Backtracking - First Reactions

September, 2006

Hi Everyone!!

I just wanted to let all of you know that I have accepted an invitation to be a Community Educator in the Kingdom of Tonga (an island chain in the South Pacific). YIPPEE!!! I'm very excited!!! And thanks to everyone who listened to my frustrations throughout the process. :) You're the best!!

TRIP DATES:
I will be in Los Angeles for orientation on October 25-26th (and possibly earlier for a brief visit beforehand - maybe even a quick trip up to San Francisco in order to cheer all you Team in Training people on in the Nike Marathon - GO TEAM!!) and then I head out to the Tonga. My Tonga training will be from October 28 - January 6 and then I will serving as an official volunteer from January 7, 2007-2009. Wow that seems like a long time!! That means I will be arriving to my service placement all by myself right before my birthday (January 10th) and so I expect lots of birthday cards to make me feel happy (hint hint)!!

DETAILS ABOUT TONGA:
- here's a link to the Peace Corps site about the Tonga http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.wherepc.pacificislands.tonga
- here's a link to the Wikipedia info on the Tonga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonga
- It's an island chain of 170ish islands, only 30 of which are inhabitable
- It's VERY SMALL - all the islands put together have a land mass approximately the size of Dallas, Texas. So, yes, I will be running around the island a million times in order to reach my normal running distances. Should be interesting!- I will most likely be living on an outer island, most of which have a population of 300 - 700 people but some with less than 100 people on the island! Wow - what a change from LA!- I'm pretty sure it will be INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL and so you are all welcome to visit. It's south of the equator so the school's summer break is December-January. However we have some other breaks of a week or two at other times throughout the year. Other activities there include: whale-watching and swimming with the whales; snorkeling; scuba diving; hiking in the rainforests, caves and sinkholes; boating; relaxing; and eating a lot of food.
- Most places on the outer islands do not have internet connections/email access and many only have one communal telephone. It's time to brush up on your letter writing skills! I don't have an address in Tonga yet, but you can always write to me in Connecticut and my parents (hope you don't mind Mom and Dad) will forward it on. The address is:
Carly Anderson
99 Tumblebrook Drive
South Windsor, CT 06074

AND WHAT WILL I BE DOING??
Good question...it looks like I will be doing a variety of things such as:
-Teaching English as a Second Language (I will be in the classrooms 50% of the time)
- Modeling different teaching techniques
- Helping schools with curriculum development, improving operational systems, and acquiring resources such as books and computers where possible.
- Teaching Health Education - mostly information on nutrition, dental health and hygeine, exercise and physical fitness (I'm hoping I can start a running club!), early childhood development, and water and sanitation
- Teaching Environmental Education - things such as conservationism, recycling, the importance of environmental protection, and the benefits of eco-tourism

NOW, here's an assignment for you...please send me your address (even if you think I already know it) so that I can write to you. I'll probably be doing a lot more writing since I won't have a TV or computer to keep me entertained, and I may not even be able to run (ahhhh!) if it's culturally inappropriate - I'll be going nutty!
Happy Thoughts Everyone!!-Carly