration as the ‘big cheese’ of Tokelau.
We are getting used to the heat. Last night was a bit chilly and when we checked the temperature is was a chilly 27 degrees Celsius. Today I even forgot to take my fan to school and I didn’t complain once that it was too hot! I must be getting used to this life! Having said that, a rain-storm has just kicked in! I love it when it rains!
School Stuff...
Well, we have come to the end of our first week of work. I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard that I only had to teach 9 Year 4’s! How hard could that be?! I arrived Monday morning and quickly I was given my Year 4’s with their desks, a teacher’s desk and a lockable cabinet. A library shelf was wheeled in, complete with a random array of English Sunshine books and three fans due to there being only one wall with windows. Then I was left to it.
The kids can mostly speak English, with the exception of maybe one, and another who can understand some, but who is very reluctant to speak it. As for the others, well, they’re pretty good at spoken English but are very nervous to write. They can recite the alphabet, but cannot put sounds to letters. And while they’re Year 4, it is going to be more like teaching five year olds to write. As for their skills writing in Tokelau… I have no idea! I suspect I will end up spending more time teaching myself how to teach juniors and ESOL that spending too much time training the other teachers!
After a while I managed to track down a box of crayons stashed away in the back of one of the teacher’s cabinets; they were my saviour! I set the kids off drawing a picture of themselves to be laminated onto the back of their essential English words list. The kids are all very likeable but a few can be a bit too cheeky at times and getting them to finish their work quickly was an up-hill battle at times.
By Wednesday I was exhausted. The classroom was a heat trap and I don’t think I have ever sweated so much in my life! The kids were noisy and off-task most of the time and time felt so slow! While the kids were driving me crazy I did feel really sorry for them! Imagine, at 8 years old, being thrown in with a foreign language teacher, who runs different routines and in stiflingly hot weather! The poor kids were probably exhausted too.
Anyway, it was nothing that a stern word from the deputy principal couldn’t sort out on Thursday! Matt came along to class to help for the day too, which took the pressure off me a lot. I’ve begun to develop some routines so the children know what to expect each day and at home in the evenings I have become well aquainted with my trusty laminator making lots of basic classroom resources. So far: Monitor chart, Essential Word lists 1 and 2 flash cards, board games for lists 1-3, maths bingo cards (a real hit!) tens frames, number flash cards, number fans and “Today is/tomorrow is/yesterday was” poster, days of the week cards and some consonant blend cards, number charts, bubble puzzles, four sets of ‘loopy’ and a family of facts game, ‘Beans’.
Eventually I hope to have so many games and activities that the children can do a lot independently while I work with small groups of three at a time for maths and reading. At the moment they are very reliant on me and I must hear a hundred times a day, “Teacher! Teacher!”.
It was a nice way for the week to end when Timu arrived in with two coconuts and a massive yellow-finned tuna for us! With there being no freezer at school I sent it home with another child to give to Matt who was in a meeting at the high school with the principal!
Matt is currently the PE teacher and part time Year 4 teacher aide! He’s trying to avoid teaching English and Music! Every second Friday he is in charge of teaching the whole high school PE and Health, and he has a Year 11 class on Monday mornings.
The kids can mostly speak English, with the exception of maybe one, and another who can understand some, but who is very reluctant to speak it. As for the others, well, they’re pretty good at spoken English but are very nervous to write. They can recite the alphabet, but cannot put sounds to letters. And while they’re Year 4, it is going to be more like teaching five year olds to write. As for their skills writing in Tokelau… I have no idea! I suspect I will end up spending more time teaching myself how to teach juniors and ESOL that spending too much time training the other teachers!
After a while I managed to track down a box of crayons stashed away in the back of one of the teacher’s cabinets; they were my saviour! I set the kids off drawing a picture of themselves to be laminated onto the back of their essential English words list. The kids are all very likeable but a few can be a bit too cheeky at times and getting them to finish their work quickly was an up-hill battle at times.
By Wednesday I was exhausted. The classroom was a heat trap and I don’t think I have ever sweated so much in my life! The kids were noisy and off-task most of the time and time felt so slow! While the kids were driving me crazy I did feel really sorry for them! Imagine, at 8 years old, being thrown in with a foreign language teacher, who runs different routines and in stiflingly hot weather! The poor kids were probably exhausted too.
