Tag Archives: New Zealand

Building Bridges to the Future

I just finished teaching the first 10-week term at Ocean of Light International Schools in Tonga’s capital of Nuku‘alofa last Friday. It’s like no other experience I’ve had in my 30+ years in the classroom.

Ocean of Light International Schools

Ocean of Light International Schools in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. Click on this photo to read more about the school. • Credit: Ocean of Light International Schools

Every Monday morning the whole school meets together, students sitting on mats on the floor, and begins the day with a devotional of beautiful singing and inspirational thoughts. Throughout the week, this ritual is continued in each individual homeroom class, not only at the beginning of the day, but also at the end of the day.


As you can see in this video, the students wear traditional Tongan uniforms. The girls wear skirts with a blouse tucked in and a kiekie, usually made of woven pandanus palm leaves, which resembles an apron that goes all the way around the skirt. Girls must wear their hair in braids with yellow ribbons. The boys wear shirts tucked inside their tupenu, a wrap-around skirt, over which they wear a taʻovala, a solid mat also made from pandanus palm leaves. The taʻovala the boys wear at school are woven from nylon since they are less expensive than those woven from palm leaves. Each school on the island has their own colors so you can determine which school students attend by the colors of their uniforms. The colors of Ocean of Light International Schools are yellow and blue. Both boys and girls wear sandals for shoes. Flip flops are not allowed.

My school offers educational programs for students as young as three years old up through high school. It’s run by the Bahá’ís of Tonga. The Bahá’í Faith and its teachings provide the foundation for the school. One of the essential principles of the Bahá’í Faith is the belief in “unity in diversity” and the need to establish communities free of all forms of prejudice. As such, students and staff of all religious, cultural, socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds are welcome at the school and all are treated equally.

Bahai

Bahá’í Principles • Credit: vivaciousvjr via Pinterest.com

All classes are taught in English, but there are several students who speak no or very little English. Most of the students’ native languages at home are Tongan or Chinese. There are several students whose parents are from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and India.

The majority of the students are extremely respectful and well-behaved. They are not allowed to have cell phones or other mobile devices on campus.

Students

Students at Ocean of Light International Schools • Credit: Ocean of Light International Schools

I teach Information and Communication Technology (ICT) using a curriculum based on the Cambridge International Examination Program. My biggest challenge is the technology, or better put, the lack of technology at the school. When I first arrived there were nine computers in the lab that actually worked. Now I have 20 that work most of the time. (Some classes have as many as 35 students.)

OOL Computer Lab

The school’s computer lab within view of a coconut plantation.

Last week, there was no Internet and the server was down since the main building where it was located had no electricity. There is one laptop computer for all the teachers to share as well as one projector. None of the teachers have their own computers in the classrooms so a few usually come to use computers in the lab during their recess or lunch time.

There is no air-conditioning in the school. The first two weeks of school were absolutely miserable with heat. (I was ready to quit after three days!) A cyclone blew through in the end of February and cooled things off a bit. The summer heat has finally abated. I am told that February and March are the hottest months here. Remember, Tonga is in the Southern Hemisphere, so we are in autumn–the equivalence of October in the Northern Hemisphere.

With no air conditioning, the computer lab is open to the outside. Dust, humidity and insects take their toll on the equipment.

With no air conditioning, the computer lab is open to the outside elements. Dust, humidity and insects take their toll on the equipment.

And to make matters even more challenging, the second ICT teacher left in the middle of the term to teach at another school, leaving me to teach all the classes, Grades 3-12, as well as to maintain the computer network.

Despite the challenges, I do enjoy teaching at the school.

I love this quote by Nikos Kazantazkis: “True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.”

At the end of the day I joyfully collapse, in hopes that I will be able to help these students build a bridge to their future.

When Life Hands You Lemons, Bring on the Lemonade

Sūsana and I spent this spring and summer preparing for 27 months of Peace Corps service in Tonga. We shopped for luggage, clothes and supplies. It consumed our thoughts and actions most days. We tied up loose ends as we looked forward to making a difference in a beautiful part of the world.

