Nudity!

I know I just update my blog with a looooooooong post about teaching, but I need to post a new one now...
Every Saturday night the class officers plan a school-wide event for the students. Last night was capture the flag, which was really cool because there are about 100 boys here on campus and the campus is great for it. However, they do things differently here in Micronesia. It's a tradition that they strip down to just their underwear and smear themselves with baby oil. Yup. So, from a safe distance on the roof, some of the other JVs and I watched the campus grounds sprawling with half naked Micronesian boys, gleaming in the few lights that were still on, running and screaming.
If you know the rules of Capture the Flag, there is a line that divides each side. If you run onto the other side and are tagged, you go to jail. However, most of the fun for these kids involves a bunch of them gathering at the line and trying to pull each other across the line so they can be tagged and go to jail. That's where the oil comes in. And it is also a fun thing to try and rip each other's underwear off. Yup. So we had completely naked boys running around or just chillin while they were guarding the flag. And they didn't care. There was none of this sexual tension or embarrassment here. The boys were just being boys and having a great time. It was really funny to watch though.
At one point Joe, Arienne, Jaclyn and I started throwing water balloons at them from the roof. At first the kids had no idea what was going on, and we scared them some times. But soon they thought it was fun, and they yelled at us "Good! Shower time!" However, the waterballoons had little effect because they were already half nake and covered with oil.
And mind you, these are tough kids. Really tough. For instance, when they were pulling each other over to their side, there would be gravel, roots, hard ground, and other rocks all over the place, and they didn't care. I heard one kid say "Oh, watch out for this area, there is broken glass. Ok, let's try to pull them across over there." And they would tip toe around the glass and continue pulling kids over. I saw kids walk around today and saw scratches all over them. But another note about their toughness: after we threw waterballoons at them, I think they were dissapointed that we were not throwing other things at them, like rocks or sticks. They would have found that to be more fun. So they started throwing some rocks at us, playfully, and us snipers on the roof backed away right away.
This went on from 7:30-10:30. I went to bed around 10:15, but I lay in bed listning to the final cheers and yelling of the game. As the 10:30 bell rang, everyone started cheering, and then they all shouted out that cheer I mentioned before, which was really cool.
Before I tried to go to sleep, however, Joe came down to the JVI house and came out side my window and said "AJ, get up, this is the best part." So I walked out onto our patio and listened. Suddenly, all 100 boys started signing Amazing Grace. Joe told me that they get in a big circle, arms around each other, and sing the first verse. It sounded amazing. Really beautiful. I wish I was there to see it, but even though our house was probably 100 yards away from the front of the school where they were signing, it still sounded phenomenal. It was really moving. Then one of the loud seniors yelled "St. Francis Xavier..." and the rest of the boys screamed "PRAY FOR US!" And they all cheered and went to bed. What an amazing finish.
I wish that happened in the states more often. Not necessarily singing Amazing Grace, but the whole part when we come together after a competition and become united and ... just feel good together. It was really moving. I can't wait to be part of that next time.
Take care.

Teaching!

What a week. I started teaching on Tuesday, and it has been one of the most exhausting, yet exhilarating and eye-opening week of my life. Teaching is very hard, as I’m sure all of you teachers reading this are and nodding your heads. I was waiting until Friday after school to add to my blog about teaching, so here we go. This is a long one.

I was very nervous for this day. Chris explained it as “we know a nuclear bomb has been launched and is heading for our direction. All we have to do now is wait, and waiting is hard.” That might have been a little over-the-top, but I knew what he meant. All of the lesson planning was done, and I just wanted to get up in front of the class for the first day and get it over with. I knew if I survived the first day I’d be all set. I was deathly afraid of making a first impression and laying down the rules.
So we had morning assembly at 8:00. Teachers made a few announcements. The Juniors and Seniors demonstrated this cheer for the new freshman, a cheer that students would do at a pep rally or at a sports game. They were banging on desks and shouting, and it was really cool. I am planning on recording it somehow and showing it to everyone. I’m also brining it back to the States.
Anyway, my first class. Junior English Skills. I have two sections, each with 17 kids. I introduced myself quickly, took attendance, told them that I WILL NOT remember their names for a while and that I will butcher their names as well when I called them out. The students laughed at that. A teacher admitting that he or she is about to make a mistake eased the tension a bit. I then explained prayer, how I will say a quick prayer before each and every class. Then I handed out the syllabus and we went over everything (introduction to the course, course objectives, materials, grading, assignments, and finally the rules). I only have three rules, and they are the same for each of my classes: Respect Yourself, Respect Me, and Respect Each other. We talked about those three rules, and then quickly discussed what specific rules would fall under each of those main rules (for example, talking in class disrespected the teacher and others, so that’s breaking two rules, and so on.) Most of the syllabus and rules were modeled after some from a JV last year, but I also came up with a lot.
I did this in each class. I talked a lot. I surprised myself when I started getting really passionate about why each subject is important (the other one is Sophomore World History).
I also had each class call me “Professor”. They seemed to like that a lot and are still calling me that.
Classes are 40 minutes long. The first day was very technical. Just handing out syllabi and going on about rules and why this course is great. I was hoarse by the end of the 4 classes, but I made it. The Juniors are great, because they are not shy, they are more outgoing, and more willing to speak out in class. There are some kids who are still shy. For instance, when I ask if a certain student is there for attendance, he or she will basically whisper their name looking down at the desk. It’s cute. The Sophomores will take a lot of work to get them to participate. They are very shy and quiet. I head the Freshman are even worse.
After school was over for that day, I felt very good. I didn’t do anything too embarrassing, and I had the kids in class laugh a few times. I even noticed they were all interested when I was talking at some points, which was great. So it was a great day. The nervousness and excitement did not wear off for a few hours.