Anyway, it was nothing that a stern word from the deputy principal couldn’t sort out on Thursday! Matt came along to class to help for the day too, which took the pressure off me a lot. I’ve begun to develop some routines so the children know what to expect each day and at home in the evenings I have become well aquainted with my trusty laminator making lots of basic classroom resources. So far: Monitor chart, Essential Word lists 1 and 2 flash cards, board games for lists 1-3, maths bingo cards (a real hit!) tens frames, number flash cards, number fans and “Today is/tomorrow is/yesterday was” poster, days of the week cards and some consonant blend cards, number charts, bubble puzzles, four sets of ‘loopy’ and a family of facts game, ‘Beans’.
Eventually I hope to have so many games and activities that the children can do a lot independently while I work with small groups of three at a time for maths and reading. At the moment they are very reliant on me and I must hear a hundred times a day, “Teacher! Teacher!”.
It was a nice way for the week to end when Timu arrived in with two coconuts and a massive yellow-finned tuna for us! With there being no freezer at school I sent it home with another child to give to Matt who was in a meeting at the high school with the principal!
Matt is currently the PE teacher and part time Year 4 teacher aide! He’s trying to avoid teaching English and Music! Every second Friday he is in charge of teaching the whole high school PE and Health, and he has a Year 11 class on Monday mornings.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Settling in
We have had a quiet first few days, acclimatising and getting to know a few locals on Fenua Fala. We have met a lovely family from Kiribati, the grandfather is a teacher at the high school, his son-n-law is the baker and his daughter, Manuia, is in my Year 4 class. This morning she arrived at our doorstep with a loaf of fresh bread and with a promise of fish this evening and then took me to school.
I was the first to arrive at school at 8am. Eventually the school boat arrived at the teachers and students wandered into the leafy, tropical school grounds. I met Livi, the Deputy Principal and he showed me around the school. I was introduced to the children and we started getting some furniture into the classroom.
It will be interesting, my journey of becoming a Year 4 teacher, especially since all of the students are English as a second language, but it will be made easier with the fact I only have nine students! My first problem was how to group the desks… I know how to group 30, I know how to group 24, I could even manage 12, but how do you group just 9?!!!
I survived the first day, the children leaving to catch the school boat at 1.20pm, and the teachers leaving at 2.20pm. Hmmm… I could get used to this! I know have the key to the school, as the Deputy knew that tomorrow I would be the first there to open up.
Matt’s been busy at home and out and about on Fale today; going to the bank, and shopping for cleaning product to scrub the VSA house.
We have had the choice of two houses on Fenua Fala. The palangi-style VSA house, next to the breezy lagoon, or a more traditional house, further back from the lagoon. The VSA house is in a shambolic state, but is a much cooler option with fewer mosquitoes. The traditional home is very clean and tidy, with a bigger water tank, but is in a heat trap and has far more mosquitoes. After much toil we’ve chosen the breezy, cockroach ridden, mildewy mess.
I was the first to arrive at school at 8am. Eventually the school boat arrived at the teachers and students wandered into the leafy, tropical school grounds. I met Livi, the Deputy Principal and he showed me around the school. I was introduced to the children and we started getting some furniture into the classroom.
It will be interesting, my journey of becoming a Year 4 teacher, especially since all of the students are English as a second language, but it will be made easier with the fact I only have nine students! My first problem was how to group the desks… I know how to group 30, I know how to group 24, I could even manage 12, but how do you group just 9?!!!
I survived the first day, the children leaving to catch the school boat at 1.20pm, and the teachers leaving at 2.20pm. Hmmm… I could get used to this! I know have the key to the school, as the Deputy knew that tomorrow I would be the first there to open up.
Matt’s been busy at home and out and about on Fale today; going to the bank, and shopping for cleaning product to scrub the VSA house.
We have had the choice of two houses on Fenua Fala. The palangi-style VSA house, next to the breezy lagoon, or a more traditional house, further back from the lagoon. The VSA house is in a shambolic state, but is a much cooler option with fewer mosquitoes. The traditional home is very clean and tidy, with a bigger water tank, but is in a heat trap and has far more mosquitoes. After much toil we’ve chosen the breezy, cockroach ridden, mildewy mess.
Monday, February 2, 2009
The boat...
Here's the boat, MV Tokelau... 36m, that we leave on tomorrow morning at 9am. 30 hours... Wish us luck!
Friday, January 30, 2009
A lot to do...
Well, all I really want to do is sit by a swimming pool and be able to go for a swim to cool down every five minutes! Unfortunately our hotel doesn't have a pool, it is morbidly hot and humid outside and I have so much to do!
Our boat leaves for Tokelau on Tuesday at 9am (NZ Wed 9am). Before then Matt and I have to go shopping for anything and everything we might need in Tokelau. I'm looking forward to buying a plastic laundry basket and filling it with fruit and veges to take back with us. If we buy any meat we need to cut it up into the right portion sizes, package it and bring it to the Tokelau Apia Liason office to be frozen for the boat trip.
