How to read this blog, if you dare.

This my blog, written from Fiji, chronicling our 2008 teaching trip. It starts with a lot of photos that I smacked up at the end, due to requests from readers.

It is kind of in “backwards” order, starting with the last day, and ending with the preparation. I know, but this is how blogs are designed.

If I were you, I would find the very first one (at the end, of course) dated in July, and take if from there.

If you make it all the way back to this page, congratulations, and you probably should get back to the more important things you are putting off by putzing around on your computer, but hey, sincere thanks for reading.

Now for all those photos……

Global Classrooms for Peace Photos of Fiji, 2008

The last day of our trip with Global Classrooms for Peace,

 

In Savusavu, there is a man named Joe who "calls dolphins" from the sea. It is a tradition which started with his dad, he says, and he insists they never feed them. We went out with him in his small metal boat on our last day.... and holy "mackrel" (okay sorry) he really does it! A few minutes after Joe made the call, a pod of about 50 or so dolphins appeared, swimming, splashing, darting around the boat, and smiling up at us and everything. Then Joe started his boat up, and took off with the dolphins madly racing beside us. Some really brazen ones were actually showing off and doing jumps while reeling alongside the boat. I guess these ones were the Michael Phelps' and Carl Lewis' of bunch. This went on and on until one by one, the dolphins started to drop off unable to keep up with us crazy humans with our superior technology, aka outboard motor. We made about a dozen of these sprints. Then it was time to say goodbye to the dolphin pod. I really do wonder what they think of us.

Friday…. Farewell Meke

“Normally, Friday wouldn’t be a school day,” the grade 7 teacher Mr. Solo had noted to me yesterday, “but the kids want to come back and dance for you.”

School was officially done yesterday. Today is just for fun, but of course we have come to teach, so they let us teach morning classes. I read, “The Blind Men and the Elephant” story and we discuss the importance of seeing the big picture.

“Life is like that elephant,” I tell them, “and we can’t see the whole if we are only focused on one spot.”

Hmmmm, I think I’ve just summed up our GC4P mission……Teachers traveling to teach and learn the “big picture”.

“I like that story,”  comments one student

“Good story, Madam,” agrees another.

Now for some afternoon fun.

I take out the assorted beads left over from another lesson, and let them string necklaces and bracelets for themselves as they get ready for their dances, or “meke”.

Before we’re finished, even the boys are embellished with anklets, bracelets, and necklaces. I make an anklet for myself in solidarity with our new look.

During recess, the principal Mr Ilisoni, and staff invite us to our final snack session. Mr Ilisoni reads from a prepared speech which he graciously furnishes me with per my request, afterwards. 

“…your lesson presentations, we children and teachers find them enjoyable. It creates an atmosphere of a true teaching and learning situation. The materials [and] teaching aids are so unique and lovely that the children could grasp the concepts of activities so easily”

“Though you have been away from home for some time, you have missed your families, children, grandchildren, friends and relatives, I thank you for taking your time to reach out your programme to some very remote areas as voluntary worker[s].”

“Pass our regards back home, and may God bless you.”

Sniff……nuff said.

Then the meke begins, as the village mothers tie sulus, straighten headdresses, and cue the dancers. Again, some things are the same the world over. 

We are treated to a joyful presentation, as the village parents laugh and clap, and sing along with the kids. Any missteps bring much more hilarity from the moms, dads, aunts, uncles and cousins watching along with us.

Laughter is one of the things I will remember most about Fiji.

BULA!!!!

gc4p global classrooms for peace, fiji schools

GC4P Global Classrooms for Peace, Thursday, Secret Sock Romper Day.

 

 

My grades 7 & 8 are all smiles today.

All week, they’ve jealously watched the “little”ones in grades 1 & 2 parading around school trailing behind them, their impossibly-bright-colored wind socks.

I have been watching their watching.

Now, I’ve decided that we big kids too shall make impossibly-bright-colored wind socks. 

“Look what we are doing today!” I happily announce to the pre-and-young teens.

I pull out the bright parachute material, (care of the US Military)
 and we all set madly to work; some even ditching the priority of aesthetics, over the pure compulsion to hurry and go outside and fly these things.