The second day was also fine. The students and I got past the nervousness of the first day. I spent the entire English Skills and History periods focusing solely on “Why This Subject Is Important”. I figured once we were all sure of this, the students would not questions this for the rest of the year. For the Juniors I gave them homework to write “What Writing Means to Me” and for the Sophs I had them write their own history. Writing their own history allowed them to point out things they wrote about, and I showed them how they picked things that were important and helped them notice certain themes that were similar in everyone’s histories. I also pointed out that each person will find certain things different with the same set of facts. The Juniors equated writing with many things, like fishing, running, playing a game, being stranded on an island, drowning. It was great because they were very honest. I let them know before I gave out the assignment that if they really really hated writing, that would be great, but they had to let me know. I think that threw them off guard, a teacher saying it’s ok if their students think writing awful. So we had fun reading off some of the examples in class. Then in each class I handed them a short list of why I think each of those subjects is important. We discussed it, then the day was over. Again, I was exhausted and even more hoarse since I did so much talking.

The next morning, during morning assembly, I made an announcement for signing up for this year’s drama production Romeo and Juliet. However, in front of all the kids, instead of saying Romeo and Juliet, I was about to say “Shakespeare in Love.” I caught myself before I finished, but everyone caught on and started to laugh, which I in turn thought was actually really funny, so I bounced back fine. So now under the sign up sheets, and whenever I remind people to sign up, the sheet reads or I say “Sign up for Romeo and Juliet….not Shakespeare in love”
The third day was fine. I realized a few things from the first two days of teaching: I need to talk slower and I need to dumb things down a bit, especially for my sophomores. See, the whole Social Studies curriculum is completely changing this year (I don’t know if I mentioned this yes….I’ve been writing this blog over a span of 3 days) and I am supposed to teach these Sophomores everything they were supposed to learn Freshman year in like 2-3 weeks. I found out that I not only have to teach them the material they missed, but the skills they do not know. They did geography and Pacific history last year. They do not know note taking, reading a time line, graphs, charts, and their geography is pretty poor. I decided to put that to the test on the third day for World History class: the entire day’s lesson was on how to take notes, and I was going to give them notes on Themes in History as an example. However, an hour before class I photocopied blank maps, wrote 17 different places on a key (as easy as places like North America and the Pacific Ocean to difficult things such as Egypt, Europe, The Mediterranean Sea, and Cuba). Out of 40 pairs of students ( I let them work in pairs) only 2 got all 17 perfect. A lot of people do not know very simple geographical locations. That bothered me a lot. What did these kids learn last year as freshman. So now I have to spend time having them review geography.
Anyway, in English skills I had the students write down 10 topics they want to write about this year. I told them if they can only become better writers by practicing their writing, why write about boring things. I’ll let them write about things they want to, as long as it can turn into long essays. They liked to hear that. Then we did a grammar review (what I’ll be doing next week too before we get into the serious writing aspect of the course).
At the end of the day, it started to pour, I mean a lot. I thought I was going to experience my first typhoon, but the winds did not get that strong. However, it poured nonstop from about 4 in the afternoon until past midnight. The girls, who get driven home every day at 5:00 PM, were stuck on campus until 7:30 because their bus was having problems. It was hectic for a while as soaked students were running all over the place, and the girls were waiting in line to use the one phone in the school. The guys were a little rowdy after they left, I think because the girls were on campus for so long.