We also need to organise a contact in Apia who will be able to purchase fresh fruit and veges for us in Apia each fortnight and who will ensure they get on the boat for us to receive at the other end! We need to buy fans and fishing line and God knows what else!
We have learned that having a water purification system would be useful, otherwise we can simply boil our water... It would have been nice to know these things before we left NZ, but there's no point worrying about things like that now!
We have learnt about some of the rules that each of the atolls have. On Fakaofo women are not allowed to wear shorts or trousers, they must wear skirts or sarongs. Each evening at 6pm a bell will ring, when you hear this you must head home for prayer time. If you get caught out away from home, you must stay where you are to observe this time quietly. If you are caught on the streets there may be a policeman who will ask you to sit down where you are.
After a while a second bell goes to let you know you are free to roam again. Eventually another couple of bells will go to tell people to go home at various different time. From memory, everyone needs to be home by 9.30pm.
We are currently trying to ensure that we live on Fenua Fala, not Fale. Apparently Fale is a concrete jungle of corrugated iron that heats up to form a heat trap. It would also be useful to have easy access to the school whenever I need it, so that I can get on with the copious amounts of work that I will be doing while there to help establish systems in the school for planning, assessment and reporting to the Taupulega (Elders/Government/Board of Trustees etc...) Not to mention specific teacher training... Hmmm... does this role sound like a deputy or principal to you?
Anyway, it has not all been work, work, work. Each afternoon we have had free to ourselves. Matt and I have been able to explore Palolo Deep, a great marine reserve in Apia, and Papa Seea, Sliding Rocks, a system of water falls up in the hills behind Apia. While there we saw some kamikaze teens doing some pretty amazing high dives and barefoot-snowboarding styles down the smooth, mossy water swept rocks. I was brave enough to have one go at sliding down, but the whole way feared for my life! Maybe one day I'll do it again, but I'm happy for that to be a little way off yet!
Anyway, I'd better stop procrastinating about going out into the heat of the day. There are lava lavas to buy and last minute comforts of home to buy!
Our boat leaves for Tokelau on Tuesday at 9am (NZ Wed 9am). Before then Matt and I have to go shopping for anything and everything we might need in Tokelau. I'm looking forward to buying a plastic laundry basket and filling it with fruit and veges to take back with us. If we buy any meat we need to cut it up into the right portion sizes, package it and bring it to the Tokelau Apia Liason office to be frozen for the boat trip.
We also need to organise a contact in Apia who will be able to purchase fresh fruit and veges for us in Apia each fortnight and who will ensure they get on the boat for us to receive at the other end! We need to buy fans and fishing line and God knows what else!
We have learned that having a water purification system would be useful, otherwise we can simply boil our water... It would have been nice to know these things before we left NZ, but there's no point worrying about things like that now!
We have learnt about some of the rules that each of the atolls have. On Fakaofo women are not allowed to wear shorts or trousers, they must wear skirts or sarongs. Each evening at 6pm a bell will ring, when you hear this you must head home for prayer time. If you get caught out away from home, you must stay where you are to observe this time quietly. If you are caught on the streets there may be a policeman who will ask you to sit down where you are.
After a while a second bell goes to let you know you are free to roam again. Eventually another couple of bells will go to tell people to go home at various different time. From memory, everyone needs to be home by 9.30pm.
We are currently trying to ensure that we live on Fenua Fala, not Fale. Apparently Fale is a concrete jungle of corrugated iron that heats up to form a heat trap. It would also be useful to have easy access to the school whenever I need it, so that I can get on with the copious amounts of work that I will be doing while there to help establish systems in the school for planning, assessment and reporting to the Taupulega (Elders/Government/Board of Trustees etc...) Not to mention specific teacher training... Hmmm... does this role sound like a deputy or principal to you?
Anyway, it has not all been work, work, work. Each afternoon we have had free to ourselves. Matt and I have been able to explore Palolo Deep, a great marine reserve in Apia, and Papa Seea, Sliding Rocks, a system of water falls up in the hills behind Apia. While there we saw some kamikaze teens doing some pretty amazing high dives and barefoot-snowboarding styles down the smooth, mossy water swept rocks. I was brave enough to have one go at sliding down, but the whole way feared for my life! Maybe one day I'll do it again, but I'm happy for that to be a little way off yet!Anyway, I'd better stop procrastinating about going out into the heat of the day. There are lava lavas to buy and last minute comforts of home to buy!
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