Bilingual language learning is fun when books are designed with effective teaching tools in mind. We do that well with our Teach Me My FEELINGS in Samoan title. This unique book offers children the imagery, repetition, and words to recognize and learn how to describe their emotions in English and Samaon - the language of the native people from the islands of Samoa and American Samoa within Polynesia in the Pacific. Designed with diversity in mind, it includes large and colorfully illustrated faces that can be shown to a group of children in a classroom.
Since the late 1960s Tongans have been leaving their islands in large numbers and settling in many different nations. Tongans Overseas is a timely look at their settlement experiences as they relate to cultural identity, particularly among the younger generations raised outside Tonga. What does being Tongan mean to these young people? Why do some proudly proclaim and cherish their Tongan identities while others remain ambivalent, confused, or indifferent? Helen Morton Lee's innovative research offers insights into these and many other questions, revealing the complexities of identity construction in the context of migration and the varied ways in which individuals seek a sense of belonging. Using both traditional ethnographic fieldwork and newly popular Internet discussion forums, where young Tongans speak their minds and describe their experiences, Lee has produced the most comprehensive study of Tongan migrants to date. Throughout the book diasporic Tongans speak eloquently about their lives, and case studies of families and individuals bring the analysis to life. Lee explores tensions within overseas communities, especially the intergenerational conflicts that are contributing to the alienation of many young Tongans today.
In Voyages, Cathy A. Small offers a view of the changes in migration, globalization, and ethnographic fieldwork over three decades. The second edition adds fresh descriptions and narratives in three new chapters based on two more visits to Tonga and California in 2010. The author (whose role after thirty years of fieldwork is both ethnographer and family member) reintroduces the reader to four sisters in the same family—two who migrated to the United States and two who remained in Tonga—and reveals what has unfolded in their lives in the fifteen years since the first edition was written. The second edition concludes with new reflections on how immigration and globalization have affected family, economy, tradition, political life, identity, and the practice of anthropology.
When Queen Salote of Tonga attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London in 1953, she was greeted as the tallest queen of the smallest kingdom and gained universal admiration for her natural dignity and the warmth of her personality. This account of Queen Salote's life and times is more than a biography, for it also describes the politics and social structure of a small kingdom that was a world in microcosm.
Sione Poilangi Paea, in his first book, presents his inspirational life story. This remarkable individual shows that anyone can overcome their lot in life and become successful. Sione was born in Tonga, into extreme poverty. His life was one of despair and tarnished dreams. His mother, a Christian, took him to church on Sundays where his faith in God gave him hope for and belief he could have a better life. When he was thirteen, Siones family uprooted and relocated in New Zealand. Later, his family later turned their backs on him and threw him out on the streets. He left home determined to find a better life. Sione found work as a custodian while completing a BSC (Hon) business management degree. His hard work and determination to succeed allowed him to graduate quickly from cleaning, right up to his current position as a managing director and an owner of multiple businesses. Not satisfied with simply being an executive, Mr. Paea is also a budding fitness model who has his own line of fitness apparel in the works. He is also planning a construction materials business servicing the South Pacific. Most impressive is the fact he has accomplished all of these achievements at the tender age of twenty-one. This is an uplifting tale of victory over hardship. It is a motivational dynamo that inspires the reader to want to better themselves. From harrowing beginnings, the story soars to towering heights. One cant help but pull for Mr. Paea. This is an all-around feel-good story that is a must read for anyone who loves an underdog story.
What is important is the circles of influence that have helped me to become who I am today. God has used each splash to divinely order every step to ripple through every part of my life, ministry, and story. I pray to continually make splashes with those impacts from here to the uttermost parts of the earth, by living out each lesson learned. Never forget that regardless of the size of the splash, each one of them continues to ripple across the ocean of life. - Crystal Reece, Author "Her story is our story. It's the life of contrasts the writer of Ecclesiastes told us about. Sadness and joy, tears and victory, grief and dancing, crawling and flying ... it's all there. But, unlike so many, the fragile segments of Crystal's life are held together by the God-thread of unwavering trust. It is this very thread that reaches out and weaves you into the amazing tale of a life of selfless devotion to the God of the universe. More than a memoir, this is a story that can become yours if you let it." - Melani Shock, Pentecostals of Alexandria, and author of Eat This Book "If you expect this book to be about a young woman's call to do missions work, it is. Do you perceive it to be about prayer? You are correct. Do you view this as a how-to book on finding God's will and experiencing His provision? Right again; it's all this and more! This book illustrates how God strategically places influencers in our lives to 'splash' us, as Crystal so ably states, causing ripple effects. As you read, may your heart be stirred, causing you to splash others with the all-encompassing love of Jesus Christ!" - David and Kathy Brott, missionary envoys; Global Missions UPCI
Of all the Pacific nations only Tonga has retained a complete and lasting political independence. Find out how the shrewd, determined King of Tonga, Tupou I, teamed up with Wesleyan missionary and opportunist Shirley Baker to bring this about.
In this first detailed account of growing up in Tonga, Helen Morton focuses on the influence of anga fakatonga ("the Tongan way") in all facets of Tongan childhood, from the antenatal period to late adolescence. Childhood is a crucial period when cultural identity and notions of tradition are constructed, as well as beliefs about self, personhood, and emotion. Based on her anthropological fieldwork and her experiences in Tonga over several years, Morton traces the Tongan socialization process—from being vale (ignorant, socially incompetent) to becoming poto (clever, socially competent)—in fascinating detail. The socialization of emotion is also given detailed attention, especially the management of anger and emphasis on emotional restraint.
Faa‘imata represents the traditional home of Kava, a significant figure and source of Tongan culture. Thus, as in the legend of the origin of Kava, Faa‘imata connotes a place where great sacrifices have been laid to honour authority and yet also where kingly favours have been granted that covered shortcomings and inadequacies. More significantly, it marks a place where new beginnings and new legacies can sprout. Therefore the Road to Faa‘imata represents the many facets and multiple interpretations of the pathways and passages traversed by each of the Tonga High School ex-student featured. It represents an equalizer of sorts where students coming from diverse backgrounds and stations in society are provided with empowering opportunities to achieve outcomes that benefit Tonga, reflecting their capacity to absorb, critique and reapply what they have learnt.