Friday, yesterday, the fourth day of teaching, was a beautiful day. I had a study period second period (meaning I had to sit in the study hall as I watched over the freshman study) but other than that it was a drop day for the Juniors, so I only had two classes at the end of the day with the sophomores. We went over note taking again, then I played a map game with them, where I asked them questions and then they had to point to a piece of paper covering a place on the map indicating that is where their answer is located (for instance, my question would be “Gandhi is from here” and they would say India and the team that got it right would point to a note card covering India on the map….sadly, no one in both classes has heard of Gandhi. Seriously. No one.) It went very well

After the last class, I felt great. I loved the weekend so much at that point. It is now Saturday afternoon as I’m finishing this blog. I was so tired. Except I promised myself that, as a reward for finishing my first week of teaching, I would start Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I was up until 1 reading it last night (my usual bed time is now 10, earlier if I can help it) and I finished it this afternoon. Amazing book. I was quite sad at the end.
After a nice game of Frisbee and a good night’s sleep, I’m excited to make next week lessons more efficient, and hopefully, I will have to do less talking. It’s not that I don’t want to do anything, but I feel I’ve been lecturing too much. This isn’t college. They would probably do better reading mixed with group activities mixed with individual research. A little bit of lecturing would be good.

Thanks for reading this blog. If you have any specific questions about teaching (I’m sure I forgot a lot) please please please ask me. Anyway, thanks for the letters to those who have sent them out. I miss you all a lot. I think reading Harry Potter has made me a little homesick for the first time, but I’m surrounded by really cool and fun people here, and I’m very busy. I’ll write again soon. Much love.

PS: With all of the love I have been surrounded by here, I have found some room for pure hatred: there is this rooster, I may have mentioned him before, who we affectionately call Peevus. He makes a racket at ungodly hours during the night and way to early in the morning. He now has a friend who screeches for minutes on end at like 4 and 5 in the morning. I think one morning I will hunt them down and kill them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a loving person. I love to eat chicken.

The Exorcist...Chuuk style...

This is no joke. I was eating dinner (rice and some beef stew with Lawrey's season salt ....Garden Catering season salt) with a few teachers, and Father Author, the Fijian Jesuit Director, was sitting with us. Reaally smart guy, on the level. I don't know how it came up, but he was talking about a student of his (back when he was head mater at a Fijian school) was possessed by an evil spirit. He was completely serious. The other Jesuit priest at the table heard of this too and took the conversation seriously.
For a week this 16 year old boy would fall on the floor between 5 and 8 at night and a girl would possess his body. Fr. Author was summoned to the dorm where this boy lay, and the "girl" spirit would be laughing at him. He sprayed holy water on the boy and everything, asking the girl spirit to leave this boy, and that this boy belonged to him. He didn't perform an actual exorcism because he needed permission from the bishop and it's a very risky process. How crazy is that! Apparently possessions are normal here in the Pacific. But only with a certain age bracket, something like 12-18 year olds. It was really interesting to here. The other priest, Fr. Bill, really beleieved in evil spirits, since he beleives equally in good spirits. One, long ago when he was a young priest, he was playing around with a Ouija Board, just kidding around. He was playing with a male and female student. Out of no where, the girl said she was pregnant. Fr. Bill asked from who. She said it was an evil spirit. So he jokingly decided to ask the Ouija Board who was the father. After a while, the three of them apparently spelled out "The child is mine." Freaky stuff. So just to let you know, possessions are a regular occurance here, so if i mention it in the future, don't be freaked out. Don't be freaked out by this blog, i just thought it was interesting.

Also, dont' see The Emperor's Club with Kevin Kline. We thought it would inspire us to be awesome teachers, like Dead Poets Society. Awful movie.

Crunch Time

Nothing really new to report. The male students are arriving on campus. So this quiet place will soon be busy with highschoolers. I've been doing a lot of reading (reading the leadership books the school Director "recommended" that I should read, my English and Debate books, and a lot of history books. The first couple of chapters in World History (the Byzatine empire, rise of Islam, Middle Ages) are parts of history I have NEVER learned before, so this will be interesting. We're going to meetings about school policies and stuff like that. Hopefully I figure out how I will be a teacher in the next 5 days.

Just a heads up, check out the pictures on my web site. I adde some to both my "Chuuk 1" and "Orientation and Travelling" albums. The ones I aded in Orientation and Travelling are mostly from Hawaii, since I didn't bring my camera to the north shore but Jaclyn did. The other ones I added are just more pictures to make all of you jealous.

