Some Cultural Differences

Something interesting about Lent which is coming up. Normally we Catholics give up meat on Fridays. However, that doesn’t make any sense in the islands. So at Sunday at mass Fr. Arthur told us that we’d be giving up rice. The students gasped. That makes more sense since we give should give up something big.

Also, I’m teaching SAT prep, and the new SAT has a section that involves essays. The principle gave me an SAT practice book, and I looked through all of the essays. Some of them are impossible for the Juniors to do. Not because they’re too hard, but they’re geared towards American society. Here is one example:

“Have professional sports influenced the values of American society?”

That one is obvious. Here is one that you may not understand would be hard for these Micronesian students to write about:

Quote: “A man walking down a crowded street noticed a dog lying by the side of the road that looked like it might be injured; but since everyone else just passed by, the man was satisfied to assume that the dog was fine. The next day he learned that the dog had been hit by a car and lay injured for two hours before a concerned man stopped and took it to the vet. The animal recovered, but the man never forgave himself for leaving it for someone else to help.”

Now, the assignment asks you to write a well developed and clear 400 word essay on your view on individual responsibility in the situation described above. To be fair, I’m sure most of the Juniors could figure how to find a point of view on individual responsibility. However, this is not fair for a Micronesian for two main reasons. 1) They do not treat dogs like pets here. They’re all over the islands, skinny, dirty, dying and not really treated well by anyone. Why would anyone even be concerned about a dog in the first place. 2) The idea of a vet is foreign to people here. The only real animal you would be concerned about is your pig, which is where they get most of their meat from. But each family takes care of their own pig, so they are the vet. Anyway, I thought that was an interesting cultural difference.

Dance Night, Chuuk Education, Sponsor Family

It’s been a while. A lot has happened since I last updated you with stuff.

Dance Night

Since I last updated my blog on my amazing trip to Tol, the first out-of-the-ordinary event was Dance Night. 3rd Quarter is hard because, once Christmas break ends, there are really not any important breaks or events until Easter, so there is this long stretch of time that usually gets to the students and teachers. However, the students really get excited for Dance Night and take it very seriously. The Junior Class prepared it. It was on a Saturday night and the girls were bussed up here around 5 in the afternoon. The Juniors did an amazing job turning the dark, moldy gym into a rockin’ dance hall. They rented huge speakers, got lights set up, great decorations. All from the few recourses available on campus, plus toilet paper and a bunch of palm trees. But it looked good (I’ll try to get pics on soon) mostly because they worked very hard. The Juniors can barely work together on a research paper, but they put all of their energy and time into making the dance look good. Typical high schoolers. However, it was impressive, especially since I think back to my high school dances and all of the work and money that went into it – buying from those corny catalogues, picking those themes.
From those who know me, they know that I, well, love to dance. You would have been impressed with my will power, because I did not dance that night. I refrained because the faculty were acting as chaperones/guards (some of the people from the neighborhood have been known to crash these dances, and that usually equals trouble. No intruders this year, thankfully.) But I still had a good time.
The remarkable thing was the difference between this dance and typical high school dances. Especially with what the girls wore. The girls definitely dressed “down” for this dance, but by dress down I mean wearing pants instead of a long skirt, or a t-shirt instead of a formal dress. When I think of girls dressing down for dances, I recall the females dressing a bit, well, let’s just say “loose” and “informally”. You get what I mean. Here, the girls were wearing X-L t-shirts, baggy clothing, and very unflattering clothing. And they didn’t care at all. They all had a great time. It was a comfort to know that you could go dancing and have fun while not trying to make yourself look like a whore.
It took a long time for the kids to start dancing. It was cute in a way. All of those tough kids who were all talk showed their true selves when they stayed in the dark corner all night, not inching near the dance floor. Halfway through the night, when the students finally did get the courage to dance, it was very comical to watch the dance floor fill up, then as SOON as the song was done, they would literally rush off as fast as they could. They are very bashful when it comes to standing out. And it is a very cultural thing.
Thankfully, nothing major happened. Good night for everyone.


Blue Lagoon Retreat

Our faculty retreat was at Blue Lagoon, the very comfortable resort at one edge of the island. It is mostly used by divers, so there are a good amount of Americans and Aussies there. I’ve been there before for meals (all very delicious and expensive and a tiny break from the simple living aspect) but I have never stayed over before. However, we used the grounds of this resort for the entire day for prayer and reflection with the other faculty, and we stayed over. So we had three meals there total, and for the first time in 7 months, I slept on a real bed (with multiple layers!!) and in the air conditioning. I was freezing when I woke up, but I did get a lot of sleep. Filling myself with good pasta for the first time was not a bad thing as well.
When I got back home to Xavier, however, it did not feel as if I were crossing a boundary of comfortable/uncomfortable. I felt at ease in the sweaty, surrounded-by-jungle, a bit run-down atmosphere. I think it was weird for me to enter into Blue Lagoon and stay there for a while. It makes me think of the true culture shock I will receive when I come home. It’s so far away, but I know I will be shell shocked. But I think that’s a good thing, and that feeling I will get when I get home is one of the points of this whole mission: to have a different perspective on my world when I get home.




