Every little thing, is gonna be alright. . .

We recently switched the cd from the one with justin beiber and chris brown on it, to bob marley! It was a very nice change, it feels very islandery. A million things have happened since my last blog post. . .

We made tapa cloth, you should google it to see it. Basically, we went into the bush, chopped down several thin mulberry trees, stripped them of their bark, pulled out the middle, smashed it until it was paper thin, and then beat it with another one to make the two come together so it's bigger, and then let it dry. It was very hard work! We all had blisters the next day from all of the beating with the big beating thing.  It was really fun though, it made me feel like a tongan. One of the professors from byu was here for the last couple of weeks, he left yesterday, so we did some cool things with him.  We took a tour of vava'u, the whole island! We just drove in the car for four hours and saw almost everything.  There were so many incredible views, that the whole thing was just amazing.  We stopped at a beach and made lunch there (ramen noodles with corned beef, papaya, bread, and coconuts for drink).  The water is amazing here, it's just so blue everywhere, it never gets old. That night we went out to dinner at a tongan buffett (we never eat out here so that was very exciting!) and  saw a show. The dancing was really pretty, it was mostly kids, but it was really nice.

I drove the van! It's weird driving on the wrong side of the road, and the van is huge and backwards, so I was really bad.  Uini was cracking up the whole time, and the two guys in the backseat were scared for their lives. I never actually hit anything, but I did get amazing close five or twenty times.  She kept saying slow down and get in the middle of the road, but she was laughing so hard I could barely understand her. It was a good experience, but I dont' feel like I'll be driving much any more.

We went on a hike up to the tallest mountain in vava'u, it was only ten or fifteen minutes long, but it was basically straight up.  They have ropes to hold on to though and help pull you up, so that was good. We could see everything from the top. Not to be redundant, but the ocean is truly amazing. The water is so many different shades of blue, my personal favorite is the aqua, that I can't begin to describe how pretty it is.  It was a fun hike!  After the hike, we went to our normal beach to swim and make lunch. We spent the whole day there, so we got nice tans! We cooked some really tasty chicken on a fire that Ofa made on the beach, just out of rocks and twigs.  The tide was really low, so we went all the way out to the reef again, and this time walked down to an area we hadn't seen before.  There was this perfect place to jump in that was so blue and not too rocky, so me and michelle jumped in! It was probably one of the more terrifying things that I have ever done, but it was so worth it! We could see so far down, but it was so deep we were just treading water in the ocean.  It was so far away from the shore and covered by the reef, so it was like we were in the ocean alone.  It was crazy!

Speaking of crazy, we went on a boat ride this weekend for four or five hours on sunday.  Boats are fun alone becuase it's the ocean so it's choppy and wavy, but it was really amazing to just see so much of the ocean.  It's so open and endless. Once again, the water was so blue. It would be dark blue in the really deep parts and then next to the rocks (baby islands) it would be like an aqua or turquoise blue, it's just so breathtaking. After an hour or so on the boat, we pulled into this cave in a big rock of an island.  It was probably 100 ft long and 100 ft wide, so once we got through the small opening, it was pretty big.  We could see everything to the bottom, even though it was pretty dark and super deep.  I jumped in first, so I was pretty much scared to death.  It was so deep and there could have been anything in there, mostly I was afraid of sharks, but I never saw one. It was so fun to just swim and then climb the rocks and jump into the water. Swimming in a deserted cave in the middle of the south pacific ocean, definitely one of my new favorite things!  After that, we got back on the boat a went to this deserted island, no sign of life except for one random chicken.  The sand was so white and it was like walking on cotton balls or flour.  It looked so much cooler than in the postcards or movies, I couldn't capture it in a picture.  The water was so clear that I could see every detail on my legs and feet. If I had to pick the most beautiful place in the world, it would absolutely be there. So that was a fun day.

Other than those things, we went to a couple of dances, which were fun. I have been giving english lessons after school still, so that takes up some of the time. 
My students came to my house one morning at 8:10 to wake me up because I was supposed to be at school and I had overslept. It was funny just because there were 15 of the 40 kids in my class at the gate screaming for me. It was cute.