But seriously, nothing really new to report. Just a lot of time in my office, avoiding cockroaches, and trying desperately hard to sleep in the silent, very hot nights when the generator shuts off and so does my fan. We also went out to eat to the island's second fanciest resturaunt (the Truk Stop ... Chuuk used to be called Truk). At best it tasted like something found at an OK Chinese Buffet place. Not the good ones, like the one in Worcester, but an OK one.

Anyway, please keep posting comments. I love them. If you need something to write, write suggestions on how to run an effective classroom. The zannier the better.
I also got some letters, so thank you for those who wrote to me. I'll write back as soon as possible. Much love.

Fanu

Fanu is an island at the edge of the atoll. The 4 other JVs, Kieran, the Xavier staff and I took a few motor boats from a nearby dock to go there for a picnic today. The ride was awesome. It took about 25 minutes to get from Weno to this other small island. There were not many waves, but we were going pretty fast and the small boat was bumping up and down hard, which was fun. Only if I can travel to my friends' houses like that at home.
Passing by the island was amazing. I haven't really seen a tropical paradise getaway until this. If you can picture a deserted, uninhabited island that you day dream about, this is it. The water was clear and hot, and the sand was white. The island was probably not even 50 yards big in every direction. In the back of the island there was very shallow coral that we could walk on. We walked through it, checking out the small tropical fish swimming around and the amazing plants and coral. You walk about 30 yards through this shallowness until you hit the actual Pacific Ocean. Today was calm, so the surf wasn't the bad, but the waves were pretty big. We would have gone swimming in the waves, but there was no real beach or sand to crash into, just sharp hard coral.
Lunch was great. By great I don't mean a bowl of Angel Hair pasta with home made pesto sauce with a Dr. Pepper on the side. I mean it was an experience. They had local food: bread fruit, taro, fish they literally just caught (they swim out, tred water, and lower a hook down. Pretty simple, but effective), rice, and some cooked chicken. The best part was that we had to eat it with the local utensils: our fingers. I actually ate the fish, too, thank you very much. So it was pretty cool to eat this local food, on a small itty bitty island with sand, coral and palm trees, with some Chuukese staff. After lunch Joe, Chris and I put on our flippers and went snorkling (towards the lagoon side, obviously). We were in the water for about 2 hours. I have the sunburned back to prove it. But snorkling made snorkling by the Japanese dock look pretty bad. The day was pretty clear, so we were able to see pretty far down. We saw huge, pretty coral, hundreds of tropical fish, and two small sharks (coral sharks, half the size of your arm, don't worry). We even saw one of the staff members spear fishing. One Chuukese staff said i can learn how to spear fish with him next time.
So we were there all day. I'll need to get the pictures out soon, cause they were honestly those types of pictures you'd find on the tropical posters or postcards. It was pretty amazing.
I'm glad this week is all about hiking and swimming and travelling around the island and lagoon. Next week will be quiet, but a lot of prep for actual work. Then the week after that the kids come to campus, and things will be insane. And next thing I'll know it will be Christmas break, sunny and 83 degrees an palm trees still around me.
Keep on posting.

One Tree Mountain

So that's what we climbed today. It's the highest point on the island. I thought treking to the lighthouse yesteray was intense, but the jungle we had to go through today made the lighthouse journey seem like a clean-cut backyard in Greenwich. I had to take my sandles off at one point (don't freak out) because my feet were too muddy and wet and were slipping around on the rocks, clay, and whatever else I was stepping in. The jungle plants and "grass" went as short as 1 foot high and as tall as probably 20 feet. Chris, Jaclyn, Joe, Adrienne, Kieran, and Boody (Booty? He's from Indonesia) even had to scale some pretty steep slopes at one point. But it was well worth it to stand on the grassy hill overlooking the air strip, small towns and lagoon with countless small islands scattered about. It's called One Tree Mountain because the Peace Corps planted a tree up there as the result of finishing a bigger project down in the town ... or something like that. The tree is definitely foreign. I'll get the pictures up soon.
Father Author is a really cool guy. He's Fijian, like I mentioned. He looks like that famous Japanese actor that played opposite Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. Fr. Author is very smart, but likes to take his time and comes off as a very wise, experienced person. I decided to go mass in his little house. It was simply 5 of us sitting around a cheap, plastic table with a bible on it, the water and wine in minuature water bottles, and Fr. Author sitting in his normal, sweaty clothing behind it, except with a finely pressed ... thing that goes around his neck and flows down his body. I forgot what they're called. Someone help me out. Anyway, mass was nice.
I won't be pulishing posts this often. It just so happens that I have free time now and there is so much that's going on. Starting tomorrow I will start going over my curriculum for World History and English Skills. I'm reaing another book Fr. Author gave us that is for beginning teachers. It emphasizes that the first day makes or breaks the rest of the year. No pressure. I think I'll stand on my desk Dead Poets Society style. If any of you have great ideas for my first day that will get my students to love, fear and respect me, please comment.
Anyway, keep sending love. I love, I mean, really love it when you post comments. And here is my adress again:
A.J. Cabrera
Jesuit Volunteer International
Xavier High School
P.O. Box 220
Chuuk, FMS 96942

Peace

Still doing fine...

