Week 3

Hi from Ally 😊

Well….we have been here for 3 weeks now!  The place feels like home…. 

Brian and one of my students put their heads together and got things working….and as of about Monday this week, we have power!! (amazing difference having a fridge and a fan makes!). 

We are in a self-contained house, with a rainwater tank just outside the door (and let me tell you - the tank is very full!!!!) Amazing to have pouring rain and thunderstorms for hours and then see the weather app say “feels like 39 degrees C today”!! This week we have had some lovely sunshine and everything looks lush and healthy!

Ally's classroom

Talua has a very chill and relaxed feeling – groups of students break out in song, they are super friendly and always very helpful.  They are also patient as we struggle to learn and remember names and faces and who fits where!! The staff have been wonderful and very supportive of us as we seek to get our feet on the ground.

 break time 😃

Our students mostly come from villages where they live a communal lifestyle. Everything is shared, they pitch in together to do the gardening or gather the coconuts or whatever else needs doing. So in that respect, living in community here is not so strange for them.  However, life here is very structured with very little down time and this may take some adjusting to for some of our students. And lots of them are finding it HOT!! (we are not the only ones!).  Students speak openly of the difference that knowing God makes in their lives and they have enthusiasm and passion to tell people about God and make a difference in the lives of their communities.

 my students doing some work..

Our roles are varied – mine is designing and teaching a new course in English and Study Skills.  It is certainly keeping me on my toes, and a lot of the stuff we do in NZ eg moderation, aligning to a framework, standards based assessment etc is the same here (except we don’t have any exemplars here!  I am kind of flying blind, but think/hope we are on the right track!). And ha!......who knew there was so much grammar that I don’t know!!!! I am slowly getting my head around the present perfect continuous verbs etc!!! I have 7 students and they are delightful (ages range from 20 to 32). They were very quiet to start with, but we are building rapport and a more relaxed feel in the classroom….(No discipline problems here….rather like a year 13 Calculus class feel!) – (I will let Brian tell you about what he is up to!)

So… loving it so far! A rhythm of life with God squarely in the middle, beautiful people, plenty to do, places to explore, time to relax, back to basics….

Ally 😊

 Sunday lunch from Mama Martha ( next door)

I tried out our flash new gas oven!! Apparently it's a tradition here that the English teachers bake and share!! This was made with home grown bananas! Thanks Phil King and PCANZ.

For those who pray…

We are thankful for how settled we feel here and that we are starting to find our feet. The practicalities of life here, power, water etc are all pretty much up and running, which does make life easier. We are feeling a real sense of belonging  and gaining clarity in the direction that our teaching needs to go.

The start of the academic year can be challenging for students... High expectations, new community for some, finding their feet and getting started on their courses. Brian and I are trying to learn Bislama and want to set up pour courses as well as we possibly can!

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