Problems with Chuuk Education

As you know we gave out the Entrance Exam last month. The new Australian volunteers have been working non-stop to correct the scores, as well as calculate different percentages and comparing data and all of that with each school on each island.
Normally, Chuuk doesn’t do so well. Out of all the Micronesian nations (Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrea an the Marshall Islands) Chuuk is the poorest state. That is why Xavier is located on this island, because of the Jesuit mission of serving the poor. The Chuukese school system is very bad because of many reasons, most certainly because it is under funded, teachers do not bother even showing up, and the parents’ attitude towards their children getting educated. It is just hard for most of them, plus education is not always the best option for them, because the kids need to take care of the family.
This year something major happened with the test results. Only 2 Chuukese students passed the test. One was Japanese, who did very well, and the Chuukese girl barely qualified. However, that doesn’t even mean that she got in to Xavier, it just means that she is now under consideration. Apparently in the past, the school has lowed the bar a bit just for the Chuukese students to allow some to enter in the school. This has its problems, of course, since the other schools aren’t fairly treated, and the Freshman teachers always have a very hard time with them since they are not qualified, plus it is hard for the student themselves. But this year, Xavier decided to be firm and not lower the bar.
The news was very shocking and sad. Having a school in Chuuk with no Chuukese students for the incoming Freshman class is a hard thing to accept. However, it is important to send the message to Chuuk that they need to start taking their education seriously. On the other hand, the other volunteers and I (who are working with this Jesuit mission in mind) did not come here to serve the wealthier and more fortunate students of Micronesia. It was also a shock to the students, and it both hurt our Chuukese students, but also did not surprise them since they are very familiar with the system they came from.
Currently, we are working things out with the community. Fr. Arthur has been talking to parents and teachers and principles from around the island, and there is talks of setting up a tutoring/summer school program here.
It’s sad, but it’s the reality here, and it’s one of the eye-opening experiences that we face in a place like this.

Sponsor Family

So I finally got my sponsor family! It was really exciting to get one. I have been putting it off for a long time. I heard that time with a sponsor family is one of the best experiences you can have on a mission like this. So Antonia, one of the school's treasurers, has this family friend who was actually supposed to have a sponsor son/daughter last year, but the JV never made it.
So I finally set up a weekend where nothing was going on and I let Antonia to let my family know that I'd like to come down. They were thrilled, of course.
The wife (I think her name is Nerami) and their daughter, Delarine, a senior at another high school downtown, picked me up on the road near Xavier. I had to walk down the narrow, slippery path in the jungle behind the JVI house to get to the road. I waited with some other Chuukese on the road, one of them being one of the security guards. They picked me up in their car and we drove down towards the Japanese dock. So apparently we passed their house dozens of times. This road that goes to the dock is a very rocky and muddy road, with the lagoon directly on the right and houses on the left. Their house is on a grassy hill with many palm trees overshadowing it.
When we get there I see the father again (DM, whom I've met before) and the two little boys (Junior and Jermain) who were about 4-5 years old. We call them Jun Jun and Jer Jer. They were a bit scared of me. But that's expected. Their house was very nice, one floor, with a spacious living room, a kitchen on the left and a small hallway infront of me with two big rooms, one for the parents to sleep in and another for both daughters to sleep in.
We were going to have dinner that night, but it was a special night, since Delarine passed this test for a Merchant Marine Academy in the Phillipines. So DM, the daughter and I drove downtown to a dinner for the top 10 students who passed the test and their parents (and me).
DM is a very cool guy. We talked a lot, he knows English vey well, he studied in the states. He's an acting principle at one of the elementary schools. We talked about politics, education, life in the states and a lot about life here in Chuuk. He is a very chill person and very smart. He knows where I'm coming from, and how different it must be for me, and we talked about that a lot. Anyway, this dinner, which took place in a big community hall with catered food, started VERY late, Chuukese time, as DM kept saying. There were some important people there: the personal assistant to the Governor of Chuuk, the special assistant to Chuuk education, the head of transportation of all of the FSM (a father of one of my students, Rose, who was actually there as well. She was a bit embarressed to see her teacher there on a Friday night), two representatives from the Acedemy, and some other big people from the island. There were some students there, only 3 parents, and me, the only white person in the room. Finally this guy started talking, introducing everyone. Many speeches. Everyone was recognized, even Delarine, who DM and I found out that she got the highest score (DM was surprised about this whole dinner in the first place, so he didn't know about his daughter doing that well). After almost 45 minutes of speeches and introductions, even a recognition of DM, the father of the student with the highest score, the host looked at me, and then at DM and asked him to introduce me. He said that I was family, and this and that, and that I'm a teach at Xavier. When he said that, everyone in the room litereally let out an "ooo" sound of awe. It felt like I was one of the more distinguished guests there. Most of the people that I mentioned were Xavier grads anyway.
The catered food was good, I talked to DM most of the time, and there was a Xavier alumn next to me who I also talked to for a while. It was a nice night, but DM and I, both teachers, were very tired. As we left, the important people (who were very drunk by this point, which is not unusual in Chuuk. Even though there were kids around, these government officials getting drunk is just common here. It is quite sad. At least DM didn't like it.) shook hands with me and I thanked them. I told the head of FSM transportation that I am a teacher of his daughter, and he should be proud. He was pretty drunk, but he thanked me and was very happy. The special assistant to the governor, I guess the highest official there, became very serious when he shook my hands and said "You are doing great work here. Thank you for not forgetting us." It was very flattering but humbling. It really tells me how important Xavier is to Chuuk and to the FSM. It is really true that best come from this school.
After a while, we finally went back home. Everyone was asleep. They had a traditional mat for me to sleep on and a pillow. I slept in the spacious living room, and I was surprised to see both boys sharing a big mat as well, no pillow. That was their bed room. They were both sleeping when we came in. I slept fine on the hard floor that night. The funny thing was there was a couch big enough for me right next to me.