I mercifully let my happy young teens out a little before recess, to get some romping time for themselves before being seen by the “little” kids…..

 

……Don’t we all have our images to keep up?

 

 

 

.

Wednesday at Naweni. It’s the water, and apparently a lot more.

“Imagine you are a sea creature caught in plastic,” I begin as I pass out rubber bands. I’m doing one of our lessons on ocean ecology.

I can say it’s authentically “hands on”. The rubber band goes literally along the back of each student’s hand, hooking the thumb and pinky fingers. Then they try, without using their other hand, to get the thing off.

As their hands tire and start to cramp, they feel what it’s like trying to swim, eat, and survive while caught in plastic, or debris.

As we finish the lesson, a new one begins on dumping, seepage, and storm-drain runoff getting into the water supply, and eventually the sea.

Starting with a clear bottle of water on display, I read a story, “All the Way to the Ocean” which depicts various people unwittingly contributing to water pollution.

Each student has been given a small capped film canister containing one pollutant described in our book. Upon hearing his/her part in the story, each child brings up his/her canister, uncaps it, and pours the contents into the clear water on display.

We all frown in disgust as the water becomes fouled with our mock waste products (colored water actually) of motor oil, manure, pesticides, soaps, and the like.

We even have little bits of wrappers, fishing line, and trash. 

“Would you swim in this water?” I query.

“NO MADAM!” they answer in unison.

“Would you drink this water?”

“NO MADAM!”

In Savusavu, there has been a problem with pollutants getting into the water supply.

There have recently been typhoid cases.

There have recently been deaths.

I learn the typhoid has been linked directly with the local water in our area. 

 

Specifically, the water at the school.

 

 

 

.

Tuesday in Naweni, and the boredom of American apples…

I’m watching the Naweni 1st and 2nd grades as they romp across the field, streaming their homemade windsocks behind.

Even from a distance, their pure joy is evident as they run with the abandon only young children seem to possess.

Lori is here with us this morning, and I can see her wind lesson using the donated parachute material we have brought is a real triumph.

Genna has been doing what sounds to me like a phenomenal math project, and I’ve asked her to switch grades for the morning to work her magic with my grades 7 and 8.

Throughout the past weeks, we seem to have all hit our stride, perfecting what we each do best of the lessons we have brought to Fiji. What a great gift we have been given to be able to come here and teach while learning so much ourselves.

“Come and join us in the other room”,

Our principal, Mr Ilisoni and his staff of 3 teachers have made us a wonderful table of snacks again. We enter to see a table set with mugs of hot tea, various cakes, all upon a Fijian tapa cloth embellished with traditional tribal art.

A tray of coconuts completes the display.

We are delighted. Genna, Lori, and I sit down with the staff, and as we talk and eat, our fraternal teacher-talk warms to a chummy and funny conversation as we listen to stories about their Friday kava-night antics.

In my afternoon class, we have some free time after doing an oragami earth project. I decide to do another, “getting to know you” activity.

I write about a dozen pairs of adjectives on the board……easy/difficult.. boring/interesting…old/modern, etc… I ask them to copy them on paper and list two of their own personal definitions for each word.

I explain that one person’s “easy” may be another’s “difficult” for subjects such as Math and English, and they may be surprised to hear what one person thinks of as interesting or boring.

To illustrate this further, I tell them I as an American think that apples are pretty boring compared to the Fijian fruits; mangoes and pawpaw. Fijian children hardly see apples, and think they’re wonderfully exotic as a rule. I conclude with saying most Americans probably think apples are really boring.

As they work quietly, I look over some shoulders. Their replies drive home to me the differences in the replies between my Fijian students, and what I expect my students in the U.S. would write. I read…..

“Village houses are ugly, Town houses are beautiful.”

“Pit toilets are old”

“Apples are interesting”

“Mangoes are boring”

But I also read……”Dogs are ugly”

And again, “Dogs are ugly”

And once again, “Dogs are really ugly”

Wow.

Then I see that maybe the language barrier is a little more clouded than I thought….

“American apples are really boring”

Monday- Naweni Primary, and quiet Fijian children yelling at trucks.

We have moved to another island called Vanua Levu, and are now teaching near Savusavu at a small school called Naweni Primary. It is much smaller, and more remote than where we have been teaching on Taveuni Island.