Couple of funny things: The kids said I killed the puppy (which I definitely didn't, and I'm pretty sure they did).  They told Uini in tongan that I choked the puppy (they did the choking sign and everything) and there were four of them saying I did. We all that it was pretty funny, sad of course that he died, but funny they blamed it on me.  I asked Uini how we say "be nice to the puppies" in Tongan, and she replied, "punch their heads." That's the preferred parenting style here.  The kids chant about the red worms, calling them "jesus's bugs."  And isileli found a straw and came up with the creative idea to put one end in his mouth and the other in his armpit and run around in circles blowing it, for the record it makes a farting noise, so it's funny.  He thinks it's the funniest thing. The kids also think it's funny to run naked in the rain, so they do that a lot.  And the most popular song the Tongan children sing is "happy birthday." You hear a lot of neighborhood kids screaming it on a daily basis, even though it's no ones birthday. That's the most english any of them know.

Life lesson of the week:  Don't worry. Be happy. Every little thing, is gonna be alright.

Even if you have nothing, you can still be happy. You can always be happy.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Time is flying by. . .

I'm already feeling really sad just thinking about how I have to leave in just under two months! It feels like we just got here yesterday! The kids at my school have won me over and have me wrapped around all of their little fingers. They are truly precious, and if it wasn't for my friends and family, I think I would stay here forever with them.  Nothing too crazy has happened in the past two weeks. . .

I went on a walk towards the shoreline with two of the people in my group, but they gave up and didn't want to trapse through the bush to find the water. I, on the other hand, am always up for the adventure! So, they turned around and I walked towards the bush.  They thought I would follow them (they don't know how crazy I am yet!), but instead I found a little boy (13 years old) who spoke a little english.  I asked which way to the water, and he showed me a path. He took me down this SUPER steep, muddy trail that led to this swampy marsh. I fell down about 26 or 97 times in the mud, but it was just really funny and I only got a few scrapes and minor cuts. When we got to the swamp I asked if it led to the ocean and he said it did, so we kept walking. The marsh was covered by a ton of rooty trees and you couldn't see anything except the trees above you.  There were a lot of crabs and fish in the water, which was cool.  Finally, we made it to the open ocean. It wasn't like a beach, it was just magical, still, bright, blue water. All around you could just see water and green trees and hills.  it was crazy, beautiful! Truly, life changing! Anyways, he's my new friend. On the way up, he helped me up the hill. At one point he was pushing me up the hill because it was so muddy! Very funny picture, I know! We have been back there a couple of times since then. 

I have been giving english lessons to a couple of the kids from my class after school, they seem to enjoy it. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a palangi girl and they are boys or if they just really want to learn english. But they are my new best buds, so I keep them around.  ONe of them wants to move to America to become a doctor and the other wants to move to america and be a teacher.  I love listening to them talk. 

Nothing else exciting is coming to my mind. . . just a lot of laundry, bugs, walks, beautiful sights, amazing water, OH! ONe more story. . .

The other morning I woke up to the sound of a dog barking like it wanted to kill someone, and a pig squealing like it was dying, and children screaming.  So, I went outside at 6:30 am to see what was going on. Still in my pjs, glasses, and hair in a lopsided pony with half of it falling out, of course.  I go out to the fence and see a tiny, baby pig stuck between a banana tree and the fence, with Sally (the dog we named) attacking the pig. So I kick the dog away and pick up the pig. The gate was still locked and there were three little neighbor girls (who the pig belonged to) on the other side. The oldest was maybe six years old. There were also three dogs on the other side of the gate trying to jump and get the pig out of my hands.  the girls were throwing rocks at them and kicking them, while I'm holding the pig up in the air (like in the lion king when rafiki holds up simba). After a few minutes, another neighbor girl comes over gets the pig from me and puts it under her house safe from the dogs. it was a funny picture.  That's all for this week. . . more to come soon!