Hey everyone.
So last night we decided to go on the roof of Xavier and look at stars. We busted out a big telescope to check out the moon and stuff. We also looked through an old book on stars that was probably made in the 1960s and looked for constelations. Then we had the great idea of sleeping under the stars. So we got out some "mats", which meant we weren't touching the concrete. We "slept" until 4 in the morning, when the rain started. It didn't get any lighter, so we went back into our rooms.
Now about my room, if you were curious. It's by far the smallest room on the campus. It is a small room in this old, rickitty house at the edge of the property with two stories. 4 girls rooms upstairs, 2 downstairs. Mine used to be a kicten, apparently. There is enough room for a bed, a small table...and that's it. The sink doesnt work, there is room to walk to the shared bathroom, and there are two shelves above my bed. You're supposed to keep books up there, which is what I do, but I also keep all of my other belongings, incluing all of my clothing. I think I will tie string to the random nails in the wall so I can hang some clothing. There is a clothes line outside my room which is where the patio is. That's where I hang my dirty clothing for now.
So all around us there are cats, chickens, roosters (the one named Peevus ... Jaclyn name it... wakes us up every morning at 6) geckos, cockroaches, spiders, ants, mangy dogs, huge moths, frogs and I think that's it. The wild kittens are pretty cute. I played with them outside for about 45 minutes.
We just drove into town to pick up some things. Our only vehicle is a blue pick up truck, and the front can fit three people and the rest have to ride in the back, which is fun since it rains all the time an the roads are incledibly bumpy and full of potholes. I decided that I will not ride shotgun for the next two years so I will have to ride the back whenever we drive some where. It's a lot more fun that way, and I can wave to all of the locals all the time.
Quick Chuukese lesson, which I have been having for an hour for the past three days:
Ran annim - good day
nessor annim - good morning
nukion annim - good afternoon
nepwong annim - good evening
kote pwang ekieki - dont worry
ifa assum - how are you
petekum - Fine
Most surprising thing about Chuuk so far...honestly, the smell. They do not do a good job...or any job... with waste management or garbage disposal. They leave everything on the side of the road or even at the edge of the water, so it's really hard to find a good place to swim. That's why we swam at the japanese dock.
Yesteray we hiked to the Japanese light house, the third highest point on the island. We had a MUCH better panoramic view of the island and the lagoon. We could see the coral reef that protects the lagoon. I took many pictures. Hiking there was fun. It got so thick that it seemed like jurassic park or the beginning of Radiers of the lost ark. A local gave us some cocnuts which he just cut down and we all drank them. They're not that sweet, but it was very refreshing in the intense heat. Oh yeah, I took a big knife and cut up a cocnut on the first day. I forgot to mention that.
I met with the director of the school today, a Fijian Jesuit name Father Author. Great guy. This is the first year that we will be revising the Social Studies curriculum, so it will be interesting to teach it this year. He also asked me to help him with his Leadership project for the school. Once a month the entire school will participate in activities that combine traits of the traditional Micronesian Navigators (also the mascot of our school) with the traits of leadership. He actually studied leadership in Stanford, and gave me two leadership books to read from a guy who teaches at the Kennedy school of business. I'm just trying to sound impressive now. But seriously, it seems like interesting stuff, an I'm glad he has asked for my help. Why me, I don't know, but it will be good.
I'm reading the Life of Pi now. I highly recoomend it.
Each class name has it's own name, like the Patriots or Gladiators or something "cool" like that. Father Author wants to get rid of that name because it promotes violence in the long term (studies have proven that if you are assosiated with a violent mascot/idea/name you are more prone to acting out in violent ways in the future). So if you can think of any cool yet non violent class names, send them this way.
Ok, I'm getting pretty tired. Sometime this weekend we're going to travell to another island in the lagoon, which will be awesome because it will be more rugged and the people will be more traditional than those here on Weno. We will also meet our host families, which will be awesome. I love your comments, so keep posting them.
Peace out
AJ

What a week

Hey everyone.
It's my 4th day here in Micronesia. A lot has been going on, but I need to say what has happened in the past 6 days or so. This will be a long and detailed blog, so I have divided it by chapter titles. Enjoy!