I retired from American Airlines in March, the same day Sūsana returned from eight months of Peace Corps Response service in El Salvador. I picked her up in Miami after working my last shift and we celebrated with steak, grilled asparagus and chocolate cake at a favorite restaurant.

Susana teaching butterfly biology in El Salvador during her service with Peace Corps Response. Click on this photo to read about her experience.

Susana teaching butterfly biology in El Salvador during her service with Peace Corps Response. Click on this photo to read about her experience.

Renting a car in Salt Lake City in April, we traveled 6,000 miles through eight western states, taking two months to visit family and friends, many of whom we had not seen in decades.

In June, we sorted through personal belongings and consolidated everything into 75 square feet of climate-controlled storage.

By July, we had traveled to Spain, one of our favorite destinations, to participate in a week of Pueblo Inglés, a total-immersion English program for Spaniards with intermediate and advanced language skills.

Hotel Doña Teresa in La Alberca, Spain, our favorite Pueblo Inglés venue.

Hotel Doña Teresa in La Alberca, Spain, our favorite Pueblo Inglés venue. Click on this photo to read about volunteer opportunities at Pueblo Inglés • Credit: Diverbo

Later that month found us house-sitting in Costa Rica on a lush 26-acre estate in the Orosi Valley, taking care of four parrots, chasing blue morpho butterflies along the cascading Rio Negro and enjoying the ¡Pura vida! lifestyle.

Then our Peace Corps plans crashed and burned. Word from Washington arrived the last day of July that I was not medically cleared for Peace Corps service. I appealed and lost.

Over the next six weeks, I continued to importune Peace Corps to allow me to accompany Sūsana to Tonga. Multiple positive medical opinions from my long-time physician failed to change their minds. By mid-September, with our Peace Corps group already two weeks into pre-service training, it became clear that Peace Corps service wasn’t going to happen.

What do you do when life hands you lemons? You squeeze them, add a little sugar and make lemonade, of course. That’s just what we did.

We bought tickets to Tonga to create our own adventure. We arrived in early October and have spent the past month falling in love with this place.

Turquoise Wave at Blow Holes

A turquoise wave crashing ashore at Tonga’s Blow Holes near Houma on the main island of Tongatapu.

Tonga is tranquil. Tonga is peaceful. Tonga is the epitome of relaxation with tropical breezes and Polynesian sunsets, a different masterpiece in pastels each evening with the melodious call of wattled honeyeaters in the bush as twilight falls on the kingdom.

Tonga is its people. They’re friendly. They’re polite. They laugh heartily. They sing into the night in multi-part harmonies.

Tongan landlady and her granddaughter

Our Tongan landlady and her granddaughter dressed in Sunday best.

There’s a church across an open field from our house, perhaps a quarter-mile away. We hear the choir practicing every Saturday night as we play cards on our front porch. They sing Sunday mornings and during Sunday afternoon services. Most Wednesday evenings they are back at it, filling our world with angelic praises.

Two doors down from us, a group of Tongan visitors from New Zealand laughed and sang into the early morning hours as we fell asleep a few nights ago. Far from being disturbed by their merry-making, we were lulled once again by the rhythms of Tongan life.

Our future in Tonga is starting to take shape. Last week, Sūsana was appointed senior information and communications technology (ICT) teacher at Ocean of Light International Schools. She starts her two-year contract in January.

Ocean of Light International Schools

Ocean of Light International Schools in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. Click on this photo to read more about the school. • Credit: Ocean of Light International Schools

Ocean of Light is the premier K-12 school in Tonga and the only one in the kingdom with an international curriculum. Plantations of coconut, papaya and breadfruit surround the peaceful campus three kilometers (1.9 miles) west of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga’s capital. I’ve signed an agreement to volunteer at the school on a regular basis. We’ve applied for employment visas in Tonga to make our residency official.

So, we’re creating our own Peace Corps-like adventure in Tonga. We will still make a difference in this beautiful part of the world. Had we come here with Peace Corps, we would have been assigned a site and told where to live. We would have been restricted in our movements and transportation options. We would have had pages of rules to follow. For us, it’s better this way.

Life’s lemons are indeed a gift. Squeeze vigorously. Sugar abundantly. Sip, savor and smile.