Although Savusavu is a larger city with comparatively more wealth and prestige, (Tony Robbins’ resort is here) the schools nearby are impoverished. As we do our first visit, I notice most of the building in which we are working is condemmed, but with no alternative, school is going on.

Lori, Genna, Margaret, and I enter the school while the kids are being led in morning devotions. This is common for Fijians, (who consider themselves a Christian nation) even for a public school.

The devotions are done in Fijian by the principal, Mr Ilisoni, who introduces us. As Lori is asked to address the kids, she stands and tells a bit about our plans for the week.

Because of our past experiences with Fijian children, and their habits of whispering at us in class, Lori jokes that we American teachers are a little hard of hearing, and asks them to please speak loudly enough in class for us to hear them. 

The principal then stands and says something in Fijian which causes an explosion of laughter. After a translation from Margaret, we learn he has told the kids that if we ask them to speak in class, they are to answer loudly….so loudly, that the trucks going by on the road can hear them!

Lori heads over to the kindergarten at an nearby school, Viani Primary, and Genna and I excitedly set off to our classrooms.

I am teaching classes 7 & 8 today, and I repeat my lesson on Fijian endangered animals, while Genna does her lessons on Stellaluna and “What is a Million” with the classes 3-6.

I end my day with asking my students if they wouldn’t mind singing the Fijian National Anthem, and they oblige me happily.

They sing in perfect unison, and harmony.

I watch one of my new students, Apenisa while he sings with closed eyes, and a large smile. I don’t think any country has a more beautiful song, or more compelling singers

……For Fiji, ever Fiji……

Friday- Parent’s Day at Holy Cross & Cheering for the Red Team at Wairiki Primary

Today there will be no teaching at Holy Cross Secondary School because it is Parent’s Day. Today, the parents of my students will come in to meet with teachers and receive progress reports.

I think all Parent’s Days all around the world must be the same. Parents come dressed up in their best church clothes. Kids sheepishly walk around the school beside them, and remain on their best behavior.

Teachers will smile, shake hands and try to use teacher-ish diplomacy. This is just how it is.

Our day pretty much follows this ageless pattern.

I sit in on some of the conferences and hear a lot of, “Your child is usually well-behaved, but I would like to see him working more to the best of his abilities. I think he could do better”. I notice this is said to the students in the top ten percent, as well as those in the lowest percentile. Ah, some things never change the world over.

The students are receiving percentages for each class instead of grades. I notice that the average percentage “grade” is about a 50%. Then I find out that 50% is the lowest passing grade allowed. The highest grade I see is a 68%. This is a little troubling.

I’m hoping the rest of their terms are heading up from here.

The day at my school ends before lunch, so I say a tearfull goodbye to all of the wonderful students and staff I’ve worked with.

They have truly touched my heart and I will never forget them.

I have promised my GC4P collegue, Caroline that I would walk over to her school, Wairiki Primary which is just down the hill. They are having their big Sports Day event in track and field. I’m kindly escorted down by one of my now former students.

“I’ll be back to sit with you after I eat lunch and change from my uniform” she promises.

We are cheering for the Red Team aka “St Peter” which has adopted Caroline as a member. I spot a pair of workers from Maravu, our sponsoring resort, and sit with them and their friends under the shade of a large tree.

Soon, several secondary school kids from Holy Cross, who have been my students all week, begin to surround us. I feel so much at home sitting with my kids, and with Tracy and Chuky from the resort that I feel like I’ve become part of a family.

I remain there, cheering for their children, cheering for Caroline, and cheering for a week that has exceeded my expectations in more ways than I could have hoped.

Thursday, and the Breadfruit Tree

I have asked to teach the higher forms (or grades in the U.S.) so they give me forms 5,6, and 7 today. The age groups will be 16, 17 and 18, so I bring out the big ammunition- namely my argument and debate materials.

I have five scientific articles concerning global warming. Three have a bias toward the theory that indeed global warming is upon us, with mankind being the cause. The other two also have scientific information, but suggest that global warming is not occurring- and that in fact the earth may be getting colder. There is enough fodder for even the least argumentative souls to at minimum deliberate amicably. This is what I’m banking on, but we know what they say about the best laid plans….