Hawaii - Part 1
Hawaii - Part 2
Flying
Chuuk Days 1 and 2
Chuuk Days 3 and today


Hawaii - Part 1

So after a quick stop in DC, I fly out of Dulles at 6 in the morning. I arrive in Houston about 2 hours later, and after a quick 1 1/2 hour lay over in Texas, I start my 7 1/2 hour flight to "paradise", as the pilot kept repeating over the loud speaker. I watched XXX:State of the Union with Ice T (or Ice Cube), and I am sorry for that. But I did get much needed sleep and slept for like 4 hours on the plane.
It was my first time travelling alone, and it felt good. I was travelling alone because for whatever reason JVI booke my ticket a day later than the other 5 "islaner" volunteers (two of them being Chris and Jaclyn, my community mates, an the other three, Jacqueline, Emily and Greg, going to Majuro in the Marshall Islands). But when I arrived in Honolulu (which was beautiful to say the least) Trunce (what we call Jaclyn, since her last name is Truncelito) was nice enough to meet up with me at the airport. I got my bags, and Julie, a former JV who is married and lives in Hawaii, picked us up and drove 20 minutes to downtown Honolulu by Waikiki beach, the famous tourist hang out.
It was beautiful. Very touristy, but you can still get the tropical feel. It wasn't too hot and it was beautiful. We had the tall, green mountains towards the middle of the island, with misty clouds covering the tops of the mountain, and then there was the beautiful Pacific beaches behind the luxurious hotels and resturaunts. Not bad.
I met up with the other volunteers who have already been there for one night and we rented bikes from a BYU grad who was very nice, as most Mormons are. Biking through downtown Honolulu and up the hill towards Diamond Head park (a volcano crator) was an amazing time. I could have been doing this forever.
We hike up the mountain all the way to the top, and we were able to see all of Honolulu and the mountains and the Pacific. I honestly have never seen so many shades of blue in my life.
After hiking we bike back down to the city, ate dinner, then chilled on the beach for a while an then passed out. It was very relaxing and comfortable. Hawaii is really everything everyone says it is. So I had my fill, and I was ready to wake up at 4 the next day to make our 7:00 flight to Chuuk.
Little did I know that I was not done with Hawaii yet.

Hawaii - Part 2

It's Wednesday. So we get to the airport, put our bags in, get through security and all of that. However, Chris and Jaclyn don't have seat numbers. The rest of us do. When we board, we find out that the flight is over booked and there is no room for those two. We try to get people to stay in Hawaii, but it doesn't work. So I volunteer my seat and the three of us end up getting a paid hotel, free meals and taxi for the next two days. Not a bad deeal, but we did want to be in Chuuk. We were all very psyched and ready. But we coulnd't really complain.
So we had food at Dukes (this nice and inexpensive resturaunt on the beach. It was the only place the voucher worked other than this upscale restuaruant that would not really have gotten us much).
After a much needed 4 hour nap, we went to an international flea market, bought some board shorts (oh yeah, since our bags were in Chuuk at this point, all I had was one pair of underwear and two shirts. I think I had more than what chris and Jaclyn were carrying with them). Jaclyn had to buy guy board shorts as well that went over her knees, because girls are not allowed to have skirts or shorts shorter than their knees. She looked pretty funny.
We then walke on the beach, which was very unreal because whenever I turne around to look at the buildings, it was just like a postcard.
The next day was amazing. I had 3 "Best ___ Ever" experiences.
We took a bus to the North Shore, meaning we wanted to get our of the city and go through the mountains and see what Hawaii was really about. Our first stop was at this beach/park, but since we got there early no one was there. It was honestly one of the most beautiful beaches ever, making it my first "Best Beach Ever" experience. If you're a marine biologist, you woul have been jealous. There was a huge, steep green mountain behind us and palm trees all over the park. There was also a good sized rock formation about 200 yards out from the beach, and this beach went far out into the bay, so we can see Hawaii all around. I'll get pictures soon.
Then we caught another bus and stayed on for literally 5 minutes until we saw awesome waves (since the road went along the coast) and we got off and found a very small strip of sand whhere the waves were crashing. It wasnt techinically a beach, but there was sand and water. And noooo people. This was on the East Coast of the island. So we had our own private beach and went swimming in the huge waves for abour 3 hours. After swimming in the ocean for hours, Jaclyn Chris and I let the waves push us aroun on the beach for another hour. It was therefore my "Best Ocean Swimming Experience" ever. We were exhausted, sun burnt, sandy and salty, but it was great.
We caught the bus again, smelling like beach bums, started talking with a Chuukese teacher, then got off at Sunset Beach in the North Shore. The North Shore is world famous for surfing. But the waves were very tame. They are intense only in the winter. We got some ready made pasta from a local super market, brought it to a nearby beach, sat on some rocks, and watched the sunset. Honestly, most "Beautiful Sunset Ever" experience. I don't have pictures, but Jaclyn does, so I'll set up a link for that soon. The colors and beams of light and shaes of blue in the sky as the sun set in the vast Pacific ocean was very moving. Great times.
So we got back on the bus after the sunset, went back to Dukes, met a waitress from, you got it, Greenwich CT, and then passed out.
We got up the next day around 5 and then heade to the airport, to try to make our destination one more time.