The next day was mostly just sitting around on their concrete porch outside. Annnnd that was it. A lot of sitting around some talking, overlooking the beautiful lagoon with one of the islands on the horizon. It was extremely relaxing and quiet. We overlooked the road below us, watching kids and other walking back and forth, some just carrying chickens, kids visitng other kids. The shower was a bucket shower which was outside, and it was shared by some other houses. There was a big bin with a plastic pipe leading to it, with 3 metal shingle walls surrounding the shower area. I just showered with my shorts on.
I met the other daughter, Alissa, a seventh grader, that morning. She was also a bit scared of me. But DM and I just sat and talked for a few hours. Although it was definitely a break from Xavier, an it was very quiet and relaxing, it was a bit hard because it was extremely slow and boring, but that's a good thing. This is what people do here. There is NOTHING to do here, from a perspective of a crazy American, but this chill feeling is normal here on the islands.
After a while, I finally approached the two boys, who were playing with other neighborhood boys. They dont know English, which is fine. We finally got to throwing stones into the lagoon, which we did for over half an hour. So they finally became accusstomed to me, and we had a great time, since I love kids. We were goofing around and having a good time.
Around lunch time I helped DM get some breadfruit (which is neither a bread nor a fruit) from a tree. By helped I mean I watched him and another Chuukese boy cut them down with a huge stick. They looked like plump, greenish pineappples without the spiky texture. They would fall hard to the ground, and if they didnt splatter, they were good. The wife cooked them, and we all had lunch on the porch that afternoon. We had cooked breadfruit (which is like a potatoe) and some fish. By fish, I mean they were about 6 inches long totally intact. Just fish, not cut, not cook, sprinkled with soy sauce and lime. We had to peel it open with our fingers, avoid the tail, head, and skeleton and it eat raw. It was actually pretty good, and for someone who hated fish before, it was quite an accomplishment to rip out raw fish meet and eat it with my hands. Typical Chuukese meal.
After lunch, I we chilled some more. I even talked to Delarine about her future. She had to make the decision on whether or not she'd go to this acedemy. She would miss graduation, but it sounded like a good deal. However, it was the first real conversation I had with someone that was close to my age outside of Xavier.
But I was getting tired (I slept fine, but apparently I wasnt well rested, and I did wake up at 6), and even though they offered to have me for another night, I wasnt expecting to stay the whole weekend. I wanted to stay, cause it was so nice and they were very friendly and it was just a great experience being away from the hill. But I was tired, I ran out of nice clothes (which didnt really make much of a difference) and I didn't psych myself out for it. But I promised that I would come back soon whenever I had another free weekend. In fact, if we ever went to the Japanese dock for a swim, I'd stop by. We said goodbye, I gave them a present that my mom mailed up (a really nice Greenwich hand towel), and Alissa walked me back through a short cut to Xavier. I said goodbye, thanked her for protecting me along the way (finally made her laugh). I took a shower, and took it easy for the rest of the day.


So next week is the second JVI retreat and Ash Wednesday. Things are going fine. In study skills class, one of the things I went over was how bad it was to study last minute. It seemed like it was common knowledge, but I had a great teacher moment when after class, one of the kids genuinely thanked me for that advice. He said that he always does poorly in tests and he doesnt know why, but he always studied last minute, so he was grateful for that info.
I also made a student cry the other day. There were many Juniors in my office picking topics for their second research paper. It was kind of first come first serve. It was chaotic and rushed, and apparently I passed over one of the students who thought he was next. When I passed over him, he got very upset, lost his temper, stormed out of my office even after I called out after him, and he started cursing me in the hallway. So the next day I made him sit in the middle of the room (which they hate, they dont like to be pointed out) and chewed him out in front of the whole class and made him write a line 200 times by hand about what he did. It was the worst behavior i've seen all year, and this kid has such an attitude, he thinks he's such a tough guy. His advisor told me how upset he was, which is understandable, and the advisor made him apologize which he also idnt like, but we talked about it. Gotta lay down the law. It is a bit of Lord of the Flies here sometimes because the Dean of students, well, doesn't really do his job. The other one left the island, and we have no idea if he's coming back. Crazy.
I also learned how to cut open a huge tuna to make sashimi.
I miss you all. I love your support and emails. Much love