The problem is, Fijians don’t argue.

At least my Fijian students didn’t seem to, so I start to do an act of teacher desperation- something which goes against everything I stand for; I start to answer my own questions.

It begins to look something like this…..”OK group one, what does your article say about the internal memo from Exxon?”

Group one looks at each other, They look at me, then back at each other. They nudge one another whispering….”You go first…” Then silence.

I wait the allotted time any enlightened, sensitive, modern, U.S. politically-correct teacher is trained to wait. Then I give it a few more beats. Then I answer myself…..

“It says how much money they have paid organizations to have the idea of global warming remain in question……am I right, group one?” Does any group have information to add?”

Then I mention the information in group three’s article. This goes on until I get a few responses. Probably either out of politeness or pity for me.

I actually do this in one more class, until I ask the assistant principal, Mrs Tawake if it is OK for me do poetry with the next few classes. She says yes, and it goes much better the rest of my day.

We do whole class poems based on the “Where I’m From” poem. I hear beautiful imagery from them as we play “pass the chalk” and they write the lines, each in turn.

I find out that they are from….”The Breadfruit and the Mango Tree…….the, ‘Don’t let anyone spoonfeed you’…. the ‘Roqo Roqo’, and the place where the world starts its day”

Wednesday in Paradise

Endangered Fijian Specis

I start my workday with a staff meeting. My principal, Mr Beniamino Tawake is giving directions to the teachers on getting ready for a visit from the EU Ambassador, and for Parent Day this Friday. I feel like a real teacher here, if just for a short time.

I meet with the Social Science Chair, Mr Lal. He has looked over the lesson plan book I left with him Tuesday, and he suggests that I do some of the environmental lessons today. Great, it’s just what I have in mind.

I read laminated articles on Fijian endangered species, then pass them out along with pencils, sharpeners, and boxes of colored markers for the kids to make informational posters with their own drawings of the animals. Some of the kids are snickering over one of the articles. It’s the one of the Monkey-Faced Bat. “We eat those,” they explain.

They feverishly set to work. The rulers come out. “Is this correct?” asks one girl, pointing to her sketch of the Red-Throated Lorikeet. “Do I need to include the rock?”

“It’s perfect,” I tell her. And it really is.

I make sure they are reading the articles and including the information on their posters.

They are all very concerned with their renditions, so they work like little engineers.

The posters are marvelous, and I am overwhelmed by their humility.

Any of these could become travel brochures. I am very proud of my kids!

Tuesday Morning, First Day of School….

Holy Cross Secondary

6 am. The alarm rings in the morning darkness. “You’re never ready for that ring, no matter how long you’ve been lying awake, waiting” deadpans my roommate, Genna. We were up late last night scrutinizing over what we should bring to our first day of teaching in Fiji.

A heavy patter of rain starts to fall on our palm-thatched treehouse. We look outside. It’s beautiful even in the semi-darkness of dawn. We open our glass doors that look out over our incredible tropical vista. The air feels rich and warm and smells of flowers, and the sea. This is no ordinary work morning.

Lori, Genna, Deb, Caroline and I are dropped at our schools, and I’m realizing what a blessing it turned out to be that we’ve already visited each one. I walk into my first classroom at Holy Cross Secondary School. The kids are already seated. I smile and say, “Bula!” as I enter. They smile back and say, “Bula!”

Then they stare at me in anticipation.

I have a hidden agenda. I tell them nothing about who I am, where I’m from, or why I’m here. I simply ask them a question…..”If you want to know something…..what do you do?”

I’m lucky. They are a bit more adventurous than typical Fijian schoolchildren. They sense a challenge. A few hands go up.

“Ask?” ventures one.

Now, I’ve got them.

I do a lesson on how to do research. I tell them I would like their help for information on Fiji. I tell them that they are to be my sources of information. I tell them that most importantly, I will only learn what I ask them. I tell them that I will use them like I use my computer. A computer only does what you tell it, and only answers what you ask it. They get it. I ask them questions about Fiji, and they provide me with answers.

It’s their turn to do research on me. They are ready to turn the tides, and are full of questions. “How many children do you have?” is early on their list. “Three,” I say. “And since you’ve asked me, you get a bonus…..I will show you pictures of them…….I brought these all the way from California, but I was not going to show them to you unless you ASKED.”

