ACTS Christmas Play

Clancy’s school had its Christmas play, with the majority of the play staged around the carol Twelve Days of Christmas.



According to his music teacher the Twelve Days of Christmas in Tonga are:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a Lupe (Tongan Pidgeon) in a Mango Tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me 2 cans of Corned beef



On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me 3 Frangipani



On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 4 rolls of Tapa (Mulberry bark cloth)



On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 5 Giant Slippers (Thongs / Flip Flops)



On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 6 Lava Lava (Sarong)



On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 7 Women Weaving



On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 8 Gailau Dancers



On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 9 Hats a Hiding



On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 10 Hula Dancers



On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 11 Drummers Drumming

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 Fire Dancers (and Clancy was a fire dancer)

Sports for the Cvetko's

On Saturday the local Triathlon Committee held a half Triathlon, with a 750 meter swim, 25 kilometer bike and 5 km run. I was planing to start swimming on a regular basis so I though I'd have ago at the triathlon. Needless to say, without any training I was very sore and slow by the end. I have been riding the bike a fair bit so that part was OK. While I was doing that, Clancy was at his friend James's house at the New Zealand High Commission compound, getting into a tennis training session and doing very well by all reports. James and his parents are returning to NZ in October and Clancy may take over the training spot. Anny has been attending the local gym to do Pump and Step classes, along with Zumba classes which have started here. She is also riding the bike on the weekends and walking. I have now started swimming (training after the competition!) three mornings a week and along with surfing to get fitter and healthier.

King’s Birthday

One of the pluses of being in a small island nation is that you get to do things you would never dream of having access elsewhere. It was the King's Birthday last week and through Anny’s position at the Ministry of Transport we were invited to the celebrations. We joined the Friday night welcome cocktails and the Military parade and King‘s lunch on Monday. The photos here are from the parade and lunch. The King’s coronation was 2 years ago and there are lots of coronation memorabilia around town still for sale e.g. coffee cups, plates. There is something for everyone and I think we have our Christmas gifts covered (Lucky family).

An old friend

One of the great things about the King’s Birthday weekend is that an old friend, Joe Annandale from Samoa, was invited by the King and awarded the Order of Tonga. We last caught up with Joe and his wife Tui when they stayed with us in Bali in 2001. Sadly, Tui lost her life in the Samoan Tsunami of 2009. Joe sailed to Tonga from Samoa with a crew of 16 on a traditional 73 foot Alia / Va’atele (similar to photo) for the King’s birthday, however the wind changed and they had to stop at the northern island group of Vavau and he flew the rest of the way. It was great to have him meet Clancy and see Anny again and we caught up through the functions then shared a lunch and dinner on his last day in town. We will take Clancy to Samoa at the first opportunity to show him where his parents met. (Gamea and Loulou, Joe is Mr. Tattoo and he still remembers you fondly).

Home in Tonga

After finding the last available house in Tonga and much cleaning, changing of curtains, more cleaning, some disinfecting and the arrival of our container, the house is starting to look great with all our furniture. It is a two story home with cathedral ceiling over the lounge / dining area which gives the house a sense of space and somewhere for the hot air to rise to. The water is from a rain tank and we have a pressure pump which delivers this to the house. When the power goes, the water goes also, except for a tap by the tank. We are thinking about buying a small generator before the cyclone season, just enough to run the water and refrigerator if we loose power during a cyclone. Clancy’s bedroom has a wardrobe which opens into a large ceiling space which Anny painted out in a space theme with planets, stars and spacecraft. I had local carver carve a Tonga pig from coral as a present for Anny's birthday and as a partner to our Vanuatu pig.

House Warming

Nearly two months to the day after our arrival we held our house warming with a good bunch of new friends. In typical fashion there were many cocktails and much food. The dishes included Fish Amok and a Curry which gave the night a nice link back to where we had come from. Shawn, you would have been proud of the cocktail list, with two blenders going producing Lime & Raspberry Daiquiri’s and Pineapple & Chili Margaritas. Many Cosmopolitans have been made with your shaker since our arrival also, Thank You.

Clancy’s School

When we first arrived Clancy was enrolled at the Ocean of Light, a self proclaimed International school. While it has nice grounds,on a teaching perspective it is only just adequate and we felt there could be a lot more the school could be doing. We weren’t comfortable that teacher and program development was a significant enough part of the school focus, which in turn reflects poor opportunity for the students. There is a new school being developed, led by a number of Kiwi teachers at an old derelict university. It is very basic, although internally the classrooms are well stocked and presented. However, the difference in what they deliver in a class room and what their goals are for students, versus that of the Ocean of Light, are light years apart. After three weeks at Ocean of Light we got a call from the ACTS Community School with a place for Clancy so we moved him the first week back from term break. He is enjoying it and comes home happy everyday as he did at the other school, but we are happier that he is getting a planned and well thought out education. The down side is that most of the expatriate kids go to Ocean of Light, but through play dates and our normal socializing he gets to see all of them anyway.

Anny’s Birthday

Clancy and I made a white chocolate iced pink lamington for Anny’s Birthday, served with Champagne peach berlinis. The berlinis went to her head and the power went out for two hours so the cake was all she got to eat.