Travelling

It was a bit startling at first when we found out that Chris and Jaclyn did not have seats again. But the airline remembered us, so we got boared first. The plane was packed again, and it was a 747, i think. Three seats and three seats on either side, with 29 rows. I would know that number, because I was seat 29 E. I sat next to a minister from Tennessee going to the Marshall Islands for a conference and we talked a bit, and on my right was a Micronesian woman who was pretty big. Most Micronesia women are pretty big in size. Nothing wrong with that.
I slept a bit for the 4 hour ride to Majuro in the Marshalls. It was beautiful to see the atoll from above, and I have a picture of that. We stopped for a bit, then went to Kwajelon (spelling?), a bigger atoll. Then after that was Kosrea, which is a small island 6 miles wide in the middle of nowhere. There were cars and people lined up around the airport fence to either see people off or just watch the plane land. Planes come into the islands every 3 days. Perhaps watching this plane land and take off is one of the more exciting things on the island to see.
Then we went to Pohnpie (spelling) which was beautiful and it had the most modern airpport (meaning there was airconditioning inside). I have a nice picture of me in the airport and some from the air.
Finally, after moving in through some clouds, we reached Chuuk. We first flew over the coral reef surrounding the islands in the lagoon, then we saw Weno, the 3 mile wide island. I have pictures, even though it was a bit misty we could see it clearly.
We had to make a second pass at the runway, which was a bit unsettling, and us three volunteers wanted to get there already! But during the whole time we cirlced the island we just coulnt beleive that this was going to be our home for the next two years. Crazy.
We landed in the small airstrip and then got inside the airport.

Chuuk - Days 1 and 2

Joe, Adrienne, Anne and Keirran met us with a big sign saying "Welcome to Beleize Rostro de Christo". Beleize is another JVI placement, and Rostro de Christo (Face of Christ) is another international volunteer group set in Ecuador that shared the orientation with us. So it was good to start off with silliness. Joe is the other JV, red hair from Montana, and Adrienne is the other JV from Michigan. Anne finished her JV tour last year, but is staying on for a third year as Principal of Xavier High. That's right. I can be Princepal in two years. Scary. Keirran is just out of high school from Australlia who is volunteering here with us through an Austraillian program. He's here until Decemeber and then he'll go to Sydney U.
We found our bags that have been chillin in the airport for the past 3 days (although it took a while, since once the plane takes off again, most of the Airport staff goes home) and then put everything into the back of a blue pickup truck, which is our only means of vehical transportation. We all sat in the back, which was awesome, and made our way up the hill to Xavier.
We passed many locals who are extremely friendly and curious. Chuuk is interesting since it is literally a tropicall paradise yet there is a lot of garbage and sewage and poverty all around us. Yet the people are very welcoming and beautiful.
Xavier is on top of a hill so we have a pretty nice view. The school used to be a Japanese bunker. I'll show you pictures later. It is pretty big, and even though it looks like it's crumbling from the outside, inside is pretty nice. Xavier is one of the more elite schools in Micronesia.
We put our bags in our rooms. The JVs have their own little house at the edge of the property. It is literally right next to a jungle. I am pretty sure I have the smallest room. It is quite a wake up call. I don;'t really have room to put my clothing, and on the first day alone I found two big cockroaches and a gecko chillin in my room. I share a bathroom with Joe who lives right next to me. Chris is currently sleeping in a faculty room above the boys dorm, but we're going to move him into Joe's room soon. Adrienne an Jaclyn live above us.
Since we were pretty exhausted from travelling, and it was getting late Hawaii time, we just chilled in one of the huts the students made and had some snacks.
It was pretty hot, so sleeping was pretty hard. But I passed out around 10 Chuuk time and woke up the next day to roosters at 6. They didnt stop until 7. I showered (and to save water, I quickly drench myself, turn off the water, then apply soap and shampoo, then quickly wash it off), had breakfast in the faculty lounge, which is pretty nice, met more of the staff, and then went back into town for Sunay mass.
It was long! 2 1/2 hours sitting in a packed church which was pretty hot. But everyone looked really good, and even though it was all in Chuukese, the children's choir was amazing. I could have listened to them all days. They were very cerimonious when it came to presenting the water, wine and hosts. They put the gifts onto a small canoe and carried it down the isle as the children were signing.
After the mass we were invited to a community hall behind the church where we ate local food for the first time. There was a lot of bread fruit, fish, tapioca, sweet soup, and pig. I ate most of it. Then some girls from the youth group put on a show for us and did some traditional dances which was very similar to Hawaiian dances. Then they started picking people from the crowd to dance with them, and of course, they picked me, and of course, I pretended to be shy at first and then started breaking it down. Not full force, but enough to get everyone laughing at the crazy American. A lot of elderly women came up to me afterwards to tell me I was a good dancer. It was a lot of fun. The girls always where dresses so they are always very pretty, but they are very shy. They like it a lot, especially the children, when you say hi to them, especially when we're in the back of the pickup truck an d we have to them.
After lunch, we heade back to Xavier, then hiked down to the other side of the island, deep into the jungle, until we reached a rock dock that streched out to the lagoon about 50 yards. We jumped in the extremely warm water and went snorkling for about an hour. It was very beautiful and fun. I saw many tropical fish and plants. It was very safe, so don't worry.
Walking to and from the dock gave us an even clearly view of how poor this island is. It is very sad but joyous at the same time to see how happy everyone is.
Back at Xavier we cleaned up, took a tour of the place, ate some fried chicken an rice for dinner, then passed out again. I saw a huge spider in my room but i was too tired to care.