They are more than a little intrigued with the photos. The photo of my handsome 20 year old son, Ian disappears completely until I tell them that they’re numbered. The photo of my daughter, Anna is pressed to a few sighing breasts.

“Where in the U.S. do you live?”

I pull out one of the large rolled-up laminated maps I have brought for the school. “Well since you asked………”

Monday Eve Before Teaching…..

Taveuni Rotary with GC4P

After visiting the schools, we go back to our lodgings. I am now taking advantage of the WiFi in the common area on my XO computer. (Check it out on Google)

My XO computer is a techie magnet. Lonely people in parks walk puppies to attract curiosity and company. I have a little green XO that I just have to take out and start typing on.

“Isn’t that….UM…that computer that is….UM…..”

“Yes” I tell them, “It is the XO that is part of One Laptop Per Child…..built for kids in remote areas….”

“And you’re online with THAT… now?……..It looks like a……toy!”

It does look like a Fisher Price special, but I think it’s a wonder.

I take my XO to the Taveuni Rotary meeting (which does awesome work) at a local restaurant and get the same reaction until I turn it on and go online. The Rotary passes it around and discusses the prospect of bringing them into the Fijian schools. They listen to our presentations concerning our school visitations, and our plans for the week. They are welcoming and positive. They present us with wall hangings to share with our sponsoring Rotary clubs, namely the Calabasas Rotary, and Moorpark Morning Rotary. We can’t wait to do this.

As we leave to go get ready for the morning I hear from a nearby table full of cool young energetic travellers…….”Hey, is that an XO…….will you let us we see it for awhile?”

Monday….Visiting The Schools….

Happy Fijian Schoolkids in Wairiki

Today, Lorna from the Taveuni Rotary is taking us to visit all of the schools. We have five to visit. We want to start early and go to the farthest, so we go to Bouma first.

We have a driver named Tomasi whom I have nicknamed, “The Mayor”. He not only knows everyone on the island, he seems to greet everyone with a huge laugh that seems to say, “Hey you…..I’m still in stitches from that last time….heee heee…when….haaaa…haAAAHHAHHHH….remember??…AHHHHGHHHHAAAAA!!!!!!” Well, that’s Tomasi. We all love him.

Tomasi is charged with driving five white female teachers around his island and conversing with the tribal chiefs to request permission for us to enter the villages. He is perfect for the job. We make a stop to a local store while Lorna and Tomasi enter to purchase our collaborative gift to the chiefs……kava root. They come out with two elongated bundles of what looks like a decorative series of sticks tied with string. Very cool.

We enter the first village. We stop. We open the door to get out. He tells us, ” I think you women all should wait here in the van.”

The chief emerges from a dwelling. He hastily dons a sarong, like someone waking up and trying to find his glasses. They go into the central long-house. They do…….something. They call us in.

We sit on the floor cross-legged around the men. We have practiced this. Tomasi starts into what sounds like an animated dissertation on……….something important. It sounds like he is repeating ritual prayers, or memorized epic poetry…..or something. It is all in Fijian. We are all very humbled and impressed.

The chief is pleased. Tomasi crab-walks over to the chief scooting the root before him. The chief accepts it. We’re in.

We visit all five schools throughout the day. They are all different, and all wonderful, and all are looking forward for us to come and start teaching.

We’re He-re……

Well, mostly we’re here. After a great flight from LAX, then haggling with customs over our very over-weight boxes of supplies in Fiji, they decide to let us onto our seaplane to Taveuni- sans luggage. No worries, or in Fijian, “Sega na leqa” kind of a “hakuma matada” ( which incidentely has been playing in my head ALL DAY) at least my carry-on has all the crucial items thanks to some very fabulous advice from Lori.

We arrive at Maravu Plantation, which will be our home for the next ten days. Each of us is greeted with a coconut that is topped with a flower and has a straw sticking out of it. It’s so incredibly Fijian and beautiful that I want to carry it around with me forever. Okay, maybe I watched too many episodes of Gilligan’s Island when I was a kid, but to me, this is heaven. I’m going to really like it here.

