Pen Pals

We have jumped head first into life as Tongan teachers, which as any teacher would know, makes life wonderful some days and dreadful on others. It's certainly a unique challenge teaching English to kids who don't speak a word of it at home. However, there's usually not many spectacular happenings day to day in a classroom, so it's hard to know what to blog about. But this week, our classes did something that could very well be considered blog worthy.

A while ago, my mom, who is a teacher herself, asked around her school in Oklahoma if any teacher would be interested in doing a little overseas Pen-Paling. So, a month or two ago, we received friendly pen pal letters from a class of American third graders. The letters contained the basics- some personal introductions, listing of favorite things, and some questions. This week, the older classes from both villages responded to the letters. The result was a stack of equally heartwarming and hilarious letters which will be mailed back to America straight away, this weekend. The combination of a low level of English and the limited life experience of a Tongan island kid, make for some genuinely funny and enjoyable reading. I'll transcribe some of the best bits below.

"What is Legos? We do not have Legos in here"

"My school is near to the sea. I see whale from my classroom sometimes"

"I am happy to have pen pal"

"I go church every Sunday, Monday, and Friday every week" (he's not joking)

"My favorite color is burble"

"I am go to the cherch. Do you go to the cherch?"

"My favorite food is a chicken"

"Jesus loves me"

"My favorite friend goodbye to you"

(in response to a letter mentioning Chucky Cheese) "What is yore Chucky Cheese?"

- Mark