Chuuk - Days 3 and Today


After a nice night's sleep, I went running with Trunce, Joe and Chris. Trunce is a hardcore runner, and hopefully she gets me back into the habit. It was pretty brutal, since it was aso hot and humid, but it was fun running down the road passing locals. They love it when you try an speak to them: "Ran annin" means "good day" and "nessor annim" means "good morning". Little kids ran with us every now and then. It was really nice.
After breakfast, which is usually cereal, we went farther down town to the markets and post office. There i got some mouth wash, some Austriallian cookies calle Tim Tams (Adrienne says they're amazing, which they are), and something called a style towel, which you can wear aroun your neck or over your head to wipe sweat away or make a bandana or something cool. I'll get pictures of it soon.
When we got back we had a llonger tour of the place, checking out the huge shower room the boys use (it's like a cave with shower heads sticking out of the wall) and their toilet house, which is literally stalls with a hole in the ground surroune by walls and a roof. Then we got a quick Chuukese lesson from a local which was fun. Then we had dinner, relaxe a bit, then had a meeting with the community to go over expecations for the year in terms of how we define community, spirituality, social justice, and simple living. Then we went up to the roof quickly and checke out all of the stars since it was the first clear night since we got there.
Today I ran again with Trunce, which was good, but it was hotter this time. I'll be in shape soon enough.
After lunch we're going to hike to the Japanese light house on top of a hill, then eat down town with a former JV.

All in all, this place is very exotic and interesting. I feel as if I'm adjusting to the hot weather easily, and the bugs and humidity are not bothering me as much. I cannot wait until school starts. I saw a bunch of great books in the library. I will be a World History expert by the time i come home. Also, since I'm teaching Junior English skills, it will be more focused on writing essays and debate and not so much on basics, which makes me feel a lot better. I really cannot wait to teach, because it will be a learning experience for me as well.
Being thrown into this strange and wonderous culture is very overwhelming, but it's an adventure that I am sure is feeding my restlessness and curiosity. Everyone here is so nice and helpful, and the Chuukese people are great human beings.
Alright, I've been on this computer way too much. Time for lunch and more reading, then hiking. I miss you all. Post comments or email me. I'll talk to you all soon.
Much love,
AJ

Hello from Chuuk, Micronesia

Hello everyone.
Welcome to my blog. Instead of getting mass emails from me, this is where you can find out what's going on in my life. You will also be able to get to my pictures link and other fun things.
I have many things to write about, especially my last 2 days in Hawaii and my first 3 days in Chuuk. SOO much to talk about.
My next post will be pretty long, but remember this site. This is where you should go to get updates on my adventure and you will be able to post comments, which I would like a lot.
Talk to you soon and keep in touch. Peace
AJ