Our hosts in Fiji are warm and have a glow in their eyes when they smile. They already know all our names. I’ll swear they must have our pictures taped up in the kitchen labeled with our names……how do they do this?

It’s Saturday, (we lost Friday somewhere while flying over the equator) and we decide to explore the local beach. We wonder where all the people are. Then we realize it is only about 8 in the morning. We meet a couple of expats from the US. They live in Australia, and have come to Fiji to dive. We tell them about our plans to teach in the local schools. The wife is a surgeon who also volunteers her skills in emerging countries. As they applaud our endeavor, I think of how lucky we are to be able to do this.

Since we have no boxes to organize, and it’s not a school day, we decide to spend the afternoon soaking up the Fijian sun and surf. Genna and Caroline find a kayak and entertain us with their imitation of Columbus and Magellan. Then the tide goes out and we are able to walk into the water and see the coral reef which is now just inches below the surface. And I thought I’d have to buy a water camera to take photos of fish! A huge blue starfish tempts us, but we try and remember the “don’t touch” rule of observing the reefs. We snap his photo instead.

On Sunday we take a drive to Bouma Falls and meet some of the students we’ll be working with. They take us up the falls and laugh at us Genna and I hold hands and jump. They are shy with us, but nonetheless, enchanting. We’ve made a connection.

.

Teaching in Fiji…..

 

 

“Hey Gina, how’d you like to go to Fiji?” my neighbor Katie asks one morning while we are hiking in our Calabasas mountains. She continues.., “Global Classrooms for Peace was started by a friend of mine …. a TV producer named Lori Hall……..I just got back with her after a trip to prepare for taking teachers like you……it was incredible!”  Katie is a computer expert. She’s very excited, and she really wants me to be involved.  She doesn’t let up.  ”We need board members too!” she announces while looking straight at me during a night-out dinner with our families.  I picture my childhood growing up in Southern California and remember Fiji as our surfing nirvana……. can I really go there?   Will I ever want to leave??

I smile, but don’t say much as I contemplate my busy life as a teacher, wife, and mother of three.   But I lament the fact that I’ve never served on anything more than a PTA or Cub Scout Committee.  The seed is planted. Could I really do this? Then I attend a meeting and meet Lori. She’s enchanting, she’s magnetic, and she is someone I’d follow to……………………well, I guess the ends of the earth!  And it’s FIJI!!   I’m in.

I am sponsored by the Calabasas Rotary, and soon I’m on my way. I become a board member and start to collect lesson plans and ideas. I become a teacher team leader. I recruit teachers.

Pre-trip…….meetings, planning, shopping, emailing my team, more planning. BOY, this is a lot of work!!  I hit all the “secret” teacher shops; Target, Walmart, The 99-Cent Store……….all in prep for my teaching/learning trip with Global Classrooms for Peace. What an amazing opportunity for a teacher on summer break.  Wow, kid’s sissors, 2 for 99 cents, yeah!  I am part of a team. We are all very excited, and running on adrenaline. We are planning amazing lessons, and carrying all of our own props and supplies. We calculate every classroom minute. I collect sarongs to wear.  We prepare mentally for our trip. Lori performs a mock Kava ceremony. We rehearse saying the Fijian, “Bula!” We learn their special hand clap……we practice the hollow “clop” sound, cupping our hands to trap the air to say “thanks” before we drink the Kava. We giggle at each other. Will I really be doing this with a tribal chief?

 We try to picture our host classrooms. I research and find that they will be very quiet and very respectful. Maybe too respectful. American classrooms are noisy and interactive. Our kids are taught to probe new ideas- even sometimes to probe authority. We are used to encouraging this attribute.  In Fiji, I find that questioning the teacher is interpreted as a judgment against the teacher’s ability. Wow.  We wonder, in Fiji, will we be asking questions and then hearing ……………………………… crickets?  I prepare my team for the possibility.

My goal is to convince them to move furniture, to form groups, and to question. I”m bringing creative projects. We want them to problem solve. We want them to role play. I create lessons on debating. I am bringing plays. We are bringing lessons on how to stand up to future corporate polluters which may destroy their idealic coral reefs.  We hope to entice them to be comfortable with us. We want to have fun with them. We are looking forward to finding new friends in paradise! We can’t wait! This is really going to be something good…..

Bula!

Gina